maximizing high quality reps with high velocity potentiation clusters

8/17/2019 Maximizing High Quality Reps With High Velocity Potentiation Clusters

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Maximizing High Quality Reps with High Velocity PotentiationClusters

Off-season, pre-season, or in-season Strength Coaches are always looking to maximize thenumber of high quality reps they can get in the weight room from their athletes. A highquality rep is one one at maximum spee an maximum power. !he problem is that speean power rop off quickly after two to three reps an then reco"ery is nee e .

#f you rea !riphasic !raining$ A Systematic Approach to %lite Spee an %xplosi"e Strength&erformance book, you know # am a big fan of Contrast training in general an the 'renchContrast metho in particular. !he 'rench Contrast is a fancy name for a combination ofcomplex an contrast metho s. A (complex) is a hea"y compoun exercise followe by aplyometric that mimics the same pattern. A (contrast) metho is a hea"y set followe by a

rop set. !his is a great approach for impro"ing sports performance in those sportsrequiring high rates of force pro uction. *ut the quality of the reps efinitely rops off as

fatigue sets in an this might not be i eal, especially when trying to peak an athlete.

#f maximizing the number of high quality reps is the ob+ecti"e, an alternati"e approach whichshares some similarities with the 'rench Contrast might be right for you$ igh elocity&otentiation Clusters. !hese igh elocity &otentiation Clusters typically in"ol"e a single,high "elocity rep of an exercise in the below /0 123 range, followe imme iately by anunweighte , max effort plyometric that mimics the same mo"ement. After resting for 4/secon s the pair of exercises is repeate for between six an eight reps. #n general it is +usta pair of exercises with rest in between, but # will also iscuss some "ariations in"ol"ingmore exercises for a "ance athletes.

5et6s ig into this a little more to show how this works. 'irst, let6s talk about the exerciseselection. !he first exercise is really the priming or potentiation exercise esigne to primethe ner"ous system for max effort. !he theory is that loa ing a mo"ement prior to anexplosi"e acti"ity stimulates the ner"ous system an increases motor unit recruitment. Anumber of choices are a"ailable for this priming exercise7power clean, snatch,front8back8Sport *ack squat, ea lift or e"en a weighte squat +ump woul all work fine.

!o be clear it is really the secon exercise7the max effort, high "elocity plyometric that wewant to maximize quality on. 'or that exercise, you can ha"e them +ump o"er a hur le or

+ump to a box 9too minimize impact:. !hese approaches ha"e their place as you will see inthe examples below. *ut the key question is$ are you getting the max effort on each +ump; !o ensure max effort, # woul recommen a +ump mat or a ertec.


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#f you want to o plyometric training or training for +oint stiffness in higher squat positions,my preferre choice is the rop box +ump, where the athlete rops of a 14-1 inch box in anathletic position an then re"erses irection imme iately for the max effort +ump. Stop the

ownwar momentum an explo e back up. Again, the examples below will gi"e you some"ariations you can implement epen ing on your focus.

Secon , let6s talk about loa ing. !he rop box +ump is ob"iously unloa e to mimic mostcompetiti"e situations. !he loa on the priming exercise is important howe"er. Somecoaches o their potentiation exercise with hea"y loa s, but # on6t recommen it. # woulkeep the loa on the first exercise below /0 for two to three weeks an then rop the loato below ==0 for another two to three weeks. 'urther, in the weeks lea ing up tocompetition, # woul rop the loa to the 4=->/0 range.

# ha"e nothing against going hea"y. #t is perfectly appropriate an necessary to go hea"yfor multiple weeks in the off season. owe"er, # feel most strength coaches are loa ingtheir athletes too hea"y for too long. #f you rea my book you know # am a huge a "ocateof using lighter weights to more closely mimic athletic competition an to focus on speean reacti"ity.

A thir issue is the number of repetitions an sets. ?ith this potentiation approach a set ofsix to eight reps shoul easily be possible. 'or well-traine athletes, after > mins of acti"erest, you coul repeat another set of six to eight reps. #f # was close to a ma+or competition,# woul only o one set. #f you are in the mi le of summer or on6t ha"e to worry aboutfatigue an your athletes are well traine , you coul go as high as >-@ sets woul be

appropriate.

!he goal of course is to increase the number of high quality reps. !o help maintain quality,you coul monitor the +ump mat, ertec or !en o an stop after a =0 rop off. !his mightmean less than a full two sets or it coul mean more, epen ing on your athletes.

'inally, # want to make a couple points about when to use this approach. # woul n6timplement this approach until # ha complete a full six to nine week cycle of the triphasicmetho , meaning a two to three week eccentric phase, a two to three week isometricphase, an a two to three week concentric phase all at / 0 of 123. !his approach isbest thought of as a peaking metho , so it shoul ha"e a soli base of strength trainingun erneath it.#n general, one woul think about programming like this being for a "ance athletes withextensi"e (training) ages. owe"er, with such a huge focus on high quality mo"ement, it

oesnBt +ust ha"e to be a "ance athletes that benefit from this. #t coul be safelyincorporate at the no"ice le"el, whene"er a coach woul normally begin to buil ingplyometrics into his or her programs.


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'inally, # ha"e gotten some great fee back on &otentiation Clusters, especially from ighSchool coaches. !hey were (amaze ) an (surprise )7amaze their athletes ma e somany a "ances an surprise because it seeme like the athletes were not working ashar . !he key here is the higher quality7yes it is less reps with a lighter loa , but the maxeffort on e"ery rep is ri"ing the performance increases they are seeing.# will close with some specific examples to gi"e you a feel for how an when to use thisapproach.%xample 1$ Acceleration 'ocus

ere is a sample cluster potentiation set that woul be implemente for athletes uring their spee strength cycle of training. !his woul follow a hea"y loa ing cycle to help transformthe strength e"elopment into spee e"elopment for the athlete to perform better on thefiel . Dote the sport back squat, the lighter loa s, an the box +ump woul in icate a "eryspecific focus on the acceleration aspect of performance.Sport *ack Squat - 1 rep E=- /0 *ox Fump 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2estSport *ack Squat - 1 rep E=- /0 *ox Fump 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2estSport *ack Squat - 1 rep E=- /0 *ox Fump 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2estSport *ack Squat - 1 rep E=- /0 *ox Fump 8 1 rep

2est 4-> minutes, then repeat for a total of 4 to @ sets

%xample 4$ !op-en 2unning Spee 'ocus!his cluster set woul also follow a hea"y strength cycle an with the exercises in"ol"eyou woul look for this to e"elop more +oint stiffness qualities for top-en running spee .

ex Gea lift - 1 rep E=- /0 ur le op 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2estex Gea lift - 1 rep E=- /0 ur le op 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2estex Gea lift - 1 rep E=- /0 ur le op 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2estex Gea lift - 1 rep E=- /0 ur le op 8 1 rep

2est 4-> minutes, then repeat for a total of 4 to @ sets

%xample >$ &eaking 'ocus for !eam Sports, *asic Approach!his peaking cycle cluster follows the !riphasic !raining loa ing mo el for peaking whichwoul follow the two pre"ious clusters. !his cluster an loa ing mo el woul be use two tofour weeks before your most important competition. !his woul also be use foracceleration sports "ersus your top-en spee sports 9note the re uce loa s an the useof the rop box +ump to emphasize change of irection:. Heep in min , that when peakingyour athletes, you nee to re uce the "olume. !his woul entail using only 1 to > sets atthe most.


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4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump 1 rep Grop box Fump 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2est4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump 1 rep Grop box Fump 81 rep71=-4/ secon s 2est4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump 1 rep Grop box Fump 8 1 rep71=-4/ secon s 2est4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump 1 rep Grop box Fump 8 1 rep2est 4-> minutes, then repeat for a total of 1 to > sets

%xample @$ &eaking 'ocus for !eam Sports, A "ance Athletes!his is an excellent example of a peaking mo el for a more a "ance athlete who has a

training base an has alrea y progresse through the !riphasic !raining mo el. ?ith thetriple cluster metho a coach can use "arious motor qualities when peaking. 'or example,loa e squat +umps woul be one to an acceleration epth to help with the first > or @steps uring sprint start, the Grop *ox Fump woul be one at a mi -range angle forapplying force an the accelerate ban +umps woul be one with minimal +oint angles tofacilitate top-en spee qualities. !his +ust shows the i"ersity an potential of usingclusters an the high-quality work that can be one for certain bio motor qualities.4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump81 rep Grop box Fump81 rep Acc. *an Fump81 rep71=-4/secon s 2est4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump81 rep Grop box Fump81 rep Acc. *an Fump81 rep71=-4/secon s 2est4=->/0 5oa Squat +ump81 rep Grop box Fump81 rep Accelerate *an Fump81 rep2est 4-> minutes, then repeat for a total of 4 to @ sets

%xample =$ &eaking 'ocus for !eam Sports, A "ance Athletes, 'rench Contrast Style!his cluster style of training mimics the 'rench contrast lai out in !riphasic !raining whichhas been one of the most effecti"e spee e"elopment training tools that # ha"e e"er use .

As in the prior triple cluster sets, you can see that one can either focus on accelerationtraining or top-en spee training uring the sequencing of exercises to get the maximumresults for the qualities esire in the athlete. /0 Squat +ump81 rep

ur le op 1 rep

1=-4/ secon s 2est==- /0 Sport *ack Squat81 rep Grop box Fump81 rep 4=->/0 Squat +ump81 rep ur le op 1 rep

1=-4/ secon s 2est==- /0 Sport *ack Squat81 rep Grop box Fump81 rep 4=->/0 Squat +ump81 rep

ur le op 1 rep2est >-= minutes, repeat for a total of 4 to @ sets

maximizing high quality reps with high velocity potentiation clusters

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