+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Submit your email address to subscribe to
our free newsletter.
You can receive our weekly email letting you know
when there are new Questions and Answers. We will
also keep you up to date with upcoming events and
new ways to become a better athlete.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Training Philosophies:
Training Hard or Training Smart
by Todd E Hamer
toddhamer@hotmail.com
Last weekend I had the opportunity
to visit Joe DeFranco in New Jersey. I woke up at
5:00 A.M. and drove from Virginia to New Jersey to
watch him train athletes. During my visit, I watched
a short speed training session with Carolina Panthers
linebacker, Brandon
Short, as well as a strongman training session
with some college athletes. I then had the opportunity
to go to lunch and talk training with Joe. We discussed
how, when, why and where we train our athletes; all
the good questions I ask myself all the time. All
these questions have led me to more questions.
Training Smart?
I started my strength and conditioning
career interning for Buddy Morris at the University
of Pittsburgh. At the time, I was 150 lbs. soaking
wet and had no clue what true strength training was
all about. Buddy began teaching me about the Westside
Barbell Club, as well as the attitude that one must
have as a strength coach. I began training much smarter,
and I also began getting stronger and gaining weight.
I was introduced to bands, chains, reverse-hypers,
and all of the other toys utilized by Westside.
During my time at Pitt, I did not
question much. Everything I was learning was new to
me and made me stronger. I could not figure out how
anyone could question or change this approach to training.
I fell into the trap many people do who use the Westside
approach. I only did what I saw on the Westside tapes.
I did tricep extensions during every bench workout.
I always did a speed day and took a down week from
max effort work every three to four weeks. I also
trained athletes that I worked with exactly the same
way. I began shutting out anything that I didn’t
hear from Westside.
Training myself and my athletes in
this manner did yield results; but we eventually reached
plateaus. I began asking questions: How do I use max
effort lifts in-season? How do I train athletes that
have never used a conjugate system of training? Many
coaches out there work with high school athletes or
young, under-trained athletes. With these questions
we must still train smart, but that does not mean
we have to follow a Westside template to a “T”.
I began asking more questions, reading, and TRAINING
more. Yes, training more. A good coach must train
hard. I realized that Westside is an evolving program.
What works today might not work tomorrow. Reading
the workout logs at Elitefts.com
really opened my eyes. Jim Wendler is very strong,
yet his training log is quite different then Mike
Ruggeria’s training log, who also happens to
be very strong. This led me to my next question.
Training Hard?
After my internship at Pitt, I spent
a few months observing a HIT strength coach. His philosophy
was that his team would out-work everyone else and
this would make his team stronger. While I do not
agree with his thoughts when it comes to training,
I loved the mentality these guys brought to training.
The players busted their asses and never gave up.
This brings me back to last Saturday as I watched
Joe train his athletes. Did Joe put his athletes through
a HIT workout? I am sure that none of us want to hear
that. But, in all honesty, what Joe’s athletes
did was train hard; and Joe kept the duration of their
workouts short. So although science is a good tool
that we can utilize, hard work is as well. Is training
hard as important as training smart? I have always
told my athletes to train smart. I have also told
them to train hard. Well, what is more important?
Training Smart is Training Hard!
I suggest to anyone that I meet to
read Tom Myslinski’s thesis on Elitefts.com.
He wrote about training the young athlete and the
variations that the young athlete needs in order to
progress. Think about this variation as the key to
training. If you were training to improve your squat,
would you only squat? Of course not. You must do accessory
work to build the squat. I can think of hundreds of
accessory lifts that build the squat. Now, imagine
a football lineman. They must block, run, fall down,
get back up and block again. That is all in one play.
Now, how many exercises can you think of that will
help with any or all of those skills? I can think
of thousands. Everything from box squats to tire flipping
to reverse hypers. All of these exercises can be used
in a Westside approach to training. Jim Roney once
said to me that Westside is an attitude. I agree with
this statement; but what helps set it apart is the
attitude of doing whatever it takes to get better
and stronger.
Variations to Training Smart
The Westside template is a great
place to begin when training your athletes or yourself.
I have been utilizing this template for over five
years and have continued to get stronger and so have
my athletes. Here are some variations that I feel
are helping my athlete’s and myself progress
with the Westside Barbell template.
Max effort lifts can be anything.
Joe DeFranco sometimes uses pull-ups and other pulling
variations; Buddy Morris sometimes uses Med Ball throws.
I have used farmer’s walks, tire flips or even
regular, old-fashioned squats. Do not be afraid to
vary your max effort work especially with athletes.
Dynamic-effort day can be manipulated
as well. I learned a lot from Joe DeFranco’s
article, “Westside
for Skinny Bastards”, regarding varying
the dynamic day for certain athletes. I also got another
great idea today from Tim Kontos (VCU); have your
athletes perform as many reps as they can in a certain
time period. How many reps can you get in 8 seconds,
for example? (Watch the athletes form doesn’t
break down using this approach.)
Accessory work must still be specific
to the goal of the training. Don’t just do an
accessory lift because everyone else does it. For
athletes, do some unilateral training as accessory
work. Do some work that the athletes enjoy and kick
their ass. Strongman training is perfect for this.
A great idea I saw Fred Cantor doing was single arm
work with the bar. One arm barbell deads, one arm
barbell shoulder press, one arm barbell curls. (O.K.,
no curls but you get the idea).
Remember when utilizing this system
do not be afraid to think for yourself. Do not be
afraid to bend a little. Train with anyone that will
make you or your athletes better and train smart.
As Dave Tate once said, “Get stronger and everything
else will take care of itself.”
Todd E Hamer
toddhamer@hotmail.com
Return to Top
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
