We've all been there, some in deeper than others, with limited space and too many athletes. I've had 40 kids training on 4 racks....I've have a team of 12 year old baseball players with nothing but batting cages and everything in between. From being under equipped to limited on time you name it I've had to figure a way to make it work. In this 6 part series, I will share some of my strategies on how I managed to keep the quality of training high even with really tough situations and large groups.
Training Components
This first thing I'd like to review is a system of training components that I use. By identifying these training components, it will allow you to make decisions on what will be the best bang for your buck when these difficult training situations arise.
+ Dynamic Warm up
+ Plyometrics
+ Seed/Agility Training
+ Strength/Power/Hypertrophy
+ Cardiovascular Training
+ Recovery Methods
Dynamic Warm Up
Part 1 will focus on the dynamic warm up. Every situation you face will likely have to have some type of plan for warm up. This system is going to kill many birds with one stone. Sometimes you will have time and space to include speed and agility training but sometimes you won't and that's where this dynamic warm up can really prove to be valuable.
For the dynamic warm up all you need is space. Some spaces allow you to move 20-40 yards, and others you may have to be in place. Following this system will allow you to accommodate both! We will break this into 4 steps and this will allow you to "plug and play" your preferences. The 4 steps are isometric holds, dynamic stretches, movement skills, and CNS/Cognitive Activation.
Dynamic Warm Up Layout
Time needed: 7-8 minutes
+ Step 1: Isometric Hold- 2 min
+ Step 2: Dynamic Stretches- 2 min
+ Step 3: Movement Skills- 2 min
+ Step 4: CNS/Cognitive Activation- 1 min
Step 1: Isometric Holds
Isometric holds are good for both reinforcing positions as well as activating muscle fibers and help strengthen young athletes. Most if not all programs I write will include isometric holds, the question is when and where I will include them. By tacking them on as the first part of the warm up you will save time and it's an easy way to check that box. Below is a list of isometric holds I will use.
+ Split Squat ISO Hold
+ Squat ISO Hold
+ Push Up ISO Hold
+ Glute Bridge ISO Hold
Split squat ISO hold: hands on the hip OR arms extended straight overhead. This will prevent athletes from hunching over and ensure a nice vertical torso. 70% of the weight on the front foot with a positive front shin angle. This is a position I coach a lot from single leg squats to linear acceleration, this is a great time to reinforce this position. Have athletes organized on a line, either all on the same line or multiple lines whatever your space requires. You may even need to have them spread out randomly in the weight room which also will work. Simply demo the start position by putting one knee down on the ground. Be sure to specify what knee is down and give them an UP cue. When you give the cue that starts the hold and instruct them to raise that back knee up 3-4 inches from the ground. If anyone lacks the strength to do this have them start from the top, and when you give an UP call they will go down as low as they are able. Typically I use 10-15 second holds on each leg and will do 2-3 total sets.
Squat ISO hold: I start by cuing the feet shoulder width apart. For the arms there are a few options, I'll start with the easiest and finish with the hardest. Easiest option is to have the arms straight our front like Frankenstein. The next one is hands behind head (prison squat) and finally arms extended straight overhead, which is the hardest. You will do 3 sets. I prefer using all options for the arms, starting with the easiest on set 1 and the hardest on set 3. You could take note who can only do the first option and who can do the 3rd option. Many can't properly get to a squat position with arms extended overhead, but this method allows you to do a movement analysis while you warm up. To start, demo to them the position you want, and say DOWN. Cue them up as they hold I typically use 3 sets for 15-20 seconds each.
Push up position ISO hold: The ISO push up is another great way to assess your athletes while they warm up. As a coach one of the most challenging jobs in a large group is setting athletes up to succeed without holding any of the more advanced athletes back. This is certainly true for the push up ISO hold. Like we did on the squat with arm positions, we are also going to create 3 options for these ISO holds starting with the easiest and finishing with the hardest. Position 1 is simply a hold at the very top, which his also just called "push up position". For some athletes this may be all they can do. The second position is 1/4 down from the top. Think of it as half way to half way down. The 3rd and most challenging position is half way down. I personally do not like going lower that half way down, not only do you start to see some form breakdown, I think half way down and higher does a better job at activating the muscles appropriately without straining joints and ligaments.
Glute bridge or single leg glute bridge ISO hold: Such a simple way to hit two birds with one stone. You will be able to help activate glutes and hamstrings, but also you're going to get a good stretch on the hip flexors. Many younger athletes will struggle with tightness in the hip flexors, and due to reciprocal inhibition, the glute bridge is a great tool to combat that common issue. Have the athletes lie down on their back, knees bent with heels down and toes up. I like to have them have their arms at 90 degree angles and drive their elbow/upper arm into the ground while simultaneously driving the hips up. Once in the position, give them an UP call, and reinforce driving the heels into the ground and squeezing the glutes as if they were trying to crack a walnut. Watch for and correct any athletes that maybe over extended in the lumbar region. How many should you do? I keep it simple, 2-3 sets of 10-15 seconds each set.
A couple other insider tips for executing these ISO holds would be to add one set with just reps. Example, let's say you did 2 sets of 10 second holds on any of the examples lists above. The 3rd set can be the same exercise with normal reps. Using the split squat ISO as an example, you do 1-2 sets of 10 seconds each leg, then add one more set with just 10 reps on each side. This will add on to the activation but also allow for more time for athletes to "grease the groove" and improve any of the above movement patterns. This is key to transfer of improved movement patterns
To finish up this section of the warm up, let's cover the most common question I get: " When should I do which exercise?" I like to look ahead in the session of what's on the agenda. If the athletes are going to be squatting that day, I'm using the squat ISO with the intent to improve those positions as well as activate and prep for the session demands. If I'm bench pressing, I use push ups...If there are deadlifts that day glute bridges etc. You also don't have to use them all every week. Some teams train less than 4x per week so feel free to make the information work for your specific situation.
Step 2: Dynamic Stretches
Dynamic stretching is all about stretching via movement. The biggest gap to fill here is your movement library. So here is a list of common dynamic stretches that will serve as a great base for you and your athletes
Body Squat- Straight forward here but it is a great time to reinforce the foot position you want them to be using and allows you to actively deliver cues to improve their squat pattern
Rotational Squat- Rotational squat starts feet together, pick the right knee up high as you can and rotate out, like your stepping over a hurdle, and down into a squat position. Be sure to do both sides.
Knee Hug- This starts with gathering the knee and then pulling the knee to chest in an upright position. The gather is the first move, pick the right leg off the ground, then you actually want to squat down just a little bit with the down leg to grab the knee then pull up and finish tall.
Reverse Lunge with or without Arm Reach- Straight forward here although I will get into the difference in a reverse lunge and a split squat. Lunge means a leg travels, squat means the leg doesn't travel. This also applies when you get down to lateral lunge vs lateral squat the execution and movement is different. Adding an arm reach is also a great variation, simply have them reach straight up with both arms OR which ever leg travels back, same side arm goes up and you can add a side bend.
Quad Stretch- Starting with a gather, one leg comes off the ground, the down leg does a mini squat, grab the ANKLE, not the foot, with the same arm side as the leg you're stretching and pull it back and up as you stand tall. Grabbing the ankle I believe is a better stretch for the quad and also doesn't put strain on the foot/ankle.
Cradle Stretch- Let's use the right leg as an example, start with picking the right foot up, then gather by doing a mini squat on the left leg. Internally rotate your foot inside, grab the ankle with the left hand and with the right hand go around and under the right knee. Stand up tall and pull both the ankle and the knee up. Hold 2 seconds and switch legs.
Forward Lunge with or without Rotation- Similar to the reverse lunge, the rotation is different if you add it simple rotate the whole torso towards the down leg.
Lateral Lunge- Remember a lunge means a foot travels. Start standing tall feet together, then have the right leg travel out as you sink down to a lateral lunge. I like to cue both toes to be pointed straight ahead. Often you will see kids lunge out with the toe open and you are not going to get that inner groin stretch that you are wanting to get. Another cue I like is to have both feet flat to the ground like they are glued to the floor. Often times when the athlete lungs out, the foot of the static leg with peel off the ground. I like to keep it on the ground to work more on ankle mobility.
Lateral Squat- Foot does not travel on a squat. feet are wide with toes straight ahead and they would shift their weight to the right and down with the weight in the middle of the outside foot. I like to cue hands out like Frankenstein, this allows them to get lower as well as keep the torso more vertical
Toe Touches- Shift your weight all onto the right leg, gently tap your left heel in front of you as if you are testing fragile ice. The toe is flexed up. Holding this position take the left hand and reach down and toe the left toe. Stand up and repeat on the other side.
Inch Worm with or without Push Up- Feet together standing tall, bend over and touch toes with both hands. Then walk the hands out to push up position. Here is where you can add a push up, then the athletes are to inch there feet to their hands keeping the legs straight long as they can while the hips travel up. Stand up and repeat for the desired amount of reps, distance or time.
Worlds Greatest Stretch- Lunge out with the leg leg while you place your left forearm to the ground just inside the left leg. The right arm is extended, hand on the ground. Then rotate the left arm up to the sky while you're in the lunge position. Back leg should be straight and locked out. Keep your eyes on the hand that rotates to the sky. Stand up and repeat.
There are many more out there, these are the ones I use the most and all you have to do it choose 4 to 6 of them to fill in this step. I like to do 1 set of 3-4 reps of each, feel free to put your own flavor on it depending on the athletes and the time/space you have to work with. Similar to how you would choose witch ISO holds to use, you will choose 4-6 dynamic stretches that would prepare the athletes for the demands of the session the most. One great way to save time is to group together as combos. Example, instead of having an athlete do 4 knee hugs each side and then 4 reverse lunges with a reach on each leg, have them do a knee hug INTO a reverse lunge with a reach 4 times on each leg. Not only will you speed up the time it takes to complete this step, the athletes will learn to be more coordinated and again more time greasing the groves of these basic movement patterns. I will review other ways to navigate time and space constraints at the end of this article.
Step 3: Movement Skills
Movement skills is a breakdown of all the skills you can find in athletic movement. These include march variations, skip variations, bounding, carioca (not karaoke LOL) side shuffling, snapioca etc... I will make a list below of the most common variations I use but there may be more than my list, feel free to add anything you see necessary to fit.
All of these are easy to find video demos on Youtube
+ Linear March
+ Lateral March
+ Crossover March
+ A Skip
+ B Skip
+ Power Skip
+ High Knees
+ Butt Kicks
+ Side Shuffle
+ Carioca
+ Snapioca
+ Linear Bounding
+ Linear Hops
To complete step 3 simply pick 3-4 of these exercises that best prepare the athlete for the demands of the session. You will likely be using distance for step 3. Some exercises are best for 5 or 10 yards and others may need 15 or 20. I'll get into this more towards the end, but you can also do all of these in place if space is an issue. As a coach these exercises need a good demo for athletes to learn and execute so I do recommend you practice and learn these yourself. You will be surprised at some of the things you will see in step 3 from high school athletes, but that's another great reason to use this style of warm up and to do it consistently.
Step 4: CNS/Cognitive Activation
This is a VERY brief section and the finale of the dynamic warm up. For this section I will use a variety of exercises to activate the athletes CNS. 2 inch runs, lateral pogos and even ladder drills..... yes ladder drills can fit in this section. You could incorporate 5-10 yard sprints, build ups or be creative and create some type of game. Below is a list of my most common selections.
These are easy to find video demos on Youtube
+ 2 inch runs
+ Side to Side Pogo
+ Linear Pogo
+ Base Rotations
+ Base Pogo
+ Ladder Drills
+ 5 Yard Sprint
+ Build Up Sprint
To complete step 4 you simply need to choose ONE exercise and perform 2-3 sets of short aggressive bouts and then you are DONE with the warm up. I mentioned the cognitive activation, here's how you include this into step 4. On any of these exercises, you will have to cue them to start and stop. Instead of saying go, tell the athlete to go on a clap. Don't clap right away, say GO and see if you can get any of the athletes to go. Have them stop and remind them not to go until you clap. Try to trick them, make them think. Be creative, use odd or even numbers etc.
Putting it all together
Let's build a warm up together and tie this all up for you to do on your own. Below is the formula.
Step 1: 1 ISO hold for 2-3 sets
Step 2: 4-6 dynamic for 3-4 reps
Step 3: 3-4 movement skills for 1-2 reps each
Step 4: 1 exercise for 2-3 sets total
Example
Step 1: ISO Split Squat 2x15 sec
Step 2: Body Squats x 10
Knee Hug x 4 each
Cradle to Lateral Lunge x 4
Inch Worms x 4
Step 3: Linear March 2x10 yards
A Skip 2x10 yards
Power Skip 2x10 yards
Snapioca 2x10 yards
Step 4: Base Pogo 3x5 seconds
Again this should be an 8 minute deal. Let's go over some tips to ensure you are able to execute this warm up in a timely manner. First you need to organize the team. I prefer to put them on one line when I can. If I don't have a line I set cones. The ideal course has a 5 yard, 10 yard, 15 yard and 20 yard cone or line. If you have to put them on multiple lines no problem but have them all do the same thing at the same time. Verbally tell them what to do and demo it. While they are doing it, verbally tell them and demo what they are doing next. Don't wait for them to finish, stay ahead of them. We aren't rushing, but we are steady moving. This warm up moves slow to fast, so keep them moving. Another thing I suggest is to keep them on your cadence. Some strategies to keep everyone together is to replace reps with time. Instead of doing 10 body squats, tell them to do body squats on your command, and let them do squats for 5 seconds. Say TIME or stop, or whistle whatever you prefer and then they start knee hugs on your command. This will prevent the fast athletes standing around and the slow athletes falling behind. Another good tip, sometimes your space is tight. If thats the case no worries, you can do every single bit of this warm up in place. For marches and skips you can do them in place. You may have to make some modifications, but if space is an issue be creative and make choices that fit your situation.
I genuinely hope this article provides you will valuable information that you can use to foster a successful program. Please subscribe so you don't miss parts 2-6 of the rest of this series. If you would like to schedule a phone or video call you can click the button below to schedule a FREE call. Lastly if this was helpful please share it to other coaches that will benefit from learning these simple 4 steps!
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