The Second Start

Today's Interval Training was pretty solid.

I also put together the basic plan for "50 Days until Kaimana."

As mentioned earlier, the basic plan is a 5 day cycle of 4 types of exercise groupings and one rest day. I'll go through a sample cycle below, but first, the thoughts that went into exercise selection. This is a good time of year to do new exercises. Your body will struggle to adapt to them, resulting in extra soreness and stress. This is something you don't really want to add in to your regular season. To that end, I'll be including lots of "over-head" sorts of things like Pike Presses and Pullups. The most important workout every week is the explosive workout. I'll switch it around to other days if I feel like I'll be missing it on the scheduled day. Least important are the Interval workouts, and I'm playing Basketball and Ultimate every week to keep the cardiovascular system running. The Max-Strength workouts are valued int he middle with the circuit workouts.

There is a lot of work here on the shoulders and core. I also do core workouts at least 1 other time per week, usually 2 other times. You've got to be strong from the center out. I also do not want to injure my shoulders as so many ultimate players have. I got close in one Summer League game years ago, but I rebounded quickly and took preventative steps going forward.

You'll also notice I'm not running much (at all). This is due to the fact that I hate it and that I'm blessed in terms of endurance. I'll start slowly replacing "Jumping Rope" with some running in March or so, and then increase slowly the amount of running that I do as July approaches (Never anything over 400 meters). In the middle of July I'll start the track plan in earnest.

In terms of plyos, I've got basic explosive work set up here to keep the muscles ready for action. As May approaches, I'll start dusting off some more comprehensive lower-body plyo routines with clear-cut goals.

Here's the breakdown:

Day One:
Circuit Training
Go through a deck of cards doing pushups for the red cards and burpees for the black. Do the face value for 2-10, 10 for face cards and 15 for aces. This is very hard.
(This is just an example-- I vary them for each cycle)

Day Two:
Maximal Strength
Pullups x6
Hamstring Push x8
(45 Seconds Rest)
Divebombers x10
One Leg Squats x6 (each leg)
(45 Seconds Rest)
Pike Pushups x10
Calf Raises x12
(45 Seconds Rest)
One Hand Push Progressions x5 (each arm)
Directional Lunges x10
(45 Seconds Rest)
Repeat 3 or 4 times.
Core Workout (varies)

Day Three:
Interval Training
12 Burpees
24 Pushups
36 Squats
Jump rope for 90 Seconds
Repeat 4 times with no rest
(This just an example workout-- I vary them every cycle)

Day Four:
Explosive Strength Training
Depth Plyo Pushups for speed x8
Knee Tucks x12
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Plyo Pike Press for Height x8
Lunge Jumps x12
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Full Body Plyo Pushups x8
Squat Jumps x12
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Power Overs for speed x20
Ankle Hops x20
(Rest 45 Seconds)
Repeat 3-4 Times
Core Workout (varies)

Day Five:
Rest
--
15 Minute Interval Workout