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| Todd Smith Head Strength Coach |
In season strength training is very different from our typical off season workouts. Our off season workouts run the complete spectrum of performance training from balance and postural work to explosive power development and speed training. Our in season program is much more individualized depending on the age of student-athlete, role on the team, eligibility, and health status.
We have two distinct phases during our in season program. The first is our nonconference season. It begins with the start of practice. The second is our Big East Conference and NCAA tourney season. During the nonconference season we get all the student-athletes in 3-4 times a week depending on playing schedule. During the conference and tourney season it drops to two days for main minute student-athletes and three days for bigs and role players. Redshirt and injured student-athletes lift six days a week for both phases.
For both phases the number one goal is to keep the student-athletes healthy and maintain their durability. Keeping them on the floor gives the coaches all of their playing options for both practices and games. When we lose student-athletes to injuries, we lose options. They need to be on the floor practicing their skills and learning to play as a team.
The second goal of both phases is to individualize and work on specific qualities whether they are strengths or weakness or both for each student-athlete. Each student-athlete starts with the same program. Depending on whom they are, how much they play, and what they need to work on changes are made to the program accordingly.
In season lifting is based on movements. If we are able to lift four times a week, we go with a split routine. Day one is hip extension, core, and upper push. Day two is knee extension, core, and upper pull. Day three is the same movements as day one and day four is the same movements as day two. The days could fall consecutively Monday through Thursday or have a NCAA mandatory day off in between like lift Monday through Wednesday, off Thursday, and lift again on Friday. We hit each movement twice weekly. If we are only able to lift three days a week, we go with a two day split and the third day is a total body day. The total body day takes one movement from each split day and combines them. We are still hitting each movement twice weekly.
When Conference season rolls in the main minute student-athletes lift two total body lifts a week. Role players will lift a two day split and total body day. Redshirts and injured student-athletes will lift the same six days a week. Our goal is to hit each movement three times a week. This is the time of year that we want our guys to be the strongest and most powerful team on the court peaking for the NCAA tournament.
Our yearly schedule allows me to set the volume and intensity for each week of the season. We change volume and intensity every three weeks. We change exercises more frequently to allow for individual preferences and variety.
Set and Rep Schemes for In season Strength Training
Time sets/reps intensity Time sets/reps intensity
Weeks 1-3 4x8 70-75% Weeks 10-12 4x6 75-80%
Weeks 4-6 5x5 75-80% Weeks 13-15 5x4 80-85%
Weeks 7-9 6x3 80-85% Weeks 16-18 6x2 85-90%
All exercises are completed with one rep left in the student-athlete, meaning that the student-athlete could complete one more rep if needed. This is to prevent overtraining and to keep our student-athletes as fresh as possible for intense practices and games. It is very important to continue to lift and keep stress on your body. It only takes 7-10 days to lose a significant amount of strength. Stay strong all season long.