Weight
Training
You'll notice that the three lower body lifts (dead lifts, power cleans, and squats) involve a "work-up" one day a week. In a "work-up," you do fewer reps in each successive set (10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, ?) while increasing the weight each time. The set of one should be 100-105% of your maximum lift; for the final set reduce the weight to about 70% of your maximum and do a set "to failure." This work-up, done one day a week, will rapidly increase your maximum weight for each lift, which means more speed and power. Don't worry about doing work-ups with any of the torso or shoulder lifts; many of the muscle groups involved are too fine and susceptible to injury.
To increase your arm-speed, spend another 20 minutes in the weight
room and add lat pull-downs, bench press, triceps curls, and two or three rotator
cuff exercises to your workout.
"Periodization" **Speak with your weight room supervisor or a licensed trainer to learn
the proper mechanics for all of these lifts. Also speak with your physician
before beginning any weight or conditioning program.
To get the most out of jump training (and to avoid over-training and burn-out),
you should "periodize" your workouts at both the macro- and micro-levels. At
the macro-level, for instance, you might divide the calendar year into five
major training periods:
Each major training period should also be periodized (hence, the term "micro"-level).
During the medium intensity block, for example, you might build in intensity for
three weeks, then take a relatively easy week before starting another three week
cycle. This sort of periodization at the monthly and yearly levels gives your
tissues the recovery time necessary to grow stronger and remain healthy.
Updated August 2000.