If you coach athletes, you have them squatting in
the weight room.

Squats are a core lift in any respectable strength
training program.

At least they were.

I’m cutting them from my program. And you should
too.

(If the thought of cutting squats out of your program
doesn’t blow your mind on some level, then your
current strength training program probably isn’t
very good.)

Watch this video from strength and conditioning
legend Mike Boyle and discover exactly *why*
the squat is dead:

http://tinyurl.com/DeathofSquat

To your success,

Latif Thomas

If you haven’t heard yet, you’re hearing it here
now:

Legendary strength and conditioning expert Mike
Boyle is releasing his newest program, Functional
Strength Coach 3.0 - A Joint by Joint Approach to
Training, *today* (Wednesday October 21).

http://tinyurl.com/BoyleFSC3
Here’s the deal:

I have the program. I’ve been watching it over and
over again for the past week or two.

(What can I say, I know people.)

I’m not one to get all misty eyed over a strength
and conditioning resource, but….

Functional Strength Coach 3.0 is RIDICULOUS.

I’m an information junkie as it is, but this program
has my head spinning.

It’s *that* good.

The first two DVDs alone (there are eight, not
including the 2 bonus DVDs and Workout Muse) gave me
more ideas for upgrading my programs than I can
possibly attempt to lay out here.

Want an example? Squats. A staple of nearly every
credible strength training program.

Until now. Because I’m cutting them out. I’ve been
ready to cut them for the past couple years, but Boyle’s
explanation and results were the tipping point for me.

That’s just one of many examples, but you really need to
see all these concepts for yourself:

http://tinyurl.com/BoyleFSC3
Now, I’ll be honest. This is not a program for beginners.

If you know you’re an inexperienced coach or trainer and
you don’t have confidence in your current system,
you might be in over your head.

But if you know enough to know that you can *always* make
improvements to every element of your training and the
idea of tweaking this and changing that gets you excited
about the range of improvement your athletes can make this
year, then you *NEED* this program.

Functional Strength Coach 3.0 is one of those programs that
makes me *almost* feel bad for coaches and trainers who aren’t
referencing it. Because their athletes and clients just won’t
be able to compete with those of us who do.

(I said *almost*. I like winning too much to feel genuine
sorrow for people who ignore this email.)

If you’ve followed me for any period of time you know I
NEVER push a program this hard in any of my emails.

But I think it’s *that* good. And if you coach athletes of any
sport or gender from high school through professional, you
simply have to make Functional Strength Coach 3.0 part of your
training library.

It is the very definition of ‘must have’.
To your success,

Latif Thomas

Each Monday, for the next 3 weeks (and a total
of 12 weeks), I’ll be posting a preseason
training program for developmental 400m
runners.

I get so many questions about this event I’ve
decided to share what I’m doing. This way
you can copy it, pick it apart (respectfully),
or flat out steal it. Use it and see just
how much your athletes improve.

Of course, feel free post your comments and
questions below. I can’t guarantee I’ll
answer all of them, but I’ll do my best.

If you want more detailed information about
workout planning for 55-400m sprinters,
click here.

For Week 1 workouts, click here.
For Week 2 workouts, click here.
For Week 3 workouts, click here.
For Week 4 workouts, click here.
For Week 5 workouts, click here.
For Week 6 workouts, click here.
For Week 7 workouts, click here.
For Week 8 workouts, click here.

M: 6 x 50m, 6 x standing triple jump. focus on first
3 steps. R= 5′

Active recovery –> keep moving, jogging. no standing
around.

Lift Day 1. Start of set 2 of B1 (Bulgarian split squat)
should be 3 minutes after start of set 1 of B1.

Splitting the workouts like this should cut total
time in weight room roughly in half.

‘Bulgarian Split Squat (BSS) is also known as ‘back leg
on the bench single leg lunge’.

A1: Hang clean/high pull/DB snatch 4 x 5

B1: Bulgarian split squat (BSS) 4 x 6 e.l.
B2: DB Bench 4 x 6

C1: Step up 4 x 8 e.l.
C2: Chin up 4 x 6 (weighted)

T: 5 x 300m hills. R = jog back.

800m barefoot warm down.

LIFT Day 2

A1: Deadlift 5 x 5
A2: DB Incline 4 x 5

B1: Single leg dead lift 3 x 8 e.l.
B2: Inverted row 3 x 8 (if too easy, put feet up on
box or bench

W: 10 x 200m @ ~75%. R=2′ B = 33.0, G= 37.0

For this workout and time of season, athletes are
expected to hit their times, on the money.

For boys, only times within .2 seconds of the target
time (33.0) are considered ‘quality’ intervals. I
expect 80% of workout to be ‘quality’ or Coach
Thomas starts yelling at people.

Core - stabilization
Hurdle mobility
400m barefoot warmdown

TH: 3 x 300m. First 50m fast, cruise 150m, last 100m fast.
R = 7′. Target time: B = 43.0 - 44.5 seconds, G = 52.0 - 53.5

LIFT Day 3

A1: Hang clean/high pull/DB Snatch 4 x 5

B1: BSS 5 x 5
B2: one arm row 4 x 6

C1: Explosive step up 4 x 6 e.l.

F: 3 x 5 x 100 @ ~80%. R = 45″/2′. B = 14.5 - 15.0, G = 17.5 - 18.0

800m barefoot warmdown
Core - stabilization
10′ static stretch

This week’s ‘Audio Breakdown’:

If you want more drills and exercises for your sprinters,
then click here.

If you want help with workout planning for your upcoming
season, then click here.

- Latif Thomas

Be sure to listen to this week’s ‘Audio Breakdown
because I have some good information to share and
as things are now starting to change as we draw
closer to the season, you’ll want to understand
why I’m shifting in a different direction and what
I want to accomplish. 

Each Monday, for the next 4 weeks (and a total
of 12 weeks), I’ll be posting a preseason
training program for developmental 400m
runners.

I get so many questions about this event I’ve
decided to share what I’m doing. This way
you can copy it, pick it apart (respectfully),
or flat out steal it. Use it and see just
how much your athletes improve.

Of course, feel free post your comments and
questions below. I can’t guarantee I’ll
answer all of them, but I’ll do my best.

If you want more detailed information about
program design for 55-400m sprinters,
click here.

For Week 1 workouts, click here.
For Week 2 workouts, click here.
For Week 3 workouts, click here.
For Week 4 workouts, click here.
For Week 5 workouts, click here.
For Week 6 workouts, click here.
For Week 7 workouts, click here.
 

M: 6 - 8 x 40m, 6-8 x standing triple
R = 4′

Lift Day 1: Circuit format. 2 x 8 Rest between exercises
90 seconds. 3′ sets. Use challenging weight

Deadlift
Bench press
Pull ups
Step ups
Dips
One arm row
T: 4-5 x 300 hills R= walk back

10′ warmdown jog @ conversational pace

Lift Day 2: Circuit format. 2 x 8 Rest between exercises:
90 seconds. 3′ sets. Use challenging weight

Bulgarian split squat (back leg up on bench single leg lunge)
Incline
Chin ups
Lunges
Clap Pushup
Box Jump

W: 3 x 8 x 100m @ 75%, R= 45 seconds between reps, 90
seconds between sets

B: 15.0 - 15.5
G: 17.8 - 18.3

Core - stabilization.
Hurdle mobility.
10′ static stretch

TH: 4-5 x Split 600s. R = 7′ (Workout of the Week!)

B: 33/48/33
G: 38/50/38

Lift Day 1

F: 2 x 10 x diaganols R= 5′ sets

Here’s how it works: Run on a football field, from the back
of the endzone to the back of the opposite endzone, but on
the diaganol.

Finish, then do a set of 10 (each leg) bodyweight exercises. Alternate
between prisoner squat, split squat, lunges each time you get to this
‘leg station’.

Walk the width of the field for recovery. Run the diaganol again.
Finish, do a set of 20 ab exercise. Athlete’s choice: crunches, bicycles,
russian twists, toe touch, etc.

Walk the width of the field for recovery. Run the diaganol. Do a different
leg exercise. Repeat the process.

One set = 10 intervals. Only do bodyweight exercises for the first set!

Lift Day 1.
Audio Breakdown:

It may seem like a long time, but there are less than
7 weeks to go before indoor track starts in most
areas. And I’m starting to get into full gear to
be ready to roll when it starts.

If you haven’t listened to the above audio, I highly
recommend you do so. It’s good information that
will help you and your athletes. (I’ll admit it’s
long, but I gave you the option to download the
file.)

If you’re looking for drills and exercises to teach
that are on video, you want Complete Speed Training.

If you’re looking for help with the most effective
structure and progressions for your workout planning,
you want Complete Program Design for Sprinters.

As always, post your comments below.
- Latif