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EFS Classic: GPP for High School Freshmen

GPP for High School FreshmenMy name is Mark McLaughlin and f or 2 years, I was the strength and conditioning f ootball coach at a local highschool. Currently, I own my own strength and conditioning center and these athletes train with me there. Bef oreI lef t, however, I realized there was no system f or preparing f reshman f or the upcoming years of f ootball. Theywere under-trained and basically ignored until they made varsity. The f ollowing addresses this issue and how Idealt with this lack of preparedness.

This article will deal with incoming f reshman in high school (ages 13-15) and how their general physicalpreparation (GPP) period should begin. Kids this age are void of a lot of the basic principles to begin lif t ing(lack of GPP, relative strength) and should not begin a serious weight training regime until certain strengths arein place. So, the question is how to get them prepared. Jim Wendler was posed a similar question severalmonths ago. Jim’s answer was very basic. Bef ore anyone should begin lif t ing, they should be able to perf ormthe f ollowing body weight exercises: 50 pushups , 100 situps, 25 parallel dips, and 10 strict pullups. This gotme thinking about our new group of incoming f reshman. I began a test to see how ef f ective this method wouldbe. On the f irst day, 12 f reshmen reported, and I laid out my new GPP prep cycle and how it would beimplemented and the reasons behind this type of training. We tested all of the athletes on the f our coreexercises. No one reached any of the goals. The question became, “What kind of workouts would weimplement to reach these goals?” Body weight exercises and medicine ball work would be perf ormed 3-4 daysper week, and Charlie Francis tempo runs would be implanted 2-3 days per week.

Warmup

4 sets of 30 seconds each

Jumping jacks

Burpees

Star jumps

Shuf f le steps

Abs 3 x 15

Workout

3-4 sets of 12-15 reps per exercise

Pushups

Dips

Pullups

Body weight squats

Lunges

Rainbows

Step ups

Hovers

Skywalkers

Broad jumps

Reverse Hyper (20-40 pound max)

Medicine Ball Training

2-4 sets of 15-50 throws using 4-8 pound medicine ball

Chest pass

Side-side

Overhand/underhand

Sit throws with partner

Russian twist

Explosive medicine ball throws f orward/backward 2 x 10

Af ter f our weeks of doing this training regime we retested the athletes. Basically, 5 out of the 12 kids met thegoals. With this cycle completed, these f ive athletes were suf f iciently prepared to begin implementing onebarbell lif t on each of the f our days (day 1-squat, day 2-bench, day 3-deadlif t, day 4-bench).

The f ollowing days would look like this as f ar as weight progression:

Squat

4 x 6 at 95 pounds – Week 1

4 x 5 at 115 pounds – Week 2

3 x 8 at 75 pounds – Week 3

5 x 3 at 135 pounds – Week 4

Deadlif t

10 x 1 at 135 pounds

8 x 1 at 185 pounds

8 x 1 at 205 pounds

6 x 1 at 225 pounds

Accessory work for these two days consisted of:

Band Good Mornings 3 x 15

Band pullthrough 3 x 15

Reverse hyper 3 x 10

Explosive medicine ball throws 2 x 10 (6-8 pound balls)

Abs 8-15 sets of 25

Bench Day 1

4 x 6 at 75 pounds – Week 1

4 x 5 at 95 pounds – Week 2

3 x 8 at 65 pounds – Week 3

5 x 3 at 115 pounds – Week 4

Bench Day 2

3 x 10 at 75 pounds

3 x 10 at 85 pounds

3 x 10 at 95 pounds

3 x 10 at 65 pounds

Accessory work for these two days consisted of:

Pushups 3 x 15

Pullups 3 x 15

Dips 3 x 10

Chest supported row 3 x 15

Abs 8-15 sets of 25

We did the barbell cycle for 8 weeks, and then we completed a test day on dead lift and bench press. The resultsspeak for themselves:

Athlete #1: deadlif t – 355/bench press – 205

Athlete #2: deadlif t – 345/bench press – 185

Athlete #3: deadlif t – 275/bench press – 165

Athlete #4: deadlif t – 275/bench press – 145

“But always reinforce correct technique for the purpose of developing positive self-esteem. Giveathletes praise for their efforts – never criticize or ridicule. The correct selection of specific trainingelements in addition to practical skill tests or indicators ensures successful completion by theparticipant. To build a powerful image of self you structure a string of successes.” –Charlie Francisfrom CFTS