Week of April 13th

Hey everyone!

I sincerely apologize for my absence...

Last week's work load and the need for a no-distraction family-oriented Easter kept me away from blogging about the jumps.

To ensure my heavy workload doesn't effect me helping others I thought I'd create a post covering the entire week; and write other blogs related to general everyday life/thoughts when time presents itself.

I recently gave a jumper I work with a schedule to follow during this time. Since starting this schedule, she's accomplished some great distances/times in her training and I wanted to share.

The schedule is much like one I've shared on here before, but this one (I feel) gives better parameters for overall distance and the various focuses of the day.

Here's what I created for her (following numerous resources found online):

Mondays - Speed work & low impact drills day (Walking long jump and chair drill)

Tuesdays - Jumps, plyos, and video work (Watch long jump videos for at least 15 minutes)

Wednesday - Speed endurance (your choice between #1 or #2) & low impact drills day (Walking long jump and chair drill)

Thursday - Jumps, plyos, and video work (Watch long jump videos for at least 15 minutes)

Friday - Meet Day (Sprints and jumps together in one day - treat this like a real meet)

Saturday - Recovery (No running, no jumping, etc.)

Sunday - Recovery (No running, no jumping, etc.)

Along with that general outline, I provided her with this:

Speed Work:

• 20-80 meter runs (don’t go over 80m)

• 95-100% top speed

• 500 meters TOTAL

• 3-5 minutes rest between runs

Short Speed Endurance (Endurance #1):

• 30-80 meter runs (don’t go over 80m)

• 95-100 % top speed

• 800 meters TOTAL

• 1-3 minutes rest between runs

Speed Endurance (Endurance #2):

• 80-150 meter runs (don’t go over 150m)

• 95-100% top speed

• 600 meters TOTAL

• 6 minutes rest between runs

I gave her the option of an additional speed/endurance day on Saturday but strongly suggested two days of rest due to the "super-compensation" effect of training (rebounding after proper recovery to perform better than the general baseline).

Since starting this schedule, she has jumped consistently in the high 16's (without a proper competition environment), has run low-to-mid 12's in the 100, and has begun shaving off quite a bit of time in the 200!

This specific schedule does look a lot like what I've shown on here before; but I've never given the percentages, total meters, or rest times. After seeing how well my athlete has progressed, I thought I would share those to help anyone interested.

In addition, this athlete has been lifting religiously at home throughout the week. She is blessed to have a nice workout area in her home that is complete with a bench, squat rack, and plenty of weight.

That may sound like the absolute BEST set up for a time like this, but had she not been gifted with those resources I would have given her a body-weight routine that would have resulted much the same.

Athletes and coaches need to understand that weights are great, but aren't truly needed in a time like this. I've seen NFL players using their kids as weights. I've seen adults pack countless canned foods into a backpack to use when squatting. I've seen people doing the "farmer walk" with bags of softener salt. Our bodies are limited only by our minds and how we define the words "working out".

Everyone is different so find the workout that works for YOU. Scour online resources to find the routine that speaks to you. Look on Facebook. Look on Twitter. Look on Instagram. Type in "body weight routine free" into Google and see what comes up.

Don't let the absence of weights/workout-resources in your home be an excuse.

Lastly, just as was suggested for finding general conditioning routines, I highly suggest you look up "X-Factor" or "Tony Holler X-Factor" for your plyometric/jumping days. The routines you will find will not only make you a stronger jumper, but will help you to become a better overall athlete (seriously).

These are routines that can be done anywhere with no equipment; and are the best option(s) out there for anyone not able to jump into a pit right now.

As the week continues I will do my best to write about other important training aspects I feel should be added to your daily/weekly routine(s). Check back when you can!

Have a great Monday everyone!