Resistance Training for Athletes

This installment comes from our friend Chad Nikazy of Top Step Fitness: Wrestling, Multisport and Conditioning. Chad is a competitive triathlete – and when it comes to sports conditioning and getting the most from your weight workouts, he’s the go to guy. Visit his website at www.topstepfitness.com.

Like all relationships, my love affair with the weight room has had its ups and downs. As a high school wrestler I put just enough hours to get by. But then came college and the “bigger is better” mentality. I was 5’5 and 135lbs, but found myself working out with the “300 club,” a group of guys who could all bench at least 300lbs.

While I never put up 300lbs, I benched 285lbs and was, pound for pound, easily the strongest in the group. Plus, I was having a blast. Lifting daily and fueling the habit with a steady diet of pizza, beer, and a few dangerous supplements, I packed on an extra 25lbs of (mostly) muscle.

Flash forward to marriage and adulthood. My 160lbs had “redistributed” itself in all the wrong places. Enter my sudden interest in triathlon training. Swimming, running, and cycling took the pounds off. I did a little lifting but kept it to one set of each muscle group for 15-20 light reps. I wanted to steer clear of my old ways.

Problem was, I kept catching my wife giving me strange glances. I’d lost nearly 30lbs and I was a fast triathlete – but I’d also gone from muscle-bound to Poindexter. Worst of all, I was much more prone to injury.

Now my training – and the way I train my athletes – is geared toward preparing for a fight…because essentially that’s what we’re doing. Whether wrestler or triathlete, we’re all preparing for a struggle requiring muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility – not just a strong heart and lungs.

What follows are some things I’ve learned from years of doing things the wrong way:

Body Weight Exercises

These are absolutely key because they typically engage multiple-joints and – obviously, require that you lift and carry your own body weight. Plus, such exercises mimic the stresses of actual competition. Try pushups (there are many variations), squats, lunges, pull-ups, etc.

Train On Your Feet

Forget lying on a bench or sitting down. Standing forces core body stabilization to support the weight. Also helps work your abs and back.

Use Free Weights

For the athletes reading this, stay off the weight machines. Beginners, use the machines for while, but eventually move the free weights. Free weights offer a full range of motion and force core stabilization. I prefer dumbbells to barbells in most instances.

Perform Multi-Joint Exercise

When is the last time someone said “let’s play that new sport…you know…leg extension! After that, we’ll play leg curl.” Do squats and dead lifts instead.

Confuse Your Muscles

Changing the types and order of exercises you do on a regular basis keeps your muscles challenged and prevents (in a good way) adaptation. This is a huge component of the Top Step Fitness Conditioning program. We’ll do 15-20 different varieties of exercise over the course of an hour – in varying orders, durations, etc. Confusion leads to growth!

Balance Your Exercises

Always train the muscle opposite another trained muscle. Dumbbell bench press is great, but balance that with some rows to keep your lats strong. Imbalanced muscles lead to injury. Think of doing equal amounts of “pushing” as you’re doing “pulling.”

Active Recovery

My clients never stop moving…NEVER. Resting between exercises just wastes precious time. Doing two sets of alternating shoulder presses? Do the first set – then knock out 30 mountain climbers – go right into the second set – then do 30 jumping jacks. Keeps the heart pumping and the blood flowing. I’m convinced keeping your blood flowing reduces lactic acid accumulation caused by weight lifting. Plus, you get a free cardio workout in…something we can all appreciate!

Get Crazy

Finally, use creativity in your workouts. Real warriors do real-world training. My folks lift sand bags and grappling dummies. They run with them, press them, etc. We recently did laundry basket backpedaling sled drills. Ask me about that one – my folks will never forget it.

Sample Top Step Fitness Conditioning Workout

Note: this workout was designed for a group with several months of Top Step Conditioning under their belts. This particular workout was a “chest day.” It was followed two days later by “Back and Shoulders.”

Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program. Then, seek the guidance of your trainer – or better yet – join Team Top Step or Endurance Geeks.

Warmup: 10 minute run or warmup as follow: 20 jumping jacks, 10 squats, 20 jumping jacks, 10 lunges, 20 jumping jacks, high knees, 20 jumping jacks, butt kicks, 10 pushups

Workout: 3 minute rotations – stay at each station for 3 minutes then move to the next as quickly as you can.

Round 1:

Ellip: L5@8mph

Heavy Bag: Solid

Tread: 1%

Mat: 30 ground and pound punches on dummy / 20 knees / 5 dummy squats

Weights: Flat Bench 3 x 10 heavy (15 jumping jacks between sets)

Weights: Rubber Band Flys 3 x 12 (Jumping jacks)

Round 2:

Ellip: L7@7mph

Heavy Bag: 50 punches / 20 mtn. climbers (continuous)

Tread: 1%/2%/3% - change incline each minute

Mat: Jump Squats 2 x 15

Weights: Incline Bench Press 3 x 10 heavy (Jumping jacks)

Weights: Medicine Ball Pushups 2 x 10

Round 3:

Ellip: L5@8.5mph

Heavy Bag: Solid

Tread: 3%/2%/1%

Mat; InOut Abs x 25/Frog Raise x 20/Twist x 30

Weights: Decline Bench 3 x 10 (jumping jacks)

Weights: InOut abs x 25 / Bicycles x 30 / Twist x 30