Individual Corona Training Plan

After the discussion a couple days ago regarding how individual players can approach training during this limbo period for all clubs and teams and leagues, various questions came through regarding more specifics. Whilst it is hard to get too specific beyond a point – in the sense that training programs are always best designed on a case-by-case basis, we decided to put together another article looking a little more at an actual 8-10 week layout, and how to approach it.

We will take a look at both a strength/power/gym training layout as well as a running-based layout over the period, as we are also assuming that club/team training has also been either limited or cancelled altogether.

Of course, players are hitting this stage of the year at different stages of development, so how you choose to go about it will also depend greatly on where you currently stand training wise.

Did you already complete a full pre-season, 12-16 weeks through a full training cycle (and through various phases of lifting, base/strength/power or base/accumulation/intensification?) Or any one of a number of phase names, that are essentially the same thing: laying a foundation, followed by building on this foundation with blocks of heavier loading and faster loading. And have you also done the same with the running based work?

Or are you just returning to training now?

Because your approach will be completely different depending on which camp you fall into. We have touched on how you approach getting into training once the season rolls around if you haven’t done a pre-season before elsewhere. Granted it is a slightly different approach now as there are no games, and probably no team trainings. But check that out for an overview, as the same principles still apply.

But what we are looking at here, is aimed at those who have already done a proper pre-season, and have just switched to an in-season maintenance mode, and are thinking ‘well what the f&*# am I supposed to do now?’ As we touched on last discussion, you could continue with in-season maintenance mode anyway. Its 100% better than doing nothing. And depending on how hard you went over the pre-season and how much fatigue you had accumulated over the pre-season, this may actually be a good idea for a period (once again, case-by-case basis). But for the most part, we can do better than that, and following the key training principle of variability (variable training stimulus of whatever sort), we can look to improve again on the pre-season work.

So as we mentioned, the fact that all players have been given return dates by their leagues, means that we can begin with the end date and work backwards. For most, the general number is 8-10 weeks. So how to program for it? In short, you can cycle through an abbreviated form of the Base-Strength-Power phases of training (once again, there are plenty of different names for phases – they are just names – the principles are what matter.)

As an overview

Base Conditioning     2 weeks

Strength                     4 weeks

Power/speed             2 weeks

Or

Base Conditioning     2 weeks

Strength                     3 weeks

Power/speed             3 weeks

Some may choose to just skip base conditioning work, and go straight into a 4-week strength phase followed by a 4-week power phase, and for advanced lifters this will likely be fine. But even for players who have done a full pre-season cycle, in any cycle of training, I would never recommend skipping any kind of base loading, even if it only lasts 1-2 weeks.

The above general layout is only for 8 weeks, which should also (for most) allow a deload week in there as well (around 4 or 5 weeks in).

So on to an example layout, lifting 2 days per week.

A quick note on the tables below: for some reason the tables and colours don't publish, so a quick explanation required - you will notice the rest times listed appear only after every second exercise. This merely means that the 2 exercises (the one with the rest time listed plus the exercise above it) are paired together - meaning you do one, immediately followed by the other, then rest time begins. Some exercises aren't paired, and rather on their own - particularly when you get to the later stages.

Base (2 weeks)

Strength (4 or 3 weeks)

-Session length and volume stays similar.

-Certain exercises continue to be changed/progressed.

-Load used on certain key lifts continues rise, as strength becomes a key focus. Rest times also increase to accommodate this.

Power (2 or 3 weeks)

-Session length and volume decreases.

-Load used decreases slightly.

-The speed of movements increases – or at least the intent to move at speed increases. So for example with a deadlift or a bench press, the weight being lifted may stay reasonably similar or decreased slightly, meaning it wont exactly be moving fast. However, there is now a greater intent to really drive out of the bottom of the lift. Accelerating into the upward phase of the front squat is another example.

-Chose not to add in plyometric work or contrast sets as it adds another layer of complexity to the discussion.

“What about if I want to add in a 3^rd day?”

Go for it, add in a day of extra exercises, or cycle the 2 sessions so they are done 3 times per fortnight each, rather than twice each. But follow the principles. One of which is quality over quantity. We already touched on the point in the last discussion that this isn’t an opportunity to absolutely cook yourself by over-training, its an opportunity to set a plan to get better. Doing copious volumes of training will not do it. Factoring in that you should be getting to exposures of running based work (assuming team training isn’t happening that is), 2 days of high quality work is good – and sustainable.

So on to running.

This is much harder to put into a concise table that is easy to understand. So very broadly, don’t forget 2 key things that need to be trained when doing the running work;

1.Conditioning (the obvious one), via interval methods

2.Acceleration, deceleration and direction changes

Each of your 2 running sessions each week, be sure to do both.

1.Begin with the acceleration and declaration work ‘agility’ work.

1-2 basic agility or shuttle exercises, executed for 2-3 repetitions each, with LONG rest times in between each repetition (if it takes you 30 seconds to complete a repetition, take 2.5-3 minutes rest in between).

Movement quality as well as speed of movement is the aim with these.

2.Onto conditioning based work. You shouldn’t be absolutely cooking yourself here either. 20 minutes of high quality work.

In the early stages, 8-10 repetitions of 30 seconds ‘on’ (80-85%) and 30 seconds ‘off’ (30-35%). Rest for 4 minutes, and repeat again.

A couple weeks of this, then variables and speeds can be adjusted accordingly.

There you go, 2 days of lifting, 2 days of running. Don’t over-train or drain. This is about as good as doing nothing (as doing nothing takes no effort.)

Set a plan for the 8-10 weeks, and stick to it. That doesn’t mean stick religiously right down to the last repetition that you have set – but stick to your general plan, and don’t chop and change. In addition, when making an initial plan, keep it as simple as possible – as a simpler program is far more sustainable, and as a result, far more effective.  

‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’

Leonardo Da Vinci

8 – 10 weeks is a substantial period of time. A lot can be achieved in this period, if approached with a plan. Otherwise, 8-10 weeks is a long time to go through the motions or even worse do nothing. There is a certain luxury of being given that mid June or May 31 cutoff date, and being able to work backwards from there.

If you are unsure on where to exactly you should start, and/or where and how to progress in your specific situation (as everyone has a number of variables which makes each and every program approach different) head over to the personalised program page, with all personalised programs $25 off for the month of April. (Note the original prices are still listed, however when you go to checkout, the $25 is automatically taken off.)


Additionally enter the code DEVELOP2020 in checkout for any of the books, and receive 50% off, also for the month of April.