For my lower body training sessions, I'm going to try the template that Adarqui set out for Natho. Something along the lines of this:


Session 1                                                 Session 2

d-warmup+ankle stiffness                         d-warmup+ankle stiffness

DLRVJ 3x4-7 (intense)                             SLRVJ 3x4-7 (intense)

DJ 15 from 12"-24" box                            S/L Bounds
- or jump squats (3x5)                             - or weighted quick lunges (3x5)

SLRVJ OR SL Box jumps: 3x4-7 (light)      DLRVJ OR stiff leg ankle hops OR reptitive tuck jumps OR double leg bounds: 3x4-7 (light)

Squat XxX?                                             BB step-up 12" box XxX?

BB step-up 12" box XxX?                          Squat XxX?

glute isolation + core                               glute isolation + core


I haven't done any focused plyo work as part of my routine for ages. I usually just play ball once or so a week. I'm interested to see how some sprinting here and there, along with my plyos on training days will affect my athleticism. I've also neglected calf training for ages now thinking that getting the thighs strong was all I needed so I've started getting into those again after seeing adarqui raving on about ankle stiffness.

On that note, how do you perform them adarqui? Because I was doing doubles and triples the other day, holding the top plantar flexed position for a second and worked up to 190kg (418lb) which seemed pretty strong for my first real attempt at barbell calf raises.

Thanks for any pointers.

well, i actually prefer going moderate weight on them and straying away from straining maximally on any calf-raise reps.. so, stopping shy of failure, as well as not going too heavy.. so 5-10 rep range, not to failure.. 3-4 x 5-10.. this is because, it's very easy to overwork the calfs/put too much strain on the achilles, when you're doing all kinds of jumps/sprints etc in combination with calf raises.. so just use calf raises to get a nice tonic effect in the calfs (stim) without stressing them too much.. progress can still be made using this type of approach, but it's more of a long gradual increase in strength.

i've gotten achilles tendonitis by fatiguing my calfs too much going very heavy in calf raises.. just play it safe with those.

so 3-4x5-10 not to complete failure.





as for the routine, you can cut the volume down a bit, natho liked a ton of volume:


Session 1                                                 Session 2

d-warmup+ankle stiffness                         d-warmup+ankle stiffness

DLRVJ 5x2-3 (intense)                             SLRVJ 5x2-3 (intense)

DJ 15 from 12"-24" box                            S/L Bounds
- or jump squats (3x5)                             - or weighted quick lunges (3x5)

SLRVJ OR SL Box jumps: 4x3 (light)         DLRVJ OR stiff leg ankle hops OR reptitive tuck jumps OR double leg bounds: 4x3 (light)

Squat XxX?                                             BB step-up 12" box XxX?

BB step-up 12" box XxX?                          Squat XxX?

glute isolation + core                               glute isolation + core


for squat, go:
- session 1: 3 x 5 or work up to a max 5 rep
- session 2: 3-4 x 8

for stepup (or barbell lunge), go:
- session 1: 3 x 5 each leg
- session 2: 4 x 3 each leg

i prefer walking lunges, he liked stepups..

peace man!

Thanks man, I considered toning down the volume a bit actually because yea, I'm sore in the knee the next day from pretty much one maximal SLRVJ. Will be giving Session 1 a go tonight. Thanks again.

Peace.

1.7x 10's definitely aren't bad.. from 2 point or 3 point? from 2 or 3 point, 1.5x on 10 yard dash would be very good, 1.7x would be in the good range.

the 1:15 400 is "bad", but if you practiced those at least 1-2x/week that time would go down pretty quick.

peace man

ya, even if you have soreness, if you warmup nice, you can still get in maximal ten yard sprints without really risking anything.. in fact they aid recovery.. i mean of course don't go maximal if you feel like something is about to pull etc, but in my own experience, i've been able to do them even when suffering some pretty heavy soreness.. definitely helps you get in some maximal effort explosive work on days where you wouldn't be able to, also really helps aid in recovery.

peace man

nice work man, just remember to adjust volume based on how you feel (if needed)..

peace!

just single leg sprinting.. not max intensity to start, but just basically jog into a single leg sprint.. it is actually pretty natural.. try it out you'll see what i mean.. just avoid going 100% for the first few weeks.. just get some work in, like say 3-5 sets of 5-10 contacts each leg @ ~70% effort... you could finish with a few sets each leg of 'single leg leap to stabilize', which is just like a single leg jump for distance but landing and stabilizing, not in a deep position, but in like a quarter squat type of position on one leg.. so 3 x 5-10 of those each leg also.. you could either pick one of those or do both, for example:

picking one: single leg sprint or single leg leap to stabilize @ 5 x 5-10
picking two: single leg sprint 3 x 5-10 each leg, single leg leap to stabilize @ 3 x 5-10

i need to detail a progression one day in a blog.. off the top of my head, from basics to advanced i'd go:
- quick lunge progression
- single leg leap to stabilize
- single leg leap skip
- single leg sprinting
- alternate leg bound
- single leg bound

peace!