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So I am pleased to announce a new addition to the FootballandCoaching.com team, Coach Bryce Karasiak. He will be a guest writer for our new Training and Nutrition section. Below is his first post. Please feel free to add your comments and welcome him. If there are any other coaches that would like to contribute writings or videos, please drop me a line HERE.

As a strength and conditioning coach at the Division 1A level, I have come into contact with a variety of training regimes that work. From HIT to periodization to Olympic lifting to body building, are all some forms of strength training that I have been associated with when coaching my athletes. I have worked with college, NFL, NHL, and Olympic athletes in my short career. Each coach has their own style of training, and to be honest, not one program design is any better than another. It is how you implement this program that is the most important. If there was a gold standard, then that coach would be a millionaire, not in a weight room. With so much research and so much information out there, why has no one figured out what works best for ALL athletes?

Going through the interview process when looking for a job as a strength and conditioning coach, the first question I always get from the interviewer is “What is you philosophy in the weight room?” After a brief pause, I always respond, “I am Heinz 57.” By this I mean that I take a little bit of everything and incorporate it into my program designs. Does HIT have its place in college strength and conditioning programs? Sure. Does periodization work? Sure. Do Olympic lifts develop explosive power and strength that football players and most athletes need in most sports? Absolutely. Do I ever use bodybuilding exercises in my programs? Of course. Before I start, Even though I am a Heinz 57 variety, my main background is in Olympics lifts. I feel these lifts incorporate the speed, explosiveness, and power need to develop football players for on the field performance. But I do incorporate all aspects of lifting techniques when designing my programs as they too have their place.

I have often been asked what lifts would you do if you could only chose 3 for my program. For me, I would choose power clean, squat, and incline bench press. Again, this is just my theory and based on my experience what works best for the football players I have trained. The power clean is used to develop explosive power and speed for the entire body. This lift generates over 5000 watts of power. This is the explosiveness that all football players need. I can’t think of one position on the field that does not need explosive power. So why wouldn’t I incorporate a lift that mimics this type of power off the field and then can be translated back on the field. Furthermore, it incorporates the triple extension movement needed for football players, and develops overall body strength.

The squat is used to develop overall leg strength, but more important leg stability. How many football players are put into a position that a leg press puts you in: On your back, pressing the weight up? Not one. The squat causes the athlete to develop hip explosiveness that is needed to block, run, change direction, and power to drive the opposition in the desired direction. All the stabilizing muscles used in this lift are ALWAYS used on the field, so why not develop these same muscles in the weight room?

Finally, the incline bench press. Now, I might have a different philosophy then most. Most coaches use the flat bench press, which is good, but I like to use the incline bench press, and here is why. On the field, linemen do not block straight out, receivers do not block straight out, and backs do not block straight out. These players’ start low and drive the opposition up and out to gain the advantage. So, for me, I want to train my players to mimic this motion in the weight room. What better exercise than the incline bench press to mimic this motion for upper body strength. The only key to this lift is not to have the bench angle at more than a 30 degree angle at incline. Any more than 30 degrees of incline promotes too much shoulder involvement and not enough chest development.

Again, let me reiterate, these exercises are three of many that I use in my programs, but ask yourself this…If I only had time to design a program based off of three exercises, what would I use, and more importantly, why? Many strength and conditioning coaches like to make something so simple, really difficult. Start with the basics and ask yourself why are you incorporating these exercises, routines, and programs in your particular program? For example, if you take a strength program from Oklahoma and use it for Mankato State, why are you doing this? Is it beneficial for your athletes? Are you willing to tweak this program to fit the needs of your athletes? Do you have the same type of athletes at Mankato State that you did at Oklahoma? Does Oklahoma’s program actually work?

All the information out their available to strength and conditioning coaches of all levels is a perfect way to educate your self on the different programs, routines, and exercises that can be implemented into one program. To be honest, many of my ideas are unoriginal. I am ok with that. I learned from some of the best coaches in college, NFL, and NHL. I have taken ideas that each have had on program design, exercises, teaching tools, speed training, and sport-specific movement, and from that, I have developed into the Heinz 57 coach that I am today.

Next week: Testing Protocols for Football Players