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Speed & Power Workout

- Full Body Emphasis -

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**WORKOUT SUMMARY (+ CLICK TO ENLARGE)**
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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Split Stance Dumbbell Clean from Eccentric Isometric RDL	#1,#2,#3	3	3 per side	60"	4-6	2-3"

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OPTION #1

This split stance dumbbell clean with an eccentric isometric protocol will improve your first-step speed, unilateral power output, knee drive, hip extension, and lower body stability. This is also a great drill for teaching athletes how to burst out of that starting position and maximize their first step speed by relying on their hip drive. It’s also a great way to work on single leg Olympic lifts while still providing a slightly more stable base thereby allowing the athlete to focus more on power output and less on the instability.

I recommend dumbbells or kettlebells rather than a barbell for this particular variation as the split stance position would require the athlete to position the barbell significantly in front of their center of mass which ultimately places more tension the low back. Furthermore dumbbells allow the athlete to snap into the catch by supinating their arms which tends to feel incredibly natural & safe on the shoulders.

The eccentric isometric elements (slow eccentric phase followed by a pause in the stretched position) maximizes proprioceptive feedback & kinesthetic awareness due to the increased activation of the muscle spindles – a result of the emphasized eccentric elongation. Ultimately this allows the athlete to maximize their form, technique, body mechanics, as well as their speed & power output due to enhanced neuromuscular efficiency resulting from the eccentric isometric protocol.

OPTION #2

Here's NFL athlete Taylor Heinicke on single leg RDL and Rows with ANGLES90 grippers which allows a very therapeutic contraction of the upper back and lats and its much easier on the shoulders. These blast the lats, glutes, back, and posterior chain.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Rotational Barbell Ab Rollout Kayaking Variation or Bear Crawl Ab Rollout with Stability Ball	#1,#2,#3	3	3-5 per side or 8-10	60"	6-9	1-2"

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OPTION #1

This next exercise is a weighted barbell rotational ab rollout. Here are 7 pointers for this brutally tough ab & core exercise.

Focus on creating equal tension with both arms as one arm will be pulling while the other arm is simultaneously pushing.

Try to decelerate the barbell as aggressively as possible before the plates run into your body. This requires insane core activation throughout the transverse abs, obliques, & recuts abs as well as the upper body.

Keep you hips & core tall throughout by hollowing your abs & not letting your hips or low back sag. Also stay tall on the balls of your feet & don’t let your heels sag at all.

Squeeze the daylights out of the barbell with your grip as this will help create full body irradiation & concurrent activation potentiation. This is a fancy way of saying you’ll experience increased neural drive by staying as tight as possible from head to toe.

Use a that’s at least equal or greater than 2x bodyweight as the additional load is not only harder to accelerate & rotate due to greater friction, but it also requires exponentially greater core strength to decelerate.

Focus on nailing 2-4 perfect reps per side rather than mindlessly blasting out rep after rep.

Don’t allow the rotational rollouts pull your body, spine, or shoulders out of alignment.

OPTION #2

This next option is a Bear Crawl Single Arm Band Resisted Rollout on the stability ball. Besides involving significant levels of anti-rotation, the band tension increases already high levels of extension forces acting on the spine. As a result the lifter must brace the daylights out of the core & fire their abs very forcefully to dial in this movement.

The bear crawl position helps to reinforce a neutral spine as it’s nearly impossible to have excessive lumbar extension which is a common problem in ab rollouts. Additionally keeping the hips & knees in 90 deg helps cue even greater core activation similar to a knee raise exercise.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Single Leg Skater Squat Jumps with Dumbbells	#1,#2,#3	3	3-4 per side	60"	5-6	2"

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OPTION #1

When it comes to building explosive power including jumping performance, rapid eccentric isometrics are one of the most effective training techniques in existence. That’s because they not only maximize muscle spindle feedback due to the rapid rate of stretch but they also wake up high threshold motor units and survival fibers that normally would not be forced to activate.

In fact it’s not uncommon for athletes to feel an immediate increase in jump height due to the hyper-activation of the nervous system associated with the quick deceleration that’s produced from the rapid eccentric isometrics. Just make sure you’ve already mastered your squat form and jumping mechanics with traditional eccentric isometrics as these can be quite stressful on the joints and connective tissue if technique is not dialed in.

Learning to produce and absorb force in a unilateral (single leg) fashion is critical not only for optimizing jumping performance but also for eliminating asymmetries and instability in the lower body. This has a tremendous impact not only on jumping mechanics but also on sprinting technique, agility, speed, and overall footwork.

Because many athletes have greater difficulty dialing in their mechanics with single leg jumps, I typically program eccentric isometric jump squats as NFL athlete Marquell Beckwith demonstrates in the above video, using the dumbbell pinching method. The combination of single leg stabilization, eccentric isometric skater squat, and dumbbell pinching method does wonders for enhancing motor control, biomechanics, proprioception, and overall technique. You’ll also notice how I include a core stabilization drill (bear crawl bird dog) mixed in with the circuit to ensure that the core is fully engaged as this also greatly helps dial in jumping and landing mechanics.

OPTION #2

Heres one of The MOST Athletic Jumping Exercise which is a Reverse Lunge with Jump and Knee Drive with NFL Athlete Dee Virgin. Focus on keeping the hips back throughout and not letting the core relax or hips and knees to sag forward.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Squatting Single Arm Rotational Anti-Seated Cable Row or Half Kneeling Rotational Rope Row	#4 & #5	3	5-7	60"	5-6	2-3"

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OPTION #1

This squatting single arm rotational anti-seated cable row not only blasts the upper back and lats with a very therapeutic stimulus thats shoulder friendly but it also taxes the core and legs

OPTION #2

The Half Kneeling Rotational Rope row is a great upper back exercise that simultaneously targets core stability, hip alignment, and hip mobility. Focus on bracing the core, maintaining an upright torso, and targeting approximately 90 degree joint angles in the upper body as well as lower. The rotational component allows the lifter to get a larger stretch in the eccentric position while also getting a stronger contraction and squeeze in the top of the concentric phase.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Single Leg Bear Crawl Pushups on Bear Blocks (Hands on Floor or Dumbbells)	#4 & #5	3	3-5 per leg	60-90"	7	2"

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OPTION #1

Bear crawl pushups provide multiple benefits including minimization of lumbar extension, greater torso inclination for more upper chest, more ROM to hit 90, & more constant tension.

OPTION #2

This exercise opens t-spine & cervical spine for better shoulder mechanics while emphasizing hip drive. The adduction against ball insures hips stay neutral rather than externally rotated.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Rotational Landmine Lift With Band Resistance Lateral View or Overhead Med Ball Catch and Pass (Use Wall or Partner)	#6 & #7	3	4-8	60"	5	N/A

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OPTION #1

Here's a great rotational move to crush your core using the landmine station with band resistance as I show here from the lateral view. See 25 more rotational exercises in new article at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/rotational-exercises

OPTION #2

NOTE: If you have no training partner simply use a wall.

The overhead kneeling medicine ball catch and pass is a great power exercise not only for the upper body but also for the core as it involves anti-extension particularly on the catch and deceleration phase.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Reverse Lunge to Jump with Knee Drive or Plate Pinch Lunge and Lateral Raise	#6 & #7	3	3-8 per side	60"	5	2-3"

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OPTION #1

Looking for an exercise that improves your running mechanics, enhances your mobility, improves your speed and power, and enhance your jumping performance? Try this reverse pause-lunge to jump with knee-drive combo as demonstrated by one of my collegiate high jumpers Bailey Weiland. Notice how she maintains a forward lean and hip hinge on the lunge phase which represents ideal lunging mechanics for any lunge variation. Once she locks the eccentric isometric into position and feels for the most stable and strongest mechanics she then explodes out of the lunge by loading her front leg while simultaneously driving with the opposite knee. In addition notice how she focuses on landing on one leg briefly to teach unilateral force absorption - a critical aspect of speed, power, and performance. Finally notice the use of the dorsiflexion throughout which is another subtle yet highly critical coaching cue and technique pointer. Try performing several sets of 3-5 reps using lighter loads and watch your athletic performance, explosive power, and overall muscle function improve.

OPTION #2

The unique lateral raise & involves 3 effective elements. First, the bumper plate pinch method which crushes the grip, forearms, & hand musculature which is critical for athletes particularly football players. Secondly, he’s performing his lateral raises from a lunge position killing 2 birds with one stone as he’s reinforcing strong split squat mechanics with an eccentric isometric lunge. Read more about ULC’s or Upper-Lower Combos in full article at link in bio.

He’s also moving his arms in the natural scapular plane which means slightly to front, not straight out to sides. Performing lateral raises straight to the sides without a slight forward vector places additional stress on the glenohumeral joint & minimizes delt activation.

Also notice Austin is not raising his arms past the midline point of his body as raising the weights higher places excessive pressure on the upper traps while compromising tension to the deltoids. Fortunately the plate pinch method helps reinforce this due to principles of concurrent activation potentiation. Simply, the increased neural drive to the working extremities (a result of creating full body tension from gripping the plates) helps lock the movement into the desired path & mechanics.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Bodyweight Sprinter Pullups	#8 & #9	3	6 (3 per side)	75-90"	5-6	2-3"

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If you’re looking to spice up your pullup workout while also taxing your lower body try performing the sprinter pullup is a must. On a side note, you’ll notice I’m using the longitudinal the trap bar method on the first variation which provides additional mediolateral instability requiring the lifter to pull with symmetrical form to keep the bar from tilting to one side.

Besides being brutally intense, the sprinter pullup has 5 unique benefits.

Sprinter pullups and chin-ups work both the anterior and posterior portions of the hips and thighs due to contralateral hip flexion and hip extension. In fact, these are unusually intense on the hip flexors, glutes, and hamstrings, making these very conducive for working similar muscles involved during sprinting
The combination of 90 degree knee flexion with contralateral hip flexion and hip extension not only crushes the lower body but it locks the spine and core in very aggressively. As a result it forces the lifter maintain near perfect upper body mechanics and postural alignment throughout the pullup if in fact they keep their hips and legs in the perfect sprinter position. It’s as if the sprinter position prevents any form of cheating, compensation, or postural aberrations.
One of the most common problems on pullups and chin-ups is knowing just how much extension you’re supposed to incorporate to achieve a good lat contraction and upper back squeeze. Too much extension and you’ll place excessive tension on the lumbar spine. Too much focus on keeping your core braced and you’ll often run into issues associated with shoulder protraction, forward head tilt, and slight spinal flexion, all of which make it impossible to optimally contract the upper back. So how do you find that balance between spinal extension and anterior core tension? Although there are a number of cues to help this, the sprinter pullup is literally one of the best techniques I’ve used for helping people find that optimal balance between extension and flexion. That’s probably because one hip is driving maximally into flexion while the other is pulling maximally into extension thereby producing an equilibrium effect of sorts where the spine is locked in between the lower extremities. It also helps create a bracing effect around the entire spine producing heightened levels of concurrent activation potentiation and irradiation. In other words expect unprecedented levels of full body tightness and intramuscular tension as well as increased neural drive to the rest of the body.
Besides crushing the upper body, core, and legs, sprinter pullups are a great diagnostic tool and corrective exercise for sprinting mechanics. Simply observe the athlete from the front, sides, and back and any aberrations in the hips and lower body including alignment and mobility issues will become immediately exposed. In addition, because the legs are holding an isometric contraction the ability to both diagnose and correct these issues is quite simple as the coach can easily cue and re-position the athlete.
Over-pulling and using excessive range of motion in the top position on pullups, chin-ups, and lat pulldowns is one of the most common mistakes. Instead of attempting to pull your head over the bar or pull the bar below chin height, the optimal range of motion for any vertical pulling movement is somewhere between 90 degrees (forehead level) and lower chin level. Beyond this ROM the lifter will be forced to compensate in some form or another typically with either shoulder protraction, shoulder internal rotation, spinal flexion, reduced core activation, excessive lumbar extension, or cervical flexion (forward head tilt). Fortunately the sprinter pullup helps resolve this almost immediately as pulling significantly beyond 90 degrees with the arms causes the lower extremities to move out of alignment. That’s because the body acts as one calibrated system where each area impacts all others similar to a ripple effect. In other words, when one area moves out of alignment and creates dysfunction it impacts all other areas producing various forms of serial distortion patterns. Stay tuned for my large book on eccentric isometrics coming out in mid 2018, which will provide further detail on this topic.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Speed Overhead Barbell Press (with Chains if Available)	#8 & #9	3	5	60-90"	5	2-3"

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OPTION #1

Here's some of my NFL guys training their upper body with chain military presses which is a fantastic upper body strength and mass builder.

The eccentric isometric overhead press using 90 degree joint angles is my go-to method for performing barbell military presses. That’s because the 90-degree angles combined with the eccentric isometric hold maximizes intramuscular tension, overload, body mechanics, motor unit recruitment, and proprioception (sense of feel), while also minimizing stress to the joints and connective tissue.

If you’re sick of beating-up your shoulders, elbows, neck, and low back from traditional military presses, try these, Make sure to have a natural elbow tuck on the eccentric, while bracing the core but also allowing ample levels of t-spine extension. A slight extended wrist is acceptable as it may be more natural for some athletes.

OPTION #2

The bottoms up half kneeling overhead kettlebell press is a great drill for improving overhead strength as well as core stabilization while also providing a therapeutic stretch to the hips.