Balencing it all

i would probably throw in some core exercises that work your back and abs. Hope this helps.

Stick to all compound lifts...2-3 sets of 4-6 reps for 3 of the following exercises (and its variations) each workout

squat
deadlift
push press
clean
snatch
row
bench

What about someone who isn't lifting weights yet, a 14YO, 5'4", 115 lbs? My son is also playing basketball, and today began an indoor hitting/fielding/throwing clinic that'll only be for 90 mins. each Saturday. He comes home pretty tired from basketball practice as he's the starting point guard and gets a lot of work. Plus there's a fair amount of homework w/ the level of courses he takes.

From August-Thanksgiving (start of hoops), he was working w/ a personal trainer twice per week on core training, running, etc.. This was helpful and he got stronger/faster. But once basketball started, no more time for that.

What else can he do w/ such limited time to get ready for freshman tryouts in just 2 months? Thank you.

It would be great if you could get in Jon Doyle's suggestions, but my son has found it almost impossible to get in much weight work once the season starts. Pre-season the team was lifting and he worked in as much lifting as he could while the team was practicing.

It probably depends on the position. My son is Soph pitcher and we make sure he gets in 2-3 days of long toss and 2-3 days of hitting. T, soft toss and cage work.

You can't do it all and you don't want to burn him out.

It really does not make too much sense to lift in the "offseason" if you are not going to do any lifting in the "competition season."

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog 19:
It really does not make too much sense to lift in the "offseason" if you are not going to do any lifting in the "competition season."

Actually this is not true. You will maintain more of your gains by continuing to lift (at a lower frequency) in season, but you will not lose all of your gains by not lifting "in season".

Remember our kids are student-athletes. School, homework, rest should be first priority. It gets more complicated for two sport athletes because their calendars are more compressed. Lifting is a requirement to improve, but unfortunatly it is the one activity that gets dropped when his calendar gets too complicated. A position player may be able to trade off throwing for lifting, but a pitcher needs to throw.

We take advantage of complex training and get a great deal of work done in a very short period of time in-season.

Typically, our in-season sessions take 20-25 minutes TOTAL, twice per week. Everyone has time for this.

In addition, medicine balls are the most under-utilized training tool. A great sessions can be done in 5-12 minutes and can be used as a recovery tool or ballistic training session. This is also the best training for those who have no begun weight training yet.

quote:

Remember our kids are student-athletes. School, homework, rest should be first priority. It gets more complicated for two sport athletes because their calendars are more compressed.

I understand. I was a high school athlete just a few short (or long at times!) years ago. I played 3 sports all four years and the only time I took off from the weight room in that four years was after an injury.

I'm not trying to get into a competition of this and that. I'm making a point-- IF an athlete WANTS to get it done, he CAN.

Just curious Bulldog... you are a recent high school grad and you played multiple sports. How were your grades? What level of courses did you take (regular, honors, AP)? Did your grades help you get into a college you wanted?

I ask these questions not at all to pick on you; rather, as BOF said above, "our kids are student-athletes". I know lots of kids who are in great physical shape and dominate in several sports. But their grades are terrible. I wouldn't have my kids trade places w/ them for anything.

Sandman, my grades were above average. Overall GPA coming out of high school was just over 3.5 which was good enough for an academic scholarship coming out of high school. I walked out of high school with over a semester of college completed through dual-credit classes through local community college and through Saint Louis University. I believe I took all but maybe 3 honors classes that were offered at my high school (English I Honors, Organic Chemistry Honors, and Chem 2 Honors). A couple of classes were "AP" but I never took an AP test.

I took 4 years of Spanish, 4 years of English (ending with College English to fulfill composition requirements), 4.5 years of math (all the way up to Calculus), and 4 years of science (biology, chemistry, physics, and advanced biology) as well as other required classes.

To conclude, I was chosen as my high school's St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar-Athlete in 2007...

Very impressive Bulldog!

Please share some of your time management secrets? I have to presume that if you were working out at home after practices, your social life was confined to weekends only? (Not an issue, as my kids don't hang w/ friends during the week anyway.)

So would you come home from say, a basketball practice, eat dinner, workout, then do homework? I just can't fathom how, after 2 hours of running in basketball, I could suggest to my son to go hit the weights or other exercise... AND still get his homework done?

Though he's only a freshman, I guess I was hoping that simply staying involved in another non-baseball sport during non-baseball season would be beneficial enough?

Same here Sandman, two hours of basketball practice and then homework. His legs are beat and his mind is drained. Workouts after Basketball practice are not easy. We just focus on throwing a few sets of pull ups and arm care. Other body parts will have to wait.

That is great work ethic.
My son also played BKTB at the highest HS level. He also was a top student.
Every morning at 7 he had to be at BKTB practice all season long. He also practiced after class on days they didn't have a game. After BKTB he went to BB practice which was 3 hrs long 2 times during the week and once on Sunday. The BKTB coach was a great coach and now coaches in Ariz after retiring here. That Ariz HS got it's 1st state championship in 50 years.
This can be done if you are focused on doing well. Great job Bulldog ! Great training for college ball.

Sandman, I worked out either before school or during school or both. That's part of my secret I had a weight lifting class 7 of 8 semesters.

There were many days especially during my junior and senior years of high school that I was at school by 7:10 for either weight lifting or a meeting. And I had nights where I didn't get home until 9PM or later due to extra-curricular activities, practice, Boy Scouts, etc.

Time management? Simple-- put what's important first. Many high schoolers (college kids too) have their priorities wrong IMO. Girlfriend, sporty car, alcohol all seem to take priority for a lot of teens and that's a problem.

1.School
2.Sports
3.Scouts



4. Everything else

You'll notice I didn't specifically list "family" on there and that was the case. Family activities were very much attended around sports and school-- not the other way around. That's how I was raised... for basketball my whole family was there anyway.

quote:

Typically, our in-season sessions take 20-25 minutes TOTAL, twice per week. Everyone has time for this.

I think Jon is spot on with this. Twice a week is fine to maintain. Sometimes my son gets it in and sometimes he does not. Earlier in the bskball season (Oct/Nov) he was getting the weight work in consistently, now that we are getting closer to baseball and bsktball is playing league, the throwing and hitting take priority. Just part of the balancing act.

For example this week.

Sun - Threw LT, bullpen, batting prac.(2 hours)
M - 3-5 PM basketball practice
T - 6AM basketball practice, 2-3:30 PM baseball practice (will get in weight work/medicine ball work with baseball team)
W - bsktball game PM
Th - 6AM bsktball practice, 2-3:30PM long toss and bullpen
Fr - basketball game PM
Sat - Baseball game 10-2, (long scrimmage)

He might make it to the weight room on Sunday and he might not. Would be a better athlete if he could hit the weights every day, of course, but there is more to life than sports....oh yea there is homework, housework, church, hang with his friends after the Friday game (to bed early because of baseball game Sat), and maybe playing a little guitar in between.

Bulldog is right he could get it in if he really wanted to, but I don't think this makes for a balanced life with his schedule right now. Once baseball season starts he will get in two-a-week weights, but not more.