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Alright well, this article will cover the exercises I find very important at firing up your CNS during training. Too often, people just half-ass a warmup then get right into lifting or whatever it is they are doing that day. Sure, that'll work, but if you want to be firing on all cylinders, you usually need a bit more than a half-assed warmup & some work-up sets.

This article will cover:

• short sprints
• plyometrics & explosive exercises
• medicine ball throws
• stiff leg ankle hops
• ISO EXTENSION STIM
• Caffeine
• Seizure hops
• Active-dynamic warmup
• High protein   lower carb diet on training days

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WAKEUP: Short Sprints

This is probably the most effective of all exercises at firing up your cns, since the intention is to recruit muscle mass as fast as possible at a very high rate. No matter what your goal (lifting, jumping, boxing training etc), short distance maximal intensity sprinting is extremely effective at firing up your nervous system. In my experience, ~20 yard sprints work best. The easiest way to incorporate this would be to perform it after an active-dynamic warmup. For example:

Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- 20 yard sprints from 2or3point stance: Light, ~30% effort, 3 - 5 sprints
- 20 yard sprints from 2or3point stance: medium, ~60% effort, 2 - 3 sprints
- 20 yard sprints from 2or3point stance: Hard, ~90% effort, ~2 sprints
- 20 yard sprints from 2or3point stance: Maximal, 100% effort, 2 or more sprints
- jump, lift, shadow box, whatever
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition

The workup sets of sprints can be done rather quickly, for example, sprint at X intensity   coast out the decel   walk back   reset   repeat. For the maximal sprints of 20 yards, full recovery is advise, so about 2 minutes between each maximal 20 yard sprint.

I find short sprints to be extremely beneficial prior to:
- performing broad jumps
- performing explosive exercises or heavy lifting
- performing shadow boxing or activities that require high levels of limb quickness (basketball dribbling etc)

Now you should be fired up & ready to go.

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WAKEUP: Plyometrics & Explosive Exercises

There's this debate going on among the diehard s&c addicts/athletes, are plyometrics even needed? In my opinion, of course, but their place within a training program varies. So, without getting into all that, I'll settle the "are plyometrics even needed" from another angle.

Plyometrics and explosive exercises are possibly the very best way to warm up for heavy squatting, lunging, and deadlifting. Done. The end. Next.

Having now stated that for the world to see, I do not ever want to hear someone whine about how plyometrics or explosive exercises are useless, and how people should "just jump and squat".

In my experience and that of people I have trained (online and in the field), plyometrics & explosive exercises have always enhanced a strength session. The reason why is because their is heightened nervous system activity as well as decreased inhibition by the nervous system, for example:

http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/postactivationUNM.html

Some of the underlying mechanisms of these strategies include increased motor unit recruitment, increased muscle spindle firing, increased activity of the synergist musculature, reduced inhibition of the Golgi tendon organ and a phenomenon called postactivation potentiation (Hilfiker, Hubner, Lorenz & Marti, 2007).

The best results, in my experience, occur using:
- Depth jumps before squats
- REA squats before squats
- Jump squats before squats
- Depth jumps before REA squats before squats
- Jump squats before REA squats before squats
- Bounds before lunges
- REA lunge (or weighted quick lunges) before lunges
- Multi Response Hurdle leaps for distance before squats
- REA pushup before bench press
- REA pullup before pulls
* note, the plyometric/explosive exercises can yield a benefit for pretty much any major multi joint exercise, not confined to squat/lunge


For sets and reps, I like to use:

• Depth jumps: 2x10 from 18 inches or 2-4x5 from 24  inches, ~15-30 seconds rest between reps, ~5 minutes rest between sets
• Jump squats: 3-5 x 3 or 3 x 5 @ 25-40% of 1RM, rest between reps (15-30s re-rack) OR reset with bar on back, ~3-5 minutes rest between rets
• REA squats: 3-5 x 3 @ 30-70% of 1RM, 3-5 minutes rest between sets
• Bounding: ~5 bounds each leg for 3-5 sets, full recovery between sets of each leg (~2-4 minutes)
• REA lunge: 3 x 3 or 3 x 5 each leg (alternating) @ 20-50% of 1RM, 3-5 minutes rest between sets
• Multi response hurdle leaps: Work up to a max distance between hurdles with ropes, 3-4 hurdles, full recovery between sets
• REA pushup: 3 x 3, bodyweight or vested, dropping from hands on boxes or plates, ~3 minutes between sets
• REA pullup: 3 x 3, bodyweight or weighted, ~3 minutes between sets

Well, there you go, that should end that discussion. Here are a few examples:

Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- Depth jumps: 2 x 10 from 18 inches
- REA squat: 4 x 3 @ 40% of 1RM
- Squat: work up to 3x5
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition

Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- Bounds: 5 each leg
- Barbell lunges: work up to 4 x 3 each leg (alternating)
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition

Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- Jump squat: 4 x 3 @ 30%
- Squat: Work up to a heavy 5RM
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition

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WAKEUP: Throws

Throws (medicine ball etc) can be very beneficial to plyometric exericses, jumps, leaps, and sprints. I prefer scoop throws for distance or scoop tosses for height. Throws incorporate the entire body, including powerful use of the shoulder extensors/flexors, which is what you get in ballistic movements with arm swing or arm split.

I prefer:
- Scoop toss or scoop throw: 3 x 3-5 or 5 x 2-3, full rest between sets

MB Scoop toss (Scoop Toss (Height).MOV) would be most beneficial prior to exercises with a more vertical emphasis, such as vertical jumps, depth jumps, and other reactive exercises.

MB Scoop throw (10-18-2007 medicine ball throws) would be most beneficial prior to exercises with a more horizontal emphasis, such as broad jumps, multi response hurdle leaps, etc.

Both would be fine prior to sprinting.


Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- MB Scoop toss : 3 x 3
- Standing vertical jumps: 4 x 2
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition


Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- MB Scoop throw : 3 x 3
- Broad jumps: 4 x 2
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition

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WAKEUP: Stiff leg ankle hops

Sometimes you go out to do your dunks, test on a vertec, etc, and you just don't have that pop. Well, you could utilize some of the other tricks in this article, such as performing some med ball throws after some short sprints while ingesting caffeine   ginseng and hour before workout, or, if you don't want to do all that, you could perform a few sets of stiff leg ankle hops (SLAH). SLAH helps really wake up the plantar flexors, quads (vmo especially) and glutes. They can be done before any activity that requires explosive triple extension, namely vertical jumps, sprints, plyometrics, etc. I like to perform them maximally, not rep them out for high volume.

Stiff leg ankle hops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me-5TYqrbzg&feature=player_embedded#t=1m30s
- work up to 3 sets of 3-5 maximal repetitions, ~1-2 minutes rest between sets
- can also be complexed (supersetted) with jumps/sprints/plyometrics etc


Example workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- Stiff leg ankle hops: 3 x 5
- Running vertical jumps: 4 x 2
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition



Example COMPLEX workout:
- Active-Dynamic warmup   prehab/activation
- Sprint warmup
- Stiff leg ankle hops: 1 x 5
- Running vertical jumps: 1 x 2
- Stiff leg ankle hops: 1 x 5
- Running vertical jumps: 1 x 2
- Stiff leg ankle hops: 1 x 5
- Running vertical jumps: 1 x 2
- Stiff leg ankle hops: 1 x 5
- Running vertical jumps: 1 x 2
- ...
- Cooldown: stretch   post workout nutrition

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WAKEUP: ISO EXTENSION STIM

This method can really help to wake you up for broad jumps, running vertical jumps, sprints, & squatting   other lifting. More can be learned here:

http://www.adarq.org/forum/performance-training-blog/old-instant-rfd-part-2-iso-extension-stim-(ies)/

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WAKEUP: Caffeine[/u]

Caffeine can be extremely effective at improving arousal levels, strength, reaction time, focus, and endurance. Kelly Baggett turned me on to this a few years ago. Once I tried "caffing up" for a jump workout, I hardly ever went a week without dosing high on caffeine for a jump workout. I would only dose up on caffeine once per week on a very important jump session. It worked its magic pretty much every time. By utilizing caffeine, he overall consistency & volume of my jumps was always improved, at times even setting PR's.

KelyB has promoted this "stack":

http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/reactiontime.html

A stimulant free stack you can try may consist of:

acetyl-l-carnitine: 1000 mg
l-tyrosine: 3000 mg

Add 200 mg caffeine for enhanced effectiveness.

I've never actually used that formula, instead, i've simply used starbucks prebottled coffee's   arizona green tea (with ginseng) packets in water. I normally drink one starbucks coffee, but sometimes I'll go two (one in the afternoon, the other ~1-1.5 hours prior to jumping). I also take 1-2 of those arizona green tea   ginseng packets, usually one in the afternoon and another a few hours prior to jumping.

So in general:
- down your caffeine 1-1.5 hours prior to training
- don't do it more than twice a week so not to build tolerance

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WAKEUP: Seizure Hops

Self explanatory, this'll wake you up.. 1-2 sets of 6-10 seconds

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Active-dynamic warmup

There exist all types of warmups, sometimes just playing a game of basketball won't cut it or isn't an option. For more information on active-dynamic warmups, check this article:

http://www.adarq.org/forum/performance-training-blog/old-simple-active-dynamic-warmup/

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High protein lower carb diet on training days

When it comes to power/speed training, many times it's best not to rely too heavily on carbohydrate based meals. In this way, using a diet that contains higher protein and lower carb, will help keep you alert, keeping you away from that insulin fatigue. Carbohydrate intake would be lower than "normal" prior to training, but it would then of course not matter after training. For example:

- Monday: rest day: carbohydrate intake high, protein intake high, fat intake moderate
- Tuesday: power/speed day: carb intake lower   protein intake high prior to training, carb   protein high after training
- Wednesday: light day: carb intake moderate, protein intake high, fat intake moderate
- Thursday: lifting day: carb intake moderate, protein intake high, fat intake moderate
- Friday: power/speed day: carb intake lower   protein intake high prior to training, carb   protein high after training

So what is "low carb" prior to training? Well, instead of a whole bowl of pasta, we're looking at a portion of fruit, 2 slices of bread on a thick chicken sandwhich, steak & bowl of oatmeal, etc.. stuff like that.

Another nice trick is to throw in some spices such as lightly cooked jalepeno's onto that sandwhich, steak, etc..

So my general rule has become:
- Eat big, yet clean, the day prior to speed/power training
- Eat light (higher protein   lower carb   low to moderate fat) on training days prior to the speed/power session
- Load up after that session

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ok at this point im tired of typing, which should be obvious by my last section haha, so hope that helps.

peace

u forgots zgin stim mang

that method is level-7..