Adarq.org

Well, the site is only a few hours old, but already we've got quite the membership. To ease everyone into posting, I thought I'd start us out with something fairly simple.

Now, I know it would be dumb to limit yourself, but if you could only use 5 exercises to train an athlete (regardless of sport, but assume it's anaerobic and land-based), what would they be?

Mine would be (in no specific order)
-ISO Bulgarian Split Squats
-ISO and OI Weighted Ab Work
-Short Sprints (<60M @ full speed)
-Depth Jumps
-Overhead Weight/DB/KB/Med Ball Throws

in no specific order as well:
- squat
- depth jump
- barbell lunge
- heavy weighted pillars for core (30-45s)
- controlled barbell calf raises (ya im becoming a fan...)

i'll assume sprinting/jumping is apart of this sport so that i don't have to waste an exercise

only problem with heavy weighted pillars is that, since I train alone, i simply cannot do them.

i notice excellent ankle stiffness with the incorporation of depth jumps.. these improvements don't last too long unless i keep performing them.. i've noticed alot more pop out of my calfs as of late, by simply introducing heavy barbell calf raise singles..

i love kellyb's horsepower analogies.. unfortunately, alot of people assume horsepower is only important in the glutes/hamstrings.. the body has a few engines that are vital to performance;
- calfs/ankles/feet
- hamstrings/quads/adductors
- glutes/core
- powerful arm swing

unfortunately my list of exercises doesn't include med ball work.. i have not used it in my training, but in the training of Jamie McOwen & the other pro guys i definitely have seen its effectiveness... you can tell it works just by how fast you see improvements in broad jump/vert.


the "ankle engine" to me seems so damn important.. I have yet to make significant permanent gains in this department.. jump sessions following moderate-high volume depth jumps from 18" are much more efficient.. stiff leg ankle hops also work the same way for me.. in my dunk videos, you will see my plants alternate from mushy to stiffer, throughout the last 1.5 years.. they are stiffer following depth jumps/stiff leg hops, and thus higher.. i need to be more consistent with my depth jumps/stiff leg ankle hops from now on, and add in the heavy weighted stimulus of barbell calf raises.. after my deload, my new high frequency program will try and achieve some permanent gains in this department.. it's also much more glute/hamstring dominant.


edit #233523523: if you look at the intro pure-dedication video, i definitely was staying off my heel in my plants.. i had alot more spring than normal.. i did ramp up stiff leg ankle hops (submax) and hit some heavy barbell calf raises singles 2 days prior to this session.. it could also have been some crazy supercompensation though, because i maxed out on squat 2d in a row, rested a day, then dunked.

peace

Hi Guys

I love your writings and insights so thought I would get on board.

Top 5 favorite exercises

For Strength

Safety Bar Squats - regular and lightened method
Trap Bar Deadlift
Travelling Lunges - uphill is always fun in a brutal masochistic kind of way

For Jumping
123 Drill
Box jumps with a weight vest - simple but effective

Using a combination of these exercises I have seen great results both in my own training and with my clients.

Cheers

Jack

sup jack

never done lunges up hill, but it definitely has to be good... how heavy do you go on them? is this a lighter variation or do you bring the big db's out?

peace

My 5 favorite lifts would probably be these:

1.Romanian Deadlift
2.Powerclean
3.Push Press
4.Bench Press
5.Inverted Rows

My track coach had us do kippings to work the upper back and they might be more effective than inverted rows; however, I just hate anything related to pull ups.

1) Squats
2) Lunges/BSS Iso and traditional
3) Sprints, varying distances
4) Pullups
5) Heavy ab work

Actually I find picking a sample of five exercises which must fulfill the needs of all sports not "fairly simple" but I'll give it a try.

- Front Squat: Judging from my experience it is the exercise with most carry over to a broad variety of athletic movements. I also prefer it to other leg exercises like deadlift variations or the squat due to the fact that it goes much easier with the lower back and CNS.
- Leg Curls or GHR: For optimal developement of the legs direct work for the short head of the biceps femoris is inevitable.
- Ab and Back circuit: I regard this as one exercise, since picking only one exercise for the core wouldn't be very beneficial. Just throw in some crunch variation, russian twists, back raise, side raise, etc and perform them in a circuit fashion.
- Chin Ups: Probably my favorite upper body exercise. It's a great general strength exercise which involves many muscle groups. I've seen many people who have built beasty backs with chin ups being their only back exercise.
- Overhead Press: My second favorite upper body exercise with great carryover to many sports.

i personally have found front squat to be more effective than back squat in my own training.. only problem is, every time i start front squatting i get this problem in my upper spine.. something gets tweaked, it effects my breathing and it's just annoying.

dno just thought i'd share... but i'd be using front squat primarily if it didn't aggravate that issue.

peace

Quote from: Axel on June 03, 2009, 12:58:24 pm

Actually I find picking a sample of five exercises which must fulfill the needs of all sports not "fairly simple" but I'll give it a try.

- Front Squat: Judging from my experience it is the exercise with most carry over to a broad variety of athletic movements. I also prefer it to other leg exercises like deadlift variations or the squat due to the fact that it goes much easier with the lower back and CNS.
- Leg Curls or GHR: For optimal developement of the legs direct work for the short head of the biceps femoris is inevitable.
- Ab and Back circuit: I regard this as one exercise, since picking only one exercise for the core wouldn't be very beneficial. Just throw in some crunch variation, russian twists, back raise, side raise, etc and perform them in a circuit fashion.
- Chin Ups: Probably my favorite upper body exercise. It's a great general strength exercise which involves many muscle groups. I've seen many people who have built beasty backs with chin ups being their only back exercise.
- Overhead Press: My second favorite upper body exercise with great carryover to many sports.

i personally have found front squat to be more effective than back squat in my own training.. only problem is, every time i start front squatting i get this problem in my upper spine.. something gets tweaked, it effects my breathing and it's just annoying.

dno just thought i'd share... but i'd be using front squat primarily if it didn't aggravate that issue.

peace

maybe you need to work on t-mobility

top 5 exercises:
Squat
Lunge
GHR
RDL
Push Up
Pull Up

I know it's 6 but...

The way i see it:

Most every other exercise is a variation of these core lifts.  Think about say a kettlebell  swing or prime time.  They are essentially the same movement pattern as an RDL.  So you master proper activation through the RDL, then transfer the skill to more rapid fire movements.  The goal of each is the same, get the glute to extend your hip.  If you cant do that in a slow movement like an RDL you won't be able to get the glute to fire during a prime time. 

It's kinda like the WGF Skill, strength, endurance, power progression. 

Squats eventually turn into REA squats, ADA squat, RA Squat (depth jump).  But you master the movement first.  Same with lunges.

So then the progression looks kinda like

iso, iso mio, pim, fda, ada, rea, ra, rfi/rate work

Quote from: Alex V on June 03, 2009, 02:29:11 pm

Quote from: adarqui on June 03, 2009, 01:16:22 pm

Quote from: Axel on June 03, 2009, 12:58:24 pm

Actually I find picking a sample of five exercises which must fulfill the needs of all sports not "fairly simple" but I'll give it a try.

- Front Squat: Judging from my experience it is the exercise with most carry over to a broad variety of athletic movements. I also prefer it to other leg exercises like deadlift variations or the squat due to the fact that it goes much easier with the lower back and CNS.
- Leg Curls or GHR: For optimal developement of the legs direct work for the short head of the biceps femoris is inevitable.
- Ab and Back circuit: I regard this as one exercise, since picking only one exercise for the core wouldn't be very beneficial. Just throw in some crunch variation, russian twists, back raise, side raise, etc and perform them in a circuit fashion.
- Chin Ups: Probably my favorite upper body exercise. It's a great general strength exercise which involves many muscle groups. I've seen many people who have built beasty backs with chin ups being their only back exercise.
- Overhead Press: My second favorite upper body exercise with great carryover to many sports.

i personally have found front squat to be more effective than back squat in my own training.. only problem is, every time i start front squatting i get this problem in my upper spine.. something gets tweaked, it effects my breathing and it's just annoying.

dno just thought i'd share... but i'd be using front squat primarily if it didn't aggravate that issue.

peace

maybe you need to work on t-mobility

top 5 exercises:
Squat
Lunge
GHR
RDL
Push Up
Pull Up

I know it's 6 but...

The way i see it:

Most every other exercise is a variation of these core lifts.  Think about say a kettlebell  swing or prime time.  They are essentially the same movement pattern as an RDL.  So you master proper activation through the RDL, then transfer the skill to more rapid fire movements.  The goal of each is the same, get the glute to extend your hip.  If you cant do that in a slow movement like an RDL you won't be able to get the glute to fire during a prime time. 

It's kinda like the WGF Skill, strength, endurance, power progression. 

Squats eventually turn into REA squats, ADA squat, RA Squat (depth jump).  But you master the movement first.  Same with lunges.

So then the progression looks kinda like

iso, iso mio, pim, fda, ada, rea, ra, rfi/rate work

very nice post..

I totally agree Andrew. Great post Alex!