6 Week Program Focusing On Core Strength & Athleticism For Throwers

By: Jeremiah Rolfs, CSCS - www.athletefitnesspro.com

This program focuses on full body explosive strength and athleticism with emphasis on core strength and coordination. This is a guide and an example of the methods I use for myself and my athletes. It is meant to be used as a guide or framework that should be adjusted to fit the specific abilities of the reader.

A strong upper and lower body is important for producing long throws but if you can’t effectively transfer power from lower to upper body your strength is wasted. A thrower must be strong but more importantly athletic. Just because you’re strong as an ox doesn’t mean you will be a successful athlete! You must be fast and able to coordinate movements efficiently. Strength combined with speed, neuromuscular coordination, core strength and overall balance & stability are what I believe to be the full package for being a great athlete.

Use this program as a framework or guide for creating workouts for each individual. Since not everyone is the same, small adjustments will have to be made to meet the needs of each athlete.

Instructional videos for all activities listed in this program are available on ThrowFarther.com in the video gallery. Click here to see the videos.

The following paragraphs (“Dynamic Effort”, “Max Effort”, “Assistance”, “Balance & Stability”, “Rest & Recovery” and “Extra Workouts”) explain each component of the program in detail.

Dynamic Effort

The goal for “dynamic” training here is to train the body to move faster. For our main exercises we use bands or chains. The bands and chains allow us to accelerate the bar with maximum effort through the full range of motion. In short, as you complete a repetition with only weight on the bar the resistance on your muscles decreases as your mechanical advantage increases. The bands and chains increase resistance as your mechanical advantage increases keeping things fairly equal and allowing you to exert maximum speed and force through the full range of motion.

For dynamic days we use Jumpstretch bands or chains. You may use other bands as well. I’ve used the SPRI bands with both handles slipped over the bar and anchored to the floor with a heavy dumbbell or two (make sure the dumbbells are heavy enough so they don’t roll or come off the floor). When anchoring the bands be sure to set them up so there is no slack at the bottom portion of the rep, there should be band tension through the full range of motion. Since we do a three week pendulum wave we use 3 different band tensions (light on week one, two and three using about 50, 55 and 60% of your one rep max for bar weight) After the third week we move up to the medium band tension and start the cycle over at 50% 1RM. Dynamic work focuses on moving the bar quickly both eccentric and concentric. Less experienced lifters will want to start with chains instead of bands because the bands will accelerate the bar much faster than the chains on the eccentric portion of the rep causing a greater amount of stress. Chains are used in the same fashion as bands in that they progressively get heavier from week one to week three.

Max Effort

This component of the program directly targets the strength component of our goal. Often programs fail because the same max effort lift is used for many consecutive weeks. After about three weeks using the same max effort lift you will tend to see a plateau. In order to train for a true one rep max every week without a plateau, we use closely related lifts that change every week in a three to four week cycle. For example Bench press, board press, band resisted bench press and band assisted bench press are exercises that can be cycled one each week for four weeks. Each time an exercise comes back up in the cycle the goal is to push for a new record.

We start by warming our way up to one or two reps of a weight approaching about 80% of 1RM. Once we feel warmed up properly we do one rep at 95% 1RM, one rep at 100% 1RM & one rep for a new max. We only do three lifts. Unless you’ve miscalculated, the 95%1RM shouldn’t be a problem. If you make one rep with 100% 1RM you try for a new max, if you miss at 100% 1RM you rest and try it again. On your third lift, whether you make it or miss it, you’re done and the same goes for your new max. Again, three lifts only, make or miss them all you’re done after three attempts.

It’s very important to journal your workouts and accurately record reps and weights for both max effort and dynamic workouts. Every week you will be attempting a new record, not only for max effort lifts but for assistance exercises as well.

Assistance Exercises

Assistance exercises are just that, they assist in improving other lifts or movements. We all have limiting factors or muscle groups that need improvement. For example, you may have very strong legs but a week lower back and core. If you focus on assistance exercises that help improve those areas, such as back extensions and RDLs, you will likely see a big increase in your 1RM for the squat.

You’ll notice the higher number of repetitions for the assistance exercises on dynamic days usually listed as 20 reps. 20 reps is a guide, your goal should be about 20 reps but you are going to failure. For example: On week one you used 100lbs for the one arm cable chest press and got 20 on the first set and 14 on the second set. The following week your goal will be to break 20 and 14 reps on each set. If I happened to get 30 and 25 reps on week one then I would increase the weight on week two. The point is that we are trying to set new records (either for weight or reps) each week.

Assistance exercises for max effort days are similar to assistance exercises done on dynamic days except for the sets and reps. Reps and sets for assistance exercises on max effort days are a guideline just as they are for dynamic workouts. We try to keep our sets between 3 and 5 and our reps between 4 and 8. Within those ranges we try to push for a new rep or weight record each time we perform a given lift.

Balance and Stability

Balance and stability exercises are a very important component of training to be a true athlete. Not only for the throwing events but in almost every sport athletes are required to exert maximum effort & speed in unstable positions. I believe it is very important to train the way we compete as much as possible. Traditional lifts are great but they must be supplemented with more sport specific strength training exercises.

Balance and stability exercises can be done as assistance exercises during the workout or during practice, depending on the level of intensity. For example; 4X5 one legged RDLs are probably better done as part of your max effort leg day. In contrast (2X30) med ball throws on one foot can probably be done more often as part of a practice.

Rest and Recovery

For max effort workouts we allow about two minutes recovery time before completing the same lift again and for dynamic workouts it’s one minute. The reason we don’t allow the muscles to fully recover (about 3-5min) is that we are trying to recruit and train as many muscle fibers as possible. When your muscles are fully rested between sets you tend to continue training the same group of muscle fibers on each set while leaving others out.

As for recovery time, allow 72 hours (3 days) between a max effort and dynamic workout for the same muscle group. Having said that you may do light assistance work every 24 hours. During practice we do throwing specific exercises as well as balance, stability and core work using different exercises on a daily basis.

Extra Workouts

In addition to the strength training program, we do extra workouts that consist of plyometrics, running, jumping, throwing, light sled pulls and balance & core work. These are most often done at the end of practice and are kept short (15-20 minutes). Even though these workouts are short they are a very important supplement that helps bridge the gap between lifting and throwing. These workouts are designed based on the specific needs of the athletes. Always look for the weak points and design practices and workouts to target those areas.

The Workout

As mentioned before, this workout can and should be modified to fit specific needs not just for different teams but for each individual as well. Demonstrational videos for all program activities are available here on ThrowFarther.com. Click here to view the videos.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WORKOUT.

For further info and video demos of these exercises visit athletefitnesspro.com or contact the program's author at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - Jeremiah Rolfs, CSCS

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