An insight into FSU’s (Florida State University) Strength and Conditioning Program.
Erik Korem and Joe Danos (from FSU) were recently doing some consulting in Australia and whilst in Sydney found time to deliver a very informative and interesting seminar on speed and power. Last month I shared some insights from Erik’s presentation, this month I will give you the highlights from Joe Danos’ presentation on Strength & Power development.
Joe is a two time US national junior weight lifting champion under legendary USA Olympic Coach, Gayle Hatch. A graduate of Louisiana S.U. Joe holds a degree in Kinesiology & has been employed at L.S.U, S.M.U & currently Florida State University.
These are the top 10 tips for strength and power development I took from Joe’s presentation.
Tip 1. A Strength Program should have the following 3 goals
- Develop athleticism
- Train type of movement appropriate to sport
- Injury prevention
Tip 2. When working in a team sports it is important to keep the coach happy. Often you will be asked by the coach to achieve the following goals for an individual athlete:
Football Coach’s Training Goals include;
- Structural Changes
- Gain weight/lose weight etc.
- Functional Changes
- Increase strength / power
- Increase balance / coordination
- Increase speed
- Increase flexibility
- Develop and strengthen mentality
Tip 3. When taking over a program from a previous coach the following should be taken into account
Program Design
- Study previous program
- What will stay and what needs to change
- Time efficiency
Tip 4. Use Benchmarks of sets of 3 or 5
Very rarely use maximal 1 RM lifts. Too much risk of injury, can estimate 1 RM from their 2 or 3 rep max.
Estimate 1 RM’s heaviest explosive 2 = 93%
Estimated 1 RM’s heaviest strength 3 = 90%
Tip 5. General Guidelines for program design include the following
Pre-Season (initial phase 2-3 weeks)
- Auxiliary lifts are the focus (single leg and body weight priority)
- No core explosive or core strength lifts
Pre-Season Strength Development (Lifting 2-3 days a week)
Each strength session includes
- 2 core explosive lifts
- 2 core strength
- 2-3 Auxiliary
Maintenance Period (in-season)
- Dependent on each players needs
Tip 6. Ideal rep range and sets for workout
Core Explosive Power 1-3 reps, 4-5 sets
Core Strength 3-5 reps, 4-5 sets
Hypertrophy 6-12 reps, 3-4 sets
Assistant Auxiliary Exercises ( as needed)
Tip 7. Use Prilepin’s Chart as a guide for sets, reps and % of load
During the 1960’s & 1970’s a Soviet sports scientist by the name of A.S. Prilepin collected data from from 1000’s of elite level weightlifters (from National to Olympic champions) training logs. This data was analysed and the following guidelines were recommended and have been adopted by many weightlifters and power lifters.
Prilepin discovered if the number of lifts in one exercise is significantly above or below the optimal, the training effect decreases.
Prilepin’s Chart
| % of 1 RM | Reps | Optimal | Total range |
| 55–65 | 3–6 | 24 | 18–30 |
| 70–80 | 3–6 | 18 | 12–24 |
| 80–90 | 2–4 | 15 | 10–20 |
| 90+ | 1–2 | 7 | 4-10 |
Tip 8. Never Sacrifice Technique for load
Never let your athlete lift with poor form, Joe paid special attention to the squat in the practical session. Joe’s tip was to never let the hips/pelvis position posteriorly rotate or round out in the bottom of the squat.
Tip 9. Take care of the little things
By developing positive habits in your athletes by taking care of the little things such as, preparation, nutrition, stretching, coming to training with the correct attitude etc. These little things all add up to big things and develop a winning mentality.
Tip 10. Coach every rep!
Sounds like common sense, but how often do you see a person perform an exercise and use poor form and the coach or trainer allows the set to continue??
Above is a brief synopsis of the top 10 tips for strength and power development delivered by Joe. I thank Joe for his willingness to share his ideas.
