Ben T. Cook
After taking a week off early in May, we begin phase 4. Depending on the college or high school you attend, your break may occur during a different week. The break in the workout schedule should correspond to your particular academic calendar. This eliminates the possibility of having to miss too many days of working out. Phase 4 returns to what was initiated in phase 2 - a gradual increase in intensity with an eventual decrease in exercise volume. This phase of the program produces the highest potential for athletic power. This 7-week phase flows into phase 5 with no break, creating a 14- week period of structured work before the in-season period.
Resistance Training
This phase, like phase 2, will increase nerve activity and excitability. Muscle mass will increase during this phase, but less from a fatigue-related response and more from the load increases planned during the exercises.
Types of Exercises
The exercises during this phase consist of core lifts and supporting and assisting exercises. We change the supporting exercises in this phase from single-joint exercises to more multijoint exercise. You will use less cable and machine resistance. You will also make a progression to primarily free-weighted resistance and more power-producing techniques. The order of exercises works the larger muscle groups first followed by the smaller muscle groups.
Rest, Volume, and Special Sets
The amount of rest between the sets of basic exercise increases as the phase progresses. You’ll start at 1:30 between the sets of basic exercises; by week 30 you will take 1:45. Take 1:00 between the sets of all supporting exercises throughout this phase. The increased rest as the phase progresses compensates for the ever increasing load of the resistance during the workout. This added recovery between sets ensures that with each repetition you will effectively excite the nerve pathways that activate the muscle. Rest between exercises remains at 1:30.
The number of sets and repetitions in the workouts begins to decrease gradually over the seven-week period. This lowered volume is another method of increasing the overall level of nerve activity and excitability, which in turn results in greater power output. There are no special sets in this phase.
Repetition Style and Speed
During this phase the style of repetition is less strict. Perform each repetition with good form to avoid injury. You can incorporate more speed into the movement so that you can use higher resistance. As you move from phase 4 to phase 5 you are pushing with everything you have to move the resistance while maintaining good form.
Execute the repetitions in this phase with a pausing tempo. Although you can perform some repetitions without pause, as the resistance begins to cause fatigue pause for an instant in a locked-out position to allow momentary recuperation. This will help ensure that each repetition is powerful.
Running and Conditioning
Conditioning during this phase is much the same as the conditioning in phase 2 - you can choose additional running and conditioning activities to provide more movement information for your sports skills. The progression of running workouts during phases 4 and 5 is more subtle than in phase 2. In weeks 24 to 30, do your running and conditioning four times per week with these emphases:
• Monday - Interval sprint work; (chapter 9)
• Tuesday - Active recovery with a short distance or longer interval run; (chapter 9)
• Thursday - Speedwork (practical strength for sprint form and starts); (chapter 10)
• Friday - Combination work (shuttles, fartleks, Indian runs, and so forth); (chapter 9)
As in phase 2, I begin to incorporate more agility work in phase 4, eventually replacing interval sprints altogether with agility drills in phase 5. You can perform these drills at high speeds with little rest to produce good cardiorespiratory benefit. I reduce the workload from four days per week to three at week 30 to help boost recovery from workout to workout. This also helps to enhance power production, which coincides with work performed in the weight room. Thus, the plan for week 30 (and into phase 5) includes the following:
• Monday - Agility drills; (chapter 11)
• Tuesday - Game-simulation sprints; (chapter 10)
• Thursday - Speed work (practical strength for sprint form and starts); (chapter 10)