Weight Training for Track
& Field Athletes
• Presented by:
Sarah Hoffman
• M.A. Exercise Science-University of South Dakota
• CSCS (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist)
OVERVIEW
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Core Strength & it’s importance
Progression of lifting
Teaching proper lifting technique
The Different types of lifts
Varying lifts & weights
Different types of weight training
The Do’s & Don’ts of USD Track &
Field
Starting Simple:
Body weight exercises
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Push-ups
Pull-ups
Sit-ups
Leg lifts on bar
Pillar holds
Pillar lifts
Core Strength & its IMPORTANCE
• If you can’t hold your body in theses proper positions how are you suppose
to do it while running, jumps, or throwing?
Progression of core strength
Developing: arm, back, & shoulder
strength for a beginner athlete
Progression of arm, back, & shoulder
strength continued…
Developing: Beginners lower leg
strength
• BALANCE is STRENGTH
•Make sure when squatting
that the knee does not go
over your toe
•When your knee goes past your toe,
it causes all the pressure to be focused
on the knee
Lunge Matrix: A lower leg strength
progression
• Focus on posture
• Make sure foot/ground
contact is directly
below the knee
• Foot always stays
square
• Keep knee slightly out
Lunge Matrix Progression
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Arms above head
Holding weight at chest
Holding weight above head
Matrix Low switches
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Stay low
Posture
Foot contact directly below knee,
Foot square & knee slightly out
• Matrix Power switches
– Same as Low switches except
explode up as high as possible
Teaching Proper Lifting Technique
• Make sure every athlete knows how to
properly lift
• If they are not ready, pull them back to the
non weight bearing exercises, machines, or
other lighter techniques (broom sticks, or
PVC piping)
Resistance Training Exercises
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Arms
– Bicep curls
– Tri extensions
– Tri push-downs
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Back
– Bent over row
– Lat pulldowns
– Seated rows Calves
– Standing
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Calf raises
– Toes straight ahead
– Toes pointed in
– Toes pointed out
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Chest/Shoulders
– Flat bench
– Incline bench
– Dumbbell flies
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Hip/Thigh
– Hip sled
– Regular squats
– Single leg squats
– Step-ups
– Walking lunges
– Deadlift
– Leg curls
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Shoulders
– Upright rows
– Military press
– Shrugs
Olympic Lifts
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Snatch
Push Press
Split Squat Snatch
Powerclean
Hangclean
Jerk
Vary the lifts
• 3-5 week phases with a week of recovery
• Don’t always do the same lifts, mix it up!
• EXAMPLES:
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Regular Squat
Front Squats
Single leg Squats
Walking Lunges
Step ups
Vary the weight
• IT’S OKAY TO LIFT ALL SEASON, BUT
CHANGE IT UP!!!!
• Phase #1: Strength Building Phase
• Phase #2: Maintaining Phase
• Phase #3: Peaking Phase
After the weight room
• Medicine Ball/Multi Throws
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Overhead backwards
Between the legs forward
Straight up throws with a squat
Lunge, Lunge, throw
OR BE CREATIVE
• May only need 5 reps
• Your body will remember the last thing you did on
that day
Strength Building Phase
• Heavier phase
– Usually during off season or beginning of
pre-season
• Focus: Hypertrophy and Muscular
Endurance (at the beginning)
• Strength & Endurance (later in the
phase)
• Less reps
• More recovery
Maintaining Phase
• During the Season
• The athlete is training hard for specific events
– Ex. Hurdling, sprinting, distance, field events
• Medium amount of resistance training
– Make lifting event/sport specific
• Weight should be less than what the athlete was lifting in
pre-season
• More Reps
• Less Recovery
Peaking Phase
• You don’t want your athlete to have their best
performance at the first meet of the season.
• Want them to perform well enough to qualify for
state, but best performance should come at the end of
the season
• Lifting should be light & fast (focus on speed of bar)
• Few reps (rapid fire of fast twitch muscles)
How to choose lifts
• Keep the lifts sport/event specific
– This will increase the likelihood that there will be a
positive transfer to the sport
• Maintain Muscle Balance
– Keep a balance of muscular strength across joints and
between opposing muscle groups
• Agonist vs. Antagonist
– Biceps & Triceps OR Hamstrings & Quadriceps
Do’s & Don’ts of USD
• We don’t use a 1RM
– Can be very dangerous for inexperienced athletes
• We do use a 3-5RM
– We use a formula to calculate a 1RM, can be found on the internet. Find
a formula that best fits your athletes
• We do use weight belts
– But not all the time, if we are lifting heavy, mostly in Olympic lifts, we
require them, otherwise we use the valsalva maneuver
• We progress from side by side leg lifts to single leg lifts
– These lifts are more track/event oriented, but each athlete must be ready
to do this or they will get injured.
• Snatch to split squat snatch OR squats to single leg squats
• We don’t lift Olympic back-to-back days
– Your body needs at least 48hrs. to recover from Olympic lifting
How to Calculate proper # of Reps & Sets
% of
1RM
# of
Repetitions
Allowed
% of 1RM
# of
Repetitions
Allowed
100
1
83
7
95
2
80
8
93
3
77
9
90
4
75
10
87
5
70
11
85
6
65
15
• Other 1RM values may vary slightly from .5%-2% from the provided table above.
• This table is based on a 1RM percentage, and may not accurate for athlete performing multiple
sets.
Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Baechle & Earle. 2000
Questions?
www.usd.edu/track
Sarah.Hoffman@usd.edu
track@usd.edu