Breaking Through Routine
By Robb Rogers
The former Strength and Conditioning Coordinator at the University of Southern California, Baylor University, and with the St. Louis Blues, Robb Rogers, MEd, CSCS, is currently the Football Strength Coordinator at Middle Tennessee State University.
Training & Conditioning, 10.2, March 2000, http://www.momentummedia.com
Are some of your athletes stuck in the old routine of five fives—five sets of five reps? Are you hankering for an easy way to tweak your athletes’ training to selectively work on what each one needs most at any given point in the training year? Wave training—simply alternating between focusing on strength and power/speed—can give you and your athletes that edge.
Wave training manipulates the variables of training—load, speed, volume, and reps—to maximize a workout within one exercise session, or over an entire season, so that an athlete’s training doesn’t stagnate. It can be utilized within sets, percentages of maximum weights, repetitions, or even exercises. As training progresses, wave training enables you to maintain previously attained training levels while you place more emphasis on new ones.
Varying the Reps
Wave training within sets enables the athlete to maintain his or her volume while also training heavy—stressing strength—or fast—stressing power. Each set of high-rep power exercises with a given weight is followed by a set of low-rep strength exercises with the same weight for a total of four of each.
Taking it to the next level, for more effectiveness in the relative phases, the athlete can vary the weight he or she is lifting in the power and strength sets. Table One shows the recommended high-rep/low-rep ratios and the loads for each for the powerlift exercises (bench, squat, and deadlift).
If, for example, the athlete wanted to do sets of eight repetitions for power, he or she would do four or five reps in each corresponding strength set. The recommended weight, or load, for each rep is also shown. I would not recommend that athletes lift much more weight than is prescribed in the table—doing so would probably affect the next workout, and possibly the next week of lifting—or worse. If the athlete is primarily training for power, the percent load should be dropped by six to nine percent. If training primarily for strength, each percent load should be bumped up three to six percent.
It is important that the power and strength sets be differentiated and each done correctly by the athlete. In a strength set, the focus is on moving a relatively large amount of weight slowly. The constructs of a power set assume that within the exercise the athlete is moving the bar or dumbbell with maximum velocity after a controlled eccentric or loading phase. In power, it is the combination of the load and the speed that creates the training stimulus. This can be observed by the speed of movement inherent in the bar during the concentric phase of the exercise. If the bar is not moving fast, the load is too heavy.
Varying the Load
In addition to varying the number of reps within each set, athletes can also wave train by increasing the amount of weight they lift from set to set. The first set of high-reps at a given weight, say 40 percent of 1RM (repetition maximum, or the maximum amount of weight the athlete can lift in one rep), is followed by a set of low-reps at a greater weight, say 60 percent. Rather than maintaining the same weight for each power and strength set, however, each successive set of high-reps and low-reps is done with greater weight, increasing by a few percent of 1RM each time.
Conversely, athletes can maintain the same number of reps per set but vary the percentages in order to wave train. This type of training is usually confined to Olympic-style lifts (cleans, snatches, and jerks) in order to train the nervous system to move the body and the bar as fast as possible while recruiting the maximum number of motor units. Table Two shows a recommended scheme for this type of wave training, as well as an example of wave training that varies both the number of reps and the load.
Varying the Exercises
In wave training, not only can the reps, sets, and percentages be manipulated, but you can also vary the exercises to add variety to a workout. In this type of wave training, you always want to pair similar movements that have different speeds or loads. For example, as shown in Table Three, back squats (to work strength) can be matched with weight-vest jumps (to work power) and bodyweight jumps (to work speed).
The athlete would need to recover for three to five minutes between sets in order to gain the maximum benefit from each exercise. Remember, these are exercises aimed at developing maximum speed and power, and proper recovery is vital to athletes reaching their maximum speed/strength potential.
Wave Training for Running
Wave training can also be implemented to develop speed/strength in acceleration and sprinting. One easy way to do this is to alternate short-interval sprints with short-interval hills. The distance should remain relatively similar (15 to 40 yards) but the load is provided by the resistance of the hill. Table Four shows an example of wave sprints for acceleration power.
To wave train for aerobic/anaerobic conditioning, the distance, reps, and rest between reps can be manipulated, while keeping to the same type of track (see Table Five). In order to train aerobic conditioning/power, the athlete would need to manipulate the distance between short sprints and medium-interval striders. To train anaerobic conditioning, the rest interval between each rep could be shortened.
Speed can also be emphasized by allowing for an almost full recovery between sprints (resting for three to five minutes). Another way to place a modest emphasis on either speed or conditioning is to start and end the training session with either sprints or interval striders. Again, using the rest interval to manipulate the variable, the rest can be squeezed on the interval striders and lengthened before the short sprints. For example, the athlete can be given one minute, 30 seconds for the short sprints and one minute for the interval striders.
Wave Training Throughout a Season
On a macro level, an athlete’s strength and conditioning program can be easily manipulated using wave training to emphasize various elements. For example, at the beginning of the year, athletes should emphasize lower-intensity, longer runs and low reps to work on general conditioning. Then, as they work toward a peak or competition, they will progressively drop the load and increase the speed and intensity.
Wave training can thus ensure that athletes combine the best elements of speed and power at the right times in the season, while providing them with all-important variety within each session and between training sessions.
I would like to thank the following coaches for their invaluable input in teaching me all the variables that went into making up the training ideas presented in this article: Russ Ball, Mike Clark, Vern Gambetta, Bill Gillespie, Rick Huegli, Steve Javorek, Al Miller, Johnny Parker, Jimmy Radcliffe, and Fred Roll. __________________________
Table One. How many power reps and how many strength reps should athletes do?
Depending on the athlete’s level, he or she should be assigned a given number of high reps, with the recommended weight or load shown in the next column. For wave training, the corresponding number of low reps is shown in the following column, along with its designated weight. The total rep volume assumes four sets per work bout.
Load Load Total Rep
High Rep/Power (% of 1RM) Low Rep/Strength (% of 1RM) Volume
10-8 46-61 6-5 67-79 60
9-7 49-64 5-4 70-81 50
8-6 52-67 4-3 73-84 40
7-5 55-70 3-2 76-87 30
6-4 58-73 2-1 79-90 20
1RM=repetition maximum, or the maximum amount of weight the athlete can lift in one rep.
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Table Two. Olympic lift wave training.
Wave training can greatly benefit Olympic-style weight training. With Olympic lifts, the percentages of 1RM in each set can be varied, while keeping the number of reps the same, or both can be manipulated.
Varying the load:
Speed Set Heavy Set
Reps (% of 1RM) (% of 1RM) Total Volume
3’s 55-64 76-88 15-18
2’s 58-67 79-91 12-15
1’s 61-70 82-94 9-12
Varying the reps and the load:
Speed Set Heavy Set
Reps (% of 1RM) Reps (% of 1RM) Total Volume
3’s 67-76 1’s 88-100 9-15
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Table Three. Wave training by varying the exercises.
Strength: Power: Speed:
Back Squats Weight Vest Jumps Bodyweight Jumps
Medium-Heavy 10% of Bodyweight No Added Load
5 x 52% 5 5
5 x 64% 5 5
5 x 70% 5 5
5 x 76% 5 5
5 x 79% 5 5
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Table Four. Wave training for speed/strength development in acceleration and sprinting.
Speed Power
Distance Load Distance Load Rest
30 yds flat track 30 yds 10-degree hill 25-60 seconds
or 10% bodyweight on a sled
Total Reps Intensity Total Reps Intensity Total Volume
3-6 95% 3-6 95% 180-300 yards
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Table Five. Wave training for aerobic/anaerobic conditioning.
Distance Load Distance Load Rest
30 yds flat track 100 yds flat track 30-60 seconds
Total Reps Intensity Total Reps Intensity Total Volume
5-8 95% 5-8 80% 650-1040 yds
Another way to emphasize the aerobic/anaerobic component is to double or triple up on the longer of the two sprints. For example:
Distance Load Distance Load Rest
30 yds flat track 2 x 100 yds flat track 30-60 seconds
Total Reps Intensity Total Reps Intensity Total Volume
4-6 95% 6-10 80% 1320-2180 yds
