Making the Ultimate Athlete

What physical attribute matters the most?

As I watch the highlights from the current Summer Olympic Games, featuring basketball, boxing, swimming, judo, and track and field, I find myself contemplating what a perfect year-round training plan for these athletes might look like. Of course each sport has unique demands tailored to the specific needs of its athletes, which makes their training very complex, but the step-by-step process is actually pretty straightforward and pretty similar for most of them. 

1. Get healthy first

Every athlete has a weak link—a pesky limiter in their quest for greatness. Maybe it’s a muscle that lacks strength, a joint that doesn't quite move like it should, or an injury that just keeps coming back for more. The initial phase of your training block should be all about tackling this nagging issue head-on, ensuring you don’t hit a wall later on. From my experience, the usual weaknesses include muscles that are tricky to develop or are often neglected in standard training (neck, shoulder rotators, calves), or those that are biomechanically challenged due to their long, thin fibers (like the adductors and hamstrings). Fix these, and you're setting yourself up for a smoother journey to peak performance.

The initial phase sometimes referred to as the structural balance phase is often neglected or misunderstood by many coaches, who mistake it for a light period filled with moderate, secondary exercises. Big mistake. This phase should be as intense—if not more intense—than any that follows. It sets the pace and foundation for the entire training block. Skip this, and you’re building your castle on sand.

A sample training phase, with 2 full-body training sessions per week with a focus on above mentioned weak links could look something like this:

A1. Heels elevated narrow squat with a safety bar, 5 sets of 5 with 4201 tempo.

B1. Standing behind the neck press, 886644 with 4110 tempo.

B2. Pull-ups with a medium grip, 664422 with 4201 tempo.

B3. Shoulder external rotation on a low cable machine, 6 sets of 8 with 2012 tempo.

C1.  Wide stance good morning, 2 sets of 12 with 3010 tempo.

C2. Standing calf raises 2 sets of 8 with 3301 tempo.

2. Get strong

Maximal strength is the paramount of all physical attributes, and the second training phase should be focused on this goal. The athlete's mission should be to become as strong as possible on lifts specific to their sport. This doesn’t mean mimicking sports movements, but rather choosing exercises that develop the right muscles and operate in the plane most suited for peak performance in a given sport. For most athletes, this translates to the squat, deadlift, rack pulls, overhead press, bench press, floor press, or chin-ups. If you nailed the previous phase, there should be minimal risk of overuse injuries and setbacks. A secondary goal of this phase, and pretty much the entire off-season block, should be to pack on as much functional muscle mass as possible. Let’s face it, the athlete will inevitably lose some muscle mass over the season, so now's the time to build a buffer against that loss. 

A sample training phase, with 2 full-body training sessions per week with a focus on developing strength could look like this: 

A1. Medium stance squats with chains, 333222 with 3010 tempo

B1. Close grip bench press, 555333 with 3110 tempo

B2. Supinated medium grip chin up, 555333 with 3110 tempo

C1. Reverse hyperextension, 3 sets of 15 with 3011 tempo

3. Get powerful

Power is the name of the game for most sports—it's all about the amount of force you can deliver with maximum velocity. Nobody cares if you’re strong but slow, or fast without any force to deliver. The physical equation for power is straightforward: power equals force times velocity. To be powerful, you need some serious force to deliver. This crucial point is often overlooked by athletes who focus on being explosive but rarely train for maximal or relative strength, fearing they'll bulk up and slow down. These athletes typically center their training around plyometrics, ballistics, and explosive reps, neglecting the foundational need to get strong first.

When it comes to power, most people think of Olympic weightlifting—it’s the epitome of power in its purest form. However, it’s not the only path to becoming powerful. Some of my favorite methods include the dynamic method, accommodating resistance, and the aforementioned ballistics and plyometrics.

Here's a sample training phase featuring two full-body sessions per week using the condensed conjugate model to develop maximal power.

Session 1:

1. Speed bench press, 7 sets of 3 with X0X0 tempo.

2. Bent knee trap bar deadlift, 321321 with 31X0 tempo.

3. Romanian deadlift, 4 sets of 6 with 32X0 tempo.

4. Rows to the neck, 2 sets of 10 reps with 4012 tempo.

Session 2:

1. Speed trap bar deadlift, 12 sets of 3 with X0X0 tempo.

2. Floor press with close grip, 321321 with 30X0 tempo.

3. Neutral grip chin-up, 321321 with 30X0 tempo.

4. GHD or Nordic curls, 4 sets of 5 with 60X1 tempo.