I answered this question for a member the other day and figured if they asked, others might be wondering the same thing. I will give you my advice on how to best run a weight training, speed session, or conditioning session. It is important that you learn the PRINCIPLES from what I am going to teach you and then apply it to YOUR setting.
The Buck Stops With You
Regardless what level you work or if you are an intern or high performance manager you are in charge of something. Take pride in this. If you want your athletes to be prepared for the training session then you need to be prepared. If you want your athletes to be detailed in their training then you need to be detailed in your set up. This means you need to have equipment ready for the day.
If the first movement of the day is back squats then the J hooks on racks should be set to that height. If you have bench press you should have the J hooks set to that height and place the bench under the bar. If you are using VBT you need to make sure that your Vitruve encoder is charged, attached to the bar, and placed where the athletes can use. If you are doing some jump testing you need to ensure the batteries in the device are charged, the mats or plates are centrally located and ready to use. If you are doing IMTP in training make sure you have the correct protocol ready with your Hawkin Plates.
If you have some auxiallary movements with med balls make sure they are out and lined up. If you are doing work on the cable column make sure you have all the correct handle attachments ALREADY on the bar and ready to use. When you do this you can demand your athletes best because you are prepared. The same goes for training sessions outside. If you have your speed warm up area already conned off, hurdles out, med balls ready to throw, timing gates ready, etc...this sets a standard that your athletes will see and feel. They will know you are ready so they also need to be ready. This is something we preached at Harvard, Maryland, and Iowa - then I took with me to Towson. I have seen this work with football, softball, sprint/jump/hurdles, swim, dive, cross country, throws, gymnastics, and sailing. I also apply this in private sector and high school at Goldfinch and Centennial.
Function and Flow
Now that everything is set up you need to figure out how long will it take at each spot. This is something that Coach Mike Boyle has talked a lot about. Mainly because in his private sector world there is a new group of athletes coming in 15, 30, or 60 minutes later - but the same can be applied in team setting where another team is coming in after you. Once you know roughly how long the warm up, speed, A block, etc...will last you need to be checking your watch while you run each section of the training session. Speed up or slow down based on time. Yes, we all know the perfect and ideal work:rest ratio for things but we don't always live in perfect, so make due with what you have.
While I have not worked with tactical athletes or professional athletes, on multiple occasions I did get to watch 3 time super bowl champion Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Moses Cabrera train the Pats. One thing I noticed here is how more free flowing the training session was, but the athletes still trained and worked hard. Gronk was being Gronk, but he still trained. Tom came in and lifted weight. Slatter came in and lifted extra after practice. They all had their training program and did their work, however there was no one breathing down their neck to get it done.
I bring this up because while you want to be in control of the flow of the room and be aware of the time, you can't turn into a psychopath drill sergeant. I was this was from some mentors of mine who showed me a bad example. I now know better and am educating you not to be this way. Rather, know the time, know what exercises athletes are supposed to do, stay in control, but don't go over the top This is the art of coaching, knowing how to work with the hard science (knowing the sets, reps, and percentages that need to be lifted) with the ability to work with people and have them complete tasks.
If this concept is completely new to you then I highly suggest you check out our YouTube page where you can learn more about program design and how to work with other humans (athletes). If you understand these concepts and want to learn how to become better, check out how we can help you make the leap to world class with a membership to Strength Coach Network. Inside the membership you will be able to learn tips and tricks from world renewed coaches like Dan Pfaff, Jake Tuura, Cam Josse, Zach Decant, Buddy Morris, David Grey, William Wayland, Steffan Jones, Dr. Bryan Mann, and more.
