Hypertrophy Training
As an athlete it is extremely important to give your body lots of rest after a long rigorous and physical season. However this can be harder than you may think. Most dedicated athletes are too pig headed to get the proper rest required to readjust the body’s needs for recovery. Personally I believe a week is a minimal staple that should be used to put your body and mind on pace for maximal recovery.
Now that you have forced yourself to become one with the universe and have overcome the most boring week of your life it’s time to transform your physique into a freaky physical specimen. The three training phases I religiously follow are as followed, (1) Get Big (2) Get Strong (3) Get fast. The one I am referring to at this time is stage 1 get BIG. The timeline each stage requires varies depending on the individual and how long of an off season they have. The longer the off-season, the longer each stage will last resulting in the healthy transformation your life will take. Stage 1, get BIG or Hypertrophy Training the key to success is to fatigue the muscle by using weight where your body forces you to max out at 6 to 8 reps at 4 sets. In doing this you will find you will enable yourself to add weight quicker and more often resulting in freaky growth. You might ask yourself “why would I want to gain bulky muscle in sports that require strength and speed?” for example hockey. The answer simply lies in the three stage formula, get big + get strong + get fast = a dominant off season. The time for plyometrics and agility ladders will come however in order to set land speed records things need to be done properly and effectively. So for now put away the stationary bike and any other methods to burn unnecessary calories, the time to work is now.
[Mike Barbour is a Certified Personal Trainer and RIVALUS Athlete. He is also a contributing partner in Nova Scotia off-ice training development of minor hockey, Junior and Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) level players along with being a CIS University Hockey player at the University of Windsor, Ontario.]
