How To Turn Your Strength Into Power-Part 3

-January 4th, 2012-

The answer is Complex Training.

Complex Training is a superset where you perform a high-intensity strength exercise and follow it with a similar plyometric exercise.

As Complex Training is very demanding on the Central Nervous System it should only be used for the final training block immediately before the season starts. As the NLL season is set to begin on January 8th, I have been using this training method for the past 4 weeks with all of my pro guys to maximize their power development.

Part 1 and Part 2 of the series focused on turning lower body strength into power. Part 3 today will focus on developing Upper Body power with the pairing of Neutral Grip Pull Ups and MB Slams.

Neutral Grip (palms facing each other) Pull Ups are a great test of strength. Too often there is a great muscular imbalance between the front and back of our bodies, with the front being dominant. This imbalance puts you at higher risk for injury, specifically shoulder injuries, due to the poor posture that results.

Notice in the picture that Dan pulls himself up all the way so that his sternum is at the bar, with his chest out and shoulder blades pulled down and back. This is proper form and range of motion, tilting your head back and reaching your chin for the bar is not proper form.

Pairing this exercise with MB Slams will increase the power of the muscles in your back, which will help improve the velocity of your shot. Medicine Balls are a great tool for creating and training power and offer so much value to you as a lacrosse player. If you aren’t currently doing any Med Ball work start to incorporate it into your training as soon as possible and you will see a noticeable improvement in your game!

P.S. Here is the full article from InsideLacrosse.com

P.P.S. Enter your email on the right of this page and get Dan’s full strength training program (3 separate phases including the Complex Training phase!) that he used to prepare for the 2011 NLL season for FREE!

Tags: complex training, dan dawson, injury reduction, Inside Lacrosse, lacrosse training, mb slams, pull ups, shot power, shoulder injuries