How To Turn Your Strength Into Power-Part 4

-January 6th, 2012-

This post is very fitting in that it is Friday! Every guy knows that Friday is chest and arms day at the gym (atleast I think that’s the rule since the squat racks are always empty!).

Anyways, today’s pairing of exercises to include in your Complex Training program (that was featured on InsideLacrosse.com) immediately before the season starts is the Bench Press and a Bench Plyo Push Up.

Bench Press is one of those lifts I hate to love, as it may be the most over valued exercise in the history of mankind. Everyone knows to ask other people that work out what they bench! Never do people compare Single Leg Squat weights or Single Leg Hip Lift weights which are exercises that will actually help you greatly improve your athletic performance when playing lacrosse.

A former teammate of mine, Kyle Arbuckle used to say about the uselessness of the bench press: “you can’t push the ball into the net.” It was the only Buckleism that ever made sense!

But the Bench Press is a great exercise for improving your upper body pushing strength and is therefore an exercise I include in training all my athletes (I just hope to never hear them asking others what they bench!)

During the Complex Training phase I pair it with a Plyo Push Up-Bench

Using the bench allows you to create force more rapidly than from the ground and puts much less stress on your wrists and elbows at the same time. Two advantages in my books!

Pairing these exercises will help you to create more force with your upper body so that you are able to cross check or push your opponent with more power!

P.S. This is the final part to the series on Complex Training. If you missed them, check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3!

P.P.S. If you haven’t done so yet and want to see how this method of training fits into an overall pre-season training program enter your email on the right of this page and get NLL MVP Dan Dawson’s 2011 pre-season training program for FREE!!!

Tags: bench press, complex training, Inside Lacrosse, lacrosse workouts, plyo push up