Fresh off a 3A boys state title, Frontier Academy coach Brett Shanklin shares the big picture of how weights have helped the Wolverine program. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
Special to Colorado Track XC by Brett Shanklin, with contributions from Dan Bisceglia
When I was in High School, I attended Camp Isaiah Christian Running Camp. Bret Schoolmeester was a counselor one year and said something that has stayed with me as a coach: “You are only as strong as your weakest link.” This statement drives our weight lifting and general strength work. With that being said, this is what we do:
1. General Strength everyday-both for Pre Run and Post Run. Most of this follows Jay Johnson’s videos on “Building a Better Runner-Building from the Ground Up” (one of the best investments available for a young coach). Many of the exercises our athletes have memorized, but we try to supplement in order to keep things fresh and target different muscle groups. Exercise become more advanced as athletes become stronger in their general strength. Our athletes work through these exercises at each practice and meet. This is all part of their daily routine.
2. Lifting two days a week in the summer. Our “weight room” is small. See the photo at the bottom of this article. Our weights program was developed by my Assistant Coach Dan Bisceglia who is also the weights class teacher for our school. He has learned to use the space and the resources we have. To understand why we do what we do it is important to understand his philosophy:
When dealing with strength training, it is important to set kids up for success. In order to get kids excited about strength training you must teach them to have an understanding about what it means to build strength and how long it takes for the body to adapt to change. You must understand the athlete and what level they are at in order to instill confidence. Confidence leads to effort in the weight room and effort leads to results.
3. During the season. Lifting decreases somewhat because of space issues. However, we encourage the xc athletes to sign up for the weights class offered at our high school. We have seen an increase in enrollment in this class. Dan tailors lifting for cross country athletes as follows:
We stress Strength Endurance training. High Intensity with mid to high repetition. We understand safety and form and translate that into confident lifters. We focus on body weight resistance and wide variety of movements. We incorporate coordination exercises, cross-fit basics, acceleration training, with moderate heavy lifting. We want our kids to be well rounded athletes.
Results we have seen over time:
- Athletes tend to become more injury resistant.
- Form improves and is noticeable in the later parts of races.
- Another method for the athletes to understand that hard work produces results.
- An additional opportunity for the cross country team to bond outside of actual running, while still maintaining an athletic environment.
- Considerable gains in general and sports-specific strength.
- Gives them swagger and confidence as well-rounded athletes.
The Frontier Academy weight room (contributed photo):
