Hypertrophy Training for Athletes

While the given rep range for muscular hypertrophy is in the six to twelve range (predominantly), I believe that the lactate accumulation and delayed onset muscle soreness make this problematic in the training of the lower body of team sport athletes. For me, training for size and strength comes down to volume and intensity—nothing new or earth-shaking revelations there, I know. But, the devil is in the details, and why I have come to believe that the use of clusters has a huge part to play in the training of athletes, especially the lower body. 

After 30 seconds of passive recovery, the ATP-PC stores are approximately 70 percent fully restored, and this increases to over 90 percent between 90 seconds and three minutes. I believe that clusters are a perfect method for increasing volume using a higher percentage of one rep max (RM) in the training set.

Also, when you combine clusters with a wave loading protocol, you add a whole new dimension to stimulation using a higher percentage of training load and utilizing post-activation potentiation in the process.

A straight 12-rep lift is usually trained at approximately 70 percent of 1RM. But by using a cluster, we can lift that to approximately 78 percent via two sets of six reps with a 30-second rest in between and 90 seconds to three minutes between sets.

3-Week Cluster Wave Loading

Weeks/Methods	Traditional Wave Load	Cluster Wave Load
	Hypertrophy	Strength	Hypertrophy/Strength
1	2 x (12, 10, 8) @ 70, 75, 75+%Rest 60-90”	2 x (6, 5, 4) @75, 80, 85%Rest 90-120”	2 x (5+5, 4+4, 3+3) @ 75, 80, 85%Rest 30” between clustersRest 90-120” between sets
2	2 x (10, 8, 6) @75, 80, 80+%Rest 75-105”	2 x (5, 4, 3) @80, 85, 90%Rest 120-150”	2 x (4+4, 3+3, 2+2) @ 80, 85, 90%Rest 30” between clustersRest 120-150” between sets
3	2 x (8, 6, 4) @80, 85, 85+%Rest 90-120”	2 x (4, 3, 2) @85, 90, 95%Rest 150-180”	2 x (3+3, 2+2, 1+1) @ 85, 90, 95%Rest 30” between clusters Rest 150-180” between sets

Here are a few more sets and reps schemes that I have used with my players that have proven quite effective. Once again, I am hearing the words of Louie Simmons as I plan these sessions, “stimulate, not annihilate.” So you can see there are not a lot of work sets, depending on the plan of attack for days of training and also what you are trying to achieve in each workout session. The sets and reps below could expand out to three or four sets from the listed two work sets.

Week/Movements Training Goal	MechanicalStrength And Bilateral	Mechanical Size And Unilateral	Neural FCM And Traditional Contrast + Plyo/MB
1	2 x 6 @ 75+%	2 x 12	3 x 5 +10
2	2 x 4 @ 85+%	2 x 8	3 x 3 +6
3	2 x 5 @ 80+%	2 x 10	3 x 4 + 8
4	2 x 2 @ 95+%	2 x 4	3 x 2 + 4

RECENT: Training Thoughts and Ideas From a Lifetime in the Trenches

Depending on your time availability and training experience, there are several different plans you can put into place to optimize the training stimulus and produce results. Below are a few options that I have tried over the years with various groups of players, from amateurs to professionals.

Three Days Per Week

Weeks/Days	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
Odd Number Weeks	Squat variation UB Push variation CARE	Deadlift variation UB Pull variation CARE	Squat variation UB Push variation CARE
Even Number Weeks	Deadlift variation UB Pull variation CARE	Squat variation UB Push variation CARE	Deadlift variation UB Pull variation CARE

An example of the full three-day program with exercises inserted into the categories is as follows. This is a bare-bones approach, just using two major movements in each session, but then using a full CARE program for each session to fill in the missing components in the program.

Three Days Per Week

Weeks/Days	Monday	Wednesday	Friday
Odd Number Weeks	Safety Bar Box Squat Push Press CARE	Trap Bar Deadlift Pendlay row CARE	Zercher Squat Incline Bench Press CARE
Even Number Weeks	Deadlift Seated Row CARE	Front Squat Weighted Chin Ups CARE	Snatch grip Deadlift Bench Pull CARE

A similar approach is used in the four day a week plan below, once again, concentrating on the major “bang for your buck” movements and then supplemented with the CARE programming.

Four Days Per Week

Monday	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday
Squat variation Hamstring specific LB CARE	UB Horizontal PushUB Horizontal PullUB CARE	Deadlift variation Hamstring SpecificLB CARE	UB Vertical PushUB Vertical PullUB CARE

Here is the four-day plan with exercises attached to the movement categories for you to see how they all fit together.

Monday	Tuesday	Thursday	Friday
Safety Bar Box Squat Romanian DeadliftLB CARE	Bench Press Pendlay RowUB CARE	Deadlift Hip ThrustLB CARE	Push Press Weighted ChinsUB CARE

Another method I have used is a double day training plan, where you focus on strength in the morning workout and hypertrophy in the afternoon. These workouts are separated by, ideally, four to six hours to allow for recovery. Here is a list of a range of sets and rep protocols that you can use for both the morning and afternoon workouts to optimize your training, 23 Loading Methods for Effective Set and Rep Schemes.

Double Day Programming

Time/Day	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday/Sunday
	Lower Body	Upper Body	Restoration/Recovery	Lower Body	Upper Body	OFF
AM: StrengthCompound/BarbellMovements, 2 – 6 reps per set	1 x Bilateral Squat1 x Bilateral Hinge	1 x Horizontal Push s/s Pull1 x Vertical Push s/s Pull		1 x Bilateral Hinge1 x Bilateral Squat	1 x Vertical Push s/s Pull1 x Horizontal Push s/s Pull
PM: SizeVolume loading 6+ reps per set	Size/Armour PlatingQuads s/s Hamstrings	Size/Armour PlatingChest & Back		Size/Armour PlatingQuads s/s Hamstrings	Size/Armour PlatingShoulders & Arms

Here is a plan using the categories above with exercises selected into the program, to give you an idea of how it all fits together.

Time/Day	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday/Sunday
	Lower Body	Upper Body	Restoration/Recovery	Lower Body	Upper Body	OFF
AM: StrengthCompound/BarbellMovements, 2 – 6 reps per set	Safety Bar Box Squat Romanian Deadlift	Bench Press s/s Pendlay Row Military Press s/sWeighted Chins		Deadlift Zercher Squat	Push Press s/s Pulldowns to Chest Incline Bench Press s/s Bench Row
PM: SizeVolume loading 6+ reps per set	Size/Armour Plating Quads s/s Hamstrings	Size/Armour Plating Chest & Back		Size/Armour Plating Quads s/s Hamstrings	Size/Armour Plating Shoulders & Arms

For some options and ideas around the Armour Plating options, please see the chart later in this article.

Armour Plating Style Programs

Next up, is a plan where you incorporate a major movement for strength and then augment this with an array of armour plating style programs to hit the muscle groups from a variety of angles and using different sets and rep protocols.

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Upper Body Push s/s Pull	Lower Body	Upper Body Push	Upper Body Pull	Lower Body
Military Press	Safety Bar Box Squat	Bench Press	Pendlay Row	Snatch Grip High Pulls in Rack
Triple Drop Incline DB Bench Press (45/30/15) s/s (3 x 5/5/5)Triple Drop ChinsWide/Shoulder/Close	RDL (6) Hip Thrust (12) Reverse Hyper (25) s/sFront Squat (6) Reverse Lunge (12) Goblet Squat (25)	Savickas Press/Dips	Head Supported Yates Row s/s Landmine Kroc Row	Back Squat (6)Leg Press (12)Leg Extension (25)s/sTrap Bar Deficit Deadlift (6)Back Extension (12)Banded Good Morning (25)
3-Way Shoulder RaiseDB Lateral (6)Seated Plate Front (12)Cable Bent-over (25)	Sprinter’s Squat s/sLandmine RDL	Mechanical Advantage Push Ups: Feet Elevated, Normal, Hands Elevated (2-3 x max reps on each)	Muscle Snatch (6)Fat Man’s Chins (12)Face Pulls (25)	Step Ups s/sContralateral KB RDL
4 x UB CARE	4 x LB CARE	4 x UB CARE	4 x UB CARE	4 x LB CARE

The first line of movements are stand-alone strength focus, so reps are in the two to six range. My preference is either a wave load, two by (six, five, four), or two heavy sets of six, five, four, four. This would progress over a here-week loading cycle. The 6/12/25 blocks would be two sets, and the remaining super set movements would be in the six to twelve rep range for two to four sets. You can combine this with speed work before the lower body workouts and off feet conditioning on the upper body days if required.

Often, we have players who need to focus specifically on upper body hypertrophy and emphasize strength and power in the lower body. I have programmed this type of player with both a French Contrast Method (a collection of options is included at the end of this article) for the power or neural components and also a more traditional explosive movement plus contrast with either plyometric or med ball throw.

Upper Body Hypertrophy/Strength and Lower Body Power/Strength

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Upper Body Push s/s Pull	Lower Body	Upper Body Push	Upper Body Pull	Lower Body
Military Press (A)	French Contrast Method	Bench Press (A)	Pendlay Row (A)	French Contrast Method
	(B) Knee Dominant			(B) Hip Dominant
Triple Drop Incline DB Bench Press (45/30/15) s/s (3 x 5/5/5)Triple Drop ChinsWide/Shoulder/Close(B)	1A: Back Squat 1B: Box Jumps 1C: Banded Jump  1D: Assisted Vertical Jumps	Savickas Press/Dips(C)	Head Supported Yates Row s/s Landmine Kroc Row(C)	1A: Deadlift 1B: Repeat Hurdle Jumps 1C: DB Hang Clean 1D: Assisted Long Jumps
2 sets		2 sets	2 sets
3-Way Shoulder RaiseDB Lateral (6)Seated Plate Front (12)Cable Bent-over (25)	Sprinter’s Squat s/s Single Leg Hip Thrust(C)	Mechanical Advantage Push Ups: Feet Elevated, Normal, Hands Elevated	Muscle Snatch (6)Fat Man’s Chins (12)Face Pulls (25)	Step Ups s/sLandmine RDL(C)
4 x UB CARE	4 x LB CARE	4 x UB CARE	4 x UB CARE	4 x LB CARE

Sets and Reps over a Three-Week Loading Cycle

A: Wk1(6, 5, 4, 4), Wk2(5, 4, 3, 3), Wk3(4, 3, 2, 2)

B: Wk1-3 x 5, Wk2-3 x 4, Wk3-3 x 3

C: Wk1(12, 10, 8, 8), Wk2(10, 8, 6, 6), Wk3(8, 6, 4, 4)

Upper Body Hypertrophy/Strength & Traditional Lower Body Power/Strength

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Upper Body Push s/s Pull	Lower Body	Upper Body Push	Upper Body Pull	Lower Body
Military Press (A)	1 x Modified Olympic (B)	Bench Press (A)	Pendlay Row (A)	1 x Modified Olympic (B)
Triple Drop Incline DB Bench Press (45/30/15) s/s (3 x 5/5/5)Triple Drop ChinsWide/Shoulder/Close(B)	1 x Squat (A)	Savickas Press/Dips(C)	Head Supported Yates Row s/s Landmine Kroc Row(C)	1 x Deadlift (A)
3-Way Shoulder RaiseDB Lateral (6)Seated Plate Front (12)Cable Bent-over (25)	1 x Hamstring specific (B)	Mechanical Advantage Push Ups: Feet Elevated, Normal, Hands Elevated	Muscle Snatch (6)Fat Man’s Chins (12)Face Pulls (25)	1 x Hamstring Specific (B)
	1 x Unilateral Hip s/s Knee(C)			1 x Unilateral Knee s/s Hip(C)
4 x UB CARE	4 x LB CARE	4 x UB CARE	4 x UB CARE	4 x LB CARE

For those advanced athletes who have a good training age of experience, I would recommend the use of a conjugate style of training, where you train all elements concurrently. This is the exact program I have been utilizing presently with my International Academy program athletes. Once again, the words of Louie Simmons echo into eternity, “Whatever you don’t train, you lose.”

Off Season Conjugate Plan for Physical Preparation

Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Speed	Conditioning	Restoration	Speed	Conditioning	Conditioning
+	+	&	+	+	+
FCM Lower Body	FCM Upper Body	Recovery	FCM Lower Body	FCM Upper Body	Restoration
+	+		+	+	&
Mechanical Lower Body	Mechanical Upper Body	Hurdle Mobility	Mechanical Lower Body	Mechanical Upper Body	Recovery
+	+	+	+	+
Armour Plating	Armour Plating	Dynamic Movements	Armour Plating	Armour Plating
OR	OR	+	OR	OR
Off Feet Fitness	Off Feet Fitness	Stretching	Off Feet Fitness	Off Feet Fitness
OR	OR	+	OR	OR
Circuit	Circuit	Foam Rolling or Massage	Circuit	Circuit
+	+		+	+
CAREx 4 Lower Body	CAREx 4 Upper Body		CAREx 4 Lower Body	CAREx 4 Upper Body

Full Body And Iso Lateral CARE Program 2023

2 x 8 – 20 reps

Neck	Thoracic/Scapular/Traps	Rotator Cuff	Core	Unilateral UBPush	Unilateral UB Pull	Grip
Banded Look Away	Face Pulls	Incline Y, T, I’s	Rollouts	One Arm DB Bench Press	One Arm DB Row	Bottom Up KB Hold
Leaning Lateral Neck Plank	Turkish Row	Cuban Press	Hanging Leg Raises	KB Z Press	Seated DB One Arm Snatch	Towel/Rope Chins
Plate Extension & Flexion	Chinese Back Planks	Lying Int/Ext Rotation with bar	Weighted Sit Ups	Javelin Press	Landmine Kroc Rows	Bucket of Rice
Banded Protraction & Retraction	Scapular Push Ups	DB L Raise	Pallov Press	One Arm DB Shoulder Press	One Arm Seated Row	Plate Flip
Wrestler’s BridgePlank series	Thoracic Extensions on Swiss Ball	Bottom Up KB Shoulder Press	Landmine Twist	Half Kneeling Landmine Press	One Arm Pulldown	Thick Bar Chins
Groin/Hips	Knee	Hamstring	UnilateralSquat	UnilateralHinge	Loaded Carry	Ankle/Foot
Monster Walk	Reverse Nordic	Pull Throughs	Sprinter’s Squat	Kick Stand Split Stance RDL	Farmer’s Walk	Single Leg Standing Calf raise
Copenhagen Planks	Poliquin Step Up	Nordics/GHG	Split Squats	Single Leg KB RDL	Sandbag or Zercher Carry	Seated Calf Raise
Goblet position Lateral Lunge	Single Leg Squat to Box	Reverse Hyper	TRX Skater Squat	High Jumper’s  Step Up	Waiter’s Walk	Hop onto Bosu Ball
Side Plank with Leg Abduction	Terminal Leg Extensions (VMO)	Sliders in Bridge position	Single Leg Squat	Single Leg Back Extension with Iso Hold	Suitcase Carry	Towel Crunches
Banded Clams	Low Box Step Ups	Harrop Hamstring	Lunge variations	Single Leg Glute Bridge	Combo Waiter/Suitcase	Balance Board

French Contrast

French Contrast Method (1)

Vertical	Horizontal	Knee Dominant	Hip Dominant
1A: Push Press 1B: Kneeling MB Push 1C: Landmine Split Jerk 1D: MB Drops	1A: Bench Press 1B: Drop Push Ups 1C: DB Incline Bench Press 1D: Assisted Explosive Push Ups	1A: Back Squat 1B: Box Jumps 1C: Banded Jump  1D: BandAssisted Vertical Jumps	1A: Deadlift 1B: Repeat Hurdle Jumps 1C: DB Hang Clean 1D: Assisted Long Jumps

French Contrast Method (2)

Vertical	Horizontal	Knee Dominant	Hip Dominant
1A: Military Press 1B: Seated MB Vertical Push 1C: DB Push Press 1D: Assisted Clap Push Ups	1A: Incline Bench Press 1B: Jump Push Ups 1C: Banded BenchPress 1D: Assisted MB CrossoverPush Ups	1A: Split Squat 1B: Box Hops 1C: Banded Step Up  1D: Band Assisted Borzov Hops	1A: Hip Thrust 1B: Broad Jumps 1C: Snatch Grip High Pull in Rack 1D: Band Assisted Hops

French Contrast Method (3)

Vertical	Horizontal	Knee Dominant	Hip Dominant
1A: Split Jerk 1B: Feet Elevated Plyo Push Ups 1C: KB SavickasPress 1D: Band Vertical Push	1A: Floor Press 1B: MB Chest Pass 1C: Bench Throws 1D:1/2 Kneeling MB Rotational Put	1A: ZercherSquat 1B: Knees to Feet Jumps 1C: Banded Box Squat 1D: Tuck Jumps	1A: Deficit Deadlift 1B: Bench Blasts 1C: Hang Clean 1D: Ice Skater

French Contrast Method (4)

Vertical	Horizontal	Knee Dominant	Hip Dominant
1A: Log Press 1B: Standing MB Slam 1C: DB Steep Incline Press 1D: Kneeling MB Push	1A: Swiss Bar Bench Press 1B: UB Depth Jumps 1C: Dips 1D: Wheelbarrow Hops	1A: Weight Release BoxSquat 1B: Depth Jumps 1C: Banded Step Ups  1D: In Place Hops	1A: Prowler® Push 1B: Knees to Feet into 10m sprint 1C: Band Assisted Deadlift 1D: Bounds

These programming options have taken over 30 years to develop into what is in this article. I sincerely hope you find some ideas of interest to assist you in improving your power, strength, and size.