Coach Davies training Ideas

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
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I have been training with Coach Davies for the last three years. I am going to speak for him because he is out of the country right now and I know how important this forum is to him. Kelly, we do agility everyday. Some days we run in sand, mud, work boots, snow and some days on our surface- grass for football etc. We do speed work twice a week. But there is alot involved in speed work, including some drills,plyometrics, GPP and ab work-which we do every day. It all depends on what level you are on. There is a progression to the program. The concept is to gradually build volume. So you can’t do eveything at once.
The workout that Nate Dogg suggests would be one workout, but missing the running component. Ideally done in two short workouts or one in about a hour and a half. We don’t rest longer than a minute, ever.


Spanky, we lift sandbags along with kettlebells. We do all of our Olympic lifts with sandbags. We will snatch and clean anything that can be lifted.
Coach Davies will eventually explain some upper body complexes.However, Snatching and Kettlebells- the ones Pavel sells with the big handles- will tear your shoulders, back and arms apart. I’m sure he will introduce combat GPP in the future. We believe in training the whole body and not in parts so sometimes there isn’t a upper body/ lower body day. And cjack you are right, vomit in not uncommon in a workout. However the results are phenomenal. I hoped I answered some of your questions until Coach Davies returns.

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Do you work with Coach Davies as an assistant or as an athlete?

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Kato, great information! Thank you for clearing some things up. I was hoping you could give us some workout ideas. Let’s say I weight train Mon, Wed, Fri. Should I finish those days with farmer’s walks, bent side presses, and other odd lifts? That’s what I was thinking of doing. Also, Coach Davies said that GPP should be done everyday. Does that mean I should always begin my weight training workouts with something similar to the jump rope routine? Or do you do something different for each day?

Also, what are some workout combinations we could do on days that don’t include weight training. Would we do workouts similar to what I posted (rope work followed by complexes and maybe some sprinting)? Or something different? I’m just trying to get an idea of how to set things up.

I feel great after yesterday’s workout (jump rope for 2 minutes followed by 1 minute active rest (pushups and chin ups), four sets of complexes (jumping jacks, star jumps, burpees) and then some sprinting and finished with two sets of handstand pushups. I was a bit sluggish to start, but through the workout I became more energized. I was sore last night and this morning, but I feel so good now! I’m quite energized and looking forward to today’s workout! Thanks again for your help. And any further ideas that you have would be great!

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Kato, cool, thanks. I plan on putting together a home gym by the end of the year and want to get some sandbags to use for Oly lifts and other stuff. Have you done Oly lifts with dumbbells before, and if so can you tell a difference between the dumbbells and the kettlebells?

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Jorge, I have been Coach Davies assistant for three years and have also trained a variety of athletes. Like Coach davies we have programs for Middle School athletes to professional athletes.

Spanky
Oly lifts with DB’s ia very different from KB’s. The DB’s tend to take off in a snatch and you exert energy slowing it down to stabilize.I think of it as a pure power move . I do not think it is nearly as athletic as a kettlebell which requires more hip movement and a catch when the KB swings over the top and rests on your wrist. I think the KB improves shoulder flexibility and focuses more on your hip pop. Also my arms are pumped after a KB workout. I think the KB is one of the best exercise tools around for a whole body workout. Crank up the reps and melt the fat as well. It is kind of like wrestling for 3 periods.

Nate Dogg-I will answer yuor questions tonight. I need to go do my workout now.

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Nate Dogg
On training days I always treat Bent Presses like an Olympic lift beacuse it uses so many muscle groups. So I do it first. I always change up when I do my wheel barrels or drags. I had a NFL guy who dragged and barreled first and we had great results.
GPP is a term used to describe exercise used to bring your work volume up. When it becomes sport specific then it becomes SPP. For example, my sprinters crotch drag as much as possible because sprinting is a hamstring driven movement. When we are ready to compete, we cut the SPP or GPP so our body can handle more stress and perform better. So we do some form of GPP everyday. We do box jumps, side box jumps, burpees, mountain climbers, squat and rolls etc. 2 to three times a week and drag every day, either upper or lower body drag. Again that all depends on the athlete, his fitness level and his weaknesses. I had a football player with terrible hips and all we did were hip squats, slide slides and duck unders with a twist- that was his GPP. He went from a 4.8 to a 4.5 40 yd dash. I need to know what you are training for and I could make some suggestions.

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Nate Dogg
On training days I always treat Bent Presses like an Olympic lift beacuse it uses so many muscle groups. So I do it first. I always change up when I do my wheel barrels or drags. I had a NFL guy who dragged and barreled first and we had great results.
GPP is a term used to describe exercise used to bring your work volume up. When it becomes sport specific then it becomes SPP. For example, my sprinters crotch drag as much as possible because sprinting is a hamstring driven movement. When we are ready to compete, we cut the SPP or GPP so our body can handle more stress and perform better. So we do some form of GPP everyday. We do box jumps, side box jumps, burpees, mountain climbers, squat and rolls etc. 2 to three times a week and drag every day, either upper or lower body drag. Again that all depends on the athlete, his fitness level and his weaknesses. I had a football player with terrible hips and all we did were hip squats, slide slides and duck unders with a twist- that was his GPP. He went from a 4.8 to a 4.5 40 yd dash. I need to know what you are training for and I could make some suggestions.

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Good to see ya’ll borrowing upon Kato knowledge of my training principle’s. As he noted he started with me only 3 or 4 years ago and as absorbed the program with a great vigor. You will find him a wealth of knowledge, who can give you practical experience of moving into these theories.

In faith,
Coach Davies

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Kato or Coach Davies I have a few questions here. It seems from what I’ve read so far you’ll weight train 4 days/week with 1 of these days being a clean and jerk day and another one being a full snatch/snatch complex day…how about the other 2 weight training days? Do you’ll usually do the speed/sprint work on the off days earlier in the day before everything else? And if you could try to explain a few exercises for me…i’m sure i’ve seen them before but probably called them something else:

  1. crotch drag
  2. slide/slides
  3. duck under with twist
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kato, what kind of ideas do you have for grapplers

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Kelly
We have different programs where we train anywhere from 3 to 6 days a week. Our most recent training protocol, the Omega program, we only lift three days a week. Monday and Friday consist of Sprint training, a leg day in the weight room and Upper body dragging/wheel barrel and GPP. Wednesday is a light sprint day (light volume not tempo), Upper body work in the weight room, and dragging/wheel barrel. Tuesday and Thursday are recovery days. They consist of a day of acceleration work and endurance work. Saturday is active rest day and Sunday off. Because we rarely do bodybuilder lifts, people like to do their arms on Tuesday and Thursday. That is the basics of the Omega Plan, what we feel is the best workout possible for an athlete in the country.
A Crotch Drag is puling a sled with the strap between your legs and you are bent over. It destroys your hamstrings. A slide is like doing a good morning with a side step under a row of hurdles. It improves hip girdle strength and flexibility. A duck and twist is the same thing but you turn and face the opposite direction between hurdles.

Anthony
Wrestlers have the toughest job beacuse you need both power and endurance. To start with all the dragging, wheel barrel, sledge hammer, stone lifting, axe swinging, rope climbing you can do is great. I would add Olympic lifts, Good Mornings, bar pulls, squats,one-legged squats Kettlebells, turkish get-ups, all the different push ups (med ball , crossover, Hindu, jumps) and chins. Med ball throws from all directions. I don’t think the body builder work is that important because your arm and shoulder get plenty of work while wrestling. I think volume is the key to strength in your sport. I know wrestlers who can bench the world for 1 rep but what can he do 45 seconds or 4 minutes into the match. I think flexibility is something over looked in wrestling. Speaking of of one legged squats, sorry Anthony, I digress, I cannot believe Coach Davies has not given you his I can’t walk for three days or sit on the toilet for two, One legged squat complex. That’s if you can do a One legged squat. Back to your question Anthony. I’m not saying that maximal strength is not important. It is and you need to hit it sometimes but I don’t like the bodybuilder stuff.

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I thought I would interject that be forewarned about the Omega program. I havn’t even mentioned it because I know you are all anxious to train and would want to jump on it. An athlete using this program has been under my training principles for 4-5 years with an unbelievable amount of volume. Much of this program will be simply impossible to perform because of the base line conditioning. Every component of this program is a nightmare.
In faith,
Coach Davies

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Kato, unfortunately, I’m not training for a specific sport. Although, I have done some Olympic lifting in the past, and may try it again in the future. I’m not an athlete (wish I was) and never really participated in organized sports while in school. It was only after I graduated high school that I got into weight training. I always stayed active with other activities as well (in-line skating, biking, stadiums, swimming, volleyball, etc). So right now, I weight train three days a week (mon, wed, fri) following Charles Staley’s Convergent Phase Training. I’m really enjoying that program and should make great gains in the next three months.

In addition to that, I’ve wanted to incorporate Coach Davies ideas and techniques to increase my overall conditoning, speed, agility and strength to transfer to other interests and activities (biking, skating, etc). So far, I’m thinking that I’ll hit the weights mon, wed, fri. Prior to the workouts, I’ll do the jump rope workout using the alternate programs (A&B - pushups/chinups or burpees/star jumps). After the warmup, I’ll hit the weights. I’ll finish each weight session with some of Coach Davies ideas - farmer’s walks (I did these last night! I’m so sore today! They are awesome), overhead squats, side bent presses, etc.

On Tues and Thurs, I plan to use GPP and bodyweight exercises along with sprinting. An example workout would be the jump rope warmup, then a few sets of complexes (star jumps, jumping jacks, burpees) followed by sprints and other bodyweight exercises. I would like to know other exercises I can do so I won’t get stale and to constantly help me improve.

I don’t have access to a wheelbarrow or any sleds, so I can’t do anything like that right now. Overall, I’m looking to increase my strength, speed and agility while having superior conditioning/endurance that will help me with any activities I participate in. At the same time, I’m hoping to develop an asthetically pleasing physique with low bodyfat levels.

So what do you think? Any ideas or suggestions? I do work a full-time job and have other commitments. But I do have time to train up to 2 hours a day (mon-fri). I’ll leave weekends open for fun activities outside and with friends.

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Thanks for replying Kato!
In this program you’re referring to do you guys do plyometrics on the sprint training days or on the Tues and thurs. acceleration and endurance work days? What does a typical acceleration and endurance session look like?

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Nate Dogg - we’ve got to go back to basic’s. I appreciate your desire to follow my philosophy but the structure you are suggesting is off. I will correct it. As far as your time allotment - congrads you’ve got more time than any of my athletes so you could follow an entire program. The first of the workout articles will likely run next week.
In faith,
Coach Davies

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Thanks Coach! I’m looking forward to the training article.

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Kelly
We do plyo’s on our speed days which would include medicine ball throws. We try to pack in our speed days so we have time to recover. Basically, we destroy someone, build them back up only to destroy them again. (Kind of like the torture machine in Princess Bride). Our acceleration and endurance work are truly renegade priciples. For acceleration work we do what is called 55x4’s. Our endurance work is what we call 100 circuits. Active rest is 200m runs @65% with 90 sec rest.
A 55x4 is building up to top speed in 25 yds, slow down to a jog which should tale about 25-30 yards. Turn around and do it again 3 more times. we will do this 8- 30 times. Our rest period wil begin with 90 secs and we will work down to 35 sec’s or the tim ebetween plays in a football game. Because the rep range varies, don’t think that 8 is easy. I have been training some athletes with this program for 4 years and 8 will still wind them. As one athlete said,“These never get easier.”

100 circuit is similiar but it is run at 70% or 16 sec per 100 or 32-34 sec per 200.Run a 100, turn around run a 100, turn around run a 100. 45 sec rest. Do the same but a 100,200,100 rest 45 sec. Then a 200,100,200 rest 45 sec. then a 100,200,100 rest 45sec and then a 100,100,100 and you are done. At the peak of our training, we will do two of those.
Nate, i think Coach davies is going to handle your question.

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kato, is all your lifting done in complex style? also can sprint training help a grappler, what r some guidlines. thanxx

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Anthony
Some days we do complexes, some days we do circuits and some days we do old fashioned lifting. Coach Davies spoke of the Archaic workout on another thread. That is a circuit/GPP/Functional strength workout. I had a group of athletes go through this program last fall. I had one athlete gain 16 pounds in 4 weeks. His bodyfat dropped by 1.4%. Most everyone gained at least 5 pounds in the time period. At the same time, it took two weeks of working on this before we could get through the prescribed workout. You will literally workout for 40 minutes with about 4 minutes rest in that period. When we switched from that workout into regular lifting, the athletes were very strong.
I don’t think sprinting is specific toward the training of a grappler, unless you are bad and you have to run away. I guessing you have a limited time to train, so be specific in your choices of exercises.

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kato, i strength train m-w-f in the morning. you said you do complexes, circuts and old fashion training. are these done throughout the week or are they done in phases. if every week should i do one of these sessions a week. i dont have an off season/ in season fights come when they do. how should i vary intensities. thanxxxx