Evan Simon recently became the head strength and conditioning coach for Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. This is Evan’s first time as a head strength and conditioning coach and he immediately made positive changes. After an introductory period in which he taught the players how to lift correctly and safely, Evan began the following six week program on the athletes that he deemed ready to participate. To say that the results were extraordinary would be an understatement. In six weeks, the average player’s bench press went up 15lbs. and the average squat went up 30lbs. Now I know Evan very well and few people are as attentive to details (read: form and doing things correctly) than he is. This is a nice way of calling him anal. The largest increase in the bench press was 45lbs and 65lbs in the squat. You will notice that Evan’s program is not full of a ton of fancy exercises and set/rep schemes. He kept it simple and to the point. This is a great reminder for all coaches that want to overanalyze things. Most athletes will succeed when a well-structured, well balanced and simple program is implemented.
Day I
Max Effort Squat
Week 1 – Work up to a 5RM on free squat
Week 2 – Work up to a 1RM on a box squat (parallel)
Week 3 – Work up to a 3RM on a free squat
Week 4 – Work up to a 1RM on a front box squat (parallel)
Week 5 – Work up to a 1RM on a Zercher squat
Week 6 – No ME work
After the main max effort movement, the following was done;
• 1 exercise for the hamstrings (Romanian deadlift or glute ham raise) – 3x10
• Box jumps – 3x5
• 1 exercise for the lower back (back extensions, good mornings, pull-throughs) – 3x10
• 1 weighted abdominal exercise. This was usually weighted sit-ups – 3x10
Day II
Max Effort Bench Press
Week 1 – Work up to a 1RM on incline press
Week 2 – Work up to a 1RM on a 3 board press
Week 3 – Work up to a 5RM on a bench press
Week 4 – Work up to a 1RM on a 2 board press
Week 5 – Work up to a 3RM on a bench press
Week 6 – Work up to a 1RM on a floor press
After the main max effort movement, the following was done;
1 exercise for the lats (pulldowns, some kind of row or pull-ups) – 3x10
1 rear delt exercise (seated db cleans, rear laterals, face pulls) – 3x10
1 exercise for the triceps; this is usually an extension of some sort – 3x10
1 exercise for the biceps – 3x10
Day III
Dynamic Effort Squat
All sets are done on a parallel box with approximately 60 seconds rest between sets. All work is done with an average band.
Week 1 – 8x2 @ 45%
Week 2 – 8x2 @ 50%
Week 3 – 8x2 @ 55%
Week 4 – 8x2 @ 50%
Week 5 – 8x2 @ 55%
Week 6 – 8x2 @ 60%
After the box squats, the following was done;
• 1 exercise for the hamstrings (Romanian deadlift or glute ham raise) – 3x10
• 1 single leg exercise (lunges, step ups, one-leg squats) – 3x10
• 1 exercise for the lower back (back extensions, good mornings, pull-throughs) – 3x10
• 1 weighted abdominal exercise. This was usually weighted sit-ups – 3x10
DE Bench
2 weeks are done with straight weight (no chains or bands)
1 week is done with the use of mini-bands.
Straight weight – 8x3 @ 60%
Bands – 8x3 @ 50%
After the dynamic bench movement, the following was done;
1 exercise for the lats (pulldowns, some kind of row or pull-ups) – 3x10
1 rear delt exercise (seated db cleans, rear laterals, face pulls) – 3x10
1 exercise for the triceps; this is usually an extension of some sort – 3x10
1 exercise for the traps (usually some kind of shrug) – 3x10