I was speaking with a friend of mine and he wanted to post a few things in the blog as well. Mathieu Roy is, in my opinion, one of the top players in the world in men's fastpitch softball. He lives in Quebec and plays for the Canadian National Team. He is incredibly intellectual, especially when it comes to softball training, and it shows as he is in remarkable shape. Mathieu wanted to share a weekly post from some of the stuff that he is working on, and far be it from me to stop him. Here is the first post in his series. I will try to get an official bio up for him soon.
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The season ended a few weeks ago and we are entering a very important part of the year. In fact, it is the time to make improvements technically and in terms of physical qualities. This week, I'll talk essentially about the optimal planning to improve physical qualities during the offseason, between October and late December.
Right now, it is best to start with basic stuff. Your goal should be to get back in shape, which means work in sets of 8 to 12 repetitions to gain strength and muscle mass. Furthermore, work out in this area prepares the body to drive maximum strength and power.
At this time of the year, the focus should be more on volume rather than on intensity. It is better to increase the number of sets you do in your training every week than to increase the loads.
If you want to lose a few pounds, you can include some cardio sessions at the end of your workouts or during the week. It is more beneficial to do your cardio in intervals rather than continuously. For example, run for a minute, rest 30 seconds, repeat that 10 times and you get a little cardio session of 15 minutes at the end of your training.
After 4-5 weeks, it is preferable to change the program and perform sets of 6 to 10 repetitions to improve strength while continuing to gain muscle mass.
This is the perfect time to start doing some plyometric exercises with low impacts and basic jumps. When I say low impacts plyometric, I 'm talking about footwork on a step and when I say basic jumps, I am referring to broad jumps, high jumps and lateral or diagonal jumps on one leg. Regarding the upper body, this is the ideal time to start throwing medicine balls.
When we arrive at the end of December, I suggest taking a week off between Christmas and New Year's Day to allow rest to the body and be fresh for the new year. Indeed, between January and early May, we’ll do trainings to develop specific softball physical qualities, improve our power and our power-endurance, the subject for next week...
In summary :
October to mid-November: Get back in shape, gain muscle mass, strength, flexibility / Use series of 8 to 12 reps
Mid-November to late December: Gain muscle mass , strength, power (low plyometric), flexibility / Use series of 6 to 10 reps
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