Alright so my high school football team coach pulled me aside last week looking all stressed. Said we needed a real strength program stat cause half the kids couldn’t bench a plate and running backs got knocked over like bowling pins. Told him I’d write something up – used to train college guys back in the day.
Starting Point: Total Chaos
First thing I did? Walked into our dusty weight room Tuesday after school. Total mess. Kids doing nonsense – curls in the squat rack, quarter-rep bench presses, zero leg work. No plan anywhere. Just chaos. Snapped a pic of the whiteboard – pure scribbles and smiley faces. Pathetic.
Dragged the whole team together Wednesday morning before first period. Didn’t sugarcoat it. “Listen up. You wanna hit hard? Run fast? Not get pancaked? We fix this now. Stop screwing around.”
Building The Bare Bones
Didn’t overcomplicate it. Sat down with my old notebook from ’08 training days. Three rules:
- Rule #1: Hit every muscle group at least twice a week. No skipping legs.
- Rule #2: Lift heavy things. Then lift heavier things next week.
- Rule #3: Track everything. No exceptions.
Picked four core lifts everyone gotta master first:
- Squats (ass to grass, none of that half-rep nonsense)
- Bench Press (pause that bar on your chest, no bouncing)
- Deadlifts (heavy, but don’t snap your back kid)
- Overhead Press (stand tall, push that weight straight up)
Week One: Surviving The Basics
Monday rolled around. Got ’em grouped by position – linemen together, skill guys together. Wrote the plan big and bold on the board:
Monday – Heavy Push/Pull:
- Bench Press: 5 sets of 5. Add weight when it feels easy.
- Overhead Press: 4 sets of 8 after benching.
- Rows: 4 sets of 10. Bent-over or seated.
Wednesday – Leg Day from Hell:
- Squats: 5 sets of 5. Watched every single rep like a hawk. Form first, ego last.
- Deadlifts: 3 sets of 5. Made ’em start light. Hams were screaming.
Friday – Full Body Finish:
- Bench Press again: 3 sets of 8
- Squats again: 3 sets of 8 (lighter than Wednesday)
- Pull-ups or Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets till failure
- Farmer’s Walks: Down the hallway and back. Grip gave out quick.
First week… let’s just say the trash cans got well-used near the squat rack. Kids whining “Coach my legs!” Told ’em “Good. Means it’s working.” Kept pushing weights, correcting forms. Had one kid almost bail on squats – stood right behind him yelling “Down! Up! Again!” till he finished.
Three Weeks In: Seeing Real Gains
Stuck to the plan hard. Made everyone track weights in cheap notebooks I bought. No phones. Old school. Lifted every Monday, Wednesday, Friday like clockwork.
Noticed changes fast. Linemen started grinding out extra reps on bench. Running backs stopped skipping deadlift day. That timid QB? Kid put 15 pounds on his squat working depth. Whole damn room felt different – focused, less giggling.
Just weighed the starting fullback yesterday. Kid gained eight pounds of solid muscle since we started. Not bad for a month.
Simple Wins
Learned it ain’t rocket science. High school kids? They just need structure, heavy basics, and someone breathing down their neck making sure they don’t cheat. Forget fancy machines. Barbell, rack, weights, and guts. That’s it. Stick to the plan, add weight when it moves easy, eat like a horse, sleep enough. Saw more gains in these four weeks than all last season combined. Worked perfect. Still gotta yell at ’em sometimes though.