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Westside for Skinny Bastards, Part II
The need for speed!


The original Westside for Skinny Bastards was the most popular article I’ve ever written. I still receive dozens of emails and phone calls every day regarding this program.

Why? Because not only is it an incredible program, but there's a ton of room in it for variety. The variety that’s built into this program brings up many debates and questions. The most common question I receive is how to incorporate running workouts into this template.

Well, ‘tis the season on the East Coast where the weather starts warming up and we go outside to prepare our football players for training camp. Many of our guys are on the "Westside for Skinny Bastards" template, and in this article I'll explain how we incorporate running into their workouts (in addition to giving an overview of the entire program).

Even if you're not a football player, I think you'll learn something here about program design and maybe even a new exercise or two.


Organizing Your Training Week

As I’ve said before, there are many ways to organize your training week and there are dozens of factors that determine the training split. For example, the athlete’s training age, work schedule, school schedule, practice schedule, etc. must all be taken into consideration.

Use this sample as a guide and then find out what works best with your schedule and your training goals:

I've provided a detailed training template below. You’ll notice that a lot of the lifting has remained the same from my original article. (This is because the program works!) But, I've made a few upgrades since the original program was posted. Remember that this sample program is geared toward football players who are preparing for training camp; therefore, conditioning workouts have increased and some adjustments must be made to their weight training, especially their leg workouts.

Also note that if you haven’t been doing any running, don’t just jump into these running workouts. Use your best judgment and ease yourself into the program. Remember that the running workouts are sample workouts. After two or three weeks, make sure you add some variety to your change of direction and linear speed drills. Don't do these same running workouts for the entire off season!

Before we get to the program, let's take a look at two quick success stories:


Success Stories

Jimmy St. Louis — Murray State Tight End

Last year the pro scouts clocked Jimmy between 4.8 and 5.01 seconds in the 40-yard dash. This year, during the second week of December, he hired me to prepare him for his NFL Pro Day. He weighed 246 pounds at a height of 6'6". After less than three months on the "Skinny Bastard" strength and speed program, he ran an official 4.57-second 40-yard dash, weighing 261 pounds at his NFL Pro Day on March 4th. Jimmy is now up to 270 pounds and he's currently with the Tennessee Titans.


Ryan Lindsey — Don Bosco, Prep High School wide receiver

Ryan started the "Skinny Bastard" program last year as a bony high school sophomore. He weighed 155 pounds and ran a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. This year, at the Elite College Football Combine, he ran an official 4.29-second 40-yard dash, weighing 176 pounds!

Ryan was the fastest player at the prestigious Combine which had over 70 Division I coaches in attendance, including Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis and Florida’s Urban Meyer. Ryan’s scholarship offers have started coming in after his blazing performance!

Okay, as usual, I’m sick of typing. Let’s workout!


The Program

Monday, A.M. — Energy system training (change of direction focus)

Dynamic Warm-up

General Warm-up Phase

Ground-Based Mobility Phases

Frequency Phase

Change of Direction Drills


Monday, P.M. — Max-Effort Upper Body Lifting

A. Max-Effort Lift — Work up to a max set of 3-5 reps.

Choose one of the following exercises:


B. Supplemental Lift — Perform 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:


C. Lat/upper back superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Group 2


D. Elbow flexor exercise — Perform 3 sets of 6-10 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:


E. Abdominal circuit

Just pick a variety of ab exercises and perform them in circuit fashion with no rest between exercises.


Tuesday — Lower Body Strength Training

I've provided two options for your first exercise on lower body day — a max-effort exercise or dynamic box squats. If you're already big and strong but you lack speed, start your lower body workout with the dynamic box squats.

If you're a weak, skinny bastard, choose one of the max-effort exercises as your first choice. If you're somewhere in between, perform max-effort work for two weeks and then perform dynamic box squats for two weeks. Keep alternating your two-week mini-cycles throughout your training cycle.


A. Max-Effort Lift — Work up to a max set of 3-5 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:

OR


A. Dynamic Box Squats (with bands and/or chains if necessary) — 8 sets of 2 with 50-60% of your 1RM.

B. Unilateral Movement — Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:


C. Hip Extension exercise — Perform 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps (I tend to focus more on hip extension exercises (as opposed to knee flexion exercises) for the hamstrings once we increase the volume of running.

Choose one of the following exercises:


D. Neck/Grip superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 3-4 supersets.

Group 1

Group 2


Wednesday — Energy System Training (linear speed focus)

Dynamic Warm-up

General Warm-up Phase

Hurdle Mobility Phase — 4-5 hurdles

Frequency Phase


Linear Speed Workout

Hurdle Hops or High Box Jumps — Perform 3 sets of 3 jumps. Rest one minute between sets.

Loaded 20-yard sprints (use either a weighted vest or sled) — Perform 6 weighted 20-yard sprints. Rest 30 seconds between sprints.

Free sprints (no added weight) — Perform four 20-yard sprints, rest 30 seconds between sprints. After the last sprint, rest one minute then perform three 30-yard sprints. Rest the amount of time it takes you to walk back to the start line. After the last 30-yard sprint, rest one minute then perform two 40-yard sprints. Rest two minutes between the 40-yard sprints.


Thursday — Repetition Upper Body Strength Training

A. Repetition Lift — Work up to 3 sets of max reps, rest 90 seconds between sets.

Choose one of the following exercises:


B. Lat/upper back superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Group 2


C. Medial Delt exercise — Perform 3 - 4 sets of 8-15 reps.

Choose one of the following exercises:


D. Upper Arm Superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 2-3 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Group 2


E. Weighted ab superset — Once again, superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group. Perform 2-3 supersets of 10-15 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Group 2


Friday — Strongman Conditioning

Note: If you can't perform strongman training on this day, you can substitute it with another running day. This running day can consist of a dynamic warm-up followed by sport-specific drills. Kettlebell training is also another great alternative on this day.


Conclusion

Skinny bastards can get big and strong too, even if they need to run to prepare for their sports! Use this program as a guide and get to work!


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