S B Coaches College - Tip of the Month November 2006




		S B Coaches College Tip of the Month November 2006

Do you train teams or groups of athletes? Do you wish their workouts could be more efficient? I’m not sure if there is any more necessary item to have in a weight room than a training clock (other than bars, benches, and dumbbells of course).

A training clock is extremely useful in holding your athletes accountable, timing rest intervals, circuit training, metabolic conditioning, and making your training sessions more efficient.

The best timer that is on the market right now is the Chronomix Pro-Time Interval Timer. With this timer, a coach will not have to blow a whistle or direct their athletes when to start their set or rotate to another exercise. You can set up any time intervals that you want to perform for optimal training.

Here are a couple ways that we are currently using them:

1. Team Training
Set up your training program in exercise pairs, where one athlete begins one exercise (squats) and their partner begins on another exercise (DB Row). Set the timer up for a time interval (i.e. 1:20) and they have to complete their set in that time interval and switch exercises with their partner. At the beep, they begin their set. If they begin late, give them a punishment such as squat jumps and add up how times they are late and have them perform them at the end of the training session. This helps to keep your athletes accountable.

2. Circuit Training
Set up a series of exercises with an athlete at each exercise. Set the timer up so that there is a work interval along with a rest interval (i.e. 30 on, 15 off). The athlete works for the first interval 30 seconds, has 15 seconds to get to the next exercise and begins at the next beep. You can again give your athletes a punishment for beginning their set late or stopping early to hold them accountable.

3. Metabolic Conditioning
Set up any type of intervals you want your athletes to perform for their conditioning and you can set the timer up so it shows their work as well as their rest intervals (i.e. sprint for 30, rest for 1:30). You can again give your athletes a punishment for beginning their set late or stopping early to hold them accountable.

The Chronomix Pro-Time Interval Timer is a great accessory piece to make your team training more efficient.