Now, in the blog prior to this, I spoke about most of the elements that helped me on the way to a short-lived but nonetheless gratifying ballspeed record. Now, we are going to dive a little deeper into the weeds here and look at what I feel an off-season program should look like and be structured as. Obviously, there will be some variance between each individual based on age, training age, allowable training time, rest, recovery, and so on. But if I were to be very general, this is how I would set it up.
First, we have our offseason plan, assessments, and goals. So, we look at available training time, what the offseason could and should be. Now, the biggest factor of it all is training availability and training age. Training isn't about how old you are but how much time over the years you have spent in the gym (useful time training, if any at all). I would likely never build a program for someone who hasn't spent much time in the gym, the same as I would for someone who has many years under their belt. Could I build a very general program? Sure, but that's not what this blog is about; it's about maximizing an offseason program. Training time, on the other hand, is realistically how much time you have each week to spend training, whether that be in the gym or hitting balls. Of course, in a perfect world, it would be enough to do both, but not every world is perfect. Some sacrifices can be made, sure, but at the end of the day, there is work, family, kids' sports/activities, and so many other things that could come into play. There should never be a custom program made without knowing, at the very least, these two things.
Now, the testing aspect, or the baseline numbers as I like to say, so we can then go ahead and start tracking and testing. Key Performance Indicators or KPIs for short are generally short burst tests that give us an idea of specific characteristics of our strengths and weaknesses. These tests can include grip strength, vertical jump, step drop for impulse strength using a Reactive Strength Index device (RSI), measured club head speed, mobility testing (TPI testing), general strength tests with weights, throwing tests for speed and/or distance, and I'm sure there are some more that we could add in as well, but not everyone has access to specific measuring devices.
Once we have our baseline of things and our information, we can then start to build the program and take all these factors into consideration. Also, during this time, we can, if it makes sense, start to build up our hitting capacity/hitting cardio. Why do we do this now? Well, like anything else in sport, we need to be able to work ourselves into proper competition or golf shape. It's very difficult to work on a true speed program if you get tired after 20-30 balls. This also allows you to see what breakdowns can occur, what muscle groups get tired faster than others either due to swing mechanics, weakness, or even a past injury (which should have been noted in the initial assessment as well). This will also allow, when the time comes to really push speed, your hitting capacity will be in a good starting place to push enough to also have the proper cognitive benefits of the brain signaling the muscles through a smoother pattern of movements (yes, it's a thing if you read "The Performance Cortex" it goes much deeper than my simple words here) but basically, your brain starts to clear a smoother pathway for the signals it is sending back down into your muscles during the firing process (my not fancy non-scientific explanation).
The Ramp up stage takes us from a certain percentage of a best club head speeds( a percentage of your all time best or current best) to a slightly higher percentage with maybe a hand full of all out push days/swings pending on how things are trending, remember peaking is being the fastest when it is the most important, the build up allows many different things to be at play, certain swing changes, ball flight work, and your bodies ability to adapt to the stimulus and strain it is going through, remember we are taking into consideration your training outside of hitting here as well, as the training blocks change so does the percentage of ramp up. During the off season build up phase we would continue to test KPI's to make sure we are recovering well through the our recovery modalities. if certain KPI's drop off we then must try to make adjustments to aspects of the training, nutrition and recovery, yes of course off days happen, extra stress, work/life, sleep patterns it all comes into play when you are trying to excel to your absolute limits.
As we continue to ramp up speed, our conditioning to start our peak should also be in place. We then add to the amount of hitting, which also helps the neurological connection. As long as we have not made any major swing changes, as this could confuse things (faster signal sending from brain to muscles), it allows the same amount of perceived exertion with a higher actual output. When you're not fighting your signals to your brain, you're also saving energy long-term, which is why I believe it is very beneficial to the central nervous system. No, I don't have any scientific backing for this, just my own abilities of trial and error and some discussion with peers along the way. The last thing we want to do is "fry" our central nervous system since the recovery time seems to be much longer.
The peaking window varies for each individual depending on many factors: age, KPIs, ability to recover. But as I tell my clients, it's very difficult to hold a peak over a long period. If you want to be ready for the beginning of the season or a specific event, your timing has to be pretty darn predictable. Some can peak in 2, 3, or 4 weeks, while others take 6 to 8 weeks with a slower build-up. It holds true for almost any powersport; you never see any world records being broken during an Olympic year in January. They more than likely happen during the Olympics, and that's not by mistake but by design. Peaking too soon can lead to a crash mid-season or too early (trust me, I've been there) in a season, causing a drop in mid-season performance, only to have to hold on as best one can for the rest of the year. If the client feels good and is conditioned to do so, the best bet is to do mini peaks. This is where you push speed but don't try to hold it for more than two or three practice sessions, then back down again to a lower percentage, and proceed with training, bringing it back up again 4-6 weeks later. Sometimes these mini peaks allow for sustainable speed gains over a longer duration, without as much stress as having a 2-week all-out speed push of 6 hitting sessions, trying to push and push each time, and then smoking your central nervous system for weeks at a time. One of the biggest things needed during this is self-control or having a coach that actually understands and doesn't just keep pushing with reckless abandon. No one involved can let their ego take over and dismantle all the work put in during the building phase.
Once the season is in full swing in the gym as for that side of training, pending on the schedule we want to have a minimal effective dose of training, our goal is to not lose, but also not overstimulate to slow down recovery from the main job of being faster during competitions or Golf, with the possibility of 4 day long tournaments in sometimes very tiring conditions. So what we try to do is minimal effective dose training, enough to keep things stimulated but not be worn out and sore,. how often is completely dependent on the individual, some people like to do a little something daily or every other day, some like to do a once a week lifting and certain recovery modalities on other day, while they focus time and efforts on practice. obviously these can be distinctly different again pending on schedule and sport, as I do expect it to be different from a daily touring professional to a Long drive Professional to your average player who tees it up on the weekends. as much as i would love for their to be a one size fits all there really isn't.
With all that set in order you should have the ability to keep your foot on the gas for the majority of your off season with all the preparation and planning, not to mention hard work and hours you committed to the work that was in front of you, bringing you into your competitive or summers season faster and ready to hit it longer than ever before. Now of course depending on your commitment to the entire process the results will vary as what i have laid out here does have the ability for certain things to get moved around. Testing of KPI's can and should be tested on a year round basis not only for certain advancements in the individuals training but to have a solid tracking system of what might have worked and what could also be improved. Could we improve are recovery modalities? Probably as its one thing I've noticed across the board that wont ever harm anyone to get more efficient at. Better caloric intake and or control is another that is one that needs focus as well for the most part. I will state some times not in a negative sense, but in a you might need to eat more sense, hydrate better, improve your macro nutrient ratios to suit your personal needs. if your training 4-5 days a week, hitting balls 2-3 times a week at a high percentage of effort there is a good chance you really aren't eating enough. so you are than leaving valuable recovery capabilities on the table, Literally! and so on and so on. meaning Track everything you can as best you can. its will only benefit your future self.
My approach with all clients is grounded in a meticulous initial plan that is customized to their specific needs. I do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions or superficial exercises designed solely for social media appeal. Instead, I offer a structured series of events aimed at optimizing performance when it truly counts. If you are interested in collaborating with me or developing a personalized program, please click the contact button to begin your journey in the upcoming off-season.
Ryan Gregnol
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