Why do I need to lift weights now?

Strength and conditioning should be a year round endeavor for all high school athletes. Getting your body in the very best condition for any sport is essential to your success in that sport. It is also an effective way to help develop time management skills. Our workouts last an hour and can easily fit into everyone's schedule.

But I play another sport. How can I lift weights and still be a dedicated member of my team?

The program that we have outlined is not football specific. It is designed for an athlete and, therefore, is beneficial to every athlete in every sport.
Our workout is a focused intense workout that should last no more than an hour.
It will help you in every sport you play. One of the keys is the stretching portion of the program. Quite simply, it is imperative that you stretch. If you play basketball and do not stretch, your shot will suffer. Michael Jordan
lifted weights before games and he seemed to fare pretty well. Trust the system and the knowledge of our certified coaches.

I have practice at 3:30 every afternoon. How can I be expected to be at
weight lifting?

We are offering our program at 3 different times throughout the day: 7:00 AM, 3:30 PM and 6:00 PM. You can come at any specified time and can vary the day when you workout. If you have a game or another appointment, choose the time

that works for you. But choose one. We would prefer that you workout at least 3  days a week at a minimum. Please do not be late. It is up to the coaches to determine if your arrival time will you allow to lift that day or whether you need to return at a different time.

My parents don’t want me to lift weights because my grades are not up to par and I have a lot of other activities going on.

When all is said and done, you will be spending less time lifting weights than you do showering and eating breakfast. The workouts also increase your
energy level and overall focus. In addition, the coaching staff will continue to monitor you and your academic progress. We can be much more effective and successful when we see you on a regular basis. If you forgo weight lifting on a regular basis, the coaching staff cannot see you to review your academic success. The coaching staff understands that parents have expectations also. When you have disappointed them, they have every right and responsibility to pull you back from activities. Do the right thing so that weight lifting is not something that your parents find to be that which should be held back.

What if I do not want to work out regularly?

This year we are instituting a new policy to insure that we have 100% accountability and the maximum amount of participation. If you choose to not participate in the workouts, you will be asked to leave the weight room and will not be considered to be a part of the program. Of course, you are still expected to lift and condition on your own time.

But I work out on my own at another gym.

Terrific. That is totally acceptable as a second workout. But we do not believe that you are getting the full benefits of what our program offers. The
coaching staff is present at all workouts and is constantly teaching and monitoring your effort. Lifting alone rarely produces a maximum effort. Also, we have a very strong flexibility part of the workout that you probably do not include in your own workout. Also, by utilizing our program, your time is not wasted traveling. Once you leave Redwood, you can go home and spend the time with your family and your academic assignments. 

I have a private trainer and they insist that their workout is every bit as good as ours. I do better with a private trainer.

Private trainers are very good. But they do not provide the benefit of a team atmosphere that we offer. Working out with your teammates will build bonds now that will benefit the team during the season. Team unity is far more important than individuality.

So I do not have to lift every day?

We ask that you make every effort to lift on the Monday through Thursday
schedule. Your coaching staff has researched many other football programs and has found that the truly successful programs have a much higher attendance rate than we are asking. They also make the program mandatory. It is our hope that you will find the value in the program through results. Becoming bigger, faster and stronger is the best advertisement for our weight and conditioning program and results will lead other players to find the time to become bigger, faster and stronger. We have asked you, the players, what you feel would make our program even better and you have overwhelmingly mentioned that weight lifting should be mandatory. Make every effort to attend on a regular basis.

Does that mean I am off the team?

No. It means that we are looking for dedication and you have not shown yourself to be dedicated. We wipe the slate clean at the beginning of spring practice and start over. You are, however,  expected to pass the strength and conditioning tests that will be given in the spring. All players are expected to tryout for the team during spring practice.

How often am I expected to workout?

We expect you to be 100% accountable.  We expect you to be dedicated in the classroom, on the field of play and to the workout schedule we offer. If you are not involved in one of those three efforts, then you are not accountable. We also expect you to participate in the program at the following minimal pace: If you do not play any sport this winter or spring  

44 workouts ( 3 per week)
If you participate in 1 sport this winter or spring  34 workouts ( 2+ per week)
If you participate in 2 sports this winter and spring   24 workouts ( 1+ per week)

Over the duration of the program, you can workout on Friday at 3:30 to
“bank” a day that you may miss in the future. For example, if you have a vacation planned or know that you will be absent for an extended period of time, you can workout a little extra to make sure that you reach your attendance goal. We will keep attendance but you will be responsible to do the right thing and make every effort to be in the weight room. Playing another sport is not an excuse to miss weight lifting.

Why test?

Because we want to give you an idea of where you are before you start the program. That way, the strength increase will be even more evident. Please do not wait to test because you want to get stronger first. The whole concept of the weight program is for you to become bigger, faster, stronger. New this year, we will post in fitness room the top 10 in the four major lifts.

This is too hard. I don’t know if I want to play football.

This is something that only you can decide. In everything that you do in life, there is a certain amount of sacrifice that must be made to insure success.
The old adage that nothing worthwhile comes easy is very true. Our work this winter and spring will directly impact on our success next fall.  Being a dedicated member of the team now means that our program will be very strong next fall and for many years to come. We can measure the success we have enjoyed that is attributable to our off season program. Also, we have looked at the injury rate and can link injuries to a lack of attendance. Your body is changing and needs to be strong to withstand the rigors of our sport and the others that you play.

This is different from other years. Why the sudden seriousness?

This is in response to what you, the players, have requested. Actually, the coaching staff has been asking for this dedication for several years. While we
cannot make weight lifting mandatory, we can strongly encourage you to participate. Playing football is a privilege and should be something that you earn.
If you look at our opponents, the strongest programs have off season programs that are utilized to the maximum. We need to become serious now if we are to be successful later.

I have heard that I cannot go to Fresno if I don’t lift weights?

Not true. If you skip the winter/spring program we encourage you to tryout for the team during spring practice. That team will be going to Fresno. We will repeat this entire process for the summer workouts with the same standards for the fall teams. If you choose to skip winter weights and spring practice, you will not be going to Fresno.