Properly Programming Workouts for Athletes (Using a High/Low Training System)

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This article will outline how I utilize the High/Low Training System to properly program workouts for my high school, college, and professional athletes. This training system was popularized by the famous Canadian sprint coach, Charlie Francis. The charts shown in this article are excerpts from his published work.

Copyright 2002 – CharlieFrancis.com

When properly programming training sessions for your athletes, it becomes critically important to understand the chart shown above. This chart acts as the framework for how I program training sessions for my athletes. Observe some examples of different movements and their varying degrees of CNS demand, reflective of motor unit recruitment. Exercises shown on the far left are more demanding on the athletes central nervous system than exercises shown on the far right which are less intensive.

What Makes a Movement CNS Intensive?

Here’s some factors that contribute to motor unit recruitment and, therefore, the degree of CNS demand: speed of movement, degree of resistance that must be overcome, amplitude of movement, number of working muscles, size of working muscles, volume of work, and density of work. Knowing this, we can gauge CNS impact by various forms of movement and plan training accordingly for our athletes.

For example, here’s a chart that is great for understanding how sprint intensity impacts CNS demand. On our high CNS days we will sprint maximally 95%+. We will do this for 2-3 days during the week. On our low CNS days, we will incorporate tempo runs which are referred to as “low intensity runs” in the chart below.

Order of Movements (Ordered Based off CNS Demand)

High Demanding Movements

  • Maximal Effort Sprints
  • Explosive Medicine Ball Throws
  • Plyometric Jumps (Explosive, Elastic)
  • Lower Body Compound Movements
Cleveland Indians Outfielder, Chris Roller Performs Medicine Ball Backward Overhead Throws for Distance on his High CNS Training Day

Low Demanding Movements

  • Tempo Runs (75% of Best Time or Slower)
  • Upper Body Movements (Bench Press, Military Press, Lat Pull Down etc.)
  • Isolated Supplementary Movements (Bicep Curls, Tricep Extensions, etc.)
  • Mobility/Movement Circuits
Professional Baseball Players (Chris Roller, Ivan Gonzalez, and Ryan Reynolds) Perform Tempo Runs on a Low CNS Training Day

After observing this information, it becomes evident that we do not want our athletes performing two high CNS training sessions on consecutive days. Completing two high demanding training sessions on back-to-back days will increase the risk of injury and hinder the athletes output. It’s imperative that we follow a high demanding training session with a lower demanding training session to optimize recovery. On a low CNS training day, we want to design movements that allow the athlete to recover in preparation for the next high CNS training session.

Weekly Training Schedule

Specific exercises, total volume, and intensity will differ for each athlete. However, how we schedule training sessions throughout the week does not. The first day of the week will start with a high CNS training day and will be followed by a low CNS training day. We will not train two high CNS training sessions on back-to-back days. We need to use the low training days to allow the athlete to recover adequately and be ready for the next high demanding day. Generally speaking, here’s what a weekly training schedule will look like for our high school, college, and professional athletes.

Weekly Training Schedule Using a High/Low Training System:

Day 1 (Monday): High CNS Training Day
Day 2 (Tuesday): Low CNS Training Day or Off
Day 3 (Wednesday): High CNS Training Day
Day 4 (Thursday): Low CNS Training Day or Off
Day 5 (Friday): High CNS Training Day
Day 6 (Saturday): Low CNS Training Day or Off
Day 7 (Sunday): Low CNS Training Day or Off

High CNS Training Days

On our high CNS training days, we like to place the exercises that impose the most CNS demand early on in the training session. We want the athletes fresh, and output high for movements that impose the most demand. Here’s two examples of what a high CNS training session will look like for our advanced and intermediate athletes.

Sample High CNS Training Session for Advanced Athlete:

A1. Movement Prep + Dynamic Skips

Speed Block
B1. Maximal Effort Sprints with Complete Recovery

Power Block
C1. Explosive Medicine Ball Throws - For our advanced athletes these are usually designed specifically for the individual with the goal of improving sequencing in their swing or pitching motion. With that being said, I like programming theses drills following their sprints to ensure high outputs. I don't want one of my athletes performing a specific drill in a fatigued state which can impact their skill.

Strength + Power Block
D1. Heavy Lower Body Compound Movement 
D2. Plyometrics (Explosive/Elastic) - Depending on the total volume we superset our heavy lower body movement or dynamic-effort lower body movement with a bilateral or unilateral explosive or elastic (plyometric) jump.

Accessory Block (Designed based off the individual athletes needs. This is only completed if the athlete is not fatigued)
E1. Bilateral or Unilateral Row Variation
E2. Bilateral or Unilateral Lower Body Exercise (Based off the main movement prior)
E3. Anti-Movement Core
Philadelphia Phillies LHP, Jake Hernandez Trap Bar Deadlifts 600 LB on his High CNS Training Day
Sample High CNS Training Session for Intermediate Athlete:

A1. Movement Prep + Dynamic Skips

Power/Deceleration Block
B1. Explosive Jumps (Low Volume) EX: Snapdown Series (We will spend a total time of 5-7 minutes on this block. The volume is so low that it won't impact their sprints in the next block.)

Speed Block
C1. Build-Up Sprints or Maximal Effort Sprints (Based off the athlete and where they're currently at. We start with build-ups and progress to maximal effort sprinting.)

Lower Body Strength Block
D1. Lower Body Compound (RPE: 6-8)

Lower Body Strength Block
E1. Lower Body Compound (RPE: 6-8)

Upper Body Strength Block
F1. Upper Body Push
F2. Upper Body Pull

Core Strength Block
G1. Iso Core Series

With this sample training day, you'll notice the exercise volume is more than the advanced training session sample shown above. Younger athletes with a low training age aren't moving the same numbers of weight as an advanced athlete. This will induce less stress on the CNS. In addition, the output these athletes are expressing is far less than and advanced athlete who is more explosive and applies more force with each foot strike. For the majority of these athletes we will train three days per week so were including some accessory work towards the end of the training session that would be saved for a low CNS training day. Generally speaking, most of these athletes low CNS training day is spent off from training.
High School Baseball Player, Travis Sykora Performs Trap Bar Deadlifts on his High CNS Training Day

Low CNS Training Days

To reiterate, on our low CNS training days, we’re looking to enhance recovery and prepare the athlete for the next training session which will focus on higher demanding movements. To accomplish this, we will program continuous movement circuits, tempo runs, sled drags (upright, lateral, backwards, etc.), upper body exercises, and isolated supplementary arm work. Here’s two examples of what a low CNS training session will look like:

Sample Low CNS Training Session #1

A1. Movement Circuit

B1. Dynamic Skips

C1. Tempo Runs
Washington Nationals Catcher, Tres Barrera Performs Various Lower Body Sled Walks on his Low CNS Training Day
Sample Low CNS Training Session #2

A1. Movement Circuit

B1. Bilateral or Unilateral Upper Body Push
B2. Anti-Movement Core

C1. Bilateral or Unilateral Upper Body Pull
C2. Anti-Movement Core

D1. Shoulder/Upper Back Exercise
D2. Isolated Bicep Exercise
D3. Isolated Tricep Exercise
D4. Anti-Movement Core

Hopefully this article was able to explain the High/Low Training System and how I utilize it with my athletes! If you have any additional questions, feel free to send them over to my email: simonesbaseballtraining@gmail.com

Off-Season Training Programs

If anyone is looking for workouts using the High/Low training methodology described in this article be sure to check out our training programs below!

College Baseball Off-Season Training Program

Pro Baseball Off-Season Training Program

Body Weight Strength, Speed, and Power Training Program

In-Season Baseball Training Program

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