Graduating from the BFS Readiness Program

MAKING THE TRANSITION GRADUATING FROM THE BFS READINESS PROGRAM By Dr. Greg Shepard My thirteen-year-old son Matt was on the BFS Readiness Program for about nine months during his 7th grade year. He began last fall with just the 45-pound bar. Matt benched, squatted, and cleaned with this poundage for two sets of ten reps. [f his technique was great and he was able to do his two sets of ten, then he was allowed to increase five pounds.

It was great for me as a father, as a coach, and as the take place. Teammates from Matt's 7th grade football team also came to go through the BFS Readiness Program. Matt and two others graduated by June.

To graduate, an athlete must parallel squat 145 pounds for his 2 x 10 reps, bench 105 2 x 10 (or do it with BFS clinician Jim Brown working with 7th grader Matt 90 percent of body weight), and finally clean or hang Shepard. Matt's best power clean was 135 pounds. clean with 105 (or 90 percent of bodyweight for 2 sets of 5 reps). It was a struggle for Matt. On December 10, 1987, he missed his 2 x 5 on the hang clean with only 85 pounds.

He also missed 80 pounds on the bench in December. | was surprised on the squat. Matt got the 145 2 x 10 mark on the parallel squat on February 15, 1988. However, to graduate you must attain all three requirements. [t took Matt until May to get weighed only 110, we used the 90 percent requirement graduation. The hardest requirement otf the three was the bench press, but Matt finally achieved graduation toward the end of May 1988. It should be noted that Matt was a quarterback on the 7th grade tootball team, a forward on the basketbal] team, and threw the shot and discuss in track. He stretched, Matt accepting is national championship award in sprinted, and did plyometrics on a regular basis.

Matt weightlifting for 12-13 year olds in the 123-pound class. also worked on the skills of passing, shooting a basketball Presenting the award at the Boca Raton, Florida, meet was and throwing on a regular basis in track. He competed in Gene Baker, national director of weightlifting for the several weightlifting competitions and qualified for the youth development program. junior nationals tn july.

The transition trom the BFS Readiness Program (Gold Book) to the BFS Standard Program (Grey Book) was easy. The first week vou do 3 x 3, so vou begin each lift with the graduation poundage. Thus, the parailel squat was begun with bench, bench, and clean were begun with 100 pounds. For the box squat we iooked at our Readiness Program record, which was 195 pounds for 2 x began our first set of three reps with 195 pounds.

Obviously, the first set was accomplished in fine style. From there, we just followed the rules as outlined. You go up, down, or stay the same depending on how you feel, Also, we filled out our Rep Records on pages 17-19 from our Readiness Program Book. Those have already been established, so you can start breaking records trom the very first dav. Continued on next page 14 MAKING THE TRANSITION Continued from the previous page OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTING A GREAT IDEA!

BFS Clinician Jim Brown coaching Matt Shepard on the Power Snatch movements. We at BFS strongly recommend that all coaches get in Olympic Weightlifting. It’s a fun and challenging sport. The Olympic Lifts also help build an athlete’s explosive power. The vast majority of coaches are intimidated by the Snatch and Clean and Jerk. [ used to be like that. However, | found out that an athlete can compete Matt has jerked 115 pounds. It's a lot easter than most coaches think. floor. A Power Snatch is similar to a Power Clean in many respects. The Clean and Jerk is even easier. Just do a Power Matt’s confidence and abilities took some major Clean like most athletes are already doing. Then dip, jumps.

As of July 15, the ofÏcial end of his 7th grade launch the bar upward, split the feet explosively, and you year, his marks were as follows: Bench, 125; Clean, 135; have the jerk part of it.

Snatch, 82 1/2; Clean and Jerk, 115; and Squat, 205. His Hardly anybody Olympic Lifts anymore so you don’t body weight jumped from 100 to 125 pounds. In August, have to do much to get national recognition. For example, a 1987, Matt could barely throw a wobbly, 10-yard pass.

16-year-old, 165-pound athlete can be ranked in the top 25 He can now throw an accurate, 35-yard pass with a in the nation with a 135-pound Snatch and a 200-pound quick release. Obviously, I’m real proud of him.

Clean and Jerk. If an athlete weighs over 181, its even It is also obvious that every junior high school should easier! Just Snatch 135 and Clean and Jerk 170 pounds. offer this program, or something similar. The weight What you read is not a misprint. It’s that easy. What it workout for groups takes only about 30 minutes twice means is that every high school has the capacity of having per week. An individual takes even less time. The every member of a 10-man team ranked in the top 25 teaching of our BFS 1-2-3-4 flexibility program is easy and nationally. Obviously, that can do wonders for your it’s easy to do. A lot can be done at home.

Teaching program, not to mention the increased self-concept sprinting technique and plyometrics are also easy. The improvement for the individual. main thing is to consistently reinforce correct form. Much of the program can even be taught in conjunction with other physical education units, like basketball of softball. So much can be accomplished with only five minutes per day of teaching time. Go for it. Catch the Vision! Now one final thought on Matt. During a workout in Program to help coaches get started in Olympic lifting Competition. late July we walked the track together. Matt seemed a little down. I put my arm around him and said, “Son, am [ pushing you too hard?

If I am, just tell me to back off.” He replied after a moment of thought, “No, Dad, just keep pushin.” I hugged him a Phase I: The High School Clean and Jerk Competition.

This competition phase lasts six weeks beginning next February. This program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Olympic Foundation. All you do is Clean and Jerk during a knock off a little early tonight. How ‘bout a milkshake?” Matt grinned and nodded. After all, he’s only thirteen. 12 very well on the Snatch by doing a Power Snatch. You don’t have to drop down with your butt one inch from the READINESS PROGRAM RECORD BOOK AND VIDEO THE BFS READINESS PROGRAM Our BFS Readiness Program has met with great success for four full years. This pioneering program emphasizes the importance of Great Technique.

In fact, you cannot increase in weight until the athletes perform every rep with the approved technique guidelines. This prevents excessive loads from being placed on young frames. An easy way to get an edge on your opponents in high school is to prepare and motivate the junior high athlete. The BFS Readiness Program does just that! Each athlete should have the Record Book and see the Video. It will help a class, or an individual, visually understand what to do. Dr. Greg Shepard, BFS President * For All Athletes Beginning in 7th Grade Easy To Understand!

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From BFS Magazine — September/October 1988. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).