Welle is strength trainer in the Twin Cities working at Acceleration of Minnesota. A 1987 Paynesville graduate, he graduated from St. Scholastica College, Duluth, with a degree in exercise science and obtained his masters at St. Cloud State University. He is a certified Strength Condition Specialist with the National Strength Conditioning Association.
Welle says he trains junior and senior high students, collegiate and pro athletes. He helps them gain better speed, agility, quickness, balance and strength. “The type of training a person does depends a lot on the individuals maturity level,” Welle said. “If a teen is still growing, he shouldn’t lift more than his body weight. They should concentrate on push ups, dips, pull ups and sit ups. Once the growth slows down, then they can start using low to medium weights and increase their repetitions.
“If a person can do more than 15 repetitions with a weight, then increase the amount of weight. If you can’t do more than 12 repetitions, the weight is too heavy,” he advised.
“A lot of strength training is trial and error for the beginning. They must start light and work themselves up the ladder in weights,” Welle said.
Welle told the students there are different strength programs for different sports. “A person playing football wouldn’t use the same muscle groups as a basketball player or wrestler,” he added. “If a person is in fall sports, they need to work on their endurance and overall strength in the summer months, even start in the spring if they aren’t in another sport.”
In football a person needs to work on their chest, arm and leg muscles. Wrestling requires overall muscle strength and endurance. “A person needs to look at how long their activity is and what muscle groups are used. A running back would train different muscles than a guard,” he explained.
“A person needs to establish a strength base and work up from there. A lot of training is up to the athlete as coaches don’t have the time,” Welle said. “We are seeing more and more girls with injuries as they are multi-sports people. The injuries occur because of the lack of strength training.”
Welle provided handouts to the students present on what is needed for preseason football and baseball. Since football is a dynamic type exercise, cardiovascular training should be focused on the ATP-PC system (anaerobic) training. For example, Welle suggested doing short sprints, interval training, and other activities that involve quick, short lasting activities. This should be done three to four times per week. In the off-season, some emphasis should be placed on the aerobic system by doing long endurance activities a half hour twice a week.
Some agility and speed drills included running sprints 20 yards and jogging back. Then repeat the drill three times.
For lateral speed, to improve a player’s side-to-side movement, a player should run shuffles down 30 yards and shuffles back. Repeating this four times.
Additional tips Welle provided were:
Eat: increase carbohydrates, decrease fat...excess protein is stored in the body as fat. Avoid protein drinks, they can make you slow and sluggish.
Sleep: Seven to eight hours per night.
Rest: Active recovery (golf, walks, basketball, activity) relax.
Pre-game meals: high carbohydrates (rice, pasta, baked potatoes, vegetables, breads, grains, cereals and fruits). Avoid high protein (meat, eggs, etc). They will bog you down.