By Lisa Altobelli
Pushing vans, flipping gargantuan tractor tires and lifting kegs are the typical events in a strongman competition -- and in a workout devised by Carlo Alvarez, a former major league strength coach who trains student-athletes at St. Xavier in Cincinnati, including its nationally-ranked (No. 9) football team.
"[Because] they're high school kids," says Alvarez, who left the Cincinnati Reds to take over as the Bombers' strength coach before the team's undefeated season in 2005, "you have to break up the monotony of the weight room and keep things interesting."
Top high school athletic programs have been focusing more on conditioning, and St. Xavier employs a nutritionist as well as Alvarez, who has devised a five-day-a-week in-season training program for the football team. Alvarez comes to the all-boys' Jesuit school after working with athletes at Notre Dame and the Cleveland Indians in addition to the Reds. He had run St. Xavier's weight program from 1996 to '98 while earning an exercise science degree at Cincinnati. "I wanted to try high school, college and pro," says Alvarez, 34. "After doing all three, I realized my passion was training younger athletes."
"Since Carlo came back, we've been the best-conditioned team on the field and also the most flexible," says Steve Specht, coach of the 7-1 Bombers. "We had kids who could bench-press a lot but couldn't move. Now they can." Senior cornerback Jon Saelinger, 22), who is 6 feet, 185 pounds, and junior running back Darius Ashley (5'9", 180) have each dropped their time in the 40-yard dash from 4.7 to 4.4 since Alvarez arrived, while also gaining 25 pounds of muscle. "The 300-yard sprints are the worst," says Ashley. "Guys throw up after those. But we trust Coach Alvarez. He makes us better athletes. Plus, he makes things fun."
Speed Parchute
Drill: Sprint 60 yards with elbows bent at a 90-degree angle, raising knees high. Walk back and take parachute off. Sprint 30 yards. Do entire drill six to 10 times. Purpose: Sprints develop speed, and adding the parachute, says Alvarez, helps players like Darius Ashleyincrease "that explosiveness when someone's chasing you so you can separate from them."
Wall Sits
Drill: With back against the wall, slide down until knees are at a 90-degree angle and hold. Alvarez piles on three 75-pound sand bags. Hold position for two to five minutes with abdominals contracted, heels down and toes up. Purpose: Develops strength and stamina in hips, quads, abdominals and lower back. Says Alvarez, "This can be a psychological exercise as well as a physical one. Some kids tend to cry."
Tire Flips
Drill: Drop hips to squat and grip underneath a 300-pound tire. With shoulders back, chest up and hips low, stand and flip tire over. Repeat for 40 yards. Purpose: Works hamstrings, glutes, biceps, lower and upper back, and hands of athletes like Jon Saelinger. Alvarez often sets this up as a race, pitting positions -- O-line versus D-line, say -- against each other.
