The most important piece of equipment in a high school weight room is not the racks you squat in, the plates you lift, or the bars you load up. It’s not how much turf you have, what range of dumbbells you have or the different styles of cables you have. It’s the clock you have on your wall.
Coaches’ biggest enemy
Depending on your setting and schedule, most coaches' biggest enemy is the time they have to complete a training session. A real world example:
- 7 period (class) school day
- Average of 45 students per class
- Each class is 50 minutes
- Athletes have 5 minutes to change before and after class (40 minutes remaining) - Warmup and training discussion takes ~10 minutes (30 minutes remaining) - 15 minutes for main movement, 15 minutes for accessory movements
Having a strict schedule like this can make it difficult to ensure all 45 students complete the required work in the short amount of available time. The average high school student doesn’t move at a very fast pace. If they’re tired from little sleep, didn’t eat anything for breakfast, or just got broken up with, their less than ideal pace slows even further.
As coaches, one of our main responsibilities is to ensure all of our athletes complete the necessary work every day in order to maximize their potential. Here’s how a quality training clock helps us do that.
What kind of clock do I need?
First, let's discuss the features you should look for in a training clock.
Must haves:
- Large digital display that can be read from anywhere in the room
- Multiple customizable interval options
- Both electric and battery powered
Nice to haves:
- Popular interval presets (EMOM, Tabata, etc.)
- Volume control
- Bluetooth connectivity to phone
- Clock mode
- Work:rest indicators (usually done by different colors)
There are plenty of options out there for quality training clocks. Do a bit of research and plan on spending $100-$200. This investment should last decades if taken care of properly.
Strict time limit for main movements
If we follow the real world example listed above, 15 minutes to complete 3 sets of 5 reps on a bench press or a squat is not a ton of time. Athletes need to understand that once the clock starts, they need to be on task with somewhat strict rest intervals.
Let's assume we have 3 athletes (A, B, and C) working together per rack. Each working set of 5 reps takes ~1 minute, and athletes need at least 2, ideally 3 minutes of rest between sets.
Here’s a “perfect world” example as to how this would work
- Athlete A completes first set during minute 1
- Rests for minute 2 while athlete B is squatting and athlete C is spotting - Spots athlete C for minute 3
- Completes second set during minute 4
Again, this is in a perfect world and it doesn’t always work out this way. With 45 athletes in a class, it’s unrealistic to expect a coach to monitor each group specifically to make sure they stay on this tight schedule. What the coach can do is make their expectation clear from the first day of the program, and put responsibility on the more experienced lifters to uphold this standard.
Another factor to take into account here is the build and layout of your room. I’m fortunate enough to have 10 double sided racks (20 racks total) in my current setting, so we can easily fit 45 athletes into groups of 3 with racks to spare.
Many coaches aren’t quite as lucky. If you have limited equipment or space, you’ll have to adjust either the volume per exercise, the amount of time you allocate per exercise, or how many students are placed into your class (good luck with this one). You could also have half the class start on the main movement in the racks, while the other half starts on accessory movements in a different part of the room, and alternate which group starts where on different lifting days.
Accessory movements: partner 1 and partner 2
To stick with our example listed above, we have 15 minutes to complete our accessory movements. My typical structure is:
- 3 accessory exercises per day
- 3 sets per exercise
- 2 people working together (partner 1 and partner 2)
- Each partner has 30 seconds to complete their set (1 minute for each pair to complete 1 set)
- 5-10 seconds between each set for athletes to switch and get set up
- 3 sets of 1 exercise should take each pair about 3 ½ minutes
- 1 ½ minutes to rotate and get set up at next exercise
This gives us about 5 minutes per accessory exercise. 5 minutes x 3 exercises = 15 minutes
The best thing about this set up is that it’s very easy to see who’s on task and who’s not. If both athletes are standing around talking while the timer is moving, someone is skipping work, and will be addressed.
Another great aspect is while athlete one is working, athlete two is spotting and counting their partner’s reps, and vice versa. Working with a partner goes a long way in ensuring each athlete is being held accountable and completing their full sets. This is especially beneficial for large classes with 1 or 2 coaches present.
To reiterate, this example takes place in a perfect world, which is rarely the case in a weight room setting. If athletes are doing unilateral exercises or high volume work, it might take them 45-60 seconds to complete one set, instead of 30 seconds. If this is the case, there might only be time for 2 sets per exercise.
Conclusion
While it’s easy to get caught up in what exercises to do, how to progress sets and reps, and how to structure different training blocks, one of the most important aspects of building and running an effective strength and conditioning program is the logistics behind the program.
Room size and setup, allotted time per training session, and available equipment all fit into the logistics category of strength and conditioning. One of the most impactful tools that have helped me dial in programs logistically is a training clock. It’s relatively inexpensive, lasts for decades, and something athletes get used to quickly and use every day.
Specifically in the high school setting, the training clock is one of the most important pieces of equipment in any given room. If you’re looking for a way to help keep athletes engaged and focused on their work, try running your whole program off of a clock and see how such a simple tool can alter the results of a program.