A Week Of In-Season Training With World Champion Shot Putter Reese Hoffa

Article By: Reese Hoffa

Reese Hoffa is the owner of the Hoffa Throws Academy, an elite training facility located in Watkinsville GA. He is a 3-time Olympian, 2-time World Champion, and spent an unprecedented 10 straight years ranked in the top 3 in the world.

In my previous article, I outlined a couple of mistakes I see throwers making with their training. You can check that article out by clicking here. I really appreciate the feedback I got from the Kabuki Power community, and one of the most common questions was how those considerations actually entered into program design. I thought the most productive way to answer that question was to just open up my old training log and show a sample training week from my final season as a pro. This is my actual in season workout schedule assuming a meet on Saturday.

Monday- Movement Prep Day
5 minutes of easy rowing or skiing on a Concept 2 Row or Ski Erg.
DB Seated Military Press 3×8
Bent Over Fly 2×10
Single Leg Squat 3×6
ShouldeRok Swings 3×10 Double Arm Each Direction
ShouldeRok Swings 2×5 Single Arm Each Direction

Tuesday- Throw and Bench Day
AM Session- Throwing Practice
PM Session- Bench Press 4×3 at 1.0 m/s to 1.3m/s (during the season I wanted to keep the weight lighter, so I used the Squats and Science OpenBarbell device to measure velocity. For more information on velocity tracking, I suggest Brandon Senn’s article found here.
Band Pull Apart superset with DB Upright Row 2×15
Single Arm DB Bench 2×10
Hoffa Rotational Press 2×10
Sprints 4×30 yards

Wednesday-Movement Prep Day
Side Lunges 2×8
Speed Skater Jump 2×8
Bench Glute Bridge 2×10
Hill Sprint 4×2 Sprints
ShouldeRok Swings 2×5 Single Arm Each Direction

Thursday-Throw and Explosive Movement
AM Session- Throwing Practice
PM Session- Banded Trap Bar Deadlift 4×3 (Speed Focus)
TRX Side Raises 2×10
Lateral Arm Raise superset with Seated Clean 3×8
Medicine Ball Twists 2×8 (Explosive)

Friday- Pre-Meet
3 rounds of circuit
Box Jump x5
Bird Dog x5
Single Leg Squat x3 each leg
Plyometric Pushup x5

Saturday- Competition and Squat
AM Session- Throw in Competition
PM Session- Duffalo Bar Squat 5×3 at 1.0 to 1.3 m/s (for speed focus)
Hoffa Super Push-up 2×15
Blackburns 4×20 seconds each position
Woodchopper 2×12
Easy Sprints 4×100 yards

Sunday- Rest
On Sundays I would do some light stretching, possibly followed by treatments like foam rolling, but this isn’t limited to just Sundays. Any day where I felt like it would improve my performance I was going to take the time to take care of myself. If you are serious about your performance you should do the same.

A note on the speed work: The velocity ranges used are the result of research along with knowing my body. I looked at the rate I moved various percentages of my max and along with my strength coach, Corey Davis, decided that this was the range of speed that would be heavy enough stimulate appropriately without being overly taxing. I typically move weight quickly, so I imagine for many people they would want their speed work to be at a lower speed range.

To hear more from Reese, check out www.hoffathrows.com, email him at hoffathrows@coreblendtraining.com, on Instagram as @hoffathrows or his Facebook page Hoffa Throws Academy.