Table Of ContentBigger
Faster
Stronger
Second edition
Greg Shepard, EdD
Human Kinetics
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shepard, Greg, 1942-
Bigger, faster, stronger / Greg Shepard. -- 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-7963-1 (soft cover)
ISBN-10: 0-7360-7963-7 (soft cover)
1. High school athletes--Training of. 2. School sports. 3. Physical education and training--Study and
teaching (Secondary) I. Title.
GV346.S55 2009
613.7'11--dc22
2008054277
ISBN-10: 0-7360-7963-7 (print) ISBN-10: 0-7360-8207-7 (Adobe PDF)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-7963-1 (print) ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-8207-5 (Adobe PDF)
Copyright © 2009 by Bigger Faster Stronger
Copyright © 2004 by Greg Shepard
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Bigger
Faster
Stronger
Second edition
contentS
Acknowledgments vi
Introduction vii
Part i The Total Program
1 Unified Approach to Training 3
2 BFS Rotational Set-Rep System 11
3 BFS In-Season Training 25
4 BFS Readiness Program 35
Part ii Strength Exercises
5 Six Absolutes of Perfect Technique 49
6 Parallel Squat and Squat Variations 63
7 Power Clean and Quick Lifts 81
8 Hex-Bar Deadlift and Deadlift
Variations 93
9 Bench Press and Bench Press
Variations 103
10 Sport-Specific Auxiliary Lifts 113
iv
Part iii Speed, Agility, and Flexibility
11 Agility and the BFS Dot Drill 133
12 Five-Phase Plyometric Program 139
13 Speed Training 147
14 BFS 1-2-3-4 Flexibility Program 155
Part iV Program Administration
15 Organization and Weight Room
Design 167
16 Safety and Liability 177
17 BFS Nutritional Plan 185
18 Be an Eleven 193
19 Why Steroids Don’t Work 201
Appendix 207
Index 221
About the Author 227
v
AcknowledgmentS
I would like to acknowledge those individuals who have helped through-
out the years in developing my knowledge of strength and conditioning:
Dr. Phil Allsen, Coach Gerald Crittenden, Coach Al Decoria, George
Frenn, Dr. Lavon Johnson, Coach Herb Langeman, Dr. Ed Reuter, Coach
Vert Shell, Dr. L. Jay Silvester, and Don Tollefson.
Thanks also to our Bigger Faster Stronger (BFS) clinicians: Evan Ayers,
Rick Bojak, Bob Bozied, Jim Brown, P.J. Brown, Brynn Cogdill, Ray
Cosenza, Bob Doyle, Dennis Dunn, Mandy Eddy, Doug Ekmark, Roger
Freeborn, Mike Glennie, Eric Gobble, Nick Goshe, Peter Gregg, Patti
Hagemeyer, John Halland, Doug Holland, Doug Kaufusi, Erich Mach,
Steve Price, Jeff Scurran, Jeff Sellers, Tom Sullivan, Rick Tomberlin, Len
Walencikowski, Randy Walker, and Tom Wilson.
Special thanks to my BFS partners: BFS president Bob Rowbotham
and BFS vice president John Rowbotham, BFS editor-in-chief Kim Goss,
and the thousands of coaches and athletes who have participated in the
BFS program and clinics. And special thanks to my wife, Diana Shepard,
for proofreading this book.
vi
introduction
You can’t argue with success. More than 9,000 high schools have imple-
mented the Bigger Faster Stronger (BFS) program since 1976, and of
these schools, more than 400 have won state championships in football
after attending BFS clinics. Many college teams and high-profile profes-
sional athletes are making dramatic improvements with BFS, and each
year our clinicians schedule more than 400 seminars.
The popularity of the BFS program has reached such a level that
in one independent survey through the University of Minnesota, 40
percent of the high school football coaches polled said they use BFS
as their primary source of strength and conditioning information, and
more than 250,000 students have gone through a BFS clinic. What this
means is that BFS is not one of those workouts that is here today, gone
tomorrow; it is a popular and effective training method with a 33-year
history of success.
What is not widely known is how the BFS program developed from
events that are a vital component of the achievements of BFS today. As
I think about the origins of today’s BFS, I can point to three primary
sources. First, there’s George Frenn, who personifies the throwers in track
and field in the late 1960s who achieved remarkable results on the field
and in the weight room. Second, there are the high school and college
athletes I coached from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s, the very first
BFS athletes. Finally, there’s the late Stefan Fernholm, an elite discus
thrower. Stefan shared many remarkable training methods, especially
in the area of proper technique, from the Eastern Bloc nations in the
1980s. All these athletes provided the practical experience to refine the
BFS system so it could be easily taught and implemented in the United
States.
george Frenn’S Secret
By the late 1960s, I had already been a high school football coach and a
strength coach at the University of Oregon and Oregon State, and before
that I had trained with the San Diego Chargers, who at that time were
at the forefront of weight training for pro football. I had won many
vii
viii Introduction
powerlifting competitions, including the national collegiate champion-
ships, and I was a member of an Olympic weightlifting team in Salz-
burg, Austria. I had also paid my dues academically, eventually earning
a doctorate in physical education. So as far as training knowledge and
experience go, I didn’t exactly just fall off the turnip truck. But, when I
saw George Frenn train, I knew I still had a great deal to learn.
One of the best hammer throwers in the country, George had a best
competitive squat of 843 pounds (382 kilograms), long before the days
of super suits and other supportive equipment. He was so far ahead of
everyone else that it was obvious there was something different about
his training. I wanted to know his secrets! So, in the late 1960s, I spent
my summers in the Los Angeles area to be near George and pick his
brain.
Also joining George were many other elite throwers who came from
all over the country to live in the Los Angeles area, where they could
throw all year round with many of the best athletes in the world. As a
football coach, I looked at these guys and was amazed at their condi-
tioning. There were at least 30 of them, and they weighed an average of
270 pounds (123 kilograms) and ran 4.6 to 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard
(37-meter) dash. They were far bigger, faster, and stronger than the
professional football players of that era, and I wanted those types of
athletes on my football team.
George was the master, along with Jon Cole, a discus thrower who
squatted 905 pounds (411 kilograms) and deadlifted 880 pounds (399
kilograms) in powerlifting competitions. Jon also entered a few Olym-
pic lifting meets and, with best lifts of 430 pounds (195 kilograms) in
the standing Olympic press, 340 pounds (154 kilograms) in the snatch,
and 430 pounds (195 kilograms) in the clean and jerk, he came close to
making the U.S. Olympic team in weightlifting. Everybody learned from
Jon and George. Athletes from the Soviet Union were even in awe of
these two, and their coaches and athletes came over to the United States
to observe and learn. We were the dominant force in the world at that
time in the throwing events, and everybody wanted our secret.
What was the secret? It was simple, but it was quite radical at the time:
Stretch, lift hard with free weights, vary workouts, and concentrate on
the big multijoint lifts that develop the legs and hips. You’ve got to do
that, plus add sprinting and jump training.
This means that all athletes, regardless of their sport, should focus their
strength training on the squat and the power clean. These lifts may be
augmented by doing a few, but only a few, auxiliary lifts, and the lift-
ing and stretching should be complemented with speed and plyometric
jump drills. They’re simple ideas, but they’re the best.
