Train Like a Pro

When you were a kid, playing sports was everything, and you strived to make that game-winning goal or buzzer-beating shot. Athleticism is something you trained hard for, and it shouldn’t stop as you age. Now you can preserve that feeling of exaltation with Train Like a Pro: Programming to Develop Your Inner Athlete.

Renowned strength and conditioning coach Matthew S. Ibrahim equips you with the understanding, the guidance, and all the tools you need to create training programs that mirror those of today’s top competitive athletes. Focusing on long-term growth, this book will give you access to training programs for steady progression, taking a whole-body approach to building athleticism and improving performance. While other training systems leave out critical components, this book incorporates the sprint, agility, and mobility work that encompass holistic athletic performance training:

• 132 exercises with modifications
• 4 comprehensive training programs
• 66 warm-up drills

You’ll learn about basic training principles, change of direction skills, reactive agility, conditioning, and so much more. You can pick one of the provided programs or use Ibrahim’s guidance to build an individualized training program that meets your needs.

Competitive athletes aren’t the only ones who want to tap into their athletic potential. Ibrahim knows this, and he’s on a mission to help people cultivate body control and feel their very best. The approach he’s developed prioritizes not only building strength, power, and speed but also improving the following:

• Joint mobility
• Muscle flexibility
• Stamina
• Endurance
• Conditioning
• Multidirectional movement skills
• Recovery

Simply put, Train Like a Pro takes the guesswork out of developing athleticism. Accessible programs and a holistic approach make this the perfect tool for leveling up your training.

Earn continuing education credits/units! A continuing education exam that uses this book is also available. It may be purchased separately or as part of a package that includes both the book and exam.

Audience

Strength athletes and ambitious fitness enthusiasts who want to train hard and use a holistic approach to building athleticism. Strength and conditioning coaches and personal trainers working with clients who want to train like competitive athletes.

Chapter 1. The Truth About Training Like an Athlete
Chapter 2. Developing Athletic Strength and Power
Chapter 3. Developing Change of Direction and Agility Skills
Chapter 4. The Science of Conditioning
Chapter 5. Warm-Up Exercises
Chapter 6. Strength Exercises
Chapter 7. Plyometrics and Power Exercises
Chapter 8. Change of Direction, Agility, and Speed Exercises
Chapter 9. Conditioning Exercises and Drills
Chapter 10. The Train Like a Pro Training Program
Chapter 11. The GPP/Hypertrophy-Focused Training Program
Chapter 12. The Strength-Focused Training Program
Chapter 13. The Power-Focused Training Program

Driven by a strong passion for paying it forward, Matthew S. Ibrahim has built his entire career around strength and conditioning—from coaching athletes and mentoring young professionals to educating future leaders in the field. He has held high-level roles, including co-owner, director of strength and conditioning, and internship coordinator, all of which laid the foundation for his current work in higher education. Today, he serves as clinical coordinator and assistant professor of exercise science at Endicott College, where he also advises the Exercise Science Club and The Hidden Opponent, an organization dedicated to student-athlete mental health awareness and wellness. He remains actively involved with Endicott’s athletics department as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach and as a faculty consultant. Ibrahim also serves as an adjunct instructor of exercise science and advisory board member at Maryville University.

As the founder of Athletic Performance University (APU), Ibrahim developed a leading educational platform approved for continuing education units (CEU) by the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). A sought-after speaker, he has delivered presentations globally—including in Europe and across more than 25 U.S. states—for EXOS at Google, UFC Performance Institute, Stanford University, Duke University, NSCA, and Perform Better. His expertise has been featured in Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Journal, Personal Training Quarterly, Science for Sport, and T Nation.

A lifelong learner, Ibrahim holds a PhD in human and sport performance, two master’s degrees (sport performance and sport leadership), a bachelor’s degree in exercise and health sciences, and a certificate in organizational leadership from Harvard Business School—fueling his strong commitment to growth, development, education, and leadership. He holds the Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) certifications, and he is the Massachusetts state advisory board member for the NSCA. He is currently preparing for the Certified Performance & Sport Scientist (CPSS) credential, further deepening his expertise and ongoing dedication to advancing the profession.

“In Train Like a Pro: Programming to Develop Your Inner Athlete, author Matthew Ibrahim will show you how to design and implement the same types of programs used by the world’s best athletes. If you want to channel your inner athlete, this is the book for you.”
—Michael Boyle, Owner of Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning and Author of New Functional Training for Sports

“Most people aren’t prepared to train like an athlete, because they haven’t done anything athletic in years. Matthew’s approach in Train Like a Pro remedies that with plans, progressions, and programs that get to the very heart of athleticism.”
—Tony Gentilcore, CSCS, Co-owner of Core Collective

“Fitness is a long, tough, and difficult process. And it is worth it when you get your report card. That report card may be how well you perform on a sports field, how you measure up in your lifts or speed and agility tests, or how you feel when you know you’ve done everything you can do to gain your version of victory. It’s never a bad thing to have a great coach in your sidecar during this process. Enter Dr. Matt Ibrahim and his book, Train Like a Pro. This is the coach you want every step of the way. He wants you to get all A’s on that report card, and he’ll help you do just that.”
—Dr. Charlie Weingroff, DPT, ATC, CSCS, Performance Therapist and Strength & Conditioning Coach

Aerobic and Anaerobic Conditioning
Physical Qualities of Athleticism
Plyometrics and Power Exercises

Medicine ball half kneel around the world slam

Dumbbell one-leg RDL

Dumbbell reactive split squat jump

Dumbbell one-arm, one-leg bench press