Training team sports athletes: Periodization as well as planning strategies. part 2

Time goes quick as well as I just understood exactly how long back I composed the very first part of this article. So, let’s try to begin from where I left.

Monitoring training as well as avoiding errors was the topic I left the visitors with. typically speaking, innovation in this field is moving extremely quick as well as in the extremely near future I envisage the capability to be able to screen physiological as well as behavioural reactions to training in team sport in genuine time, with the capability to make some practical decisions to optimise training gains in team players.

Heart rate tracking for example has ended up being nowadays accepted common method in the team sports world as well as likewise in the Football/Soccer atmosphere nowadays numerous training sessions are monitored to quantify the effort of the players as well as the qualities of the drills employed by the coaches.

In purchase to quantify training intensity, because of the intermittent nature of team sports, time spent in different intensity zones is quantified. A easy classification is provided as well as it is based on defining zones with heart rate provided as a % of Heart rate Max or Heart rate Reserve.

Of course, in purchase to have a accurate decision of such training zones it is essential to determine Heart rate Max rather then utilizing the 220-age estimation.

Because of the linear connection between the intensity of exercise as well as the understanding of effort, a easy scale is suggested here:

 

Heart rate measurements can be utilized to define not only the general intensity of the training session, however likewise the intensity as well as demands of private sessions. This method enables the coach/S&C trainer to establish a database of drills which can impose on the players similar demands in purchase to be able to modification sessions as well as decrease the boredom factor.

By utilizing Heart rate based steps in combination with blood lactate it is in fact  possible to compare game-specific drills with much more generic drills such as intermittent sprinting and/or repeated sprints as well as confirm the demands on the exact same player of such activities.

In the complying with example we can see exactly how intermittent sprint drills (10s activity-20s rest) offered a similar physiological reaction to 3 vs.3 in Handball players.

This suggests that when training time is limited, the utilize of well organized technical as well as tactical drills can represent a considerable training stimulus. Of course, what is essential to keep in mind is the truth that game-like drills can be efficient only if we understand exactly how demanding they are. The physiological reactions to such drills depend in truth on the guidelines utilized in the drills, the space, the number of players as well as the high quality of the players involved. Generalising data findings from other sources is not the method to plan training. In purchase to effectively execute game-like activities in your training programme needs precise measurement of the physiological demands in your specific group of players.

In elite team sports athletes it is likewise efficient to plan particular sessions in which game-like drills are integrated with much more generic repeated sprint drills. A useful example might be to alternating 10 minutes of a game-like drill with repeated sprint drills (such as shuttle runs etc.).

This method can be extremely efficient as well as can result in enhancements in aerobic capability without the requirement to devote as well much time to training activities which not include technical as well as tactical elements. The complying with data are the yo-yo test distance scores of an elite handball team performing for one month training sessions characterised by game-like activities mixed with intermittent work.

 

 

This is of program only part of the picture. In team sports we want athletes to be able to carry out high-intensity motions for the duration of the game, however we likewise want them to be fast, strong as well as powerful. stamina training as well as tracking activities aimed at maximising gains in this area of the players’ physical fitness are extremely essential as well as will be now discussed.

Strength as well as speed

First of all, we have to take into account what type of variables we are interested in. Acute variable can assist us in comprehending exactly how a session is going as well as exactly how it is affecting the player.

Chronic variables can provide us much more info on exactly how efficient a period of training has been as well as where is our training programme leading to.

The utilize of measurement tools to analyse single sessions can be a extremely helpful method to comprehend exactly how the athlete is dealing with the tons we have imposed on him/her as well as likewise to comprehend exactly how fatiguing is the session. If heart rate tracking is essential to comprehend the physiological demands of game-like drills, we requirement to utilize some type of tracking to comprehend the reactions to stamina training sessions. Iso-inertial dynamometers are ending up being much more as well as much more affordable as well as can offer a great solution. tracking stamina training sessions provides the complying with benefits:

However the last point is the most essential one: if your tracking activity does not offer data which are helpful to enhance your training prescription you are just collecting data which will not effect on the high quality of training!

The complying with is a common example of tracking a training session utilizing a linear encoder during a Bench press exercise. two athletes are lifting the exact same weight, they both have similar 1RMs, nevertheless by measuring their power output during the set we can see exactly how different tiredness patterns occur:

If the objective of the session/programme is to maximise power output, we requirement the athletes to be able to create power within 90-100% of their maximum power for the provided load. By tracking exactly how they respond (provided that they are motivated to carry out the concentric phase of the lift as quick as possible), we can enhance our training prescription by dividing sets as well as reps to make sure the target power output is achieved for the overall volume of reps we want the athlete to carry out in our programme.

Why such focus on power as well as speed of movement? Simple, it seems that during fast motions an enhanced activation of quick motor units or decreased activation of the sluggish ones may occur. So, if we objective to enhance power as well as speed in our athlete we ought to always ask them to carry out the concentric phase as quick as possible. The work of Linnamo et al. (2002) can discuss in justifying such approach. In their study, Linnamo as well as coworkers had 6 subjects with different fiber type structure characteristics:

This is what you would normally encounter in a team sports scenario. They asked the subjects to carry out two kinds of sessions (explosive as well as heavy resistance):

[EE] 5 x 10 reps @40+ 6% of MVC

[HE] 5 x 10 reps @67 + 7% of MVC

MVC is the maximal voluntary contraction (measured isometrically).

The difference in the median frequency of the surface EMG (after rectification as well as quick fourier change of the EMG raw signal) between the two modalities of exercise clearly suggest a difference in motor system recruitment patterns when performing the two kinds of loading. note that the sets as well as reps where the same, with a difference in outside tons as well as velocity of movement.

By measuring in genuine time such parameters it is possible to modification the session while it is being carried out (again, if the objective of such session is to enhance power as well as speed). The complying with example from Lore Chiu as well as coworkers (2004) shows that if you are tracking the speed of the barbell/weight stack as well as you observed a decrease in speed, of program by altering the outside tons you can make sure the speed of execution is boost as well as is matching what you organized for.

The essential message right here is that we ought to still plan sessions with sets x reps x load, however we ought to be able to determine the output in purchase to make sure the athlete is performing what we need in purchase to maximise the adaptations as well as make sure he/she is not wasting time in the gym!

Monitoring techniques to determine healing as well as readiness to train

While everybody has a tendency to accept the general adaptation syndrome paradigm, whereby a training stimulus difficulties homeostasis as well as takes a specific amount of time to be recovered. extremely few people really determine what it implies as well as if it is possible to track the different phases of reactions to a single training session.

 

The complying with method is an example conducted with an Handball team utilizing vertical jumping tests (in this situation the Counter motion jump [CMJ]) before, during as well as after a session of plyometrics (approximately 200 jumps in total). You can see that while the team typical score seems to be recuperated within 24 hours of such session, some individuals have recuperated (BP) as well as some haven’t (SO). Individualisation ought to be a essential method to team sports! however if you don’t determine anything…how can you individualise? While everybody talks about it, I still see scarce evidence of this really occurring, where are the data?

 

Biochemical tracking of training, long term tracking of adaptations

I have already provided examples of tracking training tons as well as adaptations in some team sports showing that different methods of periodisation can be utilized depending upon the level as well as the performance goals of the team as well as both methods can create enhancements in the players when it counts (http://marcocardinale.blogspot.com/2007/12/strength-training-in-volleyball.html) if you understand what you are doing.

Testing modalities as well as methods of tracking private as well as team development have likewise been discussed right here before. I will spend few words with regard to hormonal tracking which is now ending up being something everybody declares to be an professional in. I just recently came across a great deal of producers which insurance claim can offer gadgets able to determine rapidly (almost realtime) salivary concentration of hormones (in specific Testosterone as well as Cortisol) and/or determine hormones in capillary blood.

I regret to notify all visitors that to my understanding there isn’t a single gadget which offers great reliability as well as validity of the steps taken, additionally while measuring such things can be useful, it is still an costly exercise which needs time as well as many of all genuine expertise not only in conducting the required assays to determine hormone concentration however likewise in comprehending the validity as well as the implying (and many of all the limitations) of the data collected.

To genuine make as well as impact, hormonal tracking ought to be carried out routinely, with numerous data points during the day, as well as complying with strict guidelines in terms of sample collection, storage, preparation as well as analysis. Collecting only baseline morning fasting hormonal steps may not assist in discussing the bigger picture. In the example below, Cortisol levels are provided during the program of the day showing a remove circadian pattern. the blue line represents “normal” patterns of cortisol secretion. The red as well as the black line represents alterations I have observed in some athletes complying with particular training periods. The red as well as black dots represent the single point, morning fasting sample. As you can see, having only 1 data point may mislead you….as clearly while the subject represented by the black line would appear to have lower cortisol values in the baseline sample, his cortisol pattern is different from typical as well as his cortisol values are really general higher during day as well as night suggesting some indications of overreaching/overtraining.

There is a remove message here. be careful of the so called experts…hormonal tracking is an fascinating field, however still no conclusive evidence on exactly how it really work, many of all, extremely few people comprehend it however numerous are available selling all kind of services as well as “expertise”. The utilize of testosterone as well as cortisol as biomarkers to comprehend training adaptations is an fascinating field however needs the suitable understanding of physiology, methods as well as limitations in purchase to be utilized to make the “right calls” when it concerns training prescription. In the last few weeks I have been working with my colleagues Blair Crewther, Christian Cook, Robert Weatherby as well as Paul Lowe on an comprehensive literature evaluation addressing the evidence as well as implications of the short term impacts of testosterone as well as cortisol on training adaptations as well as performance. I will keep the visitors as much as date when such paper is published (hopefully soon).

 

Conclusions

Writing training programmes is a mix of art as well as science. The scientific design ought to drive any type of inquisitive stamina as well as conditioning trainer in developing suitable as well as efficient programmes. team sports are difficult in terms of trying to maximise performance with stamina as well as conditioning programmes. They are difficult since of the different kinds of athletes included in them, the complexity of the performance demands as well as the difficulties of seasons with cups, playoffs etc. The only method to be successful is to method training with an “evidence-based” attitude. trying to put in location measurements as well as tracking tools able to notify as well as guide the training process. The devil is always in the details. group analysis ought to be complied with by private analysis in purchase to establish individualised programmes aimed at maximising performance in each single athlete of your team. Statistical procedures ought to be utilized to comprehend as well as treat the data better, however the mindset towards such method ought to be to acquire a much better comprehending of training adaptations rather then trying to discover what is considerable at P<0.05. As my good friend will Hopkins composed a long time ago: If a treatment shows an enhancement with P<.01 it implies that there is a probability of 99% of the treatment being effective. HOWEVER If you are terminally ill, would you take a pill that provides you 80% possibilities of surviving (P<.20)? In athletics terms…if a training programme can provide you 80% possibilities of a 2% enhancement which might win you a gold medal…would you utilize it…or would you wait on P<0.05? Share

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