Ebe Training Questions

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EXERCISEBIOENERGETICS .COM UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BODY TM ANTHONY DAISY, M.Ed, CSCS

Training Questions: Formulating and Monitoring Training for the Strength & Conditioning Coach

2 Forward Today, there exists an abundance of quality training literature from varying constructs of knowledge (i.e. empirical, theoretical & practical), and all have their place in time within the “optimal” planning/training for the athlete. The strength and conditioning coach is urged to objectively question whether the means and methods taken from this literature are congruent with the most important training intention: the athlete’s attainment of sport mastery. The strength and conditioning coach must also ensure that the general aspects of physical training create the basis for the perfection of more specific technical-tactical mastery of sport skill, and speed of execution during the competitive exercise (1). This is of even greater significance with athletes of higher qualification; for aside from the anomaly, the specific abilities, not general, result in progress towards the athlete’s sport mastery and personal performance. This phenomenon has been recently acknowledged in the research of Dr. Bondarchuk (2), who’s correlate data have pointed out an absent relationship of training transfer between “general” physical exercises and heightened sport form in athletes of high qualification in various athletic events. Therefore, it may seem to be irrational to use these general exercises in an attempt to “directly” manifest sport form. However, this relationship may not be as strong with athletes involved in team sports, where game results rely more on tactics rather than on weight room mastery, or with athletes of lower qualification, where small broad stimuli provoke sufficient adaptation. The scrupulous review of the physical preparation dissimilarities, as they relate to the “on field” sporting results at the High School, Collegiate, Professional or Olympic levels, further reinforces the hypothesis that general physical preparation serves as a supportive role in the athlete’s sport mastery attainment. It must also be recognized, however, that physical preparation is, in fact, necessary in sport preparation, albeit constrained to certain times within the training, and harmonious with all stimuli invoked by the athlete’s preparation. In this case, physical preparation, along with all other training, must be monitored and optimally planned. Especially in contact sport, the idiosyncrasies of injury, rehabilitation and injury prevention, may also occupy the primary objective of training, depending on the peculiar state of the sportsman. The title, strength and conditioning coach, may prove to be a misnomer, as the responsibilities of the job must go beyond the scope of what the title simply implies. The coach must ensure that any sportsman under his/her guidance receive much more than physical development, if that sportsman is to eventually realize his/her potential. The integration of physical, psychological, tactical, and technical preparation to suit sportsmen of varying disciplines, of varying levels of preparation and qualification in their process of attaining sport mastery is of primary importance for any coach, regardless of his or her “formal” title. With this said, all coaches must collaborate when implementing and monitoring their athlete’s training. It is imperative that any coach carry out continued examination of the sportsman under his care with careful, critical attention being placed on the training process in its organic whole. “Control over the course of training can only be effective if one carries-out regular observations of the dynamics of the sportsman’s state” (1). Conclusions may be formulated, or solutions to various training problems can be postulated, based on the resultant outcomes of how the team and/or individual athletes react to the training methodic(s). This objective scrutiny may steer the coach away from the, “I do what was done in the past” mentality, which forgoes any

3 logic of training science, or the all too common dogmatic trends that create “instant excellence”, which consumes the industry and hebetates basic, yet effective forms of exercise. The abundance of quality training literature is of immense necessity to transcend performance. However, what is lacking in the literature is an organizational tool that can be used to partition the vast information available to the coach in a way that he/she can easily document and formulate planning in an efficient and precise manner, while also allowing for continued study and scrutiny of the training process. Employing such a task of simple management is essentially a utilitarian aspect of a coach’s job. Therefore, the principal aim of this guidance is to document, organize and monitor the athlete’s training in a quick and efficient manner. It is meant to manage and highlight the various aspects of training, by questioning the training process, and thereby keeping the coach aware of the athlete’s past, present and future training state.

Anthony Daisy 1. Verkhoshansky, Y. V. (1985). Programming and Organization of Training. Moscow: Fizkultura I Spovt. 2. Bondarchuk, A. P. (2007). Transfer of Training in Sport. Michigan: Ultimate Athlete Concepts.

4 ATHLETE INFORMATION -Target group/ level of experience in physical preparation? -Target group/ level of experience in sport preparation? -What is the training age of the athlete? -What is the chronological age of the athlete? -What is the athlete’s pre-training physical condition?

PREVIOUS TRAINING -What has the athlete done (in terms of training means/ methodics) for the past 4 weeks? -What has the athlete done (in terms of training means/ methodics) for the past 12 weeks? -What has the athlete done (in terms of training means/ methodics) for the past 52 weeks? -What was the purpose of the previous training plans? -What cumulative training effects will you expect from the previous training going into the current training? -How has my program developed over the course of the season/ training years?

5 INITIAL TRAINING QUESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING PROPER TRAINING METHODS -What is the purpose of the training plan? -Where would you integrate this type of training into an annual plan? -Where are the most important competitions? -Have you developed a time table- and work backwards? -Where, within the training year, will the athlete peak? -What training effect do you want to achieve? Cumulative? (any latencies expected) -What phase of training is the athlete in? Early Off-season Late Off-season Early Pre-season Late Pre-season In-season Taper Recovery GPP SPP Training Camp -What training methodic will be used? Why? Concurrent Complex-parallel Conjugate/Block Linear Undulating -How many weeks will the Macrocycles last? -How long will the Mesocycles last? -How will the training change from training block to training block? -How will the loading/training change from microcycle to microcycle? -How will the training change from workout to workout? -What training intensities will be used? -What load volumes will be used? -What exercises (means) will be used?

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-Why have you chosen these exercises? - at those volumes - in that order - within a workout - in that order over a course of a microcycle -What is the primary stressor? -What percentage of training volume will be devoted to Physical Technical Tactical Psychological Rehabilitation -What percentage of special exercises make up each training phase Macrocycle -What bio-motor abilities are needed in the sport? -What special strength qualities are needed in the sport? -What are the positional strength requirements? -What are the sport physiological requirements? -What are the sport positional physiological requirements? -How does the athlete measure up with these qualities? -What energy systems needs for the athlete during the game? -What are the energy system needs for the athlete during practices? -How will the conditioning components be trained? -What is the average heart rate during the game at each position? -What are the ranges of heart rate during the game? -Is the conditioning congruent with these heart rates? -What work capacity is needed? -How does the athlete measure up with these qualities? -What is the load volume for conditioning?

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TRAINING SPECIFICS -Optimal training time (of day)? According to work/school schedule etc.? -What is the readiness of your athlete to train? -Are the most important workouts done when the athlete’s are most

“fresh”? -What is your daily training target? -What are your mesocycle targets? -What are your macrocycle targets? -What is the loading parameter that corresponds to ME, DE, SE, RE? -Are exercises rotated to avoid stagnation? -Is ME training deloaded every 4-6 weeks? -Is SE training the “better” alternative than ME in-season? -What exercises (means) will be used? -Do you have alternative means? -What means are low in specificity? -What means are high in specificity? -Do these means correspond to the principle of dynamic correspondence? -What are the expected training effects of the means and methods used? -What will be done within the individual workout? -What will be done during the warm up -General warm up/Specific Warm up Various stretching, mobility & prehab work, drills, technical work, psychological drills, stimulation work etc. -Is the warm up consistent and reliable? -Does the warm up sufficiently warm the athlete up and prepare him/her for the training or competition? -What will be done during the training session? -does the training session accomplish its intended targets? -What will be done during the cool down? Low intensity exercises Breathing relaxing exercises Stretching exercises Extra work/RE -Do all training sessions include: movement preparation? technique and technical work?

8 flexibility/mobility/stability work? injury prevention/rehabilitation work? “core” work? cardiovascular work? strength training? recovery/regeneration? -Does each training session fulfill some degree of GPP and SPP, albeit to a greater or lesser extent? -Have you adhered to training economy? -For training efficiency, are simple training means used instead of complex means? -How will you individualize the team training? -How will individual workouts differ with athletes of different physical preparation

-Are you giving optimal instruction to your athletes when they are training? -Are the athletes aware of the intended training targets?

TESTING AND MONITORING -What is the current & target state of preparedness? -What is your prediction of how your athletes will respond to their current plan? -How will you test the programming efficacy? -How will they be measured? -why are you measuring them in this manner? -What are your indicator exercises? -Are you aware of means that test well in the weight room, but show little correspondence to sport form? -What physiological tests will be given? -When are your test days within the yearly plan? -Are One-Two tests performed monthly, assessing special-physical and technicalpreparedness? -Are you keeping tests consistent? -Are you aware of the significance between readiness vs preparedness -does this show by the training- means/methodics selected?

9 PSCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION -What are the athletes’ perceptions/attitudes of physical development? -Do the means ensure a proper psychological mindset (one that will be experienced during competition)? -Do the means ensure that there is no apprehension in their execution? -Is there a psychological framework installed in the training? RECOVERY -Where are your restoration days? -Is sufficient recovery given after workouts? -What stimulus preceded the restoration day? -What exercises are performed during recovery days? -Does the athlete need therapy? When? Why? -What volume/intensity will be performed during recovery days?

NUTRITION -Is the athlete trying to make weight? -Is the athlete trying to gain weight? -Is the athlete trying to lose weight? -Is the athlete trying to lose fat? -Is the athlete trying to actively improve body composition? -Have you accounted for the energy expenditure of training when calculating daily energy requirements? -Are you addressing peri-workout nutrition? -Is the athlete taking in sufficient Macro- and Micro- Nutrients to support their training

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MISCELLANEOUS General Client Information Training GoalsTraining HistoryInjury/Rehab HistoryStats- age, height, weight, estimated body fat percentage Body TypeTypical Dietary HabitsProblematic ExercisesWeaknessEquipment RestrictionsOccupationWork EnvironmentConsideration of Non-Training ActivityIdeal Training SchedulePrevious 12 Weeks of Training-

11 Orthopedic Assessment (performed by contracted PT/ATC or Orthopedic Surgeon) HistoryStatic assessmentDynamic assessmentManual muscle testsSpecial testsCompensatory movementsTightnessWeaknessesDeficiencies in form during competitive exerciseDeficiencies in form during weight exercises-

12 REHABILITATION/PREHABILITATION -Is the athlete injured? Where Does the injury affect training -What rehab is needed? Any imbalances -Is a rehabilitation professional available within the network? -Where will the recovery be programmed? -Where/what is the athlete’s weakness? -Has a dynamic assessment taken place? -Has a static assessment taken place? -What means/methods will be used for rehab? -What means/methods will be used for prehab? -How does the athlete move during the competitive exercise? -are there any compensatory movements during a particular exercise -Have you developed a needs analysis?