Why is Peak Height Velocity (PHV) important?

For many years I have tracked the height of the young athletes I work with.  I would do it by simply observing how many centimetres each year an athlete had grown.  I was taught that a typical amount of growth per year for a child was around 5cm.  If it shot up to 7-8cm that was a good indicator that child was going through some accelerated growth.

But of course to know what their ‘PHV’ is you would need to track it for a number of years to get a feel for what is normal? Right?  Well no….actually.  I talk about the Maturity Offset Calculation in my latest  Daz Dee TV episode 1 where I refer to Peak Height Velocity (around 4:00 minutes in).

”The maturity offset can be used to calculate a child’s age of PHV, which is commonly used by strength and conditioning coaches and sports scientists to adapt their training prescription. Thus, understanding PHV and monitoring your athletes’ maturity offset (age of PHV) is highly-encouraged. It is also recommended that the maturity offset is calculated approximately 2-3 times per year.” Science for Sport.

Shout out to Science for Sport for doing the work on excel here.  Go visit the site for your own FREE Maturity Offset (PHV) Calculator

Gosling Tennis Academy: Case Study

I’ve punched in some real data so you can see the information that comes out.  See below:

By the way I used a 40cm high box so you’ll see I had to add that into my own template- which you can download as a PDF below to see my example.

Template Maturity_Estimation_Mirwald_2002_ (1)

Basically, I have 8 boys in the Full-time Junior Academy group at Gosling Tennis Academy that are between 12 and 16 years.  I have listed them from youngest to oldest.  Not surprisingly three of the four oldest boys have a positive Maturity Offset value indicating that it is >1 year since they have ALREADY HAD their Peak height velocity.  However, interestingly one of the boys who is nearly 15 is still one of the smallest and is ‘predicted’ to go through his growth spurt any time soon.  The rest have negative offset values indicating they haven’t yet had their PHV and the it is predicted as just over a year away for most of them, and nearer 2 years (1.81) for one remaining athlete.

Here is the picture: Unfortunately one of the boys stood in the wrong place!!!  The tallest boy in the shot should have switched with the 14 year old in red shorts- I have corrected the scores on the right side to correspond with the place they are in the picture.

Ignore me- I just wanted to photo bomb the moment.  I’m far left so don’t count me when you’re scanning Left to Right!!

Hope that was useful.   Try it out with your own athletes!!!

What is Skill?

In the field, ”be able to accomplish a task with great movement efficiency.”

But…..performance alone is not indicative of skill.  You could be a seriously fast runner but highly unskilled at running- with poor running mechanics.  They may have great genes and a really big engine.

On the flip side you can have a highly skilled athletes but lacks the physical parameters- they don’t have the strength or the stamina but they do have the movement patterns correct

Performance is ultimately the intersection of your mechnical proficiency and how big of an engine you have.

Muscle memory does not exist– i.e., learning a skill and storing the information in the muscles.  The skill itself (motor pattern) and the neural connections occur in the brain.

However, Movement memory does exist

Many of the things that hold true for cognitive learning are the same for motor learning.

TRUE LEARNING IS ASSESSED BY RETENTION– usually in the 48 hour period post practice

For a coach: they may assess Practice versus Competition ability? Can they do it in a match?

The Skill acquisition paradox

– many of the things we think we are doing to benefit our athletes may actually be hindering their long term performance when it comes to motor learning

– A lot of the things we do with cueing and feedback etc get in the way of long term continuous improvement

 many of the tactics that we use to enhance skill actually impede true skill acquisition

-The reason is that we are fooled into believing that immediate improvements are indicative of true learning

-The very things that improve performance acutely are often the opposite of what should be done to enhance true skill acquisition

Feedback recommendations

• Type– Knowledge of Results (KR) versus Knowledge of Performance (KP)
• Timing- Concurrent (during) versus Terminal (after)
• Quantity
• Frequency

Type:

KR- Tell them what they did (Outcome- 3.00 sec for 20m sprint) versus KP-How they did it (Process-you got into a great acceleration position)

It is best to focus on the KP- actionable processes that they can change

Timing:

During repeated cyclical continuous task- such as running you could provide feedback during the task.  But generally it is best to give feedback after the task especially for acyclical task.

It is generally better to wait to provide feedback at the end.

Quantity:

Quality over Quantity: Clear- Concise- Concrete

Can it be understood by a young child?

Frequency:

Yes beginners will benefit from more feedback but we need to wean them off it!

-Less frequent feedback may be beneficial

-May create dependence on feedback

-Figure it out on your own!

If you give lots of feedback it will help short term performance (in the practice) but not help longer term performance

Attentional focus

Internal (reference to the body- bent your arms to 90 degrees) versus External cueing (provide a global reference- ”push the ground away from you”, ”jump and touch the ceiling”) .  Our tendency is to provide internal cues but the research is overwhelmingly in support of providing external cues to improve both skill acquisition and performance.

”Jump to this point” or ”Push the ground away from you” is better than ”when you take off I want you to straighten your legs fully”

Internal references that are typically popular to talk about in textbooks when discussing the technical checklist such as angles at the joints, body positions etc need to be translated into external cues.

Contextual interference

Blocked practice versus Random practice

Blocked:

It is well documented that Shaquille O’ Neal followed this regime and it allowed him to make 80% of his free throws in practice.  But in matches he was only able to make 50%.  This may be suitable to beginners.

Random:

More suited to athletes who are increasingly skilled

Movement variability

Don’t keep movement patterns the same all the time!

Summary

• Performance is ultimately the intersection of your mechnical proficiency and how big of an engine you have

• Many of the things we think we are doing to benefit our athletes may actually be hindering their long term performance when it comes to motor learning

For anyone who follows this blog you know that I am passionate about Youth Strength & Conditioning and applying sound principles based on Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) models.  At this part of the training phase (term 2 in the academic timetable) January-April, it is a pretty fun time.  All my interns have spent the first term bedding in and learning about the ‘art’ of coaching- learning how to improve their communication skills.

This term is more about giving them more ownership of their session plans so I have been giving them some insights into the thought process behind the syllabus themes.  They then need to write their own plan. I thought I would share those insights here.

Youth Training with Athletic Performance Academy

Our after school programme caters for all ages from 5 year olds up to senior high school athletes.

>Mini Academy

>12U Junior Academy

>18U Junior Academy

All the sessions are 1 hour and we run a daily session before the tennis squad, so there is the possibility to attend all five sessions.

Session Plan Structure

What is Skill?

One of the things that I am really passionate about is Skill development- I honestly think it is a part of the physical literacy spectrum that coaches understand less well.  I think we have all heard of ABCS- but how many of us are working on it?

It might be worthwhile some of you checking out some of these videos for some inspiration.

**Author’s Caveat**

I am NOT endorsing all exercises, in all situations and some of the quality of execution is not of a level I would be satisfied with.  You can debate which exercises might be too advanced, but that is ultimately based on your own beliefs.  But take away the principles of Multilateral development (general instead of early sport specialisation) which is advantageous through :

• Expanding repertoires of behaviours and experiences
• Harmonious development of the structures of the central nervous system and all the senses
• Prevention of asymmetries and pattern overload
• Variation to avoid early burnout

Sports coach UK 

Ajax Football 1990s

Russian Ice Hockey

Club Brugge 

Putting it into an Annual Plan

Following personal communication with James Baker (Proformance Strength & Conditioning) we discussed which types of fitness we like to focus on throughout the year.  James has a little bit less contact time with his athletes than I do.

To use Speed as an example, he works in a High School where the summer term is focused on Athletics so there is a natural build up to top speed work.  Whereas with my athletes in tennis we focus on shorter distances with a build up to more specific tennis footwork.

Proformance S&C:

Term 1: Mobility => Jump Training => Term 2: Straight Ahead Speed (Linear)- Accelerations => Multi-Directional Speed  =>  Term 3: Straight Ahead Speed (Linear)- Max Velocity => Energy System Development

Athletic Performance Academy:

Term 1: Multi-directional Speed (Intro to stopping/turns)=> First step speed => Term 2: Straight Ahead Speed (Linear)- Accelerations => Multi-Directional Speed (cutting)  =>  Term 3: Multi-Directional Speed (cutting) => Tennis Footwork

Find Out More

For more information on the different types of speed and the drills we use with Youth athletes sign up to the next APA workshop

Date: February 19th 2017 9am-1pm

Venue: Gosling Sports Park, Welwyn Garden City

Cost: £40

Hi All.

As it’s Christmas I thought I would put some more FREE content for you and share some drills you can use with your athletes to improve their Skill.

Physical Literacy

You’ve probably heard me mention it a lot on this blog but skill is a vital part of Fitness- Istan Balyi first described physical literacy as = movement skills + sports skills

I personally like to break down movement skills into:

• Balance
• Coordination
• Reaction Speed

In all our syllabuses with our youth athlete group training programmes we spend 20 minutes developing skill, 20 minutes developing speed and 20 minutes developing strength.  The skill section looks at balance, coordination and reaction speed.

FREE Training Videos

Reaction Speed

Coordination

Hi All,

it’s been a while since I posted on Nutrition. This blog post is inspired by a recent visit to an Independent School to talk to some sport scholars about Nutrition.  These young athletes were 13 and 14 years old and I wanted them to have a great overview of:

• The fuel and hydration NEEDS of the BODY
• The Six Principles of a HEALTHY BALANCED DIET

You can see the full presentation below.  Full Disclaimer: It is 45 minutes long.  If you want to focus on the Six Principles then fast forward to around the 25 minute mark!

Supplements

However, I also promised to give some further information about SUPPLEMENTS.  As I always say I am NOT a Nutritionist or a Dietician- I am a Strength & Conditioning Coach.  I can advise on basic principles but for further meal planning advice always consult an expert.  For clarification on the differences between dieticians and nutritionists click HERE

In essence (AS WE ALWAYS KEEP SAYING TO OUR CLIENTS) Protein Powders and other supplements- are used to ‘supplement’ an already good healthy balanced diet.  This should be the message that all Strength & Conditioning coaches give their clients.  For example,

• Protein Powder- use to supplement daily protein intake and increase convenience of having protein at every meal.
• Greens supplement- use to supplement daily Fruit & Veg intake and increase convenience of having Fruit and vegetables every meal.

I think it is also important to use the correct supplement strategy that is appropriate for your goals. I’ve previously written some blogs about MUSCLE GAIN and FAT LOSS strategies.

The following blog focuses more on the fundamental supplements that everyone should take to support their energy needs for the workout as well as recovery after, regardless of whether your goal is muscle gain or fat loss.

PEAK Diet & Training SUMMIT DVD Set

I’ve previously written about my top supplements that I recommend to athletes to support their ‘workout nutrition’ needs which has been based on previous conversations I have had with Glen Kearney, Nutritionist at the Lawn tennis Association (LTA). Click HERE.

I also want to give credit to Dr. Mike Roussell.  One of the best things I ever did was purchase The PEAK Diet & Training Summit DVD set. Tong Gentilcore wrote a pretty cool review Click HERE and HERE as did Eric Cressey Click HERE

Unfortunately I think Joe Dowdell and Dr Mike Roussell who hosted the seminar have pulled the product off line and it may no longer be available for sale. But in case you miss out here is the headlines on supplements

Core Supplements

• Are you wondering what Dr. Mike’s “Core” list of supplements entail?  It’s easy, protein powder, fish oil, greens supplement, multivitamin, vitamin D, and creatine.  That’s it.

• In terms of performance enhancers, he adds BCAAs, Beta Alanine, Caffeine (thank god!), and Citrillune Malate to the mix.

My thoughts- Amino Acids vs. Protein

I’d go along with the advice above. I do just want to focus on the Performance Enhancing supplements of Branch Chain Amino Acids.

All proteins are made up of single molecules of amino acids.  There are nine essential amino acids which make up a complete protein.

Animal-based protein like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese are considered complete proteins. Quinoa and soy are plant-based complete proteins. … Most plant-based sources of protein are considered to be incomplete because they are low in one or more essential amino acids.

Protein Powders: Whey Proteins

Milk is made of two proteins, casein and whey. Whey protein can be separated from the casein in milk or formed as a by-product of cheese making.

In the production of cheese from milk, whey protein is left over. Following some pretty cool processing this can be converted to a protein powder which can be up to 90% protein concentration.  Whey protein is considered a complete protein and contains all 9 essential amino acids and is low in lactose content.

See here for more information on WHEY PROTEIN.  This is a great way to boot your complete protein intake.

Amino Acids:

Amino acids supplements usually contain 3 essential amino acids that are often referred to as ‘Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA).’  These are Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine.

REMEMBER- although BCAA’s are the building blocks of proteins, they are not actually proteins themselves. Just taking a BCAA supplement means you’re missing 6 of the 9 ‘essential’ amino acids still — a ‘complete’ protein contains all the ‘essential’ amino acids.

Seeing as Amino Acids are essentially the building blocks of Proteins it is worth considering why you might want to buy both!!!  LiveStrong.com write a pretty cool article which highlights the differences.

Basically, Protein powders and amino acid supplements deliver different results. Protein powders boost your total protein and contribute calories, so they support muscle building and can fill in gaps in your diet. Amino acids target very specific and diverse areas of your metabolism.

Generally speaking I recommend BCAA in two strategies-

• For maximising muscle protein synthesis– during HEAVY STRENGTH TRAINING BLOCKS.  Rather than having only protein powder post-workout, you can supplement extra BCAA (with or without carbohydrates) in your pre and during workout shake.
• For increasing Fat oxidation/support energy needs during glycogen depleted intense exercise.  Clients may get an energy boost from taking them but with minimal calories which might be desirable if carbs have been removed from workout shakes.

I particularly like Optimum Nutrition’s Essential Amino Energy as it also contains Caffeine in addition to Beta Alanine.

I won’t go into massive detail about these performance enhancers here but basically Beta Alanine (an amino acid BUT not essential amino acid) combines with histidine to form carnosine.  This has been thought to quench acid build up in working muscles (buffers pH to prevent decreases in muscle function).

Caffeine has also been shown to have CNS and neuromuscular effects such as decreased perception of fatigue and possibly stimulating fat loss as well.

Other products you might here about

Carnitine is a substance found in almost every cell in the body, it is biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine. The compound plays a crucial role in energy production, as it is responsible for transporting fatty acids to the mitochondria.  Look out for L-Carnitine

 

Recommended Nutritional Suppliers:

http://www.predatornutrition.com/shop-by-brand/mts-nutrition
http://www.predatornutrition.com/shop-by-brand/blackstone-labs
http://www.predatornutrition.com/shop-by-brand/lg-sciences