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Supplements for Athletes, Getting it Right!

This week’s post comes from APA coach Fabrizio Gargiulo, who gives us an absolutely excellent review of the latest advice on supplement use in sport.

 

Sport nutrition

The sports supplement industry is worth millions of pounds globally with a seemingly endless amount of products being offered to help boost performance in the gym and on the field of play. There are many claims to make you stronger, faster and be able to go for longer however it is important to know which ones really will improve your performance, which might and which just hold a false claim to fame. As an athlete however it is also vitally important to know which supplements you can legally take and do not contain banned substances.

Firstly as the name suggests, supplements are designed to compliment or ‘supplement’ if you will a good healthy, nutritious diet that works for you individually, this includes; meats, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, other starchy carbohydrates and simple sugars, good fats and of course plenty of water. Supplements are not designed to replace your meals and should not be used as such, however the modern athlete is always looking for an edge in performance or recovery from training, this is where supplements can have a role and they can also be of benefit to the health of athlete, helping to prevent fatigue, reduce stress and possible illness.

In this section I shall address the basic issues of improving sporting performance and list some suitable supplements you may wish to try to facilitate any improvement. The basic package of supplements I would initially recommend include; a pre-workout stimulant, a post-workout recovery supplement containing both carbohydrates and protein and finally both fish oils and a multi-vitamin for longer term recovery. Let me also state that you most definitely can obtain all of the nutrients needed through eating foods, it is however, likely to cost more, result in a large quantity of food needing to be eaten and it can be difficult to get the quality of the products easily.

 

Pre-workout supplements:

As an athlete it is important to look upon this category differently to that of the gym bound body builder looking to create a great ‘pump’. The pre-workout should aim to provide the necessary fuel and micronutrients needed during the exercise, provided the exercise is of an intensity that will create a stressful environment for the body. This could be anything from a heavy weight training session in the gym to an 8-hour cycle or time trial swim. Different activities will require different types of supplementation and not all athletes will respond to, or like taking on supplements pre-exercise. Here are some examples of suitable pre-workout supplements that can be used for different training or competing sessions:

Caffeine: – acts as a stimulant for high intensity exercise lasting up to 90 minutes, dosage should be 3-6mg/kg – this is very important to remember as overdosing caffeine can be dangerous to your health, an 80kg male should therefore take 240-480mg per day which equates to 0.24-0.48g/day of caffeine or approximately 1 double espresso prior to training and 1-2 cups of tea or coffee during the day. Timing is also important; 30-45mins prior to the start of exercise is ideal.

Creatine: – an amino acid derivative synthesised from arginine, glycine and methionine, many studies have shown increased muscular size, strength and power as well as reduced muscle protein breakdown during exercise. Creatine can either be taken as a loading phase of 20g for 5 days followed by 0.3g/kg per day for up to 8 weeks or more recent research suggests that simply taking 3-5g/day is sufficient to fill creatine stores within the body over the same period. Combining creatine with carbohydrate or protein simultaneously will also aid in absorption.

Citrulline Malate: primarily used to produce energy and build muscle mass by increasing growth hormone secretion and nitric oxide production. This creates the ‘pump’ associated with arginine and nitric oxide supplementation but is useful for gaining extra energy and preventing fatigue by removing ammonia and increasing the reabsorbtion of lactate for increased ATP synthesis when in strength training sessions. Dosage is 3-6g/day, ideally taken 30-45 mins before training.

Beta-alanine: functions to synthesise carnosine, which is used as a pH buffer, helping to prevent fatigue. Carnosine also acts as an antioxidant, protecting the muscle proteins from oxidation and glycation from free radicals as well as increasing cellular sensitivity to calcium. Dosage is 3-6g/day, ideally taken 30-45 mins before training.

Although you may wish to take each of these supplements individually or make a home-made blend, thankfully there are several pre-workout options available on the market, the key being to choose one that is free from any banned substances and combines an appropriate dosage of each of the above.

 

Post-workout recovery supplements:

Woman-drinking-protein-shake

The key to post-exercise recovery is to replace what has been used during the training session. This should include the water and electrolytes lost through sweating, restoring glycogen stores in the liver and muscles through simple carbohydrates and providing a protein source to help rebuild the muscle cells damaged by exercise. Here are some examples of supplements that can be used post-exercise to assist in recovery.

Whey Protein:

Protein is used as the building blocks for repair and growth of the body, athletes will need protein to provide the muscles with the amino acids they need to recover from exercise. Dietary recommendations vary between 0.8-2.0g/kg of protein per day however during the post-exercise ‘window of recovery’ – the first 2 hours – you should aim to consume 20-40g in combination with carbohydrates and electrolytes. Protein yields 4Kcals/g there are however several different molecular structures dependent upon the size of the amino acid chain. During the initial phase of recovery, the first 30 minutes, the body is better suited to taking on smaller amino acid complex or proteins that have already undergone a form of hydrolysis such as whey isolate a more complex molecular structure will take a lot longer to release this energy, therefore not making the most efficient recovery for muscle protein resynthesis.

Carbohydrates:

Needed to restore depleted glycogen stores in the liver and muscle cells, carbohydrate is often lesser thought of as a supplement and not prioritised ahead of protein in many strength training athletes, it is however vital to restoring energy and hormonal balance which assists in protein synthesis, so should be prioritised during the initial phase of recovery. Carbohydrates exist either as mono-saccharides, di-saccharides or poly-saccharides dependent on the number of saccharide molecules (1,2 or many). They are often termed as either simple or complex carbohydrates determined by the glycemic index (GI) they possess, a higher GI value equates to a faster release of energy and this is useful when you want to replenish stores quickly. Common examples used in supplements include, dextrose, maltodextrin and sucrose all with high GI values, whereby fructose is also often used as it has a lower GI value and is absorbed via a different pathway in the gastrointestinal tract.  Fructose however is not considered a useful source of energy for the strength training athlete as it impairs insulin function and sensitivity, causing an increase in triglycerides and adipose fat stores and its place in the daily diet has been discouraged as it exists as sugar, corn-syrup, fruit juices and candies.

The ratio of carbohydrate to protein needed post-exercise is dependent upon the type of exercise; endurance training typically would require a ratio close to 4:1(g) in favour of carbohydrates, whereas strength training would be closer to 2:1(g). Either way carbohydrate is necessary post-exercise and in combination with protein shows greater absorption and subsequent protein synthesis.

Addition of electrolytes is also an important consideration, sodium, potassium, zinc and magnesium are all micro-nutrients that should look to be restored. Often ready to drink supplements will contain ample amounts of these and can be a simple and effective way to contribute to fluid rehydration and balance.

 

Health supplements:

Fish Oils:

There are several types available but the key to choosing the right one is to look at the label. It should be of pharmaceutical grade and definitely meet international standards for heavy metals, PCBs and be free from contaminants. Fish oils provide a great source of omega-3, a fatty acid that helps act against the inflammatory processes in the body, is abundant in EPA and DHA (these produce prostaglandins and leukotrienes to protect the body) and helps prevent cardiac disease and osteoarthritis in the joints. Often in a western European diet there is an imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 often with high ratios in favour of omega-6, as much as 20:1 has been reported with an ideal ratio being as close to 1:1 as possible. Omega-6 acts as a pro-inflammatory and although it is useful to the body high quantities above omega-3 levels do not assist the body in recovery from exercise, stress or in fat loss. When a better ratio (1:1) is achieved you will see improvements in all 3 of those areas. A high fish diet could be used, however the fish needs to be a good oily source such as salmon or mackerel and come from an organic source, both of which are expensive and undesirable.

Multi-vitamin:

I believe in fruit and vegetables as the best source of these dietary components, however obtaining these at the quality needed to ensure good levels of micronutrients is proving more and more expensive – basically you need to be buying organic, free range and clean of any pesticides to hope that the fruit or vegetable has adequate nutrients and even then you are not guaranteed because of any number of climate or environmental factors. So to make sure you are achieving optimal levels for health – to stave of disease, reduce stress and improve performance – mental, physical and even sexual, why not add a multi-vitamin. Again ensure it is a high quality product and meets all the international standards needed. Make sure you still are eating plenty of fruits and vegetables from clean sources if you can and use the supplement to top up the levels of micronutrients.

There are many other products available, however when making changes to dietary inventory and being a competing athlete it is important to trial any new regimes out of competition time and in a period of relatively low training stress to enable adaptation. Often small changes can make big differences especially when you are already a high level competing athlete, so don’t try everything new at once.

Fabrizio Gargiulo

So you want to be an S&C Coach- How to get qualified

Before you go spending your hard earned money on a qualification pay attention to this blog which will look at a few different ways of getting a qualification that will enable you to work with different types of clients.  Let’s start by looking at the different industries we typically work in.

 

Sports versus Health & Fitness Industry

 

Up until now there has really been two types of industry, the sports industry and the health & fitness industry. For a long time, it was only in the health & fitness industry that you could gain a recognised qualification, namely a personal trainer qualification.

 

The health & fitness industry is regulated by ‘Skills Active.’  Skills Active is the officially recognised and licensed organisation that sets the best quality standards for ‘skills’

 

It oversees 8 professional registers and it is most famous for its Register of Exercise Professionals (REPS).  Once you become a qualified personal trainer you can apply to go on the register as a ‘health-enhancing exercise professional.’

 

reps

 

So what about S&C?

 

In sport, for a long time the only thing you could get was a British Amateur Weightlifting Association (BAWLA) qualification.

 

But unless you have been living on the moon for the last 10 years though, you will probably have been aware of the United Kingdom Strength & Conditioning Association (UKSCA).  Since its inception in 2004 it’s assessment process to become a ‘fully accredited’ member has received world wide praise, and has become known as the ‘Gold standard’ for those coaches looking to get into  strength & conditioning.  I guess you could say the UKSCA has taken on a similar role to Skills Active in regulating S&C.  The accreditation is not a qualification, but a professional standard of practice, that employers and the industry use when employing and developing their staff.

 

Over the past few months the UKSCA has been supporting Skills Active in the production of a set of National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Strength and Conditioning.  The UKSCA have been heavily involved in producing these NOS as the Board feel that it isn’t in anyone’s interests, for a different set of professional standards to be developed in the UK for S&C for personal trainers.

 

This should mean that the quality of coaching in personal trainers and strength & conditioning coaches should be similar.  So if you decide to get a qualification from a Personal training provider you should be developing the same competencies as if you go through the UKSCA route.

 

What about other S&C Qualifications?

  

Another option is to do the Certificate in Coaching Strength & Conditioning for Sport Qualification (CCSCSQ).

 

1st4sport Qualifications is an organisation that is a member of the Register of Regulated Qualifications- known in England as Ofqual.  It’s their job to maintain standards and confidence in qualifications. They look after GCSEs and A levels in England, and a wide range of vocational qualifications both in England and Northern Ireland.

 

1st4sport are famous for the range of sports qualifications they offer for sports like Football and Tennis with a pathway from Level 1 to Level 5.  And now with the help from the RFU they have written an S&C qualification!

 

Check out the two videos below for some examples of the CCSCSQ course that I recently held at Gosling Tennis Academy during this May/June 2014.

 

Video 1: Practical Presentation from Daz Drake on Topic of Speed

 

 

Video 2: Practical Examination of the Candidates on Topic of Speed

 

 

So which one is right for you?

 

Having got personal experience of all 3 I would say that it depends on what you want to spend your time doing.  If you want to work in professional sport with professional athletes then almost certainly the UKSCA route will be the way to go.  Unless the Head S&C coaches of pro clubs change direction and start to follow suit with the Head Coaches of the sport (who recommend 1st4sport qualifications from Level 1 to Level 5) I’d say UKSCA is the best bet.  But remember you’re not getting a qualification; you’re showing you meet professional standards.

 

To pass this you will need to do a theory exam, case study, and a practical demonstration of speed/plyometrics and Olympic weight lifting.  This is aimed at more experienced coaches who are often graduates of a sports related degree.   You don’t need a degree to do the accreditation but you would need to study the underpinning theory in the recommended textbooks so you have the knowledge to pass the exam.  Before you do the accreditation, UKSCA recommend their 2-day foundation (Level 1) workshop.  This is extremely practical and teaches you mainly about how to lift weights properly.

 

If you’re looking to run your own personal training business and spend more time in gyms then it is probably best you go with a Training Provider that is linked with Skills Active and firstly get a recognised Personal trainer and/or gym instructor qualification.  To work in gyms you will need this qualification.  This way you can start working and earning in a gym and then sign up to their speciality training course in S&C later down the line.   My feeling is that you will see a growing number of personal training providers deliver S&C speciality courses.

 

If you want a nice introduction to Strength & Conditioning with a blend of theory and practical then I would recommend the 1st4sport Level 2 course.  It contains a bit more theory than the UKSCA Level 1 course and in my opinion bridges the gap nicely between the 2-day UKSCA Foundation workshop and the full accreditation assessment.

 

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Soviet Speed Secrets- how to make your athlete seriously fast without taking drugs!

Before you do anything else check this out!

 

 

How do you feel when you watch it??    Excited?  To me- it’s Mind blowing!  I see some seriously cutting edge training applications that made me realise how far ahead the Soviet training system was.  And the East Germans weren’t too far behind.  Even more impressive is that the coaches had a ton of  research to back up their ideas!

 

Want the proof?

 

Soviet Union at the Olympics

 

The Soviet Union (population in 1990, 290 million) first participated at the Olympic Games in 1952, and competed at the Games on 18 occasions since then. At seven of its nine appearances at the Summer Olympic Games, the team ranked first in the total number of medals won, it was second by this count on the other two.  It’s main rival was the United States (population in 1990, 248 million).

 

USSR Medals

 

From my reading of the Soviet Sport System their results were no fluke.  They looked at the sport and did experiments to find out the best exercises to prepare the body for that sport.  I don’t think drugs were the reason they were successful like everybody would like you to believe.

 

The East Germany team (population 16 million) were incredibly successful over 20 years too (1968-1988)!

East Germany Medals

 

APA work in Athletics and yep, plyometrics for triple jump/high jump  might not seem that ground breaking now….until you realise that the coaches in the former Soviet Union invented this type of training and this like many other forms of training was conceived out of a need to find answers to some pretty important questions.  Questions like,

 

‘How much force does the body have to produce when making an impact with the ground during take off for the high jump? And which methods of training will improve that jump performance the most?’

 

The Soviets and Germans took the same forensic approach to all sports they trained…..even Tennis, the other main sport APA are currently associated with!  So today’s blog is about looking back at some research the Soviets and Germans did on Speed in Tennis- which is still valid today.

 

It is a brave man who believes there is one speed exercise or method above all others that fits the bill for Tennis.  Tennis has been described as a sport in which players must respond to a continuous series of emergencies. Sprinting to the ball, changing directions, reaching, stretching, lunging, stopping, and starting. All these characteristics, combined with maintaining proper balance and technique throughout a match,  are critical for optimal performance on the court. Therefore, players must address flexibility, strength and endurance, power, agility and speed, body composition, and aerobic and anaerobic fitness to improve their tennis games.

 

For me it would be difficult to say which are the most important factors in the sport of Tennis, so I won’t! Instead I thought I’d let a well respected German researcher stick his neck out instead.  According to Schonborn the most important factors are coordination and speed of coordination as well as acceleration.

 

Physical demands of Tennis

 

This correlates with my experiences of working in Tennis over the last 10 years.  We can call this ‘speed of coordination’ the difference between a good general athlete and an exceptional tennis athlete.  I see a lot of athletes who have the basic biomotor abilities to become a successful tennis player (ie., speed, agility and power) but unless they can coordinate their body and time the segments to work in the proper order to execute a tennis shot they can appear slow on the court! This is because they get to  the ball too early without having prepared their body and rackets and end up actually getting jammed up which results in them looking clumsy and slow.  Louis Cayer calls this being ‘so fast you’re slow!’

 

So what exercises would be best to use to improve an athlete’s acceleration?

 

Acceleration- What the research says

 

If acceleration is one of the key determinants of successful tennis performance (and I will include change of direction ability in this!!!) what are the best exercises to improve this ability?

 

Thanks to Soviet researcher Natalia Verkhoshansky we can start to answer that question too!  Bear with me while I summarise an experiment she conducted.

 

This is an extract taking from the actual report of the experiment (Verkhoshansky, 2011).

 

In the experiment, 19 high level tennis players performed two groups of tests: specific speed running tests and strength tests. The specific speed running tests consisted in performing the most typical tennis game‟s displacements5 (see Fig. 1):

Tennis experiment

1) forward running on 10 meters distance with the stop at the finish point (‘Advance to the net’);  
2) running on 48 meters distance with different trajectories:  
– ‘Long Shuttle,’ 6 × 8 meters with 5 lateral (side-to-side) changes of directions;  
– ‘Short Shuttle,’ 12 × 4 meters with 11 lateral changes of directions;  
– ‘Fan,’ 12 × 4 meters with 11 both lateral and frontal changes of directions.

 

In the strength tests, the level of basic strength capabilities were evaluated using the UDS: Maximal (P0), Explosive (J) and Starting strength (Q) expressed in the maximal isometric strength efforts and maximal explosive isometric strength efforts of the Leg Press and Seated Calf Raise.

 
Table 1 shows the correlations between the results of the running and strength tests.

 

Tennis Experiment 2

 
Finding 1: The correlations indicate that the higher the level of explosive strength (J) of the tennis players, the faster they were.

 

So, for increasing tennis specific speed ability, the athletes should use specific training means, to increase Explosive Strength during take-off movements: i.e..  jumping exercises.

 
Finding 2: The results showed also that the athletes who expressed the higher value of Maximal Strength (P0) in Seated Calf Rise (but not in Leg Press) showed high level of speed ability.

 

This means that to increase the speed is advisable to use a training method able to increase the weight of 1RM in Seated Calf Rise exercise.

 
As we can see, the results of specific running tests are not correlated directly with the Maximal Strength expressed in Leg Press. However, the correlations between the parameters of strength capabilities (Table 2) show that the higher the level of Maximal Strength (Po), the higher the level of Explosive Strength (J).

 
It means that, to increase the level of Explosive Strength in Leg Press and, as a consequence, to run FASTER it is necessary to increase maximal strength expressed in the Leg Press. This means that to increase speed it is advisable to use a training method able to increase the weight of RM in the Leg Press exercise (barbell squat).

 

Now perhaps you’re going to say, ”Duh, of course that’s obvious; getting stronger in the calves and developing explosiveness in jumping tasks is what is going to help Tennis players move better!!!!  It’s obvious because it’s intuitive. But until it’s actually written down on paper how many of you would have come up with that answer?  For me the best coaches are intuitive and probably wouldn’t have needed a science experiment to validate what they already know works but what made the Soviet and East German system unique AND SUCCESSFUL was because they conducted meaningful scientific research.  They tried to find what types of exercises (in the gym) most highly correlated with performance where it counts….on the sports field or court.

 

Take away message: What exercises do you use and how do you know they really work?

 

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Cutting Weight for Athletes

weigh-in-8-1024 (1)

Many people have heard of the term to ‘cut weight’, this commonly refers to athletes in weight restricted sports such as martial arts, boxing and the newly popular MMA style of fighting. It could also apply to motor racing drivers, jockeys or athletes in other sports that wish to lose weight in a short period of time. Most non-athlete people would ask why you would want such a rapid reduction in weight, the answer is simply that most fighters have to get under the weight limit in time for the weigh in but can fight much heavier after re-fuelling, thus giving them more energy, strength and endurance.

There are several ‘traditional’ methods for rapid weight loss, from sitting in a sauna, restricting food and water intake to sweating out as much fluid as you can in a sweat suit or heavy clothing. All these will rapidly decrease your weight, however is it safe to do this and what are the potential negatives towards sporting or fighting performance?

Here are a few tips on how best to ‘cut weight’.

Firstly it is important that you are within 10% of your desired weight when you begin to cut weight, trying to cut from further out should only be done over an extended period with appropriate dietary changes as it can be dangerous to your health, particularly when executing dehydration strategies. **The following methods are part of the final few days before making the weight deadline and are not a long term strategy for decreasing weight – this should only be attempted by athletes under supervision of experienced and qualified coaches**

The simplest and most effective way to begin the weight cutting process is to decrease or stop fluid intake. Your body is constantly losing fluid by breathing, sweating and urination. Every minute and hour that this goes by without replacing the fluid, you will lose weight. This process takes no extra energy from a fighter to complete, and you can lose up to 2-3kg in 24 hours without drinking.

Sweating out fluid from the body can be done in a number of ways, and can take off 3-5kg of weight in a short period of time depending on the conditions. This method can still be used even if the athlete is already lean, as there will still be fluid that can be lost. The limitations to this method are that it requires great amounts of energy expenditure, and can sap strength from the fight the next day. The goal for using this method would be to take off the weight you need to lose with the least amount of fatigue for the athlete.

Another method to lose weight is to empty the bowels the day before the weigh in. This is another method that requires no effort and will not hurt performance if done correctly. Your bowels, or stomach and intestines, are up to 28 feet long and contain up to 2-4kgs of material at all times. The food that has been ingested over the last 24 hours is all still contained along this set of tubes. This material does not help performance and is actually waste. By clearing out the bowels, an athlete can lose another 2-3kg without having to do anything.

There is a danger to using diuretics; however they are common place across fighting sports with such demands placed upon athletes to make weights. This method is more dangerous than the others, and can lead to electrolyte imbalances and decreased performance.

Ultimately the safest and most effective method of meeting a weight category is to stay at a weight close to that needed for fighting. This should be done through correct nutrition, focusing on ‘clean’ foods such as lean sources of protein, vegetables and fruits for carbohydrates and a small amount of good fats to maintain the immune system and cognitive function. Decreasing weight should be done over an extended period of weeks and not left to the final week before a fight as drastic weight loss is unhealthy and potentially dangerous. If cutting weight is not conducted properly a decrease in performance is highly likely, this of course is not ideal in a sporting situation where the athlete is required to fight. Therefore it is also extremely important what is done after the weigh in to restore optimal function.

When you are cutting weight, your plasma blood volume decreases, and your blood pressure can increase as a result. In addition to this, your resting heart rate may increase; you can experience fatigue and feel psychologically weak. You need to make sure you reverse these processes not only as quickly as possible, but correctly and completely. Common practice is to eat and drink as much as possible immediately, however this is not ideal.

Eating small meals at regular 30 minute intervals is preferred so as to stager the digestion of nutrients. Restoring blood glucose levels is primarily important, so eating good sources of carbohydrates is essential. Overeating however will cause your gastrointestinal system to be overloaded and leave food undigested and unused within your stomach and intestines. Smaller meals will clear the stomach and you will be able to eat again shortly. Eating meals that you are comfortable and familiar with is also important, don’t start to do anything different to your normal diet.

More importantly is getting the fluid balance back. You should immediately take in fluids following the weigh in and continue to drink at regular intervals. Full hydration can be simply monitored by the colour of urine, with the aim of getting clear urine by fight time. This can take 3-5 gallons of fluid over the next day to replace the 5 of more kilograms that has been lost. Don’t rely on the thirst response because it will not be accurate. You need to keep drinking to make sure that the blood plasma, fluid space between the cells and the cells themselves are refilled.

cutting weight

In conclusion, cutting can be safely achieved through correct nutrition and hydration strategies over a prolonged period of time rather than leaving it to the final week before weigh in. It is also important to realise that it will take time to find the best strategy for you individually, so practice of cutting weight should also be factored into your training regime.

Fabrizio Gargiulo

Why the key to getting faster is to step back first

When you go to a workshop, I bet you have been told that if you want to be fast you need to make sure you don’t step back first.  I read this on an American Baseball website recently:

”Standing up on the first step before accelerating is a common mistake that players make when breaking from a base and moving to a batter ball. Another mistake is taking a false or drop step.”

What everyone probably didn’t expect to hear at this latest APA workshop was that this advice and other comments like it are quite frankly totally wrong.

This blog is a summary of the recent APA Speed, Agility & Quickness Training for Sports Workshop, May 24th 2014 covering a lot of different hot topics and dispelling some myths along the way.  Buckle up!!

So what did we cover?

We started in the classroom and covered some training principles first

 

 

The APA  3 S System (copyright)

Speed- 3S

Then we went through some videos to better understand what good movement looks like.

 

Before we get to the videos just a few points.  The key to getting faster is:

 

1. The amount of force that an athlete puts into the ground (relative to body weight)  

2. The direction of that force  

The amount of force that an athlete puts into the ground is improved through strength and power training.  In biomechanics they call this ‘kinetics.’  These are trainable qualities.   The direction of that force is where the “skill of speed” comes into play. This can be improved through proper positioning and practice and these are coachable qualities .  This is known as ‘kinematics,’ and it is here that the workshop was targeted.  What does proper positioning look like, and how can we coach that?

 

Straight ahead Speed

 

Acceleration:

 

We looked at proper start position and acceleration mechanics for a 20m sprint.  We discussed the differences between a 3 point start and a block start.    

Key points:

 

The stance and start sets the athlete’s force angles for the entire 20m and thus, improving these things will have the greatest improvement on overall 20m time. The key emphasis is to get the athlete to focus on driving (not stepping) out and pushing the ground back with as much force as possible.

 

 

We then looked at an example of how this acceleration position might be applied in the sport of Tennis, since the majority of attendees were Tennis coaches.

 

 

Top Speed:

 

We looked at proper foot position for the Top speed phase of a 40m sprint.  

Key points:

 

According to Carl Lewis’s coach (in a pod cast Interview with Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre) the heel DOES come down at foot strike when running at top speed.  But I know Dan Pfaff has said that it doesn’t.  My opinion is that the foot makes initial contact with the ball of the feet.  What we certainly don’t want to see is athletes making initial contact with the heel!!!

 

What do you think?  Leave me your comments below.

 

 

First Step Speed

 

We looked at a 5m start which focuses on the first two explosive steps.  Unlike Straight ahead speed used during the 100m sprint, we will typically express first step speed in multiple directions and in response to a random signal to move quickly.

 

Key points:

 

I need to give credit to Lee Taft and the IYCA for introducing me to what they call the ‘Plyo Step.’  In Tennis we call it a ‘Dig Step.’  Other coaches call this a ‘False Step.’  Like me, Lee Taft was never satisfied with the irrational explanation that it is a mistake to do this.

He says: ‘I think you will find the logic and the scientific basis of biomechanics and physics will offer enough backing to see the purpose for allowing the Plyo Step to be the way the athlete moves during a reactive setting and from a non-track stance.’

Innovation and creativity is to be congratulated.  I always say, ”be an innovator not an impersonator.” Coaches have looked at the plyo step (which is a natural stretch reflex) with this desire to improve sports performance  and said, well, this is surely a wasted step, and it must take longer to move forward.  But I think they are wrong!

 

Plyo step

 

Lee Taft explains:

”The fact that coaches call it a step back just isn’t true. If it were a step back, then the hips would have to travel back as well. This clearly doesn’t happen. Look at the picture of the Plyo Step and notice the position of the hips just prior to the Plyo Step and when the Plyo Step occurs.   It can be clearly seen that the center of mass only moves forward. The fallacy the movement brings the athlete backward first just isn’t true. Next, the old timers use to say, “It takes longer to get moving forward”. Wrong again. The reason I named this movement a Plyo Step is because of the stretch shortening action that occurs when the foot aggressively contacts the ground. There is a quick response (action reaction) that occurs from the ground which helps to move the athlete forward much quicker.”

 

 

It must be stated that the best position to be able to respond in all directions is the basic athletic stance, with a slight adjustment.  The key words here are’ slight adjustment.’  We use the plyo step to reorganise our body position so it is set up to produce force in the correct direction.

 

Who says, the first step is always going to go forward any way?

 

Detractors of the plyo step would say you need to step out of the athletic stance by pivoting forward from the ankle. That theory only works if you know the intended direction is going to be forward and you can already lean over the front foot to get into the optimal position to explode forward.  Yes, this is correct when talking about a rugby forward or a lineman in American football whose sole job is to move forward and make a tackle.  It is also fair to say that this is fairly common in Tennis too when the player knows where the ball is going.  But for other sports it has to come from a more neutral athletic stance!

 

First Step Lateral

 

In Tennis 80% of all movement is lateral so lateral first step speed is particularly important.  Ben Linder, Head Physical Trainer for the Swiss Tennis Federation, calls this ‘1-2 step movement’.  This refers to the first two steps being the most important.

 

Split Step: Jump into First step

 

In Tennis before the first step takes place the athlete will normally do a jump in the air as the opponent is about to strike the ball.  This is yet another example of using the stretch reflex to store and release additional elastic energy in the muscles to explode to the ball.

 

For this part of the classroom presentation we therefore looked at proper mechanics of the first step as it relates to the sport of Tennis.

 

Let’s look a bit closer

 

For me the first step is a powerful step in the intended direction.  By step I mean a powerful contraction of the quadriceps and glutes often using a pivoting type action.  However in Tennis, prior to this step there will usually be one of a few things that can happen before this powerful step takes place.

  • The body jumps in the air and the feet land simultaneously known in Tennis as a ‘simultaneous split step.’  This is usually followed by a pivoting action of the foot- the way most coaches would like you to teach it!  
  • The foot/hip nearest the intended direction opens up slightly- common when you are in motion or have read the situation- is usually part of a ‘staggered split step’  (see below)  
  • The foot nearest the intended direction falls under the body in the opposite direction- common when you are moving from a very wide foot position  
  • The foot furthest away the intended direction pushes in the opposite direction to the ball known as a ‘dig step’- common when your feet are quite close together or you’re quite upright and are reacting to the play.  

 

Staggered Split step

 

I wanted to focus on the staggered split step as it is similar to the plyo step/dig step but requires explanation

 

For me a plyo step or ‘dig step’ is a reflex response to a random signal to move.  The ‘staggered split step’ is applying the same laws of equal and opposite forces but it is more of a ‘conscious’ push with the foot furthest away from the direction of travel.   This happens when you read the game and can anticipate the direction of your first step.  The dig step will come into play when you have to react to the direction of the ball and is a reflex.  Somewhere between the two is the simultaneous split step where the athlete is able to pivot off the foot-like most coaches will want you to do in your first step!!

 

If you watch the clip carefully of Andre Agassi moving laterally above, you will see his left foot slightly hits the ground before his right.  This is known as a ‘staggered split step.’

 

Multi-directional Speed

 

We looked at a Pro Agility Shuttle (5-10-5) which focuses on the explosive change of direction.

 

 

Key points:

 

Again credit goes to Brian Grasso of the IYCA who showed me the 4 steps to a good body position for changing direction.

 

1.  Feet slightly wider than shoulders or ‘outside the box’ made by the shoulders and hips.  

2. Feet turned slightly toward direction of travel  

3. Hips back  

4.  Shift weight towards inside leg closest towards direction of travel  

 

Then we looked at how this would apply to the tennis court

 

Notice how after hitting the ball Djokovic is initially out of balance and in no position to effectively apply the forces in the correct positions.  But then he quickly reorganises his body so he can find the correct position to push himself back towards the centre of the court.

 

Practical

 

After about 40 minutes in the classroom going through these videos we went on to the court to look at some drills to develop the three types of Speed of the 3 S APA Training System (Straight ahead Speed, First step speed and Multi-directional Speed).

 

I will upload some videos to give you a taster in another blog but if you can’t wait to then, then you can get more information on these topics and over 200 video clips of drills at my new EBOOK.  Click HERE for more details.

In the mean time I want you to do three things:

  1. If you’re not subscribed yet, click here to get free email updates, so we can stay in touch.  
  2. Share this post using the buttons at the top and bottom. As one of this blog’s first readers, I’m not just hoping you’ll tell your friends about it. I’m counting on it.  
  3. Leave a comment, telling me where you’re struggling and how I can help  

I’ll read the comments. I’ll think about them. I’ll plan the entire future of this blog around them.

 

Daz

Top 5 Hamstring Exercises

 The hamstrings are a group of muscles located at the back of the upper leg, there are 3 muscles in the group; semi-membranosus, semi-tendinosus, and the bicep femoris. They act to flex the knee and help extend the hip as well as combining to assist rotation of the knee. The hamstring muscles also play a role in our posture by assisting to straighten out the lower curvature of the spine which curves the pelvis forward when sitting. The hamstrings work eccentrically to decelerate hip flexion (sprinting, kicking a ball, bending to touch your toes) and concentrically in the push off phase of gait. They are a common injury site amongst many athletes, predominantly due to an imbalance of strength between them, the glutes and the quadriceps group. As a result having a set of robust and strong hamstrings can help prevent you from injury. Try adding these exercises to your ‘leg day’ workouts.

Romanian Dead Lifts (straight leg dead lifts):

Holding either a bar or pair of dumbbells in an upright position, brace the core, keep the spine in neutral and begin to lower the weights down your legs by first pushing your butt backwards. Ensure you have ‘soft’ knees, continue lowering the weight until you have reached a point of full stretch in the posterior chain (hamstrings and glutes in this case), this should take 3-5 seconds to reach. Pause for a second maintaining a maximum brace on the core and neutral spine, begin extending the hips to stand up tall – you should feel like you are driving your heels into the ground – keep the bar travelling up close to the thighs and squeeze your butt into the bar at the top – this can be done quickly (1 second) or more slowly (3-5 seconds) dependant on training goal. Complete 3 sets of 12 reps with strict form to help maintain good hamstring and posterior chain health and fitness.

Start position is stood upright, core braced and neutral spine 20140516_110334

End point – bar lowered towards the ground, close the thighs, neutral spine and tight core, the feeling of the exercise should be one of a loaded stretch. 20140516_110340

Swiss Ball Hamstring Curls:

An easier to complete exercise that can be done at home, the use of the Swiss ball however creates a great stability challenge transferring muscle activation through the hamstrings and utilising the core to again stabilise the spine and trunk. Lying on your back on the floor, place a Swiss ball under your calves. Firstly engage your core into a slightly flexed spinal position and squeeze your butt to lift your hips up towards the ceiling, thus creating a straight and neutral spine and body from feet to shoulders. Maintain this position as you pull your feet towards your butt and extend and slowly to the start position. Many variations of this exercise can be performed – single leg, super slow, fast curls or using other equipment such as a TRX to create varying challenges. As this exercise is a body weight controlled exercise, you can do a higher volume of reps to increase the workload – 3×15-20 reps will help keep those hamstrings strong and well integrated with the glutes and lower core musculature.

Start position, core braced, glutes firing to lift the hips, legs out straight.

20140516_111954

End position, core braced, glutes firing to lift the hips, ball pulled in towards the butt.

20140516_112003

Arabesques:

A great exercise stolen from the world of dance. This challenges the body to be on a single base, engage multiple other muscle groups, improve balance and co-ordination as well as health and strength of the muscle. The aim is to again brace the core before beginning the exercise. Standing on a single leg with a ‘soft’ knee, hinge at the hips but maintain a straight neutral spine, extend the non-grounded leg away from the body in line with your hips squeeze the butt and pull the toes back towards the head for an increased ‘tightening’ of the leg and core muscles. At the same time lower the chest towards the floor maintaining a good posture through the upper back and pinch the shoulder blades together. Reach the point of full stretch in the hamstrings of the grounded leg and return to an upright position. This is great exercise to use in a warm up as part of a dynamic stretch or as an individual exercise in strength training. Increased difficulty can be added via weights, additional movements of the arm, however the speed again can be enough to increase the stimulus to the hamstrings for increasing strength. Complete 3 x 10-15 reps each leg.

Start position, single base, neutral spine and a braced core 20140516_112120

End position – straight back, toes pulled towards the head, slight softness in the knee

20140516_112129

Nordic Hamstrings:

Arguably the toughest body weight hamstring exercise. Again eccentric loading is the primary focus of the exercise while it is really important to maintain pelvic alignment and core bracing. This exercise is also a partner assisted exercise – unless you have a glute-ham bench. Start in a kneeling position with your body upright (core braced, neutral spine), your partner then needs to hold your legs just above the ankles – a foam roller or cushion underneath is ideal so as to not place the ankle into forced plantar flexion – your partner needs to hold you down hard as this is the anchor of the pivot. Slowly begin lowering your body towards the floor, chest first, without ‘breaking’ or bending at the hips. You will only be able to hold the load for so long, but fight to hold the lowering for 4-5 seconds. There are a few options to this exercise at this point – you can either fall to the floor and return to the start position to begin another eccentric only repetition, you could spring back up to the start position after falling using a push up and your hamstrings or for the strongest athletes out there you can pull yourself back to the start position using just your hamstrings. This is a tough exercise and definitely induces DOMS so should not be done in under 72 hours before competition. Things to watch out for are – making sure the glutes fire to hold pelvic alignment, checking for any torsion or twisting to help generate force – this highlights a muscle imbalance somewhere in the chain and to make sure the athlete isn’t in lumbar extension or hip flexion. A tougher exercise, you can start with band assisted reps and progress to adding a weight jacket if an increased overload is needed. Try 3×6 to start, progress up to 3×12.

Start position 20140516_111830

Lower body down towards the floor 20140516_111840

Downhill Running – deceleration drills

Often when you see a hamstring injury occur it is during the deceleration phase of a sprint, where the hamstring comes under the greatest load. Often this is caused by a lack of strength or a muscle imbalance – the above exercises can help with the strengthening. However it is also important to practice movement based exercises if you are an athlete. This is where deceleration drills and landing mechanics become really important. There are hundreds that you could choose from, so I will give a few specific examples:

Landing from a box – start with a low height and practice landing in a solid position, knees bent, straight back, weight on the mid foot, quiet landing by using the leg muscles to ‘absorb’ the landing. Progress to higher boxes or weighted squat jumps with a landing.

Sprinting and then slowing down – sounds simple but worth practicing, build up gradually into a sprint 20-60m is ideal before working on coming to a stop as quickly as possible after a given point or line or on the reaction of ‘stop’ call from a partner. Ensure that as you decelerate, you lower your centre of mass by bending the knees, widening the base and keeping a straight back, weight should be mid foot still.

Downhill running – firstly don’t choose a hill that’s too steep or too short. Secondly you need to actively run/sprint down the hill. The slope will cause a breaking effect by using the hamstrings and glutes to try to slow you down. Start slow and build up gradually.

Extra-time:

Finally and importantly as you can see there is a common trend in the strengthening process – to focus on the eccentric phase of muscle contraction. With this is mind some of your more well-known strength training exercises can also be excellent strengtheners of the hamstrings. Try eccentric based squats – a slow 5 second descend and a 2 second pause at the bottom of the squat before returning to an upright position will add volume to your leg session. Start with a manageable weight and have a spotter on hand; 4 x 10-12 will do the trick. Split squats or rear foot elevated lunges, again a slow descent will target the legs as a whole but will definitely help strengthen the hamstrings.

Similarly explosive power work will help as the body will learn to decelerate the movement efficiently for landing and changes of direction. The same principles of learning good technique, starting at light loads and intensities and building from there will ensure the best results and keep the risk of injury to a minimum. This is also where having a strength and conditioning coach becomes a great advantage so they can review technique, loading and intensity of training.

Happy Hamstring Training.

Fabrizio Gargiulo

3 Topics every S&C coach should have an opinion on!

This blog post is inspired by a really interesting Discussion Forum that recently took place at one of my visits to the National Strength & Conditioning Workshop, at the Lawn Tennis Association.  One of the perks of being the Head of S&C at Gosling Tennis Academy is getting the chance to go to these workshops 3 times a year to share best practice and learn from each other.

 

Discussion points

 

During one of the ‘break out’ sessions my friend and colleague Dominic King, lead a discussion on a number of key topics that come up as part of our interaction with coaches, medical professionals, and parents.  I thought I would select my Top 3 ‘Hot Topics’ and give you my opinion on them.

 

1.  LTAD Model

 

Check out this link HERE for a full text downloadable journal article: ‘The Long-term Athlete Development model: physiological evidence and application.’ 

 

Key points:

 

In this article, it highlights that there are key physical developmental processes that occur during childhood and adolescence that might influence short- and long-term athletic performance  

  • These  ”sensitive” developmental periods are known as “windows of opportunity”.  
  • There is a lack of empirical evidence upon which the model is based, questionable assumptions and erroneous methodologies.  
  • Fundamentally, this is a generic model rather than an individualized plan for athletes.  
  • It is crucial that the LTAD model is seen as a “work in progress”

 

My opinion:

 

Yes, there are accelerated periods of biological growth; in childhood athletes become more coordinated and in adolescence puberty creates gains in strength and aerobic/anaerobic performance and potential losses in flexibility.

 

Need Proof?

 

Prunning

 

Brain Imaging

 

But I don’t like the term “window” because it suggests that the periods open and close, when in fact they may open and remain so on to and throughout adulthood.  Is an athlete suddenly going to reach a speed plateau or have a speed barrier when doing speed training at 16 because the speed window is now closed, I’m not convinced.

 

One critical biological marker is puberty.  I do feel that this is a good indication of when someone may be able to handle more intensive training methods (pre-supposing they have good movement efficiency and an appropriate training history).  For the period of training before puberty I still believe in training all the biomotor abilities including strength. I’m more inclined to have training priorities based on what my assessment of the athlete shows, rather than basing it blindly on a windows of opportunity framework.  A young athlete could already be lighting fast but lack stamina, but if I just hammer away at speed I will never be addressing their stamina until they are much older.

 

2. 10’000 hour Rule

 

The 10,000-hours concept can be traced back to a 1993 paper written by Anders Ericsson, a Professor at the University of Colorado, called The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance.

 

Check out a great review of the topic HERE

 

Ericsson has pointed out that 10,000 was an average, and that many of the best musicians in his study had accumulated “substantially fewer” hours of practice. He underlined, also, that the quality of the practice was important.

 

Malcolm Gladwell places himself roughly in the middle of a sliding scale with Ericsson at one end, placing little emphasis on the role of natural talent, and at the other end a writer such as David Epstein, author of the The Sports Gene. Epstein is “a bit more of a talent person than me” Gladwell suggests.

 

My opinion:

 

I’m inclined to sit somewhere close to Gladwell.  I do believe that natural talent plays a big role.  I like the idea of ‘Nuturing Nature.’  I believe everyone has the capacity to improve and achieve their peak performance potential but I believe only those with an amount of natural talent will be able to perform at the elite level.  For some sports this is clear cut; a wannabe sprinter needs natural speed and a wannabe marathon runner needs natural endurance.  Other sports need high levels of skill requiring lots of practice- how much is the more difficult question to answer.

 

One of the difficulties with assessing whether expert-level performance can be obtained just through practice is that most studies are done after the subjects have reached that level.

 

It would be better to follow the progress of someone with no innate talent in a particular discipline who chooses to complete 10,000 hours of deliberate practice in it.

 

At Gosling Tennis Academy the parents are advised that the Tennis journey is a 20,000 hour one.  You need to aim to get to the first 10,000 hours in around 10 years so someone who starts at 5 years might reach expert level in the skills of Tennis by around 14 yrs old.  Then expect to spend another 10, 000 hours transitioning from junior ranks to professional level.

 

I personally feel that this guide needs a massive ‘caveat.’  That there is no guarantee that you will become an expert (read that as ‘professional’) if you commit to doing 20,000 hours.

 

I also feel you need to state that it is an individual journey and I believe that those who have more talent will need less hours of practice.

 

I prefer to say, you need ENOUGH practice to develop the skills of the sport to a competent level- so you have skills that will stand up to the demands of the game under time, space and fatigue pressure.  Those children who have less talent for the sport of Tennis may need to spend more of their time practising Tennis.  Those children who pick it up sooner can spend more of their time practising other sports.

 

I’m not prepared to say that everyone will need 10,000 hours to become an expert, and I’m not prepared to say that even if you do 10,000 hours you will become an expert, assuming for the sport of Tennis, for example, that expert means becoming a Pro.

 

3.  Sport Specialisation

 

Getting straight to the point I believe that all young athletes (pre-puberty) should be doing other sports, in addition to their favourite one.  My big 3 are:

[column width=”32%” padding=”2%”]

Swimming

swimming

[/column]
[column width=”32%” padding=”0″]

Gymnastics

gymnastics

[/column]

[column width=”32%” padding=”2%”]

Athletics

Athletics

[/column][end_columns]

I also think that every child should ideally have exposure to a team sport environment, such as playing for a football, rugby, cricket, netball team etc.  This doesn’t have to be part of a sports club it can just be representing the school team.   

Ideally 2-5 hours of ‘other sports’ in addition to their main sport.  

 

Typically I find Tennis players are committing to playing Tennis any where from 3 hours at 5 years up to around 15 hours at 12 years.  But you do need to find time to get the other sports in.   At some point down the track, a young emerging athlete may need to specialise and the hours of other sports will be cut to just 1 or 2 so they need to be in sooner rather than later.

 

Early specialisation vs. Late specialisation

 

Some sports require more concentrated practise at an earlier age to develop the necessary skills. These are high skill dependant sports like gymnastics and diving.  From my experience I would also include Tennis in there too.  For example, we are seeing a growing number of younger players (pre-puberty) joining the Tennis Academy full-time, which can involve up to 20 hours of Activity per week (including Tennis and Strength & Conditioning/Other sports).

 

Is 20 hours a week too much for a young athlete?

 

Think ‘optimum’ not ‘maximum.’ 

 

If an athlete wants to develop the necessary skills in the sport of Tennis then this will require a certain amount of practice, more than the couple of times a week squad practice that you might normally commit to in a sport like Football.  But how much more is up for debate.

 

There are a couple of reasons for this.  Firstly, as said above, the skills are more complex.  Secondly, the amount of ‘free play’ opportunities  in sports like Tennis is less than in sports like football.

 

But……I believe that not all athletes will require the same amount of hours of Tennis to achieve the same level of skill. I’m not afraid to say that I believe that the more ‘talented’ players will pick things up quicker.

 

These young athletes have a long career ahead of them.  If I can work on an ‘optimum’ programme for them (that looks at the least amount of Tennis I can get them to achieve the desired skill level) I will do that over giving them the maximum amount available.  More is not always better.

Current Job Opportunities with APA

Team at APA

 

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE ACADEMY IN ASSOCIATION WITH GOSLING TENNIS ACADEMY

WANT TO WORK WITH THE BEST?

In September 2009 Gosling Tennis Academy became an International High Performance Centre (IHPC) as awarded by the Lawn Tennis Association.  Gosling Tennis Academy is one of only four academies in the country to be given this award based on the size and success of its performance programme.    Contributing to this success, and behind every successful academy, can be found a world class support team ‐ all focused on the achievement of peak performance. An opportunity exists to become a member of this team if you, like the tennis players we support, have the courage, excellence and commitment to be the best you can be.

Athletic Performance Academy (APA) Ltd is a dynamic, proactive organisation contracted to deliver Strength & Conditioning Coaching services to our partners in high performance Tennis.   A vacancy exists with Athletic Performance Academy (APA) Ltd for a part-time strength & conditioning coach based at Gosling IHPC in the Tennis Academy with the opportunity for private coaching to the tennis club members subject to payment of a monthly license fee.  This is a fixed 1-year position and would ideally suit someone who is looking to gain valuable experience in a high performance environment.

STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH, GOSLING TENNIS ACADEMY

Based: Gosling IHPC

Remuneration: £10 per hour for programme coaching and a minimum of £22 per hour for private coaching

Hours: A minimum of 10 hours per week of regular programme coaching 37 weeks of year with unlimited opportunity to deliver private coaching throughout year

License Fee: £250 per month with a 1 month lead in period (only applicable if doing private coaching)

Benefits:

  • Staff uniform
  • Access to Coaching syllabus and additional DVD resources to use during programme hours
  • Access to Coach mentoring
  • Access to Tennis and Gym Members Database for lead generation
  • Access to potential work at other clubs in the APA organization

Your role will involve;

  • Delivery and development of strength and conditioning services to our athletes
  • Promotion of your own services to potential clients

 

Essential criteria for this role to include;

  •  A qualification at degree level (or equivalent) in sports science or related area specialising in the

area of physical preparation of athletes

  •  UK Strength and Conditioning Association Accreditation, or ability to obtain it within 6 months
  •  Experience in the provision of strength and conditioning support to young athletes

Desirable criteria for this role to include;

  •  Experience at having been self-employed and having ability to create your own client base
  •  LTA recognised Tennis Coach Qualification

YOU MAY APPLY VIA Email: daz@apacoaching.co.uk     Please quote ref: GOSAPA.01

PLEASE INCLUDE: CV, DETAILS OF CURRENT REMUNERATION AND RELEVANT CONTACT DETAILS.

Closing date: 13th June 2014 @ 12 noon (GMT). Interview date: 27th June 2014

Periodisation for Tennis- Part 3

Well we finally get to the last blog of the series on Periodisation- this one is about the actual exercises I think are appropriate for Tennis, from a more specific stand point.  If you haven’t read the previous blogs I suggest you do otherwise some of the terms I describe here might not make sense.

 

  • Periodisation for Tennis- Part 1  
  • Periodisation for Tennis- Part 2

 

The majority of my time is spent with developing athletes who are still fundamentally poor in the basic exercises. Having said that I now have the privilege of working more and more with professional athletes.  This means I need to reflect on how their preparation period needs to differ to a younger developing player.

 

Intensity vs.  Specificity

 

For the last few years I have focused less on the use of the word ‘general’ and ‘specific’ when referring to preparation phases.  I preferred instead to just say ‘preparation‘ and talk about whether the athlete was working on more ‘basic’ or more ‘advanced’ exercises. An advanced exercise implies it is of a higher intensity.  Therefore, the main variable I was changing was ‘intensity,’ as the athlete advances.

 

From my recent reading it is clear the training process, especially of high level athletes, must be highly specialized: the athlete must not perform useless activity that can’t positively contribute to the attainment of the specific objective.  So as well as increasing intensity we must also increase ‘specificity.’  This blog will develop some of my recent thoughts on how to do this.

 

Let’s get Specific

 

If people take this principle out of context (like a lot of trainers have done with ‘functional’ training) you end up with coaches just doing therapy band tennis serves, medicine ball throws, and jumps over hurdles.  Now these may all have a place but they are never a substitute for our bread and butter exercises that we know work!!!!

 

This does not mean that each training exercise must reproduce the competition exercise; it’s about the whole training means system.  But we do need some exercises which are closer to the actual sport skill!

 

Check out this video- it’s a training camp in East Germany and it shows great examples of very specific exercises for elite Javelin and Discuss throwers.  Please don’t judge their training by the 80’s style aerobics at 6:15 minute in!  They knew no better then!  But it illustrates the point of how specific you can be with your exercise prescription.

 

I particularly like the javelin contraption for measuring power output at 4:00 minutes in!!!

 

 

The APA system includes a large spectrum of exercises aimed at improving different determining factors for increasing the power output of competition exercises. We can use different exercises to focus on improving different strength abilities and different functional properties of different muscle groups.

 

It’s usually at this point that coaches may start to trade arguments about which method or methods are better for a particular sport/athlete and I don’t want to come across in that way, championing one exercise or method over another. In fact I think I already said in the last blog that:

 

”An important consideration to keep in mind is that sports movements are usually executed in a mixed regime of muscular contraction.”

 

But what can we take from the realm of Track & Field which the Soviets and East Germans dominated in the 1960-1980s and apply to other sports?  Clearly these coaches knew all about how to develop high levels of maximal strength and explosive power.

 

Take Tennis for example.  When you first look at Tennis you could be forgiven for thinking that it doesn’t require a great deal of strength and explosive power. After all you are hitting a tennis ball; it’s not like you’re in a contact sport having to throw around another athlete or throw a weighted implement like a shot putt.

 

However, look a bit closer and you’ll see there are many different types of forces in play; some that you produce in order to overcome your own inertia, or to forcefully plant your foot down before you complete your stroke (both require maximal strength).  Or consider the ‘take off’ from the ground to jump up into a high ball or ‘take off’ to leap into a wide ball (explosive power) or the landing forces when you come back down (maximal strength).

 

When it comes to exercises this means that there can’t only be one tool in your tool box.  As Vern Gambetta says, ‘if the only tool you have is a hammer then you had better hope you are working with a nail.’  As it relates to Tennis this is particularly true.

 

What exactly constitutes the competition exercise for Tennis any way?  

 

Tennis involves elements of:

 

  • sprinting- acceleration
  • jumping and hopping
  • changing direction
  • rotations of the body

 

The Force-Velocity Curve  

 

By using the Force-Velocity curve I can look at the actions that take place in the sport and attempt to position them on the Force-Velocity curve.

 

I generally break my these actions down according to whether they mostly require:

 

  • Maximal Strength (to maintain a solid athletic look when hitting, to overcome inertia, to plant foot into the ground before a stroke, to absorb landing forces)
  • Explosive Strength (to generate power on take off when jumping up into a high ball or a wide shot
  • Reactive Strength (to generate elastic energy during use of stretch-shortening cycle on most ‘action’ events in Tennis- such as serve, normal ground strokes, accelerating to ball out of a split step, changing direction etc)

F-V curve

Speed-strength is pretty much the same as explosive strength accept the external resistance you are working against is less so it’s without the display of great power- but it is high speed

 

So you might do 8-10 reps with a lighter load, or do 8-10 hurdle jumps or 10 bounds (progressing to 50-60m bounds) for speed-strength but you would do half that if you were working on explosive power.

 

In terms of ‘specificity’ I’ve written down a few examples of ‘specific’ actions that happen on the Tennis court that require different strength  and speed characteristics:

 

Tennis Situations

 

Video: Hitting on the run- Explosive Strength during take off force (right leg) and Maximal Strength during the Impact force (left leg)

 

 

Jumping up into high ground strokes (Explosive Power)

 

 

I then like to have a categorisation of ‘specific’ exercises that I can use to develop the physical qualities mentioned above. Some of the exercises below would be appropriate for a range of sports and could be thought of as a general exercise, while most of the exercises are more specific to Tennis. If you’re not sure if an exercise is more ‘General’ or ‘Specific’ just ask yourself the question, ‘would it look appropriate for an athlete from another sport to do it?’  If the answer is yes then it is probably more general.

 

Strength and Power exercises

 

Resisted footwork

 

 

Drop back and jump- for training first step acceleration

 

 

Lunge return Hops– for developing reactive power when getting back into position after a serve

 

Progressing the Training Means throughout Preparation

 

Now clearly there are a lot of exercises above and you can’t expect to master them all at the same time, so you have to have a focus.

 

The shift in focus should move gently from more general to more specific means.  

 

Considering the important aspects of specificity, the means must be introduced in the following sequence for solving the following training tasks:

 

1) enforcing the main muscular synergies and the other body’s working mechanisms, involved in the competition exercises; (i.e. hypertrophy of gross muscle actions)

2) increasing the magnitude of force effort in the key movements; (i.e. maximal strength)

3) increasing the speed of the force employment in the key movements (i.e. explosive power)

In Fig. 3, it can be seen how this rule is applied for increasing the power output of the Track &
Field jumps through the following phases:

 

Tennis Experiment 3

 

1) bounds – for getting the motor apparatus ready for executing the subsequent training loads;
2) barbell exercises – for increasing the force component of the take-off power output;
3) kettlebell jumps – for increasing the speed component of the take-off power output;
4) depth jumps – for increasing both the force and speed components of the take-off power
output through the use of highly intensive training stimuli.

 

So how would we apply that process to Tennis?

 

1) low intensity jumps (slow-fast SSC)- for getting the motor apparatus ready for executing the subsequent training loads;
2) barbell exercises – for increasing the force component of the take-off power output;
3) explosive jumps (split clean/snatch) – for increasing the speed component of the take-off power output;
4) depth jumps – for increasing both the force and speed components of the take-off power
output through the use of highly intensive training stimuli

 

This rule also implies that one type of exercise is gradually replaced by another.  For me this means that for my young athletes I am doing a lot of work to reinforce the main muscle synergies (such as hypertrophy work in the gym or light bounding for runners) but for more advanced athletes they are doing a lot more maximal strength and power development work in the preparation period, and need to progressively add in more specific power modalities that replicates the demands of the competitive exercise (spending a lot more time doing the exercises in my categorisation list above).

 

The ‘general’ exercises are usually aimed at increasing the level of maximal strength of the primary large muscle groups involved in competition exercise; they are fundamental for the subsequent increase in working effect of the main force producing movements of competition exercise.

 

Summary

 

We have finally got to the end of this Blog series on Periodisation.  I hope you have enjoyed reading it.  The key take home message from this last post is to know your sport.  Think about what skill or skills are most needed in your sport and then plan the appropriate training means, working from a more general foundation of strength to more explosive activities and finally the sport skill itself.

 

How to Bookend Your Workout- proper warm-ups and cool downs

bookends

This week’s Blog comes from APA coach Fabrizio Garguilo all about warming-up and cooling down.

Warm-ups:

It has been well established in the sports and fitness industry that a warm up should precede strenuous physical exercise, typically a light jog to stimulate some blood flood and some stretches to ‘loosen up’. However more recently advances in physical preparation for strenuous exercise have been made to include; injury prevention, muscle activation, joint mobilisation and stabilisation exercises, as well as a shift in focus towards sport specific movements in competitive athletes. These great improvements will be discussed further in this blog along with methods and rationale for appropriate ‘cooling down’ exercises, which appear to still be a neglected area of strength and conditioning but could actually act as a fantastic preventative, educational and recovery enhancing time if used correctly.

Warm ups have been around for several decades, originally a light jog on lap of the field followed by some static stretches was prescribed by coaches from the school PE teacher level to international athletes. However thankfully nowadays we have sports science to help guide coaches towards far more appropriate warm ups. The aim of a warm up is to prepare the body for competition, strenuous activity or in ancient times combat. Modern research has led to the development of protocols such as the RAMP method. This warm up consists of Raising the pulse, Activating the muscles, Mobilising the joints and Potentiating movement all in preparation for competition.

Examples of exercises that can be used to raise the pulse are; skipping – at APA we have devised a challenge that encompasses as many skips as possible in a minute, followed by the challenge of completing half the number of skips you got in a minute in a 30 second blast, with target scores of 200 and 100 respectively. Classically running can be used, however I prefer to encourage other exercises such as ice-skaters, side shuffles, low-knee skips and hop-scotch into the early part of the warm up. Activation exercises such as band rows and external rotation of the shoulder are good examples of upper body exercises and glute bridges, band walks and lunges are good lower body activators – main muscle group targeted is typically the glutes. Mobilisation can take the form of exercises designed to increase the athletes’ range at a joint, such as deep squats, overhead squats, single leg squats, spiderman or caterpillar crawls. Finally potentiating movements should mimic the movements that will constitute the performance of the sport. For example pass and move in football, racket swings in tennis, lay up shots in basketball, all can be made into small drills building in intensity towards the start of the match or training session.

Joint mobilisation vs muscle stretching:


This is an example of a joint mobilisation warm up, all the stretches are dynamic and there is a flow between exercises to increase blood flow and mobility of the connective fascia. Simple muscle stretching can also be beneficial depending on the sport and need of each athlete. There are also various other forms of stretching such as foam rolling, assisted stretching using a partner or apparatus as shown here can also be beneficial.

 

Although typically static stretching is reserved for post-exercise, if the athlete needs to increase their range of motion because they are particularly stiff or tight, it can be used as part of a warming up process.

Cool downs:

The aim of the cool down process – the other end of your bookends on your workout – is to restore the body back to its pre-exercise state and to assist in recovery from strenuous exercise. There are many methods that can be used, typically static stretching is most commonplace, however the recent additions to many gyms of foam rollers, bands and balls that can be used for post-exercise cool downs has improved the general perception of finishing off a workout with a 5-10 minute period of focussed exercise. Alongside stretching, rolling and bringing body temperature and heart rate back to normal resting levels, athletes can maximise the efficiency of their recovery by showering – to remove waste products excreted as sweat from the skin, maximising the ‘open window’ of replacing nutrients within 2 hours post-exercise and ensuring this fulfils the needs of the body – a recovery meal should be high in carbohydrate, protein and vitamins and minerals, but also low in fat to replenish used stores within the body. Another important factor that most amateur athletes will struggle to accomplish because they live working lives is to physically rest between training or competing. To lay down with flat or elevated feet and even to mentally relax can help with the feeling of being recovered. This is particularly poignant in travelling athletes, where added stress of travel in confined spaces can increase stress on the body. If you are presented with an opportunity to rest, that is exactly what you should do.

Kit every athlete should carry in their bag to help – tennis ball, golf ball, hockey ball, foam roller – all for self Myofascial massage. Water bottle – to keep hydrated, supplements – protein, meal replacement, vitamins if on long distance travel. Resistance bands, can be used for stretching and activation exercises.

In summary, tagging 10 minutes onto each end of your workout can have a significant effect on your health, flexibility, injury prevention, state of readiness and ultimately performance. It is something well worth doing and why most athletes’ gym sessions last closer to 90 minutes than 60.