off-season training program design & considerations
TRANSCRIPT
Off-Season Training Program Design &
Considerations
Lew Porchiazzo III, M.S., CSCS, SCCC, USAWAssistant Strength & Conditioning Coach for Olympic Sports
University of Michigan
Overview
1. Determine the demands of their sport and the needs of your athletes
Understand sport specificity
2. Create an annual training calendar
Emphasize continual and progressive development
3. Application of various S&C methods in preparation for their sport
Start simple and build a large base
Sport Demands
What are the most important characteristics of the sport? Examples:
Power
Strength
Speed, Agility, Quickness
Anaerobic Fitness
Aerobic Fitness
Most sports require development of multiple physical characteristics What happens then?
Sport Demands (cont.)
Prioritize training emphasis
Knowing that the sport might require development of multiple physical characteristics, prioritize which traits are most important and when
Example: Strength and speed are important in softball. Increasing strength increases speed potential. Speed is most important during the season. Therefore priority of training emphasis is put on strength development in the early off-season and speed in the late off-season/pre-season
Sport Demands (cont.)
Understanding the demands of their sport is an important step in determining their needs Example: Football does not demand a large aerobic
capacity. If your football player struggles at aerobic work (2:00+ of continuous work), it’s fine! Additionally, look at why you might have them doing that work to begin with. Emphasize anaerobic fitness and SAQ development instead
In addition to an overall understanding of sport demands, consider style of play While the sport demands, on the whole, remain unaltered,
coaching staffs differ in style of play Keep in mind the preferred style of play of specific coaching
staffs as you begin designing your programs
Needs of your Athletes
We all want our athletes stronger, more powerful, faster, and more fit
Can we maximize all of these traits simultaneously?
How do we determine current level of training and preparation?
Performance tests specific to the characteristics you’re measuring
Use a critical eye to determine the strengths and weaknesses/deficiencies of your athletes as they compete in their sport and go through training
Performance Tests
What are performance tests? Assessments used measure current levels of preparation
Examples: 20yd & 40yd sprint to measure speed Vertical Jump to measure jump height and power (predicted via the Sayer’s
equation) 1RM Back Squat, Power Clean, Bench Press, & Deadlift 300yd shuttle to measure anaerobic fitness 1 mile & Multi-stage fitness test to measure aerobic fitness Sit & Reach to measure low back & hamstring flexibility Max push-ups & pull-ups to measure upper body muscular endurance
What do performance tests tell us? Absolute vs. Relative performance
Absolute is black and white, where do they rank regardless of consideration for age, position, body mass, etc.
Relative takes into account different factors Position, body mass, age, and personal performance
Performance Tests (cont.)
We all want our athletes stronger, more powerful, faster, and more fit Use relative performance results when possible Understand your test results and how to provide feedback
to your athletes
While absolute standards may be applicable for various tests, don’t lose sight of performance improvements for every individual. Example: If you want your soccer players to run <6:30 mile,
but you have an athlete that’s improved from 7:55 to 6:45 in a concentrated period of off-season training, keep that drastic improvement in mind as you determine training program effectiveness.
Annual Training Calendar (What)
What is it?
A calendar that identifies training variables for the upcoming season
What can be included?
Start simple, include competitions (both championship and non-championship seasons), academic calendar, and sport practice
Annual Training Calendar (Why)
Why create the calendar?
Serve as a guideline or “roadmap” for training
Easily track training loads for the year to ensure progressive development
Determine how long your off-season period really is, with special attention paid to uncontrollable factors (i.e. academic calendar)
Use as a communication tool with your sport coaches, sport medicine staff, administration, and student-athletes
Annual Training Calendar (When)
When do you create the plan? At the completion of the competitive (championship)
season
When does the plan begin? The plan begins at the determined start of the off-
season Discuss length of rest period following the competitive
season with the sport coach and begin the program at the end of that period
When does the plan end? Set the plan end date to coincide with the last possible
competition (i.e., State, National, or World Championships)
Annual Training Calendar (Who)
Who creates the plan?
The S&C Coach with as much input from the sport coach as possible
Who has access to the plan?
Sport Coaches, Sports Medicine, Administrators, and Student-Athletes
Annual Training Calendar (Where)
Where do you create the calendar?
Microsoft Excel is an excellent program for creating an annual calendar
Create a “master template” to use on a year-to-year basis
Annual Training Calendar (How)
How is the calendar laid out?
Weekly & monthly
How do you start?
Input all scheduling information (academic & competition)
Work backwards from end of year championships to determine length of in-season & off-season
Once these time periods are determined, the fun begins!!
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University of Michigan Softball
Strength & Conditioning Annual Plan 2012-2013
Month JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER
AUGUST SEPTEMBER
NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY MAY
Week Beginning
Microcycle
Academic &
Competition
Calendar
Priority
FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL
B STR 2
APRIL MAY
Week Beginning
Training Phase PREPARATORY COMPETITION
OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCHMonth JUNE JULY
Microcycle
M STR 1 B STR 3 POWER MAINTENANCE
Mesocycle 1 2 3 4 5
Sub Phase INTRO/GPP 1 GPP 2 B STR 1 GPP 3
6 7 8 9 10
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Softball 2012-2013 Annual Plan
Begins Week of 6/4/12 (1.5 weeks following end of 2012 season)
Ends Week of 5/27/13 (Week of Women’s College World Series)
51 weeks of training 35 weeks of off-season
Includes: 13 weeks of voluntary spring/summer semester training 1 off week for “welcome week” & 1st week of classes 12 weeks of mandatory fall semester training + 1 off week between week 5 & 6 of
this period 4 weeks of voluntary winter break training 4 weeks of mandatory winter semester training
16 weeks of in-season Includes:
4 weeks of mandatory in-season training 1 off week over spring break (team travel to Florida & Louisville) 10 weeks of mandatory in-season training (leading into WCWS)
Off-Season Training Phases
GPP (General Physical Preparation)
Objective:
Increase work capacity
Prepare the body to handle more intense training loads in the future
Characteristics:
High to very high volume
Low to moderate intensities
Off-Season Training Phases (cont.)
Basic Strength
Objective:
Increase ability to generate force against an external resistance
Characteristics:
Moderate to high volume
Moderate to high intensities
Off-Season Training Phases (cont.)
Max Strength
Objective:
Increase ability to generate maximal force against an external resistance
Characterstics:
Low volume
High to very high intensities
Off-Season Training Phases (cont.)
Power
Objective
Increase ability to generate high force and high velocity movement; perform more work in less time
Characteristics
Low to moderate volume
Moderate to high intensities
Exercise Selection
Assess what you have prescribed in order to determine if it is the most effective means of achieving what you’ve set out to achieve…do the ends justify the means? Example: Prescribing DB Lunges for 3x15 as your primary lower body
strength movement during a max strength phase is not ideal
Keep it simple and get really good at what you do Understand that exercise variation does not mean just changing
exercises entirely, but also varying volumes and intensities of the same exercise
Just because you transition into a new phase, it doesn’t mean you have to abandon a specific exercise/movement/drill, adjust accordingly Example: The back squat is an excellent exercise for developing work
capacity when prescribed at 3x10 @ 70%, for developing basic strength when prescribed at 4x5 @ 80%, for developing max strength when prescribed at 2x2 @ 90% & 2x1 @ 95%, and for developing power when prescribed at 4x3 @ 50% or 4x2 @ 80% followed by 4x2 box jumps
One exercise can be used in multiple phases as long as you program accordingly
Wrap-Up
Keep simple and appropriate for your athletes and your facilities
Remember that your annual plan is just a guideline…Be a coach and assess how your athletes are progressing
Example: How do you account for athletes that pull an all-nighter finishing a paper?
Anticipate outside stressors as much as possible during finals or break periods to minimize last minute adjustments
Wrap-up (cont.)
Build upon the previous year (if consistency in training allows for it)
Use previous year as a guide and an assessment tool in determining what went well and what needs to be improved on
References
Baechle, Thomas, and R Earle. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. 2nd. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2000. Print.
Bompa TO and Haff GG. Periodization Theory and Methodology of Training (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2009.
Cissik, John, Allen Hedrick, and Michael Barnes. "Challenges Applying the Research on Periodization." Strength and Conditioning Journal. 30.1 (2008): 45-51. Print.
Gamble, Paul. "Periodization of Training for Team Sport Athletes." Strength and Conditioning Journal. 28.5 (2006): 56-66. Print.
Garhammer, J. A Review of Power Output Studies of Olympic and Powerlifting: Methodology, Performance Prediction, and Evaluation Tests. J J. Strength Cond. Res. 7(2): 76-89. 1993
Garhammer, J. A Comparison of Maximal Power Outputs Between Elite Male and Female Weightlifters in Competition. International Journal of Sport Biomechanics. (7): 3-11. 1991
Graham, John. "Periodization Research and an Example Application." Strength and Conditioning Journal. 24.6 (2002): 62-70. Print.
Stone MH, Stone ME, and Sands WA. Principles and Practices of Resistance Training (1st ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2007. Print.
Zatsiorsky, Vladimir, and William Kraemer. Science and Practice of Strength Training. 2nd. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2006. Print.