Training Prescription — PRPerformance

This blog post is slightly different to one’s previously written - as opposed to giving a look at a specific point of interest, I’m going to try and outline a broader perspective of training, both in the sense of strength/speed training, and conditioning.

The aim is simply to try and provoke you to think a little deeper about where your sport lies on the spectrum of force v velocity, what you’re getting plenty of exposure to, and the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of improving your sporting athleticism, that you might be neglecting.

First off, we need to give a little bit of context into the relationship between force and velocity (or strength and speed) as we look at the desired outcome of power production. Below, is a simple representation of the force-velocity curve:

You can see that this simple representation shows that the highest forces are produced under very slow (or <0) velocity, and incredibly high velocities yield lesser relative forces. Although this is simplification, and there are of course still enormous force components in sprinting (See Need for Speed), it gives us a good understanding of force characteristics.

So where does your sport fit? Generally then, we can start to grasp an understanding of individual sporting demands and characteristics and get a sense of where your sport fits on that spectrum. If we think of the top corner of the graph above representing powerlifting, where the soul focus is competitive shifting as much weight as possible (by applying huge forces in what is normally long periods of time), and in the bottom corner, we have competitive sprinting where needless to say, high speeds and high velocities are at the forefront.

Scattered between those two “extremes” then, we can start to identify where your sporting competition sits. Of course, it is not as simple as saying that your sport can be pinned to an exact point of the curve - but we can grasp an idea relative to the most frequent exposures. Below power lifting, and slightly more Strength than Speed orientated, we have sports such as competitive Olympic Weightlifting and Wrestling, where high forces are applied against high resistance - followed by other combat sports, where speed starts to become more prevalent, followed by field sports and invasion games, and finally, sports of sheer speed (sprint events).

Where does your training fit and does it supplement your sport? Once you have an idea of where your sport fits, the important question then comes next. How are you training in relation to your sport? Are you spending an excessive amount of time developing properties that have little-to-no impact on your physical performance? And not dis-similarly are you only training within the confines of your competiton and are you completely neglecting the areas that could give you the extra edge. Below, we explore why this might not be as simple as you think, and that a more holistic, over-arching approach to your program may be the difference maker.

Strengths stronger yes, but weaknesses to strengths is best. The coaches tasked with improving athletes physical performance, should ensure they are doing just that. And although that sounds simple on the face of it - it remains a complex topic within the field. Mike Boyle is an american coach, that has long lived under the philosophy of “give your athletes what they don’t get”, and I’m in agreement. At the professional level, athletes dedicate hours upon hours of training the specific technical and physical demands of their sport, on the training pitch, behind gym doors, and on the mats. Constantly applying further stress may not be the most beneficial approach then when we want to develop better athletes.

Yes specificity is important, and it absolutely has a place in the programme (I am a huge advocate of developing physical “superpowers”) - but spending too much time replicating your sport, and not enough time on fundamental physical properties, can impair your performance and your development. Let’s look at two examples below.

What we can see here is how training one end of the spectrum, may not only blunt enhancement at the other end, but it can even have a detrimental effect. Sprinters, don’t just spend all their time sprinting as quick as they can, just as powerlifters aren’t constantly grinding out 1RM attempts 5 days a week.

“Giving what the athlete isn’t getting” using a well structured model, in which strength and speed are training concurrently in what is termed a “conjugate approach” (within the same training model, not necessarily the same day/same session) is then arguably the best approach to improving physical performance and can lead to improvements across the board, and ultimately improvements in athleticism (as demonstrated below).

Representation of Conjugate Training (Source: PUSH)

In my mind, this applies to all sports, the only difference is how it may be applied. In sports such as football and rugby, where competition is often weekly, this may best be implemented into what is dubbed a “vertical integration model”, in which all physical properties are targeted throughout the training week, but with a slightly enhanced focus at different stages of the competition calendar, to maximise improvements, with the minimum dose.

Seasonal athletes that maybe only have 2-3 priority competitions per year, or professional combat athletes who might have 3 camps a year can take a slightly different approach, and can afford to have more longitudinal exposure to one given quality, and refine as competition draws closer.

How do we know then, what we’re training when we’re in the gym, and where it’s going to have impact on our physical profile. One method commonly used, and one that I am a personal advocate for, is velocity based training.

Velocity Based Training (VBT) is a method that enables classification and manipulation of training load, based on the speed in which an exercise is executed. Certain thresholds and cut-off points mean that we, as coaches, can get instant feedback on an exercise, and ensures that the load lifted is eliciting the desired response. Below, gives another over-arching look at relative loads, considering an athletes 1RM and the power (force x velocity) produced as a consequence.

The force - velocity curve (Source: PUSH )

Different exercises, ultimately elicit different velocities relative to the nature of the lift. Also, when using VBT using velocity trackers (such as PUSH), we have the option of looking at the average velocity of any given exercise, or the peak velocity of the exercise. The average velocity tells us more throughout our primary compound lifts, and more “strength” dominant movements such as squats, deadlifts, or presses - whereas we may pay more attention to the peak velocity, when looking at power dominant movements such as olympic lifting derivatives, jumps, and throws. Using VBT also allows us as coaches to get a quantifiable assessment of your readiness to train (for example, if you would normally move 80kg in a back squat at 0.9m/s, and today you’re only able to move at 0.8m/s, we can assume that there is a reduction in readiness and can adjust the training load/volume accordingly), and of improvements in strength without having to use a high-stress 1RM assessment (e.g. If 8 weeks ago you would deadlift 110kg at 0.6m/s, and you’re now able to lift it at 0.75m/s).

If you don’t have a velocity tracker, or a coach that can supply you with one, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. You can still manipulate your training design around your force-velocity profile, and make sure you are structuring your program around what you’re not getting, as well as what you need to be great at.

Fitness and Conditioning is no different. I have talked primarily around gym based training so far in this post, but your fitness and conditioning program is equally as important when it comes to developing a well-rounded profile.

Side Note Energy systems are incredibly complex, and despite what some “coaches” may have you believe, it is not as simple as having an “anaerobic” session, or targeting a specific system (the aerobic contribution to “anaerobic repeat sprinting” is actually incredibly significant). Systems do not just switch on and off, and instead there is an ever fluctuating proportion of reliance, from one system to another, and this also occurs to the substrate (fuel source) being used (just because your treadmill has a “fat burning zone” labelled on it, does not mean running at that speed maximises your utilisation of fat as fuel - but that’s a rant for another time).

I’ll use combat sports as an example, and it can be easy to assume that they fall under the same umbrella, but that’s not necessarily the case. I commonly see stark differences between boxing and MMA when it comes to their fitness. Boxers, traditionally (not all boxers) come from a sport in which the culture is heavily prone to endurance based training. Long runs on the road, extensive circuit training, and the interval nature of sparring, tends to build the boxers engine, that can keep them going through high volumes. MMA athletes on the contrary, tend to train in a sense that exposes them to a lot of high intensity efforts, and they lack the base level of sub-max fitness. Although a generalization - if you are thinking you may fall into this category then it is well worth re-thinking your training program and making sure you address the end of the spectrum you may be neglecting.

I’m in the process of putting together a detailed and individualised fight conditioning system that will be available online soon. There is a Wattbike off-feet conditioning program that is available now, and completely free. That’s 20 sessions, individualised to you, based on two simple tests, just start the conversation for details.

Hopefully, this post has encouraged you to analyse your current training programme, as well as your physical profile and what might be the missing piece stopping you from taking your game to the next level.

PRPerformance offers a variety of Sport Science/Strength & Conditioning support packages, designed to help you maximise your physical performance and take your game to the next level. For more information, check-out the website, or start the conversation today via the contact page. Be sure to follow on social media to stay in the loop about freshly released posts, and updates and offers to get your teeth sunk into. Follow @_PRPerformance on both twitter and instagram.

Thanks for reading,

Paul