Functional Path Training

Stimulus Threshold

Stimulus threshold is the optimum training load required to elicit an adaptive response. There is a different stimulus threshold for each capacity, in the same manner there is a different time to adaptation for each capacity. There is an art and science to this. But the simple rule of thumb is that it is optimum not maximum that we are seeking.

Periodization – Some Thoughts Random and Otherwise

There is so much mumbo and confusion in this whole area I am not sure where to begin. Perhaps these thoughts will lend some clarity.

Lets start by defining Periodization, it is the planning and organization of training into a cyclic structure to develop all biomotor qualities in a systematic, sequential, and progressive manner for optimum development of performance capabilities.

Another way to look at it, it is the timing, sequence and interaction of the training stimulus to allow optimum adaptive response in pursuit of specific competitive goals. It is not about time, it is about timing. It definitely is not random, it is always undulatory in nature based on how the body adapts. You can write a linear program, but the body adapts in an undulatory manner. Despite all that is written about the difference between undulatory and linear periodization, in my opinion those are term of convenience, that confuse rather enlighten.

All components must be trained during all phases, only the proportion changes with the training age & stage of training.

There is synergy between all systems of the body and a synergistic relationship between all biomotor qualities. According to Olbrecht, different qualities have different curves of supercomensation (Olbrecht p.5). Because the various qualities have different times to adaptation and fitness decline much slower than fatigue it is possible to achieve continual adaptation.

I use this rule of thumb regarding adaptation time - Tasks that require complete recovery – Usually are high NEURAL demand. Tasks that can be trained with incomplete recovery - Usually are of high METABOLIC demand.

Wave Principle - Continuous alternation of increased and reduced training loads throughout the various training cycles to insure continual adaptation.

Steering Principle - Adjustments in training & competition based on the difference between the planned training & competition results and the actual achieved training & competition results. According to Olbrect ”Every loop provides feedback, which is used to plan the next cycle in order to fit in the training process with the individual trainability and so improve the training efficiency and return.”

Physical Competency Assessment – A Rational Approach

 

Over the course of my career I have used various forms of assessment to determine the athletes readiness to train and  compete. Sometimes they looked more like something you would see in physical therapy clinic and other times it was just pure end range jumping, throwing and running tests. I kept searching for an assessment tool that would give then information I was looking for. A few years ago someone suggested I look at The Functional Movement Screen, that did fit the bill for me. Too one size fits all and based on some questionable assumptions’ about the body and how it moves. I knew Kelvin Giles had started work on a Physical Competency Assessment when he was head of S&C at the Queensland Academy of Sport. It seemed to make sense, but I was missing the overview and explanation that I needed to begin to implement it. Then I met Kelvin a few years ago when we were both presenting to the English Institute of Sport S&C coaches. It was like a light went on. His physical competency approach to assessment was brilliant in its simplicity and the myriad of applications possible. It does not seek to predict potential injury, instead based on the level of the athlete’s physical competencies they are placed on an exercise continuum. It is adaptable to a wide range of sports and physical education. It is now used extensive in England and Australia. The point is that all the athletes have to reach the same destination but they will have different rates and means of progressing to that destination.

I will let Kelvin explain it from here.

“ I put the PCA stuff together not to be any kind of 'predictor' at all. I started to look closely at movement efficiency in squat, lunge, push, pull, brace, rotate and range plus other exercise modalities - landing, jumping etc to simply allow me and my colleagues to prescribe a more accurate program for the athletes we were coaching. My choices were confirmed by some of the great sports medical practitioners in Australia as being appropriate. There was a nice link back to the typical muscular-skeletal screening they were doing in the clinic environment as a back up.

The assessment was also put together for another 'strategic' reason - I needed some evidence that the 'basics' that were supposed to be being carried out at the earlier stages of the athlete's development simply weren't being done. Training at these early stages was mostly skill and tactical specific with a little bit of Olympic Weightlifting or 'madhouse' circuits being done. By showing the movement limitations (the radar graphs) to the coaches at the earlier stages I had some chance of getting them to change things.

'Prediction' stuff is daft - you can have all the evidence you like about an athlete and then tomorrow it all changes. I have some evidence that the more competent you are the less likelihood of suffering a 'controllable' injury you have. The assessment is used to 'ring warning bells' - e.g. can't squat - WATCH OUT!......can't land a Hop & Stick - WATCH OUT! It makes us more aware of exercise selection and program construction once we know some limitations. The assessment is there to make us stop and think.

For some sports it has allowed some decision makers to track the athletic development of squad members nationwide which assists in the fight against sole tactical / technical development with the developing athlete so I guess there is another little use for it.

So...nothing clever at all in all this - certainly never created to be a panacea or another spell potion or gadget,  just a simple  tool for a teacher / coach to make a smarter decision. Some people got interested so I wrote as much down as I could and took some pictures and made a manual for them. Got fed up with difficulties in measuring so worked out the Gauges on my kitchen table with by brother-in-law.

Don't overestimate it's role - you've got to be able to coach / teach in the first place! I use it to get the basics right first - not as a 'new' approach. I just want to know 'where are they now?' before making training decisions - nothing flash at all.”

You can purchase the Physical Competency Assessment manual and gauge on my website www.gambetta.com The teaching of this methodology of assessment is an integral part of the GAIN Apprentorship program. In addition we will be doing workshops on the Physical Competency Assessment later in 2010. Keep checking the web site and blog for sites and dates.

Fooled By The Result

Win the game, the match or the race and everything is great. Lose the game, match or race and it is a disaster, everything is bad. In my 41 years of coaching and a few years before that as an athlete I have seen this time and again. Panic after a lose, smug satisfaction after a win, regardless of how well the players performed. For some reason coaches and teams just don’t seem to understand that you have to look beyond the score. Sometimes victories can disguise huge deficiencies and fool you into thinking things are better than they are. The 1998 US Men’s World Cup soccer team was a great example of this. Victories over Brazil and then Belgium in Europe were blown out of proportion and distorted the perspective the coaches and the media. I saw this first hand working with this team. We were not preparing for the World Cup as much as we were focusing on winning less meaningful matches that ultimately hurt the development of the team and distorted the selection process of the players. Conversely loses can be blown out of proportion unless they are thoroughly analyzed in the context of the whole season and the plan. The essential element here is to always learn from performance. The competition performance is the most essential feedback tool there is, after all that is what the goal of training is. So have a context for performance evaluation from a physical preparation, tactical and strategic perspective that is part of a systematic plan. This is what the great coach’s and athletes do, they have a perspective that allows them to objectively evaluate competitive performance and learn from it and adjust accordingly. A good sound plan lends context and perspective. Each competition result provides incremental progress toward the ultimate goal.

Functional Training - Where to Start

Functional training is training. All training is functional, it is just that some training rates higher on a continuum of function than others. If you are not sure how to make your training more functional here are a few tips that should guide you. This not rocket science, I think you will see when you analyze successful long term athletic development programs that all these elements appear in some way, shape or form. Incorporate fundamental movements and build on them. Walk, jog, run, sprint in all directions from varied starting positions and with varied rhythms. Pull and push. Bend and reach. Lift and drop. Creep and crawl. Start and stop. Hop, jump and bound. Put and throw. Roll and tumble. Do all of these movements in all planes of movement, change speed and rhythm, add or reduce resistance and systematically vary the mode of resistance. Explore all dimensions of movement in a mindful manner. Master each element. Gradually increase the complexity of the movement problems the body must solve. Combine all of this into a systematic approach that has a clear progression to a specific goal - excellence in the competitive arena.

No Pain, No Gain?

No pain, no gain was a very prevalent attitude when I began coaching in the late Sixties, surprisingly it continues to persist today in certain circles. I have never been able to figure out the appeal of this approach. Proper training in the weight room or on the field demands that the athlete be pushed to test their limits at various times in training. Some workouts are very difficult and other workouts will almost seem easy. This ebb and flow of hard efforts interspersed with easier efforts is essential allow for proper adaptation. The no pain, no gain approach is a direct outgrowth of the fact that historically Strength & Conditioning was a field driven by football. It was the football strength & conditioning coach who set the tempo for the programs because they were often the head strength coach. The mastodon mentality that pervaded football in the fifties and the sixties served to reinforce the no pain, no gain approach. In those days players were not allowed to take their helmets off during practice and not allowed to drink during practice. The more it hurt, the more pain the better. The whole goal was to make the players tough, so without pain there was no gain! So they thought.

I know this approach does not work; it makes you tired but not better. It is totally Darwinian only the strong survive, and no one thrives. I do not know about you, but I want my players ready on game day. That should be the goal of training.To achieve that, the training load and intensity must vary.  A thoroughly conditioned athlete who is supremely confident in his or her physical preparation will be mentally and physically tough. Physically and psychologically an athlete can only go to the well so many times before it will begin to deplete their reserves both physically and psychologically. There is no doubt in my mind that a good sport coach or a strength and conditioning coach can get athletes to train and perform beyond levels that the athletes ever thought possible. To achieve this does not mean you have to inflict pain. Pushing the envelope is uncomfortable. Athletes in training learn over time to get comfortable with a certain level of discomfort through gradual adaptation to stress. Train your athletes to thrive in the competitive arena by training intelligently.

Continual Adaptation

 

The concept of continual adaptation is something I have been working to get my arms around since we all met to plan the Michigan Women’s swim dryland program this past September. Jim Richardson, Women’s swim coach at Michigan got me thinking about this. Continual adaptation is not continual improvement. Continual adaptation is a viable concept because different physical qualities adapt at different rates. By taking advantage of and manipulating the differing adaptation times it is possible to achieve continual adaptation. It is not liner it is an ever-ascending sinusoidal curve. Progress in performance is very step like. I liken it to a series of small plateaus with stairs in between the plateaus climbing to the desired peak performance in the peak competitive season. We must provide an optimal environment for continual adaptation by manipulating the training variables in a very systematic and sequential manner. Never lose sight of the fact that all systems of the body work at the same time very synergistically. Despite conventional wisdom that attempts to isolate systems of the body and then bring them back together at some magical time in the future. This is a process that is obviously coach driven. It demands careful monitoring of the key training parameters in the athletes program.

Training - It's More Than a Workout

Training is a cumulative process. The workout is one piece of a much bigger picture. Training is not one spectacular or particularly tough workout, rather it is a succession of workouts designed to fit into the overall plan in pursuit of specific training objectives. Anyone can make a workout hard, but the essential element is context. Where does it fit? One workout cannot stand alone. One great workout does not necessarily lead to a great competition result. In fact it can be detrimental. To achieve an outstanding workout the athlete may have to dig deep into physiological, psychological, and emotional reserves to achieve that result. That potentially may detract from competition performance. The concept that has stood the test of time for me is Bill Bowernan’s concept of hard easy rhythm of training days.  As the athlete progresses in their career and you can assess their adaptability you can progress to a hard day, followed by a medium day, followed by an easy day. Too many hard days without easy days to balance them out will result in failing adaptation. Ideally we want to achieve continual adaptation as a consequence of supercompensation. You achieve this by having clearly defined training goals, a sound plan to achieve those goals, a thorough knowledge of the athletes physical capabilities and specific competitive goals. Remember one workout cannot make an athlete, but one workout can break an athlete.

Training Thoughts

Here is some food for thought to spur you thinking:

It is relatively easy to get strong

It is very easy to make someone slower

I am interested in your comments, before I post mine. This is how I began my presentation to

the Throws group at USA Track & Field Podium Education program

Carmel Swim Club

This year I am working with Carmel Swim Club in Carmel Indiana on their dryland training program. This entails me visiting the team four times during the year, frequent calls and emails to assist the coaches design and implement a comprehensive program to address the development of the physical literacy of the swimmers from age eight to eighteen. My first visit was in late August and the most recent visit this past Monday and Tuesday. In August we planned the year in appropriate blocks based on the competition schedule and began work on implementing the physical literacy components with the age groupers. This is a true Long Term Athlete Development program designed to produce swimming athletes. It will take a year to implement the whole program and work out the bugs but under the guidance of Head Coach Chris Plum and Head Age Group Coach Ian Murray they are well on their way. This program builds upon what they have done before. Spending time with these coaches, seeing their dedication and hunger to learn and innovate, it is easy to see why they are fast emerging on the national scene as a club to be reckoned with.

The video clips below are from the Tuesday morning upper body session at 6:00 AM, they did some swimming after this session.