Adaptable In-Season Training Model
Tim Caron, M.S., CSCS
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Adaptable In-Season Training Model
Tim Caron, M.S., CSCS |
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In terms of in-season training, planning seems to be the last item on the list of things to do. As with most team sports there is no such thing as a set schedule from week to week in-season. One week there could be a chance to get three lifts in, and other times we cannot even get close to the weight room. Scheduling is all affected by travel, games per week, time of the year (such as finals period), and actual performance. Looking ahead at the season I can figure some perfect opportunities to lift, but that doesn’t ensure we will lift. Proper communication and explaining the importance of in-season training are the best ways to have maintained in-season training. However, there is no such way to prepare for getting delayed at an airport or the coach deciding we need extra shooting instead of lifting. When a team is in-season, my job is to ensure that I am as prepared as possible to provide a training program that will help instead of hurt the team. Training programs have to contain some semblance of a plan or at least a goal that is trying to be reached. However, there are obvious obstacles that stand in the way of a plan ever being implemented. How do we overcome this? We create a plan that adapts to the situation instead of the situation having to adapt to the plan. Non Linear Periodization All of the programs I write are non linear programs; I don’t think I could purposefully write a traditionally linear program. In terms of in-season training my traditional off season programs simply do not work. I base my training programs to obtain a goal: such as performance testing. However, I cannot reasonably have my athletes squatting 5/80% and then due to scheduling conflicts not lift at all two weeks and expect them to hit 5/85% their next training session. It would guarantee them failure, decreased lifting technique, and most importantly possible injury. On a side note there is no better way to have in-season training cease then having several of your athletes not able to complete practice due to extreme muscle soreness. The goal therefore has to be altered; it goes from performance testing to training with out altering performance. The focus is not on what is being done in the weight room, but how we can facilitate the athlete and their ability to play. Kraemer and Fleck discuss non linear periodization in Optimizing Strength Training: Designing Nonlinear Periodization Workouts. The exact quote that actually started me thinking that I needed to alter my in-season workouts was: Thus the choice of training zones to use at a particular point in the training program can be changed to meet the goals and needs of the trainee as training progresses (2). So the answer that best allows me to have an in-season training program is one that allows for flexibility. Instead of forcing my athletes to perform a workout that is not specific to their needs; the program is adapted to what will help them. In their book they talk about several different kinds of days that are pre-planned to ensure that you are utilizing the entire loading spectrum. This style of programming ensures athletes are working with strength, power, hypertrophy, and muscular endurance in all training cycles. This is a great way of achieving balance within your workouts regardless of scheduling. The days follow a progression from day to day that allows all modes of training to enter and is specific to the point of the year. I do have differences from the book that I prefer to utilize to make this system apply to what I am doing. First is programming: I prefer to do total body every day always starting off with an Olympic movement. Since I know that I might only get one session a week, I have to ensure I utilize all movements during my work outs. Second is that I have to follow a set of rules to specify what days I will be utilizing each workout. For instance my primary Strength/Heavy oriented days will be used 4+ days from the next game. Moderate/Power is scheduled 3-4 days away from the next game. Light/Muscular Endurance Days are scheduled 2-3 days away from the next game. Any workout scheduled the day before or right after a game is the Recovery/Restoration work out. The workouts are designed with movements which will yield a specific load. For instance a heavier weight is utilized during a hang clean as opposed to hang snatch. This is the premise for exercise selection on each day. Movements that require heavier weights (Compound/Bilateral Exercises) are placed on Heavy/Strength Days. Movements require moderate to lighter weights (Compound/Unilateral/DB Exercises) are placed on Moderate/Power Days. The lightest of all movements (BB Complexes/Band/Bodyweight Exercises) are placed on Light/Muscular Endurance Days. Cybernetic Training: Mel Siff discusses Cybernetic Training in his book Supertraining; he even goes on to call it “intuitive training” which I find extremely fitting (3). This method of training essentially adapts to the athlete and not the athlete to the program. Basically the athlete works up to a weight or volume they are capable of handling for that particular day. It counts for all the rigors and stress that accumulate in the athlete’s life, which is of particular interest in-season. In a perfect world all of the athletes I have would work up to the heaviest weight they could handle for that day all the time. This perfect world would have my athletes continuously challenging themselves and pushing the line of greatness every single time they even hear the word weights. The truth is if I tell my athletes to go what they feel; they would just lift the bar and try to get out of the weight room as fast possible. Thus the actual need for the usage of weight ranges. Weight ranges are something that I utilize in-season to accommodate and guide my athletes. Their workout has two different weight ranges: a high and a low. There are two guiding principals that determine what weight they use: one being how much the athlete played in the previous game or is going to play in the next game and the second being controllable events. Controllable events include the coach’s practice schedule and intensity as well the game schedule. The high and low intensity are intensities that allow for a 10% discrepancy for all sets. For instance the last set of hang clean would be 5/70-80%. These weight ranges are used for all exercises and all sets with the exception of the warm up sets and body weight exercises. Now we have some flexibility with weight selection. There will be times we will go with the light range and my athlete expresses they would like to go heavier. This is great, but now we have a cap on it so we don’t risk overtraining. The same holds true for the athlete that is fatigued and wants to go lighter and we don’t risk under-training. Relative Intensity: Relative Intensity is a staple in all of my programs, but it is probably more important in-season then any other point in the year. I have to ensure that my athletes are training, but there has to be cautious planning to ensure that weight training is not contributing to overtraining. If I have my athletes work off 100% Relative Intensity all the time I will more then likely burn them out to the point of extreme fatigue and/or injury. The other side of things is that I like to know that I am choosing a relative intensity that is maintaining certain movement technique. If the weight becomes too heavy I have found that technique declines. I utilize my off-seasons to increase their overall strength and power; in-season is for performance and at least maintenance of technique. I keep my Relative Intensity between 60 to 80% for my varsity athletes. I have a whole different loading scheme for my development group (red shirts, transfers, no playing time). I have found with my teams that technique is sure to suffer if I go any heavier. This is last year’s relatively intensity chart I used with my women’s basketball team I coach.
Week 1-3 Pre-Season, Week 4-12 Non Conference, Week 13-20 Conference, Week 21+ NCAAs
Week 1: 60% Week 7: 75% Week 13: 50% Week 19: 60% Week 2: 65% Week 8: 80% Week 14: 65% Week 20: 65% Week 3: 70% Week 9: 50% Week 15: 70% Week 21: 70% Week 4: 75% Week 10: Off Week 16: 75% Week 22: 60% Week 5: 80% Week 11: 70% Week 17: 80% Week 23: 60% Week 6: 70% Week 12: 75% Week 18: 50% Week 24: 60%
Relative Intensity is based off a progressive overload model with pre-scheduled unload periods. The unload weeks are the cornerstone of the weight progression because it coincides with the game schedule. The unload weeks are planned around weeks with high volume of games as well overall significance of games. This is also an adaptable progression that is subject to change based off the needs of the team.
Exercise Modifications: Injuries occur all the time in season; both minor and major. Any form of injury the athlete may endure to me should not result in any lost training time. Exercise options are a great method to use in order to accommodate any injury. With every exercise there is a single limb, lower body, or upper body alternate. The idea was adapted from Allen Hedrick’s Optimal Performance Training for Football. His in-season programs give exercise options for each category of lift he has in the work out. For instance: Total Body would include Bar/DB Hang Split Alt Ft Snatch TB, DB CMD Hang Split Alt Ft Snatch TB, or Bar/DB Split Alt Ft Jerk TB (1). I include this in my training card and based off the need of the athlete I can have a work out that is tailored to their needs.
Example Work Out: Week 3: 70% Relative Intensity Day 1 Heavy/Strength: 4+ Days away from game Foam Roll Ankle Mobility, Hip Mobility, T-Spine Mobility Activation/Core Work
Work Out: 1a- Hang Clean: 5/40, 3/50-60, 3/52.5-62.5, 3/55-65 Upper Inj. Option: Box Jump: 4x5 Lower Inj. Option: Kneeling MB Vertical Throw: 4x5 2a- Front Squat: 5/40, 5/45-55, 5/47.5-57.5, 5/50-60 Single Leg Option: SL Squat: 4x5 2b- Chin Up: 5/40, 5/45-55, 5/47.5-57.5, 5/50-60 Single Arm Option: SA Lat Pull Down: 4x5 3a- Barbell Horizontal Single Leg Lower Body Push: 3x5e Single Leg Option: DB Variation with Good Leg Only: 3x5 3b- Barbell Horizontal Upper Body Push: 5/40, 5/45-55, 5/47.5-57.5, 5/50-60 Single Arm Option: DB Variation with Good Arm Only 3c- Barbell Straight Leg Lower Body Pull: 3x5 Single Leg Option: DB Variation with Good Leg Only: 3x5
Day 2 Moderate/Power: 3-4 Days away from game Foam Roll Ankle Mobility, Hip Mobility, T-Spine Mobility Activation/Core Work
Work Out: 1a- Hang Snatch or DB Snatch: 5/40, 3/50-60, 3/52.5-62.5, 3/55-65 Upper Inj. Option: Box Jump: 4x5 Lower Inj. Option: Kneeling MB Vertical Throw: 4x5 2a- DB Vertical Upper Push: 3x10 Single Arm Option: With Good Arm Only: 3x10 2b- DB Vertical Single Leg Lower Body Push: 3x5e Single Leg Option: With Good Leg Only: 3x10 3a- DB Horizontal Upper Body Pull: 3x10 Single Arm Option: With Good Arm Only: 3x10 3b- DB Shoulder Series: 3x10e Single Arm Option: With Good Arm Only: 3x10 3c- DB or Physio Ball Bent Leg Lower Body Pull: 3x10 Single Leg Option: With Good Leg Only: 3x10
Day 3 Light/Muscular Endurance: 2-3 Days away from game Foam Roll Ankle Mobility, Hip Mobility, T-Spine Mobility Activation/Core Work
Work Out: 1a- Barbell Circuit: 5/40, 3e/50-60, 3e52.5-62.5, 3e/55-65 Hang Clean, Front Squat, RDL, Bent Over Row, Push Up Lower Inj. Option: MB Series-Overhead Throwdown, Rotational Throw, Chest Pass: 4x5e Upper Inj. Option: Hop Series: 4x5e 2a- Machine Vertical Upper Body Pull: 3x12 Single Arm Option: SA Lat Pull Down: 3x12 2b- Glute Training: 3x12 3a- Band Shoulder Series: 3x12 Single Arm Option: With Good Arm Only: 3x12 3b- Straight Leg Single Leg Lower Body Pull: 3x12 Single Leg Option: With Good Leg Only: 3x12 3c- Extra Core Training
Day 4 Recovery/Restoration: Gameday-1 day away from game (or Post Game) Foam Roll Ankle Mobility, Hip Mobility, T-Spine Mobility Activation/Core Work Dynamic Mobility Static Stretch
Closing Thoughts: My father is an Engineer and he would always tell me in detail why certain things are built the way they are. For instance, he would always tell me about bridges and how they are designed to receive stress from the outside world by being somewhat flexible instead more rigid. Their flexibility is their biggest strength, and they are better able to overcome any demands placed on it. I could not think of a better way to describe my personal philosophy on in-season training. Yeah I would love to have a set program that I know will not be altered in any situation, but that is not the world I coach in. In-season my program is not the highest thing on the pecking order of importance. This is ok because I am going to have the best training program that I am allowed to have. This idea is built off the fact that my programs will adapt to any situation; much like a bridge.
Reference: 1. Hedrick A. Optimal Performance Training for Football. Coaches Choice 2006: 141 2. Kraemer W & Fleck S. Optimizing Strength Training: Designing Nonlinear Periodization Workouts. Human Kinetics 2007: 14. 3. Siff M. Supertraining. Mel Siff 2003: 327.
Bio: Tim Caron is in his third season as a player development coach with the Georgia Tech women's basketball and football teams. Caron is responsible for developing year-round strength, speed and conditioning workouts for the entire women's basketball team. He is responsible for assisting with football year round training as well as the off season Weight Management/Nutrition Program. Caron arrived at Georgia Tech after serving as a strength and conditioning coach with Springfield College. Prior to his stint with Springfield College, Caron has had experiences working with the University of Mississippi, Georgia Tech, Harvard University, and Velocity Sports Performance. A native of Enfield, CT, Caron earned his undergraduate degree in movement science and mathematics in 2005 from Westfield State College and a Master of Science of Exercise Science and Health Promotion, with concentration in Performance Enhancement & Injury Prevention. Caron is currently pursuing a Masters of Education from Springfield College.
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