5 Things You Don't Know About In-Season Training

I assume most of us are getting the practice games on either currently or in the next couple of weeks which means the actual season is very close and with that comes the shift of your training from your pre-season model to your in-season model...although not too many teams have one!

Because of the requirement to be 100% every Saturday come game time, there are specific things that need to be taken into account.

1 - Goals of In-Season Training

The goals of in-season training is not only to get ready for Saturday game time but also to build on, or at least maintain the improvements gained from your off and pre-season training.

Above all, your main goal is to stay injury free. We can't predict or protect against collision injuries but you can and should be able to avoid non-contact and soft tissue injuries. A good idea is to measure your range of motion throughout your notorious tight joints/muscles prior to the season starting and then maintain that range of motion throughout the season. As soon as the range of motion starts decreasing then it's a big sign that you're overloading that area in some capacity which will ultimately lead to an overuse issue like OP.

On the track you should aim to maintain your acceleration, max velocity and both aerobic and anaerobic capacities.

In the gym you should aim to maintain strength and body weight.

At a bare minimum, stay within 10% of your off/pre-season personal bests.

2 - Auto Regulation

Auto regulation refers to regulating your training to fit your current neurological state. It's fair to say that you'll have greater training intensity potential on a Tuesday then a Sunday but fr those of us who like to train more then just Tuesday and Thursdays on the track, you can only build up so much stress before lack of recovery gets the better of you.

In the real world this means on a Monday you might head to the gym for your main workout of the week but you don't want to go so hard that it affects the other training sessions, and potentially the following game, later on in the week.

So if you have squats on the agenda for example then you want to set some form of baseline of when to call it quits. You don't want to do too much to hinder recovery but you don't want to do too little and under train either.

You'll have good and bad days during the season so you want to take full advantage of the good days but do the bare minimum on the bad days.

A few ways you can auto regulate is to work up to a certain rep number with progressive weight, work up to a certain weight and do a number reps stopping the set once you hit a certain point such as decreased velocity, a change in technique etc.

3 - Neural State Testing

On the back of auto regulation is neural state testing which you can use to break things down even better. It involves performing a neural test at various times during your training to auto regulate your session. So a sample exercise might be the low squat sprint exercise.

So you'd this exercise and over a period of time you'd find your average of reps you can perform in 10secs. Once you enter the gym then you'd do this before and after your warm up then also between sets of your main lift for that day. Once you drop below 90 - 95% of your reps average then stop the main lift right there as the decreased output tells you that nervous system fatigue has started to set in so you'd better cal it a day. Finish off with some low intensity accessory work and head home. You're much better off doing less and staying fresh then too much, especially during the season.

4 - Training Residuals

Even though this point 4, in my opinion this is the most important part of this post, and in-season training programming.

During the off and pre-season we have all the time and resources (energy) to train many qualities at once, the stress of a weekly game far greater then anything you'll do during this time so it leaves plenty of energy to cater to other qualities.

Training residuals is a refers to how long a specific strength and fitness quality stays with you and how frequently it needs to be trained to be maintained.

For example aerobic endurance will stay at certain level for 30 days with an over flow of 5 days either side of that (25 - 35 days). What this means is that for all you blokes who bang out 10km runs on a Monday can cut this to once a month and use that time to work on more glaring weaknesses.

By using these training residuals you can easily set up your in-season training program because you know when something will need to be trained and you just plug it in.

Remember it's the off/pre-season, you don't have the time or resources to train everything!

5 - Exercise Selection

This one is easy - try to limit the amount of new exercises you introduce to your training program. New exercises means you have a much lower tolerance to the movement meaning soreness. You get sore enough from a game let alone from your training which can affect your natural mechanics which could lead to injury.

You might have noticed my new paypal option just under the main banner...yeah I know you did! Well that's the link you need to click on if you want me to do all of your programming for you. I've already sent this out to my list and have had a pretty good response and with only 25 spots available right now, I expect these to fill up pretty quickly - my list is 10 full pages of email addresses I've complied since I started the blog.

If you're interested then drop me an email at aussierulestraining@gmail.com.

What Have You Done to Dominate 2014 Part 2

Late last year I posted about the different training I've done in prep for 2014 which can be found here. I was just looking at it and realised I haven't updated it so here we go.

Block 4 - December 27 to January 12

Focus - Repeat Speed / Lactic Capacity

What I Did - 8 sessions over 15 days every 2nd day without fail as described in the link above.

Results - Building on my alactic power and aerobic capacity, the aim here was to do a power of work in a very short amount of time (so incomplete rest) then see how fast I can get my heart rate down to 60% of my max.

Most days I was hitting 100% of my heart rate at some point. Day 1 after doing 10 x 10m sprints every 10secs and my heart rates immediately post and every minute after that were 174, 150, 138, 126, 120, 120.

13 days later after doing 20 x 10m sprints every 10secs it read 174, 132, 114.

A definite improvement in recovery rate if there was ever one!

Upper body was very high volume chin and pull ups at bodyweight which ranges from 40 to 100 reps per session x 4 - 5/week and some pressing for strength but very low volume.

Takeaways - from now on I will do all my fitness work in blocks. My body loves short powerful bouts with plenty of rest so I don't take to this type of training very well these days (was a machine back in the day though!). But knowing that it will all be over in 2 short weeks makes it bearable and I'm more likely to stick with this then drawing it out.

Block 5 - January 13 to February 23

Focus - Big Toe Mobility / Foot Strength / Achilles Tendon Stiffness

What I Did - this took about a week to set up as it's something I hadn't done a lot of before and info on training for them it's only in bits and pieces so it took some brain action but I finally got it together. I trained 6 days a week but most of it was submaximal, low level stuff so it was easily done with minimal fatigue.

My daily template was 1 exercise for each group of these:

1. Big Toe Mobility
2. Isometric Foot Strength
3. Concentric to Eccentric Foot Strength
4. Achilles Tendon Stiffness Quick Response
5. Achilles Tendon Stiffness Slow Response
6. Sprinting Mechanics
7. Acceleration or Max Velocity Sprints
8. Glute Ham Raise Isometrics

For upper body I did more chin/pull up variations but now for strength. Again low volume pressing for strength too changing from bench to military pres in there somewhere as I hadn't done any overhead work since last year! Very poor indeed.

Results - for reasons I don not understand I did not time any of my sprints in this block? Dickhead.

Takeaways - This block was too long for even low level tendon work, my speed was failing m in the last week or 2 so in hindsite, probably 2 or 3 weeks max for this type of stuff but it was fine overall. Pull Ups tested at + 30kg x 1 rep so about 110 - 115 all up (I'm 77 - 78kgs most of the time) and equals my bench thereabouts which is good.

Block 6 - February 24 to March 10

Focus - Speed / Repeat Speed Combo

What I Did - not the best 2 things to focus on at the one time as one is capacity and the other power but it seemed to gel alright as I had complete control over my training as work prevents me from training with my footy team. Repeat speed was 6 workouts every 2nd day again but I did the progression over 6 sessions instead of 8 so it got harder quicker but the quick block again made bearable. 

Results - I didn't take many heart rates this time around as it was just more capacity work with praccy games coming up from mid March. I was till finishing at 100% of my heart rate max and I was recovering to 60% of my heart rate max in 3 - 4mins max so I at least maintained from the first repeat speed block.

Sprint speed wise I did some timing and recorded a flying 10m sprint time of 1.22secs. Usian Bolt hit .82secs in his 9.69sec world record 100m sprint back in 2008 for a terrible reference.

Takeaways - On a Friday night Eddie Maguire's son plays cricket at the oval I sprint at and I basically sprinted right in front of his seat for 45mins and he didn't say boo. He may be affiliated with Collingwood but he must not be all bad. James Hird also frequents the park with his kids yet I haven't received any contracts yet. And don't mix power and capacity in the same block. It's not that it didn't work but capacity generally means fatigue build up which impacts power.

Block 7 - March 10 to April 4 (round 1 Friday night!!)

Focus - Peaking Speed / Practice Games

Currently doing this and will update in a few weeks time.

Don't forget the Aussie Rules Training Consultancy and Training Program where you can have me do all your programming for whatever you need! Only 25 spots available and 6 days til I release to the public!

Stop guessing with your programming!

Online Consultancy and Training Available NOW!!

Over the couple of weeks I've mentioned the upcoming release of the Aussie Rules Training Online Consultancy and Training program that I'll be running through some software that I purchased late last year.

Well it's here!!

All programs are personally made up for YOU by ME, they are not automated programs - I don't roll like that.

I have only 25 spots available for right now so do not hesitate to jump on this as I don't expect these spots to last the week.

So if you are interested then email me at aussierulestraining@mail.com and well start the process ASAP.

I'll be back with a better training info update in a couple of days.

Turn Strength into Power

Last week I went in to detail on how to build strength without the use of weights or equipment so they type of stuff you could actually use in a team training setting.

This week we'll look at developing power, the ultimate expression of strength.

You can build strength in the gym but strength, max strength in particular, is a high load, low velocity movement meaning the weight might be bloody heavy but that means the actual movement is pretty slow.

This is great to build foundation strength that can be turned into what you want or need it to be but on it's own, its not optimal.

Enter medicine balls.

The best part of medicine balls is the release phase. Some of you might be familiar with dynamic effort weight training where you use 40 - 60% of your max and do 8 - 12 sets of 1 - 3 reps focusing on acceleration except there's 1 big problem.

For just about any free weight exercise you can think of, there's a deceleration phase which is actually protective tension of sorts from the brain so that you don't keep accelerating and snap your arm clean off. Quite dramatic I know!

But with medicine balls this deceleration phase doesn't exist because you accelerate and accelerate until you release the ball so it trains true power.

For the upper body your best options are chest throw variations either from a lying, sitting or standing position. To focus solely on the upper body muscles the lying or sitting against a wall variations are your go to variations.

For lower body you can use variations that train the lower body exclusively or you can use full body power options. For the lower body you can use scoop throwing variations and foe the full body power you can use push press or chest throw variations.

As for sets and reps it's all about power so your best served with doing single reps with about 15 - 30secs between them which you'll probably need to retrieve the medicine ball with anyway. Do these at the start of your sessions too because you want to be in a fresh state to get the full benefit from them.

So all up do 10 - 15 sets of 1 w/ 15 - 30secs reps between them doing 1 - 2 exercise variations.

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5 Random Footy Training Tips Part 6

First a little update from Aussie Rules Training.

Excitement Factor #1 - I'm in the midst of writing a brand new footy manual! I haven't released one in a while and I'm always learning new stuff so as of right now (it might change possibly) the idea is to have a 12 month training manual from September/October all the way through to September the next year. Programs, info galore thus it's taking a while to gather it all and have it all make sense. It will possibly replace the other manuals I have as it will basically put them all together in the single manual with some bits taken from them along with all the new stuff I have.

Excitement Factor #2 - Late last year I purchased some online training software of which I'm in also in the middle of putting my own videos into (tedious and drawn out process!). I had 200 on there already but this requires individual videos of each exercises, not groups of exercises like I had. I'm now up to 357 vids with another 40 odd on my phone needing to be uploaded and another 50+ I reckon to be filmed and also uploaded. With this software I'll be able to program for anyone anywhere in the world and it has plenty of features within it in regards to its set up and nutritional component. I hope to coincide this release with the manual but I'm spinning wheels trying to get them both done!

Anyway back to randoms...

Random Tip #26 - Getting Stronger Without Weights

It could be said that the stronger you are, the better athlete you are. It's not a perfect statement but a stronger athlete has greater capacity for power, speed and even endurance then a weaker one. Strength is the foundation of which all other strength and fitness qualities is built on.

Most clubs will not have the luxury of having a gym set up available for use by players but you can still get your players stronger at training without weights but is doing push up ladders and sets of 50m walking lunges getting you stronger or just building up fatigue and a little endurance?

Enter isometric dynamic bodyweight exercises.

ID exercise take bodyweight exercises to the next level as they require a far greater force output then traditional reps.

These can be done a few ways of which I'll cheat and use a tip # for each variation.

Random Tip #27 - Iso Dynamic Power Rep

An ID power rep is performed by going down into the bottom deep position of a squat, split squat or push up and holding for at least 3secs. At that point your objective is to push out of that position, the mechanically weakest position of the exercise until you are at the starting position. The isometric contraction (no movement) means that you must generate as much force as you can to get out of that position meaning greater. For the power rep variation do single reps focusing on holding perfect positioning when you explode out of the bottom position.

Random Tip #28 - Iso Dynamic Plyometric Power Rep

This is the same as a power reps except now you're aiming to generate even more force out of the bottom position because now you wanna try and elevate the ground with your feet or hands. Again do these in single reps. An important part of this variation is the landing mechanics which you might need to master before trying these plyometric reps. You want to make sure that you are again maintaining correct positioning through the entire rep and also upon landing where the stress should be evenly distributed through the ankles, knees and hips for lower body exercises and the wrists, elbows and shoulders for upper body movements.

#29 - Power and Plyometric Power Reps

I underlined the "s" because this is the difference. Once you mastered single reps with a reset between each one like in points # 27 and 28, then move to continuous reps of 3 - 5 per set. So for squats and squat jumps you jump up and upon landing you are to assume immediately get yourself back into the starting position (hence the need to ace landing mechanics as mentioned above somewhere) where you "stick" the landing for at least 3secs and go again.

#30 - Partner Assisted Power and Plyometric Power Reps

This is a step up from the power and plyometric power reps but can be used for both variations. This is where a partner will provide some low to moderate resistance to you while you are paused in the deep position. So you descend into your push up or squat position then your partner pushes you downwards where you are now resisting this a]downwards action by actually trying to push  or squat up. They will want to provide enough resistance so that you can't actually move and then once they release their grip, you go lie a slingshot and spring out of it. With the power required to get out of this position with the added resistance it will probably result in a plyometric power rep anyway. Again follow the single reps with a reset between each rep then move to continuous reps.

This video from Jeremy Frisch and his team down at www.achieveperformance.net over in the US gives you an idea of what I'm talking about at the 2:25 minute mark. Watch the whole thing they have some real good stuff you won't even knew existed before except for what I've put on this blog

5 Random Footy Training Tips Part 5

Back with another bunch of randoms so let's get right to them!

Random Tip #20 - Partial vs Full Beep Test

I'm pretty sure we all know what the beep test is and how it's usually performed. Set up 2 cones 20m apart and make sure you make the other end before the recorded beep which gets quicker and quicker every beep. The test goes for a good 30mins if you can get to an elite level which is probably 15 or more. I think the record for AFL is 17 something.

Now like all tests this doesn't really give you any sign of how good a player you'll be but it does give an indication that endurance is a strong suit if you can hit the mid teens or thereabouts.

I have read of teams doing partial beep test from about level 8 which really makes more sense then wasting energy on the really slow bits which is ultimately recovery during a game but for this it's just pointless.

My suggestion would be to maybe initially test from the start but if you have periodic planned re-testing then each time start from a different spot each time.

Initial Test - start at level 1
1st Retest - start at level 3
2nd Retest - start at level 6
3rd Retest - start at level 9

As you progress through pre-season training you will inherently increase volume so the as you go along you'll need to manage fatigue as there's only so much good juice to go around. In the end you make this a repeat speed type test and it saves time and energy mid to late pre-season for more game specific training drills (performed before the beep testing of course!)

Random Tip #21 - Partner Sprints

What is the point of footy? Competition.

And what is the one thing that is hardest to replicate during footy training? Game specific speeds.

Chase sprints can bridge this gap a little.

Not every player will go as hard as you want them to all the time but chase sprints can rectify this. By adding a competitive element to each sprint you can ensure that training intensity is as high as it can be for those all important bragging rights of who wins and who loses.

Partner sprints can be done a variety of ways but its important that you use a whistle for each sprint start cos no one likes a cheater!

Try doing from standing start, 3 point start, standing backwards, standing sideways, lying up or down or any other position you like but don't make these more then 10m long and rest at least 60secs between each sets as they will also serve for speed development.

Random Tip #22 - Chase Sprints

A step up from partner sprints are chase sprints. These are characterised by having a player start 2 - 3m in front of the another player where the object is for the player at the front to stay ahead of the the player at the back for the duration of the sprint which again is ran over 10m or so. The player at the back probably won't catch them but again the competitive element will ensure they try their darndest to do so.

Again use a whistle start and rest about 60secs between sets.

Random Tip #23 - Acceleration Chase Sprint

For this variant the player at the front will start from a push up position while the player at the back starts from a regular standing position. The focus is on the player at the front to explode out of the low position using forceful hip extension and arm drive.

Random Tip #24 - Combo Chase Sprint

For this variant 1 player trains acceleration while the other player trains the drive and almost max velocity phase.

The player at the back will this time start about 10m back from the player in front. When the whistle goes only the player at the back goes while the player in front waits for the second whistle.

As the player at the back passes a cone 3 - 5m from his starting line then the 2nd whistle goes and the player in front now goes, again trying to accelerate as quick as he can so the player at the back can't catch him.

To make this acceleration focused start the player at the back 5 - 8m behind the player at the front and set a cone up about 3 - 5m from his starting point.

To make this max velocity focused start the player at the back further back, say about 15 - 20m and set his 2nd cone up about 7 - 10m from the player at the front.

This will focus on max velocity for the player at the back.

Random Tip #25 - Footy Specific Chase Drills

OK, so this can be done by using footy and a skill element to the drill.

For example start off with the player at the back about 5m back and place a ball about 3m in front of the player at the front. Both players go on the same whistle with the player in front needing to pick the ball up and dispose by hand or foot to a leading player up the ground while the player at the back does his best to tackle him.

Again the player in front trains acceleration as well as skills under pressure while the player at the back trains acceleration. To make this max velocity focuses just make the drill longer with as in tip #24.

5 Random Footy Training Tips Part 4

Had a busy and not really-home break so far bit it's all over so I'm back with another 5 randoms tips post.

Random Tip #16 - To Gain an Edge, Train What the Others Don't

Here's 99% of footy trams pre-season training summed up: long and slow runs, some 200 or 400's with no justification for distance or rest periods and some exceptionally poor sprint and agility programming.

Now apart from most teams missing the boat on getting the basics correct why not focus on what they don't train as well as what you must train?

You MUST train aerobic capacity - no argument there. But do you need to spend session after session doing it? Negative.

So with some decent programming there should be time to train some other fitness qualities such as maximum speed, repeat speed, agility, hip strength, core stability/strength (sit ups is not core stability work!) and footy specific variations of all these points.

If you're team hasn't already, then then they should really look into getting a strength and conditioning coach, not personal trainer, or at least liaise with one. Hint - I'm a second away from qualifying as level 1 strength and conditioning coach!

Random Tip #17 - Individualise to Some Degree

AFL strength and conditioning is all about individualisation within a team setting. Players have personal programs that are implemented within their teams training such as specific rehab, gym and fitness programs. Now of course us local teams don't have the coaches and know-how to do all they do (but re-read the last part of tip #16) but for everyone to be successful you need to find a way.

You must have already heard that "you're only as good as your bottom 6 players", and that could not be more true so is it more critical to make sure they improve or the players that turn up year in year out and do a lot of stuff on their own?

Breaking fitness drills into groups is a good start encouraging players to eventually move to the group above them. Auto regulating training is also a good way to ensure most players are training at the level that is suitable for them. I wrote about this years ago and actually got a bit of a bashing on bigfooty.com for it when I posted it over there but low and behold the AFL now do this, calling it max aerobic training (for memory).

Random Tip #18 - Position Specific Training

This is similar to tip #17 and again requires a bit of know-how about what each position requires - but a bit more then endurance for on-ballers. If you have a burly full forward who you want to park in the forward 50 then it doesn't make much sense to have him running 400's with the midfield group does it? And this will possibly rob him of his strength and explosiveness which is what he really needs for 1-on-1 battles and leads.

Random Tip #19 - Assessing and Testing

      A lot more teams seem to be doing some form of testing these days which is very good to see. The next step they need to take though is to actually program their training to improve these tests. Teams will now often test a distance run, a sprint of 60 - 100m, some form agility and so called "strength tests" of push ups and sit ups.

      This poses 2 questions to me straight away?

      1 - Why have they chosen these tests?

      and;

      2 - Will they actually train them specifically or just train as normal and hope they get better at them?

      It seems to me that point 2 is prevalent if local/amateur footy so its time to take the next step with this.

      Random Tip #20 - Speed Work to Start Short and Finish Long

      During sprinting there are 2 main phases being the acceleration stage and the max velocity phase. 

      Acceleration usually refers to first 20 - 30m with max velocity being the next 20 - 30m.

      Within 100m sprints there are a few more stages like the initial start, the drive phase between acceleration and max velocity and also speed endurance that follows max velocity but for the sake of footy let's keep this simple.

      In footy you'll sprint as hard as you can over 10m then you do for any other distance. One can only hold max velocity for 1- 2secs at best before we start to slow down so if you are doing 100m sprints as a test (which I suggest you don't) then it's more a test of who is slowing down the slowest.

      Anyway you need to start at the start so start at accelerations over 10 - 20m and work them up to the 40 - 60m mark while layer on introducing some max velocity work with flying sprints over 10m and working up to 30m. You don't really need to go any further with these distances because with speed development it's all about quality of work, not quantity. This also means you need FULL REST BETWEEN SETS!! 

      Yep, that's so important it needs capitals because if I see anymore incomplete rest speed work I'll shoot someone! 

     

       Ponder those til next time - 2 Weeks til Footy!!