Sunday 4 May 2014

Power development for soccer players


Power Development for football players

With nearly one million registered players in Australia and many more in other countries, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. It’s played by millions and enjoyed by many more. Although there are still many unknown requirements for successful soccer performance both physiologically and biomechanically, what is known is the need for power (speed strength) in the sport. Explosive moments dictate the most crucial aspects of the game; these actions can be the difference between winning and losing.

The specificity of training model suggests that training movements that mimic the athletes competitive; movements, joint angles and body positions will elicit the highest degree of performance adaptations/improvements. For successful performance in soccer, athletes require high levels of explosiveness/power for activities such as: sprinting, kicking, tackling, change of direction and jumping. The success of many of these key explosive activities are dependent upon strength, power, rate of force development and the ability to engage the stretch shortening cycle. These key moments in a game can be the difference between winning and losing therefore it is imperative that athletes be as well prepared as possible for competition.

Numerous research studies suggest that weightlifting is a vital tool; it can be used to develop high levels of explosiveness and power in an array of athletes of many sporting disciplines. A field-based plyometric training model can be used to develop power although, a study by Tricoli et al. in 2005 compared the effects of a vertical jump training protocol (plyometric) vs. a weightlifting protocol for producing power and found that both training modalities were effective. Although not soccer specific the weightlifting protocol produced superior results in counter movement jumps and squat jumps respectively. A study by Carlock et al. in 2004 which examined the correlation between vertical jump peak power and weightlifting ability found there to be a strong link, this finding adds to previous evidence suggested that weightlifting is an effective tool for producing power. In addition a study by Channell et al. in 2008 examined traditional resistance training (squat, deadlift, bench press etc.) vs. weightlifting for vertical jump improvements in high school boys found there to be substantial increases in the weightlifting control over the traditional resistance training group, data showed improvement in both. Further more a study by Hoffman et al. in 2004 compared weightlifting vs. power lifting training programs in soccer players for vertical jump performance and also found significant advantage in the weightlifting programs results. 

Summarizing the outlined studies shows that a weightlifting training protocol is a highly effective tool that can be implemented with a number of athletes including soccer players. The evidence clearly outlines its benefits for producing power and the superior results the athletes can expect when properly employing a periodised training protocol.

Evidence suggests weightlifting to be the most effective method for producing power, what are your thoughts? Discuss! What are the limitations?

Refs on request! All credit to the authors

Tim Frey
Head Strength & Conditioning Coach


Wednesday 26 March 2014

Training with bands on barbell exercises vs. non-banded barbell training for power and strength. Which is Superior? (Study Summary)


Training with bands on barbell exercises vs. non-banded barbell training for power and strength. Which is Superior? (Study Summary)

Six Competitive Female weightlifters (Olympic weightlifters)

3x3 90% 1RM Clean Pull

3 Separate Testing Days

1: No tubing
2: Tubing with 10% of athlete’s 1RM
3: Tubing with 20% of athlete’s 1RM

1 way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA)

Measures: Peak Power, Peak Velocity, and Peak Force

Summary: Adding 10% of athlete’s 90% 1RM in bands appears to be optimal training modality for increasing power, force and velocity throughout the clean pull.

·      We condone the use of bands for power training in athletes; if you have any questions or have a reference request please contact us.

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Video: Example of banded squats




Sunday 23 March 2014

Five reasons why you shouldn’t write your own program


Five reasons why you shouldn’t write your own program

If there is one mistake that amateur athletes make, it is writing their own program. It doesn’t matter how much you know, how many years you have been training, or how many websites and blogs you read, any program you write for yourself will let you down. Why? Because you will write a program that reflects your strongest areas or those you enjoy training. No matter how much you think you have balanced your program, it will reflect your preferences and not your needs.

In addition to this, your program is unlikely to address what it actually needs to – your weaknesses. Good programs are focused on developing your weaknesses as well as your strengths. It’s pretty hard to identify your weaknesses; it’s something a good coach is trained to identify and address.  Failing to adequately address your weaknesses will lead to either a stall in your progress or an injury - guaranteed!

The best solution is to use a well-trained and experienced coach, for the reasons listed below:
1.     Coaches are trained to identify your strengths and weaknesses as well as the needs of your sport. This is a critical foundation for an effective program.
2.     Coaches are objective, their goal is to balance your development and maximise your performance. If a coach thinks you need to focus on an area, there is generally a pretty good reason why.
3.     A good coach will understand how to train you to reduce your injury risks, or how to train you after you have been injured. This is a vital component of maximising performance.
4.     Good coaches understand that you have areas you want to train, and they will structure a program to reflect this. They won’t take your favourites away from you; they will just adjust the volume.
5.     A program written by a coach will be underpinned by short, medium and long-term development and goals.

If you really want to maximise your performance, hand over the programming and monitoring to a coach. They will get you training for balanced development, reduced injury risk and superior performance, and let’s face it, that’s what you’re training for. 

Brett Neasham
S&C Coach

Saturday 15 March 2014

German Volume Training (GVT & Sports Performance) Good/Bad?


German Volume Training (GVT & Sports Performance) Good/Bad?

This could be a massive post, I could write thousands of words on this so id like to keep it reasonably short.

In the game of improving sports/athletic performance we are all about improve functional muscle mass. Yes, at the right time get around it.

This is a big question I get asked regularly, in terms of its efficiency of enhancing muscle hypertrophy (muscle gain) yes it’s a good thing. In terms of when to possibly incorporate this into a performance enhancing training protocol, I would strongly suggest incorporating it into the off-season.

In season GVT will cause substantial neural fatigue, which has a negative effect on rate of force development. This results in power and speed decrements which are two essential performance characteristics that if decreased can have a large negative affect on athletic performance.

General GVT protocols consist of 10x10 of a compound exercise; generally 75-90 second rest intervals are used with the load selected commonly varying depending on a individual’s opinion.  Be wary of the loads selected due to the “bodybuilding” anecdotal evidence put forward by various bro scientists around which generally have no scientific backing. Evidence based practice would suggest that targeting type two muscle fiber hypertrophy loads of 75% 1RM and above should be selected at all times. Anything below this % will cause hypertrophy of type 1 fibers, which have no positive athletic/sporting transferability. Ever wonder why you see that massive guy in the gym who can hardly lift a heavy weight to save his lift? Yep that’s why.

Key Points

·      Periodized GVT programming can be highly effective for hypertrophy.
·      In season athletes avoid GVT due to its negative effects on power/speed/strength.
·      Loads <75% 1RM Should be used at all time.
·      Remember with increased load adequate rest periods need to be employed but also remembering the goal of hypertrophy, for example we’re not resting for 5 minutes like we would on a strength workout.
·      PCr resynthesize rates are important to sustaining 10 sets of 10 reps, know the rates and time your recovery adequately (Fuel source of the ATP-PC energy system- Required for high intensity bouts of exercise).

I have left this open for many questions, post below or email me at tim@ performancesportscience.com

Want consulting advice on GVT or any other training intervention?

Like what we do? Like/Comment/Share

Tim Frey
Head S&C Coach

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Friday 14 March 2014

Power Development: Olympic Lifting Vs. Vertical Jump Training


Power Development: Olympic Lifting Vs. Vertical Jump Training. Which is Superior (Study Summary)?

30 Male Athletes

·      12x Olympic Lifting
·      12x Vertical Jump Training
·      8x Control

8 Weeks of Training

Olympic Weightlifting Protocol

·      3x6RM High Pull
·      4x4RM Power Clean
·      3x4RM Clean & Jerk
·      4x6RM Half Squat

Vertical Jump Training

·      6x4 Double Leg Hurdle Hops
·      4x4 40cm Drop Jumps
·      4x6RM Half Squat

****Training Volume was increased after 4 weeks****

Pre/Post : Squat 1RM, Countermovement Jump (CMJ), Sprint and Agility were tested.

Results

·      Olympic Lifting group Increased CMJ to a great extent than the Vertical Jump group.
·      Vertical Jump Group marginally Improved 1RM Squat to a great extent than the Olympic lifting group.
·      Olympic Lifting group increased squat jump to a great extent than Vertical Jump Training group.

Summary

·      As a whole both training protocols produced superior results than the control group, although the Olympic weightlifting training produced broader athletic performance improvements than the Vertical Jump Group.

Oly lifting wins again. And again, and again.

Reference on req.

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