25
Tue
Elite functional training: "The sport of fitness" | By Javier González
-Because of its recent emergence, there is little scientific evidence on the most appropriate methods for its development. We have found a field in full "development".
-In addition, we find more uncertainty regarding the rest of the modes; there are no standardised tests that will appear in competitions: "you have to be ready to face any kind of challenge or test with the maximum possible performance".
"You have to believe in and adhere to the principles of continuous improvement, as well as setting and achieving higher and higher goals.
The principle of continuous improvement is becoming more and more important in our sport; as the depth of the competition fields has increased, the volume and intensity is very risky and as it is so recent, experimenting with "trial and error" phases has been practically the order of the day in recognized coaches; today this is not entirely the case; the acquisition of "experience" by coaches, recent research in the field of sport and the improvement and implementation of training technologies allow athletes to be trained more effectively.
"If the athletes don't improve incessantly, they'll soon fall behind, a trend that will only continue."
The higher your goals, the less you can afford to "stall" or have a series of setbacks that alter your training process (work/social/ personal life/harm). Every day and every training session counts.
Hence the question: Can we really improve infinitely? Whatever your fitness level, you can improve, which of course varies depending on how much improvement there will be or how long it will take to continue to produce improvements.
-An elite athlete seeks that 5% improvement through rigorous training and also by exploring the most exceptional methods of nutrition and recovery.
-A beginner can improve, simply by following the training regularly (even if it is not well structured, improvements will occur)
From our point of view, as we have said, we believe that continuous improvement is possible with a well-structured training process and respecting the adaptation phases. The process of continuous improvement begins with the understanding of the athlete's objectives, evaluating his strengths and weaknesses; observing through a process of evaluation, the parameters that represent that athlete, which must be followed and a series of "decisions" made in the training process.
-The result of a training session will depend on the application of an adequate load, i.e. optimal volume, intensity and exercises, together with correct technical execution. A gradual increase of the loads (progression) ensures progressive adaptation and protects the body from overloading and damage. (González and Ribas, 2002).
Step 1: Setting targets
Every athlete is different and the definition of goals, together with his individual skills, will elicit different responses. If this question cannot be answered, there is no point in participating in a training programme. Make sure that your goals are realistic and measurable.
Write down your goals and hang them on the wall; if you put it in writing, you can easily refer to it again; whenever you are in doubt, you can look at it again and remember why you are doing it; what decisions will support these goals and are necessary to achieve them.
Second step: the weak points
-Assure your overall fitness through a battery of performance tests applied to our sport
-See/know your weaknesses and get measurable feedback on how the training process is addressing them
-adjust the number of stimuli needed to achieve an adequate training overload; so as not to "overdo it", you can recover faster and be able to focus on a better week of training
-Once we know your specific performance indicators, we can apply them to your daily workout, increasing your chances of reaching or exceeding your goal.
Everyone knows there are millions of ways to train, and there is the challenge itself, to find your way. It is the coach's job, that "challenge", to find the path that best helps athletes reach their potential, given the resources available, their strengths/weaknesses and short/medium/long-term goals.
The higher your aspirations, the less you can afford to have obvious weaknesses; the higher your goals, the higher the level of your competitors.
Once we have established what your weak points are, and start planning how to deal with them, we must also focus, in parallel, on determining the areas of training on which we must focus at all times of the season, as well as the distribution of content related to the work of strength/skill, following a logical and sequential order that will help us to improve our performance and, therefore, the value of the parameters obtained in the initial test.
Step three: plan the year of training
Many athletes follow the same work schedule day after day, week after week, month after month... during the first 3 months they continue to improve incessantly; when they reach the fourth, fifth month, they start to stagnate and frustration for the lack of improvement begins. They strengthen things and get more rest. The training becomes random, depending on finding the session that seems to show that it still works. They can't understand how the training has worked so well for a certain period of time and why it doesn't improve infinitely.
Hence the importance of a training plan in order to change the different loading volumes during the season.
"Without a plan, there is no path; without a path, there is no destination that can be established or reached meticulously".
Throughout the season, we have to apply a number of changes in training loads; changing the interest of training for the development of general skills as a basis prior to the development of competition-specific skills.
Example of linear periodization model
In addition to all this, it must be "flexible" and adapted to the evolutionary process of training itself, as well as to the demands of the athlete's life, so that it can be met as rigorously as possible (with real time available, not "illusions").
-The variety of training stimuli is a fundamental principle for optimal training. Variation in volume and intensity is the most effective way to achieve adequate long-term progression.
-Factors such as age, gender, starting level and level of experience will be of vital importance in terms of the rate of progression of the athlete during the training process.
Step four: the periodization phases:
This part will basically depend on the characteristics of the athlete, his initial level and the objectives to be achieved.
-For example, in an experienced athlete, but after the evaluation tests, we detect a "high" level in most of the skills/energy systems, but a big deficiency in some of the rest; maybe in this case it would be convenient to apply a block model, focusing momentarily on a small number of skills and investing training time in their development, devoting more time to a couple of skills/energy systems and sacrificing others until a later time, when it is better to face them again. The greater the dedication, the greater the progress.
-and if the athlete is a newcomer to the sport and he doesn't just need 16 weeks in the "basic" period? What if he actually needs about 24 weeks to develop his basic skills properly?
If an athlete has covered the parameters that demonstrate sufficient capacity, then the remaining time should be devoted to the areas that produce the greatest benefit; we must not strictly adhere to a distribution of "X" weeks in a period; either general or specific
Case Study: The athlete has been set for 12 weeks of "basic" training before moving to the specific area, but what happens if the athlete is ready to move to the specific phase at 9 weeks? This "advantage" of 3 weeks can lead to a breakthrough in our training. This series of changes and decisions will be the ones where you will really make great progress, adapting and covering the needs that will allow you to improve more.
General preparation:
The "basic" phase usually lasts from 16 to 12 weeks before the test. This preparation can take weeks, months or even years if the plan is longer term. The longer the time available for this phase, the lower the risk of obtaining the required form. We try to expand and develop the fundamental aspects of the athlete's preparation and to create a solid foundation that will facilitate the training of subsequent content.
Specific preparation:
The "development" phase begins 16-12 weeks before the test until about 4-3 weeks before the test. The variability in this phase is based on the fitness level of the athlete approaching this time. We try to develop the specific contents of this sport with the aim of transferring the basic potential acquired to the specific performance conditions.
Competitive preparation
Training at a competitive pace; progressive volume discharge, high intensity, looking for a high speciality (as far as possible). We try to develop the competitive conditions of the specialty and to integrate the development of specific performance capabilities.
If the training is really specific to the needs of the test during the course of the weeks before the race, and the needs of the test are identified in some parameters, it makes sense that if these parameters are improving, you are doing the right training.
Categories:
Training
Products
- T-shirt Verde S 24,50€
- T-shirt Blu corporativa Uomo XL 22,00€
- T-shirt Blu corporativa Uomo M 22,00€
- T-shirt Blu corporativa Uomo L 22,00€
- T-shirt Azzurra logo nero S 24,50€
Comrade
Most viewed
Partner
[instagram-feed]