During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc consistently produced superior athletes as part of their bid to claim supremacy over the West. Western cynics have often dismissed their domination of the Olympic games as merely the result of state sponsored anabolic steroid use. While steroids, and other anabolic agents were obviously a factor, it is also true that the Soviet Bloc spent more time, money, and research on training and sports science, giving it a priority that the West never matched.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many of their best and brightest are now in North America, and have made known their methods for producing world-class athletes. Former Romanian Strength Coach, Tudor Bompa is now a professor at York University in Toronto, and world-renown sport biomechanist, and former strength & conditioning consultant to the Soviet Union Olympic teams, Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky is now a professor at Pennsylvania State University. Both have published books and papers (in English) on the subject of sports science. Bompa is particularly prolific, publishing several books on the topic of "periodization of strength", a highly effective method of planning training that he is credited with developing.
In a periodized training plan, the training period, from one competition to the next, (or macrocycle) is broken into manageable phases: preparatory, competitive, and transition, with the understanding that peak performance cannot be maintained throughout each stage. Recovery sections are built into the program and the timing of peaking is carefully planned. By having different phases with different goals and training protocol, specific attributes, such as power and endurance, that if trained for simultaneously would be mutually exclusive, can be achieved over a training period, while minimizing overtraining and the potential for injury.
Because the biomechanical needs vary from sport to sport, as well as the needs of a particular athlete at a given time, the focus of each macro- and microcycle will differ accordingly. A typical periodization plan might look like this:
Phase-1: Anatomical Adaptation
Phase-2: Hypertrophy (bodybuilding methods)
Phase-3: Maximal Strength
Phase-4: Conversion Phase
Phase-5: Transition
Phase-1: Anatomical Adaptation
Anatomical Adaptation is an important, and often neglected phase of training. Since the purpose of training is to stress the body in such a way that results in adaptation, not aggravation, a new training cycle should always commence with an anatomical adaptation phase. Most trainers and coaches understand the need for sport specific training, yet if highly specific training is carried out continuously, focusing on the prime movers used mainly in the given sport, structural imbalances, and injuries will likely result. Therefore the exercises in this phase will be general in nature, focusing on the often neglected qualities such as joint stability, strengthening connective tissues, correcting structural imbalances, and preparing the body for the more intense, and specific strength training to follow.
The length of time spent in this phase will be determined by such factors as the length of the preparatory season, and the athletes experience, training history, etc. The novice athlete or weight trainer may need to spend as much as 8-weeks on Anatomical Adaptation, while the experienced athlete would spend only 3 to 5 weeks. The intensity of this phase is fairly low, only 40-60% of 1RM (1-repetition maximum), repetitions are fairly high, in the 8-12 range, and rest intervals are short, 30-seconds to 1-minute.
Phase-2: Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy training methods are like those typically associated with bodybuilding, and are most beneficial to those who want to move up in a weight class or for one who is at the bottom end of his weight class and finds it to be a disadvantage. Generally, this phase could be 4-6 weeks. Obviously, to much emphasis on hypertrophy is not recommended for those who need to remain in a given weight class, and in such case should be minimized or even skipped altogether. Intensity in this phase will be moderate, 70-80% of 1RM; repetitions will be in the 6-12 range, and rest intervals 3-5 minutes.
Phase-3: Maximal Strength
Besides the fact that all other things being even, the stronger athlete will prevail, maximal strength is a prerequisite for power (power = force x velocity). In fact, gains in power come 95% from gains in maximum strength, and only 5% from speed, and maximal strength training can even enhance endurance. In this phase the training intensity is high, 85-100% of 1RM, repetitions will be in the 1-4 range, and rest intervals 3-6 minutes.
Phase-4: Conversion Phase
The aim of this phase is to convert the unrefined, nonspecific gains made into sport specific strength such as power, or muscular endurance. Power is the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce the greatest amount of force in the shortest amount of time, muscle force multiplied by the velocity of movement. There are several training methods geared towards improving the rate of force production, but in a typical power program the load would be 50-80% of 1RM, repetitions in the 4-10 range, rest intervals 2-6 minutes, and the speed of execution would be explosive. For muscular endurance the repetitions may exceed 20-30, and the speed of execution would be moderate to fast.
Phase-5: Transition
In this phase the goal is to recover both physically and mentally after a major competition. The only training recommended is active rest. This period could be as short as two weeks or as long as a month depending on the length and intensity of the competitive phase.
The outline above is general and the actual qualities trained will be based on the needs of the sport/event and on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual athlete. Next month, I'll go into greater detail on designing a periodized training regimen, and give a sample routine for the general preparatory phase.
References:
Zatsiorsky V, Science and Practice of Strength Training, Champagne IL, Human Kinetics, 1995
Bompa T, Periodization Training for Sports, Champagne IL, Human Kinetics, 1999
King I, How to Write Strength Training Programs: A Practical Guide, Toowong, Qld, KSI, 1999
Mahler M, A Talk with Tudor Bompa, Testosterone Magazine, issue 202, 2002
About the author: Mark Ginther has over 20 years experience in sports, martial arts, and strength training. He has worked with numerous athletes including Michael Hawkins (formerly of the Boston Celtics), as well as several pro and amateur boxers. In 1999 he became the Strength & Conditioning Coach for AMC Kickboxing & Pankration.
He's recently returned from 6 years in Tokyo, where he was highly respected in both the fitness and martial arts industries. He trained K-1 Champion Nicholas Pettas for his comeback, and has written for, or been featured in several of the industry’s top publications. His monthly strength & conditioning column has appeared in Full Contact Fighter for 4 years, and ran for 2 years in IRONMAN Japan. He was featured in a cover story in Tokyo city magazine, Metropolis, and interviewed for the Japanese bodybuilding magazine, BODYPOWER. His fitness column ran in Tokyo’s Player for 6 months.
