Sports specific training during lockdown

‘Sport-specific’ is an oft misused term used to describe the training of athletes outside of playing their chosen sport. Far too frequently we see misguided training methodologies passed off as ‘sport-specific’ under the guise that if you are not performing these exercises your training will hold little to no transfer to performance. As a result, too many athletes, coaches and parents have a misguided notion of what ‘sport-specific’ training should really look like. With the onset of an enforced lockdown it appears that many athletes have gone way off course in their attempt to maintain training regimes that will lead to improved sporting performance. This article intends to give you a workable definition of sport-specific training and a blueprint for what you’re current training should include, if you are an athlete.

What is sports specific training?

The topic of sports specific training is such a multi-faceted topic that we could spend thousands of words going down that rabbit hole. This article simply does not have the scope to do that, so I will try to be succinct in defining it. Ultimately, what distinguishes sport-specific training from other styles of training is that sport performance is the ultimate goal and so the style of training utilised is specific to this goal.

Knowledge of the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand) principle makes us aware that our body adapts to the specific demand imposed upon it. To use a simplistic example, if our goal was to improve upper body pushing strength then the bench press would be a better exercise selection than a calf raise. Carefully selecting training variables that elicit adaptions that transfer to improved performance in the athlete’s sport is therefore the ultimate goal of the strength and conditioning coach. With this in mind, let’s consider what sort of training does not fulfil these requirements.

What is NOT sports specific training?

Knowing that we need to stimulate the body with specific training to elicit certain adaptations we appreciate that sport-specific training is not high volume circuit classes. Whilst circuit classes may be fantastic for general population clients, who are looking for something to keep them ticking over with minimal equipment during this lockdown period, they are not what is required for the athlete in lockdown. Busy work is not always smart work.

Nor is Crossfit sport-specific training. Before anyone starts having a go at me, I’m by no means a Crossfit hater. I actually think it has many good qualities and have personally been training for Crossfit since the back end of last year. As good as it may be, however, it is not suitable training for an athlete looking to improve their sporting performance (unless their sport is Crossfit of course!). The high volume, medium intensity (and often times high intensity) nature of Crossfit runs counter to the low volume, high intensity doses of training we know athletes need to puncture their technical training with.

The method of training being propagated at the moment that annoys me the most, given the allure it has to athletes, parents and coaches who do not know better, is what I call ‘simulation equals specificity’ training. By that I mean, the training that claims to mimic the demands of your chosen sport. Could someone please tell me how lying on your back and getting up simulates, much less improves, the ability to perform a turn in swimming? I have particular sympathy for swimmers out there who are trying their best to train whilst unable to access a pool but please don’t be fooled into thinking that you need to perform ‘race simulations’ in your back garden to do some meaningful training. If this sort of training worked then wouldn’t you be doing it year round anyway, regardless of if we were in lockdown or not? If you would like to read how to actually utilise land training to improve your performance in the pool click here to read an article I’ve previously written, or please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me directly.

What should sport-specific training look like during lockdown?

During lockdown, we are faced with a number of different issues when determining how best to train in order to keep our training aligned with the adaptations we want to elicit.

• A lack of equipment (most people it seems have access to the odd dumbbell or kettlebell, but very few have access to a power rack with barbells and bumper plates).
• All technical training has ceased meaning we do not have to factor in fatigue from this training (likewise, it means that training adaptations usually derived from sport practice must know be sought from alternative means).
• An uncertain return date to competition.

As strength and conditioning coaches, we are taught to make Plan B as close to Plan A as possible. Oftentimes, this takes the format of slightly adjusting the programme in front of us based off how the athlete is feeling on a given day. Obviously, in lockdown, Plan B will need to be a little further from Plan A than normal given the lack of training equipment available. Nevertheless, although we may have limited, or very little, equipment, we can formulate a training plan that addresses the movements that we would normally train. Is the plan you are currently following addressing the following movement patterns?

• Squat
• Hinge
• Single leg
• Upper push (vertical and horizontal)
• Upper pull (vertical and horizontal)
• Core
• Throw
• Jump
• Energy system development

With minimal equipment (an odd dumbbell or kettlebell, or even a resistance band) it is possible to greatly enhance the intensity across all of these movement patterns. Do jumps require any equipment? No. Not got a medicine ball? Find a rock to throw instead.

With all technical training unable to take place, this leaves a huge void in our weekly training routine. In terms of skill development, there’s little you can do to replicate the demands of training and/or competition. But this is going to be the same for everyone. What you can do, alongside strength and power work, is focus on developing your energy systems so that once you return to training you are fitter than before. With extra time on your hands, now is the time to be developing your aerobic fitness, your ‘engine work’. Not to mention that now is not the time to be hammering your immune system with highly glycolytic sessions. Suppressed immune system function = increased chance of catching a virus and not being able to fight it off. Access to an exercise bike? Fantastic, an ideal low impact method of developing the aerobic system. No exercise bike? Use your daily exercise allowance to get outside and run.

An uncertain return date to competition means that implementing a vertical integration method of periodisation is likely most suitable. This is where we are training all components of athletic performance (strength, power, endurance etc.) but with a differing emphasis. With limited equipment now is a great time to focus on muscular endurance but whilst still maintaining an element of speed and power. Train extensive qualities so that you are well prepared for a return to normal training and the re-introduction of intensive training means.

Conclusion

In conclusion, how an athlete trains during lockdown should be as close as possible to how they would normally train. Pause for a moment and consider if this is what you are currently doing – or is your lockdown training devoid of any of the physical stimulus your normal training would include? Whilst we must accept that although general in nature, we can still move the needle forward by making Plan B as close to Plan A as possible. Even with limited or no equipment we can still train the physical attributes required to excel in your chosen sport, in a manner which will at least maintain, or more than likely improve, their capacity so that once normality resumes, you are ahead of the competition who have been following a diet of high volume circuits, Crossfit, or sport simulation exercises that more closely resemble circus tricks.

Athlete Development at Rigs Fitness, Birmingham 2018 Review

2018 has been another successful year for our ever-growing Athlete Development Programme. As the year draws to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to share some of the highlights of the year with you.

The year got off to a great start with the addition of Sean McDermotts Gaelic Football Club to our Team Athlete Development Programme. The team had a successful season winning the Warwickshire County Championship and falling just short in the All Britain series, losing in the semi-finals to the eventual winners.

A special mention must go to one of our youth athletes, Bailey Saunders. Bailey joined the ADP in January 2017 as a 13 year old lad looking to take his rugby to the next level. Fast forward 18 months, Bailey has ticked off all of these goals:

• Greater Birmingham (represented 2017/18 season)
• North Midlands (representing 2018/19 season)
• Hartpury College (place offered to start September 2019)
• Worcester Warriors Academy (representing 2018/19 season)

Bailey’s success story shows how formal strength and conditioning from a young age can accelerate development and help young athletes to realise their athletic potential. But, of course, this would not have been the case had Bailey’s commitment and attitude to training not been second to none.

Longstanding ADP athlete Alex Edmonstone has enjoyed another successful year as Captain of Olton and West Warwickshire 1^st XI. At the start of the year, he led the team to the indoor National Division 2 title and as we head towards Christmas, the team is sitting pretty at the top of National League Conference West looking to continue their Premiership promotion push in 2019.

This year has seen a successful year for the group of fighters we have had on the ADP. Thai boxer Louis Evans has won both of his fights this year alongside raising a new born baby! 2019 promises to be another exciting year for him with training already started for his next bout in March.

Within the Rigs coaching team, Callum Hawthorne undertook formal S&C for the first time in the build-up to his pro-K1 debut, which he went on to win. And, of course, Rigs’ owner Sam Smith returned to the ring for the final time winning with a comprehensive second round stoppage after following our holistic approach to his S&C (more details of the approach we took with Sam can be found on our Instagram page).

Fellow Rigs coach Rob Stevens, formerWorld Kickboxing Champion, has seen the success of these fighters and started on the ADP ahead of his fight in April 2019. So has Hamzah Muhammed as he returns to the ring in the next Strictly Business show

Anya Bates is another youth athlete who has achieved success on the ADP, with the highlight of her season winning her first ever English Schools medal in 2018, placing third in the Senior Girls100m hurdles.

Whilst many are winding down for a well-deserved Christmas break, some of our ADP athletes are still training hard in preparation for upcoming trial dates. Having competed for Great Britain in the European Junior Championships earlier on this year, Charlotte Rigg has been in the last stages of her preparation for Winter Nationals as she looks to end the year in style.

She performed exceptionally well in this National event, managing to get PB times in both of her events, and breaking a 20 year old West Midlands record, at the age of only 16! Her City of Birmingham teammate, Aimee Hood, has just begun preparation for the 2019 season where she will look to put in a strong showing at National competitions.

Harry Miles has started formal S&C as he looks to become a much more robust athlete in2019, with the added bonus of recent trials for both the men’s and mixed GreatBritain u24 Ultimate Frisbee teams.

Claire Rylance is training extremely hard as she looks to go into the England Women’s Touch Rugby selection camp at the start of January fitter and faster than ever before…just don’t mention the words Watt Bike to her!

This year has seen us develop closer links with Rickie Lovell and the team at Achieve Physiotherapy as we strive to provide the most comprehensive athlete support package that we can to our athletes. This means many of our athletes are able to benefit from the multi-disciplinary team approach we can take to their training and athletic performance.

One of our athletes who has benefitted hugely from this approach is Simon Ryder. When Simon first came to me, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to lift properly again due to his injury history. Working closely with Rickie, Simon is able to lift heavy on a weekly basis chasing down numbers in the gym and making progress week to week.  

Members of Rigs – keep your eyes peeled for information releasing soon about an upcoming injury workshop atRigs in January.

A 2018 year review of the ADP would not be complete without mention of the launch of our very own Youth Athlete Academy. After an extremely successful taster session at our Open Weekend in June, we went from strength-to-strength with a successful SummerSeries during the school summer holidays before our main launch in September.In our weekly sessions, we provide a general physical preparation programme for youth athletes looking to optimise their athletic potential. We do this in a safe, fun and structured manner with DBS checked coaches.

If you like what you have read and want to find out any more information about our Athlete Development Programme then CLICK HERE FOR MORE 

Here’s to an even better2019!

Useful links can be found below:

• Rigs Fitness Homepage
• Rigs Fitness // Performance
• Rigs Athlete Development Programme 
• Rigs Youth Athlete Academy 
• Testimonials 

What is agility training?

Introduction

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about plyometrics, with Dr Yessis claiming that ‘plyometrics is the most misused term in our vocabulary’ [1]. At the time I contended that, in the world of strength and conditioning, it was hard to disagree. The word ‘agility’, however, provides a strong contender. The aim of this article is to first define agility, and then, with this definition in mind, discuss how best to assess agility, and train for it (hint – don’t use the agility ladder).

Defining Agility

Typically, athletes and coaches alike confuse change of direction speed with agility and so the two terms are used interchangeably when in fact they are quite different. It is therefore pertinent to first define the two terms before we delve any deeper:

Change of direction speed (CODS): the ability to change direction to a predetermined location and space on the field or court [2].

Agility: takes into account both the physical change of direction and includes perceptual and decision-making domains [2].

It is, therefore, the perceptual-cognitive ability to react to a stimulus, such as an opponent, that distinguishes the two.

Testing Agility

Bearing the above definitions in mind, tests that have typically been used to test for agility ability, such as the traditional 5-0-5 test, in fact test for change of direction speed, due to the fact that the assessed change of direction is pre-planned. Additionally, there can be considerable discrepancy between tests that assess change of direction as some demand a rapid change of direction from the athlete whereas others require multiple change of directions, and thus might be better described as manoeuvrability tests. This is not to mention the metabolic demand of some tests due to their relatively long duration.

As such, to truly assess agility the test used needs to contain a reactive component. Traditionally, the original reactive agility test (RAT) has been used to do this. What distinguishes this test from the change of direction tests mentioned above is the demand on the athlete to respond to a stimulus on a screen, which may take the form of an arrow or light, a video or a human stimulus. A high-speed camera is used during the test to measure the decision-making time from when the stimulus initiates movement to when the athletes initiates movement in the intended direction i.e. it assesses the perceptual-cognitive ability of the athlete [2].

Training Agility

In order to develop an athlete’s agility performance, a three-pronged approach often works best [3].

Read more →

How to Perform an Effective Warm Up

Introduction

An effective warm up is the precursor to an effective training session. As the saying goes, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. In order to effectively stimulate the body for the session ahead whilst at the same time reducing the risk of injury, an effective warm up should consist of 6 steps. The reasons behind including these different steps, and examples of what to incorporate at each stage, are detailed below to help inform your next warm up.

Step 1: Tissue Quality

When athletes train hard, trauma is caused to the tissues of the body which results in heightened activity of muscles spindles (mechanoreceptors which detects changes in muscle length and rate of this change) in particular areas of the muscle. As a result of this, ‘knots’ or ‘trigger points’ form in the soft tissue which decreases the normal elasticity of the soft tissue. Through the use of self-myofascial techniques (think foam rollers, lacrosse balls etc.) mechanoreceptors which detect changes in muscle tension and rate of tension change called Golgi Tendon Organs are stimulated resulting in autogenic inhibition, that is, inhibition of the muscle spindle causing the brain to relax to prevent that muscle from tearing [1].

Step 2: Get Warm

Read more →

Box Jumps – what are they? What are they not?

Box jumps have to be one of the most misunderstood exercises out there. This article is in response to seeing a lot of box jumps on social media that simply defeat the purpose of the exercise, yet people are in awe of these videos that they see. So if we first look at how a box jump should be performed, and what it is good for, then consider what box jumps are not, by the end of the article you should have a pretty good idea of how to correctly include this exercise in your training routine.

How to Perform a Box Jump Correctly

A box jump should be performed with a soft foam box in order to maximise the reduction in eccentric stress upon landing. After all, the purpose of the raised box is to reduce eccentric stress (a box jump entails less compressive stress than landing from a vertical jump and less shear stress and compressive stress at the knee compared to a broad jump) so why would you use a hard box for this?[1] Box jumps can therefore be particularly good in lower limb rehab scenarios where the player is not yet ready to be exposed to the full eccentric demands of landing on the ground (think 8-10x ground contact forces upon each landing).

The Importance of Hip Displacement

Taken from @lachlan_wilmot twitter, https://twitter.com/lachlan_wilmot?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor, Head of Athletic Performance at the Parramatta Eels

When it comes to box jumps, hip displacement (i.e. how high your hips travel) is key. If you look at the photos above, you will see that the athlete’s hips reach the same height during his flight for both the 75cm box jump and the 105cm box jump – i.e. he has jumped the same height, the only difference is the amount of knee flexion upon landing. Yet telling someone you do box jumps with a 75cm (30 inches) box sounds nowhere near as impressive as telling them you do it with a 105cm (41 inches) box does it?

The difference in the two jumps is about the amount of hip flexibility required in order for the athlete’s feet to land 30cm higher for the higher box. Extremely high box jumps are almost always the product of a pretty good jump and fantastic hip mobility rather than pure explosive power [2]. As a general rule of thumb you never want to land on a box which requires you to land with more than 135 degrees of knee flexion due to increased risk of knee and spine injury and if you are required to land with more than 90 degrees of knee flexion then the box is already too high [2].

So what happens when you start landing on a 30 inch box with less than 90 degrees of knee flexion? You simply jump higher and land softly (improved landing mechanics) – the training adaptation is still the same. The only good exception to this rule that I have come across is the similarities between the deep catch position required in the clean and a very high box jump [3]. Yet this is with a very niche population – for the vast majority of us using box jumps to improve athletic performance this is not relevant.

How Not to Perform a Box Jump

So if that is what box jumps are and how they should be implemented, then what are they not?

Box Jumps are Not Plyometrics

Dr Yessis contends that ‘plyometrics is the most misused term in our vocabulary’ [4]. When it comes to the world of strength and conditioning, it’s hard to disagree.

A true plyometric makes use of Dr Verkoshansky’s principle of ‘The Shock Method’, that is, a ‘sharp, compulsory muscular tension, initiated by the body’s impact (collision – e.g. ground reaction forces) with an external object’ [5]. Specifically, this was used to refer to the training exercise he created in the 1960s called the Depth Jump, arguably the most revolutionary exercise of the 20^th century [6].

A true plyometric exercise, one which makes use of ‘The Shock Method’, is thus very different to simply a jumping exercise. It is used to develop true explosive power, and thus can only be performed for up to approximately 10 jumps per session – not multiple sets of 10 jumps. Unfortunately, however, nowadays all kinds of jumping exercises are referred to as plyometrics.

Put simply – a box jump is a jumping exercise, not a plyometric exercise – it lacks the ‘shock’ required to be a true plyometric.

Box Jumps are Not a Conditioning Tool

Secondly, box jumps are not a conditioning tool. If, as discussed above, the purpose of using box jumps is to reduce eccentric stress, why perform multiple reps on a hard box therefore accumulating a significant amount of joint stress?

Additionally, landing mechanics start to falter under fatigue causing the risk of injury to significantly increase, not to mention the ingraining of poor landing mechanics. You want to practice how you perform – practise poorly, perform poorly. Of course, the caveat to this is their use in Crossfit – but even then I would argue that just because you have to express a certain ability in competition, does not mean you develop that ability in the same way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, box jumps can be an excellent tool if used correctly. They should be performed on soft foam boxes in order to maximise the reduction in eccentric stress upon landing. Hip displacement is the key performance indicator for box jumps, not the height of the box that the athlete lands on. It must also be remembered that box jumps are not a plyometric exercise nor should they be used as a conditioning tool.

Written by Joshua Bridgeman, Head of Performance at Rigs Fitness, Birmingham  

References

[1] Eric Bach, ‘Stop Doing Box Jumps Like a Jackass’, https://www.t-nation.com/training/stop-doing-box-jumps-like-a-jackass (accessed 23/08/2018).

[2] Jason Ferruggia, ‘How to Do Box Jumps Properly’, http://jasonferruggia.com/how-to-do-box-jumps-properly/ (accessed 23/08/2018).

[3] Max Aita & Chad Wesley-Smith, The Jugglife Podcast Q&A episode.

[4] Dr. Michael Yessis, ‘Dr Yessis on Prof. Verkoshansky and the Shock Method’, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFS9oc-vLQ0 (accessed 23/08/2018).

[5] Natalie Verkoshansky, ‘Shock Method and Plyometrics: Updates and an In-Depth Examination’, http://www.verkhoshansky.com/Portals/0/Presentations/Shock%20Method%20Plyometrics.pdf (accessed 23/08/2018)

[6] Yuri Verkoshansky & Natalie Verkoshansky, Special Strength Training Manual for Coaches (Rome, 2011), p. XI.