Due to the broad spectrum of physical characteristics necessary for success in field sports, numerous training modalities have been used develop physical preparedness. Sports like rugby, basketball, lacrosse, and others require athletes to be not only strong and powerful but also aerobically fit and able to recover from high-intensity intermittent exercise. This provides coaches and sport scientists with a complex range of variables to consider when developing training programs. This can often lead to confusion and the misuse of training modalities, particularly in the development of aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. This review outlines the benefits and general adaptations to 3 commonly used and effective conditioning methods: high-intensity interval training, repeated-sprint training, and small-sided games. The goals and outcomes of these training methods are discussed, and practical implementations strategies for coaches and sport scientists are provided.
Athletes may increase power output through eliciting postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE). Muscle force and power may be increased during PAPE by coupling of 2 exercises, termed a “strength-power potentiating complex” (SPPC). Implementing SPPCs in the field is complicated by the need to use rest periods of several minutes in duration, which is impractical when training large numbers of athletes simultaneously within a short time. We propose delayed performance enhancing triplexes as a solution: which involve inserting an accessory exercise in between a heavy resistance exercise and a plyometric movement, which allows for training to continue to flow without interruption.
Elite level tennis performance requires perfect skill and highly developed physiological characteristics. Very little research focuses on the physical characteristics of elite level tennis. This evaluation of height and mass suggests that both variables are, on average, larger the closer a player gets to the number one ranking. This suggests that physical characteristics may influence elite level tennis performance.
We sought to determine if individualized programming by heart rate variability (HRV), improves resistance training outcomes in American football players. Design and Methods: Twenty-seven National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCA) Division II American football players (age 19.03 ± .98 y, height 185.50 ± 5.30 cm, body mass 100.59 ± 18.57 kg) were divided into an experimental (HVG) group (n = 11), and a control (CON, n = 16). Subjects completed 5-weeks of 3 d•wk-1 periodized resistance training during the offseason. The HVG monitored HRV on mornings before training, and their training volume was adjusted by their HRV. Specifically, on training days when HRV indicated that a subject was fatigued, the subject performed half of the originally planned repetitions for the training day. CON performed assigned workouts with no alterations. Performance was assessed via 1RM bench press (BP), power clean (PC), back squat (BS), and vertical jump (VJ) between groups using a 2 × 2 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: The HVG had an average of 4 ± 1.51 days modified over the 5 wks, but volume load lifted was similar (p = 0.955) between groups. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant increases in BP (time effect p < .001), BS (time effect p < 0.001), PC (time effect p = 0.002), and VJ (time effect p = 0.042) for both HVG and CON. There were no significant betweengroup differences in performance variables. The group × time interaction for PC (p = 0.087) trended towards a significantly greater increase in HVG (+ 8.6%) vs. CON (+ 2.6%). Conclusions: Periodized training can improve performance without monitoring HRV, but it may have an advantageous effect for highly technical movements such as the PC.
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