Reverse Engineering in Strength and Conditioning: Applications to Agility Training

Abstract

Typically, a coach may follow a process in which they first identify the key performance indicators of their sport, determine the physical attributes that map back to them, and then distribute the development of those capacities over the allocated timeframe. Furthermore, effective training plans are based on a theoretical or biological basis for how we move and adapt to exercise stimuli, coupled with an understanding of how these are best sequenced, such that one stimulus and subsequent adaptation can potentiate the next. Thus, reverse or backward engineering, when appropriately converged with the plans of those devised around nutrition, conditioning, technical, and tactical training, for example, likely gives athletes the best chance of attaining their performance goals. The aim of this article is to describe the application of reverse engineering, exampling it within the context of developing an athlete who can demonstrate a high level of agility.

Total Score of Athleticism: Profiling Strength and Power Characteristics in Professional Soccer Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction to Assess Readiness to Return to Sport

“…Therefore, it may have been prudent to develop single-leg posterior chain strength, and plyometric and power training can be accompanied by running drills to facilitate the integration of the newly acquired qualities into the cyclical motion of running and sprinting. 46 …”