Chapter 4: Training and Conditioning Techniques

Reduce Injury

Prepare the Athlete

Athletic Trainers and Strength and Conditioning Coaches

• Cooperative relationship that serves to condition athletes in an effort to minimize injury and maximize performance

• Knowledge of flexibility, strength, and cardiorespiratory endurance is necessary

• Many strength coaches are certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association

• Athletic trainer may be called upon to review programs/make suggestions– Take into consideration components of

particular sport and injury prevention

• Rehabilitation of injuries is the responsibility of the athletic trainer

• Different settings (professional, college, high school) will require differing levels of supervision by the ATC

Periodization in Training and Conditioning

• Traditional seasons no longer exist for serious athletes

• Periodization– Achieve peak performance– Decrease injuries and overtraining– Program that spans various seasons– Modify program relative to athlete’s needs

Macrocycle

• Complete training cycle • Seasonal approach based on preseason,

in-season, and off-season• Changes in intensity, volume, specificity

of training occur in order to achieve peak levels of fitness for competition

• Broken into mesocycles (lasting weeks or months)

Mesocycles• Transition period:

– Follows last competition (early off-season)– Unstructured (escape rigors of training)

• Preparatory period:– Off-season– Hypertropy/endurance phase (Low intensity

with high volume)• Allows for development of endurance base• Lasts several weeks to 2 months

– Strength Phase – Power Phase (High intensity/ pre-season)

• Preparatory period (continued)– Strength Phase

• Intensity and volume increase to moderate levels

– Power Phase (High intensity/ pre-season)• Volume is decreased to allow adequate recovery

• Competition period:– May last a < week or several months for

seasonal sports– High intensity, low volume, skill training

sessions– May incorporate microcycles (1-7 days)

• Designed to ensure peak on days of competition

Cross Training

• Training for a sport with substitutions of alternative activities (carryover value)

• Useful in transition and preparatory periods

• Variety to training regimen• Should be discontinued prior to

preseason as it is not sport-specific

Principles of Conditioning and Training

• Warm-up/Cool-down

• Motivation

• Overload and SAID principle

• Consistency/routine

• Progression

• Intensity • Specificity

• Individuality

• Relaxation/Minimize Stress

• Safety

Warm-up

• Precaution against unnecessary musculoskeletal injury and soreness

• May enhance certain aspects of performance• Prepares body physiologically for physical

work• Stimulates cardiorespiratory system,

enhancing circulation and blood flow to muscles

• Increases metabolic processes, core temperature, and muscle elasticity

General – Activities which bring a general warming to

the body(break a sweat)– Not related to sport

Specific– Specific to sport– Stretching, jogging, running, throwing,

catching

Should last 10-15 minutes resulting in effects that will last 45 minutes

Cool-down

• Essential component of workout• Bring body back to resting state• 5-10 minutes in duration• Often ignored• Decreased muscle soreness following

training if time used to stretch after workout

Improving and Maintaining Flexibility

• Ability to move a joint(s) smoothly through a full range of motion (ROM)

• Decreased ROM results in: – Decreased performance capabilities– Uncoordinated/awkward movements– Predisposes athlete to injury

• Good flexibility is essential for successful physical performance

• Recommended by athletic trainers to prevent injury

Factors That Limit Flexibility

• Bony structures• Tissue approximation• Excessive fat• Muscle and tendon lengths• Connective tissue• Scarring and contractures• Skin

Range of Motion(ROM)

Active range of motion = dynamic flexibility– Ability to move a joint with little resistance

• Passive range of motion = static flexibility– Motion of joint to end points without muscle

contraction

• Must be able to move through unrestricted range

• Must have elasticity for additional stretch encountered during activity

Agonist vs. Antagonist Muscles

• Joints are capable of multiple movements• Example:

– Quadriceps will extend knee with contraction

– Hamstrings will stretch during extension– Quads (muscle producing movement)

referred to as agonist– Muscle undergoing stretch referred to as

antagonist– Agonist and antagonist work together to

produce smooth coordinated movements

Stretching Techniques

Ballistic– Bouncing movement in which repetitive

contractions of agonist work to stretch antagonist muscle

– Spindles tighten instead of relax– Possible soreness (soccer example)

Static stretching– Passively stretching– 6-8 second hold– Go to point of pain and back off and hold for

30 seconds (3 to 4 times)– Controlled, less chance of injury– Not dynamic

Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation– Physical therapy for neuromuscular

paralysis– Slow-reversal-hold-relax– Contract-relax– Hold-relax– Ten second push, ten second relax– Best technique to improve flexibility– Autogenic inhibition (push = tension)– Reciprocal inhibition (pull = relax)

Neurophysiological Basis of Stretching

Stretch Reflex– Muscle is placed on stretch(muscle spindle)– Muscle spindles fire relaying info. to spinal

cord– Spinal cord relays message to golgi tendon

and increases tension– After 6 seconds golgi tendon organ (GTO)

relays signal for muscle tension to decrease– Prevents injury - protective mechanism

• With static stretching golgi tendons are able to override impulses from muscle spindle following initial reflex resistance

• Allows muscle to remain stretched without injury

• PNF benefits greatly from these principles

• With slow-reversal hold technique, maximal contraction of muscle stimulates GTO reflex relaxation before stretch applied

• Relaxation of antagonist during contraction = autogenic inhibition

• During relaxation phase, antagonist is placed under stretch but assisted by agonist contraction to pull further

• Contraction elicits additional relaxation of antagonist (protect against injury)

• Referred to as reciprocal inhibition

Flexibility vs. Strength

• Co-exist• Muscle bound = zero flexibility• Strength training will provide individual

with ability to develop dynamic flexibility through full range of motion

• Develop more powerful and coordinated movements

Measuring Range of Motion

• Various devices have been designed to accommodate joint sizes and complexities of movement

• Goniometer most widely used device– Protractor (degrees) that utilizes alignment

of two arms parallel to longitudinal axis of two segments involved in motion

• Relatively accurate tool for measurement

Flexibility, Muscular Strength, Endurance,

and Power

Muscle Strength, Power, and Endurance

Strength: ability to generate force against resistance

Power: is the relationship between strength and time

Muscular endurance: repetitive muscular contractions (increase strength = increase endurance

Muscle Contractions• Isometric contraction

– No length change occurs during contraction– Pro: quick, effective, cheap, good for rehab– Con: only works at one point in ROM

• Isotonic contraction– Concentric- shortening of muscle with contraction

in an effort to overcome more resistance– Eccentric - lengthening of muscle with contraction

because load is greater than force being produced– Both are considered dynamic movements

Fast Twitch vs. Slow Twitch

• Motor units with distinct metabolic and contractile capability

Slow twitch (Type I): – Fatigue resistant– Time necessary to produce force is greater– Long duration, aerobic type activities– Generally major constituent of postural

muscles

Fast twitch (Type II)– Fatigue– Anaerobic in nature– High force in short amount of time– Produce powerful movements– A vs. B

Individual make-up– Muscles contain both types of fibers– Muscle functioning impacts ratios (postural

vs. powerful movement)– Genetically determined

Metabolic capabilities can change in response to training

Factors that Determine Levels of Muscular Strength

• Hypertrophy vs. Atrophy• Size of muscle: function of diameter and

number of fibers• Neuromuscular efficiency• Biomechanical factors• Overtraining (psychologically,

physiologically)• Reversibility

Physiology of Strength Development

• Three theories of muscle hypertrophy:– Increase in number of fibers– Infusion of blood - transient hypertrophy– Increase in protein myofilament number and

size• PROVEN

• Other enhancements due to training– Increased noncontractile tissue strength,

bone mineral content, aerobic/anaerobic enzymes, enhanced oxygen uptake

Techniques of Resistance Training

• Progressive resistance exercise• Overload principle must be applied• Must work muscle at increasingly higher

intensities to enhance strength over time• If intensity of training does not increase,

but training continues, muscle strength will be sustained

Overload Principle

• Activity must be increased and upgraded

constantly in order to gain a higher

response from the body

• Work at or near maximum capacity

• Applicable to conditioning and training

• Isometric Exercises– Contraction where muscle length remains

unchanged– Muscle contraction that lasts 10 seconds and

should be perform 5-10 times/daily– Pro: quick, effective, cheap, good for rehab– Con: only works at one point in ROM,

produces spiking of blood pressure due to Valsalva maneuver

• Progressive Resistance Exercises (Isotonic training)– Shortening/lengthening– Concentric vs. Eccentric– Various types of equipment can be utilized

• (Free weights, machine weight)

– Spotter is necessary for free weight training to prevent injury, motivate partner and instruct on technique

• Concentric and eccentric training should be incorporated for greatest strength improvement

• Concentric phase of lift should last 1-2 seconds, eccentric phase 2-4 seconds

• Variations exist between free and machine weight lifting– Motion restrictions, levels of muscular

control required, amount of weight that can be lifted

• Terminology associated with weight training– Repetitions– Repetition maximum– One repetition maximum– Set– Intensity– Recovery period– Frequency

• When training should be able to perform 3 sets of 6-8 repetitions

• Increases should occur in increments of 10%

• 1 RM can be utilized measure maximum amount of weight that can be lifted - must be very careful

• Training of a particular muscle group should occur 3-4 times per week (not on successive days)

Muscular Endurance vs. Strength

• Training for endurance enhances strength and vice versa

• Training for strength should involve lower repetitions at heavier weight

• Training for endurance requires lower weight at 12-15 repetitions

Isokinetic Training

• Muscle contraction at a constant velocity• Maximal and constant resistance

throughout the full range of motion• Maximal effort = Maximal strength gains• Disadvantages

– Cost– Need for maximal effort/motivation

• Rehab

Circuit Training

• Combination of exercise stations• 8 - 12 stations, 3 times through• Design for different training goals

– Flexibility– Calisthenics– Aerobic exercise

Calisthenic Strengthening Exercises

• Free exercise• Isotonic training• Gravity’s involvement determines level of

intensity• Full range of motion, may incorporate

holding phase• Pull-ups, push-ups, back extensions, leg

extensions

Plyometric Exercise

• Rapid stretch, eccentric contraction followed by a rapid concentric contraction to create a forceful explosive movement

• Rate of stretch vs. magnitude• Jumps, bounds, medicine ball throws• Very technical training - skills must be

learned with appropriate technique

Training for the Female Athlete

• Critical for female athlete • Significant hypertrophy is related to

testosterone present within body• Remarkable gains are experienced

initially due to enhanced nervous system and muscle interaction (efficiency-not muscle bulk)

• Following initial gains, plateau occurs, with females

• Males tend to continue to increase strength with training

• Critical difference is the ratio of strength to body fat– Females have reduced strength to body

weight ratio due to higher percentage of body fat

– Ratio can be enhanced through weight training and decrease in body fat percentage/increased lean weight

Cardiorespiratory Endurance• Perform whole body activities for

extended period of time• Performance vs. fatigue vs. injury• System’s four components

– Heart– Lungs– Blood vessels– Blood

• Improvements in endurance are the results of improvements in these 4 components

• Aerobic capacity = VO2max• Increases in intensity require higher

levels of oxygen consumption• Inherit certain range of maximum

aerobic capacity• More active = higher capacity• Average value = 45-60 ml O2/min/kg• Three factors impact capacity

– External respiration– Ventilatory process– Gas transportation (most limiting factor)

Impact on Heart• Main pumping mechanism• Increase exercise = increased oxygen

requirement=increase heart pumping• Heart must gradually adapt to imposed

demands but will reach steady state after 2-3 minutes of training

• Heart able to adapt through increases in heart rate and stroke volume which will enhance overall cardiac output

• A training effect results with regard to cardiac output.

• Over the course of training, at a given intensity, stroke volume increases while heart is reduced

• Cardiac functioning becomes more efficient (hypertrophy of heart occurs)

Energy Systems• Various sports entail different energy

demands• Long distance running and swimming vs.

sprinting and jumping• ATP: Immediate Energy Source

– ATP produced from glucose breakdown– Glucose from blood or glycogen (muscle or

liver) broken down to glucose converted to ATP

– Fat becomes utilized when glycogen stores depleted

• Aerobic versus anaerobic– Both generate ATP– Initial ATP production from glucose occurs

in muscle (without oxygen = anaerobic)– Transition to glucose and fat oxidation

(requiring oxygen = aerobic) to continue activity

– Generally both systems occur to a degree simultaneously

– Type of ATP production relative to intensity• Short burst (high intensity) = anaerobic• Long duration (sustained intensity) = aerobic

Types of Training for Cardiorespiratory Endurance

• Continuous– Mode (type of exercise) - must be aerobic in

nature– Frequency (at least 3 times/week)– Duration(at least 20 minutes)– Intensity (must elevate heart rate to 70% of

maximum)

• Interval training– Intermittent activities involving periods of

intense work and active recovery– Must occur at 60-80% of maximal heart rate– Allows for higher intensity training at short

intervals over an extended period of time– Most anaerobic sports require short burst

which can be mimicked through interval training

• Fartlek training– Cross-country running that originated in

Sweden – Speed play– Similar to interval training in the fact

activity occurs over a specific period of time but pace and speed are not specified

– Consists of varied terrain which incorporates varying degrees of hills

– Dynamic form of training– Must elevate heart rate to minimal levels to

be effective– Popular form of training in off-season

• Equipment for Endurance Training– Cost can vary from $2- $60,000– Jump rope to treadmill and computers

• Fitness Assessments– Provides coaching and athletic training

personnel with information relative to fitness and preparedness

– Pre-testing and post-testing format should be utilized

– Can assess all facets of training and conditioning with established tests and protocols