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Reacting to Signs of Overtraining

February 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment

This article first appeared at: Reacting to Signs of Overtraining on Training & Conditioning

Athletes—and Strength/Conditioning Coaches and Sport Coaches—are taught one guiding principle that extends well beyond athletics: The harder you work, the more success you’ll achieve. It’s a principle that is generally very accurate.

However, there’s another phrase that also holds true for all facets of life…including athletics: Taking something to the extreme is bad for you.

Given our culture, it’s not surprising that overtraining can occur with competitive athletes who strive to excel in competition. That’s why Strength & Conditioning Coaches need to have procedures in place to prevent “Overtraining Syndrome.”

In an article on the Training & Conditioning website, “Too Far, Too Fast,” Dr. Terry Favero writes that Overtraining is defined as “the result of an imbalance in the training-to-recovery ratio–too much training and competing and too little recovery and regeneration. The difficulty is deciding just what constitutes ‘too much’ and ‘too little.’

“Athletes enhance performance by overloading the body and then allowing it to recover,” Favero writes. This stimulus-recovery process is called adaptation, and it’s a characteristic shared by all living organisms. In developing athletes, small to moderate training loads can lead to large improvements in performance if they’re implemented properly.

But while a little is good, more is not necessarily better. The adaptation process has built-in limits that govern both how quickly an athlete can adapt and their maximum capacity to endure intense training. These limitations function as safety mechanisms to protect the body from irreversible damage.”

Naturally, most coaches and athletes notice performance-related symptoms first, and may overlook the psychological clues–reduced concentration, anxiety, apathy toward training, irritability–that often precede performance deficits. But if the non-physical signs of overtraining syndrome are caught and intervention begins early, athletes can avoid the long-term effects and put themselves back on track for healthy training and adaptation.

Overtraining Prevention

As Favero write in his article, “The best-case scenario isn’t to catch overtraining syndrome in its early stages, but to avoid it in the first place. Most instances of overtraining result from poorly conceived programs that can be corrected with forethought and attention to recovery needs.”

As an example, Favero points out that, “if a preseason program does not gradually increase intensity and performance demands, athletes won’t develop a sound training base before the start of their competitive season. They may ‘play their way’ into game shape by mid-season, but the physical and mental stresses of pursuing optimal performance from an inadequate foundation will take their toll over time, increasing the risk for overtraining and most likely creating disappointing results late in the season.”

Overtraining can certainly occur for athletes who play on more than one sport at their school. Favero recommends the strength coach create “a hybrid strength and conditioning program that meets the training needs of both sports without creating overstress.” If a school doesn’t have a strength coach, then it’s important for the coaches of the two teams for which the athlete participates to communicate with each other and develop a program that works for both sports.

Symptoms

An article on VeryWellFit.com, written by fitnes consultant Elizabeth Quinn, lists the following warning signs of Overtraining Syndrome:

  • Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
  • Mild leg soreness, general aches, and pains
  • Pain in muscles and joints
  • Sudden drop in performance
  • Insomnia
  • Headaches
  • Decreased Immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
  • Decrease in training capacity/intensity
  • Moodiness and irritability
  • Depression
  • Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
  • Decreased appetite
  • Increased incidence of injuries
  • A compulsive need to exercise

Treatment

Quinn suggests the following first steps toward treating Overtraining Syndrome.

Rest and recover. Reduce or stop the exercise and allow yourself a few days of rest.

Hydrate, Drink plenty of fluids and alter your diet if necessary.

Get a sports massage. This may help relax you mentally and physically.

Begin Cross Training. This often helps athletes who are overworking certain muscles or suffering from mental fatigue.

Quinn mentions out one thing: “New evidence suggests that low levels of exercise during the rest period, which is labeled ‘active recovery,’ speeds recovery, and moderate exercise increases immunity.”

Favero points out in his article: “The good news is that access to advanced monitoring techniques, solid research, and time-tested workout strategies provides athletes and coaches today with more information about optimal training levels than ever before.”

Filed Under: strength training

Oscillatory Strength Movements

February 16, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Cal Dietz has been an Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning coach for numerous sports at the University of Minnesota since 2000. During his tenure, Dietz has trained athletes that have achieved 540+ All-American honors, 10 NCAA Team National Champions, Teams that have won 34 Big Ten/WCHA championships teams, 29 Big Ten/WCHA Conference tournaments, 22 NCAA Final Four appearances, He has consulted with Olympic and World Champions in various sports and professional athletes in the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, MMA and Professional Boxing.

This manual was created solely to share these methods and to inspire questions within the coaching community so that we may continue developing as professionals for the betterment of our athletes.

There is sound with the video, so please make sure that your sound is on.

This is a YouTube video, so you will need to be on a network that does not block YouTube videos.

If you would like to see more information about Coach Dietz’s entire presentation, click this link
Triphasic Training Peaking Method

Filed Under: strength training

Level 2 Plyometrics

July 7, 2018 by

This post is courtesy of ONEighty Athletics

The ability to apply a reactive force is the major goal of plyometric training.
An increase in power will directly correlate to an increase in Speed and Explosion.
We will implement plyometrics on Monday and Thursday during our speed / plyo
workouts.

It is extremely important to land properly when absorbing force.

Key Cues:
Feet under hips, hips above knees, in power position, chest tall, knees over toes,
weight on front two-thirds of feet.
Perfect takeoff and landing technique. Don’t land below parallel!
Camps & Combines rate and rank players off of verticals, broad jumps, and 40
times make sure you attack these drills!

In the video below Coach Michael Cano, of ONEighty Athletics ,takes a group of athletes through a series of 4 plyometic drills.

Here are the drills that are executed in the video

1.) Quick Feet Lateral Direction Intent
(4 whistles each rep)
(Quick Feet then Whistle)
– Proper shin angle, aggressive ground contact

2).Lateral Direction Intent with SL Hop
3.) Rotational Jumps
(each whistle 2 jumps)
4.)SL Hop Off Left- SL Hop Off Right- Sl Hop Off Left
Finish Where You Start (3 Jumps)

The YouTube video below as audio, so please make sure that your speakers are turned on and that you have access to the site. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.

Filed Under: speed and agility, strength training

Giving the Hamstrings Some Extra Attention

June 23, 2018 by

This post was provided by Training-Conditioning

Strong, healthy hamstrings are key to athletic performance. There are many traditional exercises, such as Deadlift and Squat variations, that are great for building hamstring strength, but there are also a few less conventional exercises that can help give these important muscles a little extra attention. Considering the vital role hamstrings play, these extra exercises may be worth incorporating into your training.

According to Justin Ochoa, owner of PACE Fitness Academy in Indianapolis, Indiana, and contributor to stack.com, hamstrings are often massively under-trained, despite being such an important part of the athlete’s body. These muscles run from the pelvis, across the knee joint, and end in the lower leg on the posterior part of the thigh, which means they are involved in flexion of the knee, extension of the hip, and stabilization of the knee. They also play a major role in speed and deceleration.

That’s why Ochoa suggests going beyond the conventional exercises to provide this major muscle group with some extra attention, which will help optimize health and performance.

Stability Ball Inverted Hamstring Curl

This movement may look easy, but it’s actually quite challenging and requires a lot of core and hamstring stability. If you imagine the typical hamstring curl, this exercises looks much like an inverted version of that.

With the stability ball supporting your back, get your body into a bridge-like position and keep your feet on the ground. Activate your anterior core by locking your rib cage down and creating tension with your upper-back. Then do your hamstring curl by using your feet to dig through the ground and pull your body forward until your hamstrings contract. Reset and repeat.

Flexline Prone Hamstring Curl

While Ochoa’s example uses a unique piece of equipment called a Flexline, cable machines or other similar pieces of equipment can be used as a substitute. While doing this exercise, focus on tension and position.

To begin, place yourself in a very passive posterior pelvic tilt over a BOSU Ball or any other round object. After doing this, your head should be the part of your body that is furthest away from the machine. Once in position, reduce the amount of anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar extension to get into a more hamstring-friendly position. Finally, attach an ankle cuff or cable fixture to your ankles and isolate the hamstrings while going in and out of knee flexion.

Single-Leg RDL Handoffs

Ochoa stresses that single-leg exercises are also very important when it comes to strengthening the hamstrings. That’s why he includes this RDL variation, which targets your lower body and core stability, and helps improve general strength.

Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell of the desired weight, get into a single-leg RDL, and hold the bottom position. While staying in this position, slowly pass the weight from hand to hand for the desired time and reps. Ochoa explains that this exercise loads the hamstrings both statically and dynamically while introducing upper extremity movement as an added challenge. For athletes with leg strength deficiencies, balance issues, or limited core stability, this is an especially helpful exercise.

Filed Under: strength training

High Intensity Strength Training Protocol: Pre-Exhaust

June 15, 2018 by

Here are some thoughts on Manual Resistance, Training Injured Athletes and Pre-Exhaust Training Protocol

In the video clip below Michael Bradley, Florida State University Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning Coach discusses the philosophical details of high intensity strength training.

He discusses briefly the advantages of manual resistance and talks about the need for a plan on how to train injured athletes.

A majority of the clip is dedicated to discussing Pre-Exhaust which is a powerful tool to utilize in a high intensity strength training program.

The idea behind Pre-Exhaust is eliminating the weak joint. Coach Bradley explains that by pre-exhausting in the muscle that you want to train, you can eliminate the the weal link in the chain. For example, by pre-exhausting the chest with Flys  the arms won’t fatigue before the chest during bench press.

The video below is from Coach Bradley’s High Intensity Strength Training Volume 3: Organization and Implementation. For more information about that program click the link above.

The YouTube video below has audio, so please make sure your speakers are on and that you have access to the site. Note that some schools block access to YouTube.

Filed Under: strength training

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