Summer is here and you know our coaches have been preparing to improve your performance in the weight room as well as in the outdoor environment. This means we will be giving ourselves a chance to level up in running, hiking, cycling, swimming, golfing, or whatever activities you enjoy during the summer months. 

Goals For Phase I

• Body Composition
• Power Output
• True Strength
• Unilateral Strength
• Enhanced Movement Patterns (running, jumping, change of direction, and deceleration)
• Core/Torso Strength
• Injury Mitigation

As Deion Sanders once said, “If you look good, you feel good – If you feel good, you play good.” Everything listed above will give us a chance to accomplish all that and more. 

Work Capacity

The first 3 weeks of this program will focus on building work capacity. With this training quality, we are looking to establish your ability to accomplish more work (force, strength, endurance, speed, etc.) within a prescribed timeframe, and still be able to recover faster than those around you. For example, when we look at running or cycling, our goal is to grow our ability to hold our top end speed for a longer period. When we look at other training modalities, we might seek out other goals that are still under the umbrella that supports our ability to do more, longer. This phase is limited to a shorter duration of time (3 weeks) due to strength and power output being impacted if this phase is done for more than 4 weeks plus (1, page 13-15).   

When looking at this graph for two-factor training theory, we must also consider one-factor training. Here is the difference between the two:

• One-Factor Training Theory: One-factor theory references our ability to load/train and then fully recover before our next session. We repeat this process over and over, consistently, and never get to a point of overreaching or chronic, induced fatigue for adaptive purposes. 
• Two-Factor Training Theory: With two-factor training theory, we are looking to train at a high level in a shorter period of time (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) for a monitored mesocycle (2-3 Weeks). Within that shorter period, we are looking to decrease our ability to fully recover between training periods. For this theory to be applied well, our coaching staff will monitor workload and fatigue closely for all individuals involved.

When we ask everyone, collectively, to push deeper into this hole for a few weeks, we want for you to gain a greater adaptation to your training now and later down the road. Knowing this isn’t fully sustainable long-term, training-wise, now is the time to maximize your growth!    

Build Off Increased Strength From Last Cycle

Strength is key to movement performance. Simply put, having low strength levels translates to low performance (1,2,9). We want to build upon the 16-week strength block we just finished, leading to increased power and work capacity.     

What To Expect From Lifts

Monday & Tuesday

Initially, having higher forms of resistance with your multi-joint movements will be combined with a limited range of motion. Using box squats and pin press allows us to keep strength levels up, with a heavier load, while relieving pressure on joints like knees and shoulders. This strategy mitigates potential injury or plateaus from overused areas (joints, etc.). 

To enhance muscular strength and power, as well as increasing ligament strength, we’ll use elements of Triphasic Periodization such as eccentrics (slowly lowering) and isometrics (holding steady in one position). Triphasic methods have been shown to increase strength, power, and speed in a span of 8-12 weeks (10). Additionally, it has been heavily studied with results showing triphasic methods help increase performance outside of the weight room. For example, studies have shown that, with this style of training, we can see increased speed over time with running 20-40 yard sprints or 100 meters, as well as increased vertical jump metrics (10). If you are a runner or cyclist, this phase has direct application outside of the weight room. 

Thursday

To increase muscle fiber activation, we will use accommodating resistance with bands and chains. This improves strength and power as well as increasing caloric burn during training sessions (8). We will also use safety bars which are meant to mimic a front squat by engaging torso/trunk strength.   

Auxiliary of Accessory Lifts 

Accessory work will have a lot of unilateral movements to strengthen both sides and maintain balance. You will see Bulgarian Split Squats, Hatfield Split Squats, and Single Leg Squats across the board for the next 16 Weeks. 

  Balance is important for your overall force output. For example, if your left leg is struggling to produce force due to the lack of overall strength, your overall output collectively while cycling and/or running will be affected and you will increase the likelihood of injury (6,8). In performance terms, this is called having a bilateral deficit (7,10).   

Strategy 

The beginning of this phase will focus on moving with intention and focusing on technique. We do not need to always lift at high percentages to build strength. Eccentrics and Isometrics have been shown to increase strength by 3-7% in 6-8 weeks (with sound training) while also improving body composition and power (10). This method is integral to longevity of lifting and mitigating injury in & out of the weight room.       

Periodization Principles  

•   Triphasic Main Lifts  

• Conjugate Methods   

• Complex Training (via Linear Methods)  

• Concurrent Training  

• Autoregulation  

• Velocity Based Periodization  

• Undulating Periodization 

Straight From Research  

• This reinforces the widely accepted principle that longer resistance training and plyometric programs result in larger adaptations to training (8).   

• Accordingly, regardless of whether BLE (Bilateral) or ULE (Unilateral) is used to increase variables such as sprinting speed, coaches should aim to maintain a constant stimulus of this type within athletes’ programming of physical preparation for sport.   

• Another notable result from the moderator analysis, for BLE, was the finding that a combination of strength and plyometric training was more effective than either of those two modalities carried out in isolation.   

• Multiple studies have demonstrated similar results with combined training stimuli seemingly providing a more comprehensive adaptation than singular methods. The inclusion of varying training stressors may be especially valuable for youth athletes (8).   

References   

  1-Zatsiorsky, V. M., Kraemer, W. J., & Fry, A. C. (2020). Science and practice of strength training. Human kinetics. 

  2-Appleby, B. B., Cormack, S. J., & Newton, R. U. (2019). Specificity and transfer of lower-body strength: influence of bilateral or unilateral lower-body resistance training. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 33(2), 318-326.  

   3-Cook, C. J., Beaven, C. M., & Kilduff, L. P. (2013). Three weeks of eccentric training combined with overspeed exercises enhances power and running speed performance gains in trained athletes. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 27(5), 1280-1286.  

   4-Pagaduan, J., Schoenfeld, B. J., & Pojskic, H. (2019). Systematic review and meta-analysis on the effect of contrast training on vertical jump performance. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 41(3), 63-78.  

   5-Drinkwater, E. J., Moore, N. R., & Bird, S. P. (2012). Effects of changing from full range of motion to partial range of motion on squat kinetics. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 26(4), 890-896.  

   6-Kuruganti U, Murphy T, Pardy T. Bilateral deficit phenomenon and the role of antagonist muscle activity during maximal isometric knee extensions in young, athletic men. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2011;111(7):1533–9.   

   7-Moran, J., Ramirez-Campillo, R., Liew, B., Chaabene, H., Behm, D. G., García-Hermoso, A., … & Granacher, U. (2021). Effects of bilateral and unilateral resistance training on horizontally orientated movement performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 51, 225-242.  

   8-Steele, P. D. (2024). The impact of accommodating resistance as part of a cluster set to enhance acute lower body power.  

   9-Bartolomei, S. et al. (2021) A Comparison between Male and Female Athletes in Relative Strength and Power Performances. Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology. [Online] 6 (1), 17–.   

10- Rebelo, A., Pereira, J. R., & Valente-dos-Santos, J. (2023). Effects of a preseason triphasic resistance training program on athletic performance in elite volleyball players—an observational study. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 53(2), 163-170. 

11-Wisløff, U. et al. (2004) Strong correlation of maximal squat strength with sprint performance and vertical jump height in elite soccer players. British journal of sports medicine. [Online] 38 (3), 285–288.