© Electric Word plc 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publishers. The information contained in this publication is believed to be correct at the time of manufacture. Whilst care has been taken to ensure that the information is accurate, the publisher can accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions or for changes to details given. Any application of the information provided in this workbook is at the athlete’s own discretion and risk. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Publisher: Jonathan Pye [email protected] Editor: Brian Mackenzie [email protected] Designer: The Flying Fish Studios Ltd www.the-flying-fish.com Printer: Baskerville Press Ltd 6-8 Newton Road Salisbury Wiltshire SP2 7QB Published by: Electric Word plc 67-71 Goswell Road London EC1V 7EP Tel: 0845 450 6402 Registered number: 3934419 ISBN: 1-905096-18-6 The Nine Key Elements of Fitness One of the misconceptions in the sports world is that a sportsperson gets in shape by just playing or taking part in his/her chosen sport. If a stationary level of performance, consistent ability in executing a few limited skills, is your goal then engaging only in your sport will keep you there. However, if you want the utmost efficiency, consistent improvement, and balanced abilities sportsmen and women must participate in year round conditioning programs. The bottom line in sports conditioning and fitness training is stress. Not mental stress, but adaptive body stress. Sportsmen and women must put their bodies under a certain amount of stress to increase physical capabilities. Exercise scientists have identified that fitness comprises of nine key elements. The following lists each of the nine elements and an example of how they are used: ɀ Strength – the extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against resistance (holding or restraining an object or person) ɀ Power – the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements (jumping or sprint starting) ɀ Agility – the ability to perform a series of explosive power movements in rapid succession in opposing directions (zigzag running or cutting movements) ɀ Balance – the ability to control the body’s position, either stationary (eg a handstand) or while moving (eg a gymnastics routine) ɀ Flexibility – the ability to achieve an extended range of motion without being impeded by excess tissue, ie fat or muscle (Executing a leg split) ɀ Local Muscle Endurance – a single muscle’s ability to perform sustained work (rowing or cycling) ɀ Cardiovascular Endurance – the heart’s ability to deliver blood to working muscles and their ability to use it (running long distances) ɀ Strength Endurance – a muscle’s ability to perform a maximum contracture time after time (continuous explosive rebounding through an entire basketball game) ɀ Co-ordination – the ability to integrate the above listed components so that effective movements are achieved. Of all the nine key elements of fitness cardiac respiratory qualities are the most important to develop as they enhance all the other components of the conditioning equation. As a long-time UK Athletics coach, I have always been aware that advice at this level has been expensive and often difficult to obtain. This workbook solves the problems of cost and inconvenience in obtaining expert coaching guidance. Page iii On the following pages you will find evidence-based advice based on £ millions worth of trials conducted by dedicated sports scientists, with comprehensive, science based workouts designed to enhance your performance for your sport or event. Please let me know how you get on! Best wishes Brian Mackenzie Editor [email protected] Contents Module 1: Strength . .1 Module 2: Power . .21 Module 3: Agility . .39 Module 4: Balance . .57 Module 5: Flexibility . .73 Module 6: Muscle Endurance . .97 Module 7: Cardiovascular . .117 Module 8: Strength Endurance . .135 Module 9: Co-ordination . .155 Contributors . .165 Page v Page vi Module 1 Strength Strength The nature of strength is always difficult to define. The strong runner, the strong shot-putter and the strong jumper clearly have little in common and yet we consistently group strength attributes together as if we are looking for the same result for each event. Strength is a generic term used to describe many dissimilar abilities. Examples of ‘strengths’ include the following: ɀ Strength endurance – the ability to move a light resistance for an extended period of time ɀ Absolute dynamic strength – the maximum force that a muscle can generate and apply to create movement ɀ Absolute static strength – the maximum force that a muscle can generate and apply without producing movement ɀ Reactive strength – the maximum force that muscles can apply in response to a force in the opposite direction ɀ Power – which most people confuse with ‘strength’, but is actually the absolute dynamic strength multiplied by the speed it can be applied. From these it is clear that different events/sports need different ‘strengths’, and different ‘strengths’ need different training methods. Overview of the articles in this section ɀ Raphael Brandon in his article ‘Fish out of water: the land-lubbers’ strength program for swim competition’ provides a selection of land based weight training exercises specific to swimmers ɀ Walt Reynolds explains the four basic types of strength training for runners, identifies a strength program for runners and how to pinpoint Page 1 Strength ɀ Module 1 your weaknesses in his article ‘If you want to benefit from strength training, you must identify your weaknesses and work on them’ ɀ Raphael Brandon in his article ‘Strength training is vital for women, but the program depends on their event, not their sex’ explains how to devise a strength training program for female athletes ɀ Brian Mackenzie provides an example strength test that can be used to monitor upper body strength in his article ‘The Press-ups Test’. The articles in this section are applicable to most sports Fish out of water: the land-lubbers’ strength program for swim competition To optimise strength and power, competitive swimmers need to supplement their pool training with land training in the gym. For best effect, swimmers need to follow a program of exercises that replicate their actions in the water as closely as possible. Strength and conditioning experts around the world all agree that, for time spent in the gym to have a positive impact on your sports performance, you must ensure the exercises you perform, and the way you perform them, are related to your sporting movements in competition. For example, Barbell Squats involve ankle, knee and hip extensions in a vertical plane which are directly related to the mechanics of a vertical jump; thus the squat is a useful exercise for developing jump performance. If we perform a basic analysis of the mechanics of the front crawl stroke, the main actions that produce forward propulsion through the water are: the ‘arm pull down’ through the water, which propels the swimmer forward the ‘leg kick’, which alternates hip flexion and extension of the legs. In addition, competitive swimming involves: ɀ the ‘dive start and push off turn’, which involves dynamic ankle, knee and hip extension. When designing your strength program, you should focus mainly on exercises related to these movements. Other exercises may use the same muscles as those involved in swimming, but only exercises which use the right muscles in a related mechanical movement will provide optimum training benefit. A limitation of land training with weights for swimming is that the type of resistance you encounter when moving in the water is different from the Page 2 Strength ɀ Module 1 resistance occurring when you move a weight through the air. In the water, the faster you pull or kick the greater the resistance applied back by the water; on land, a given weight requires a constant force to move it, regardless of the speed of movement. Hydraulic-type resistance equipment that mimics aquatic resistance is expensive and not widely available. The best compromise when using regular equipment is to try to mimic the speed and nature of the swimming stroke. To this end, you should aim to perform the strength exercises with a smooth and constant force and select weights which allow the movement to be performed at a swimming- related speed. For example, the leg-kicking motion during front crawl is quite fast, so hip flexion and extension exercises which can be performed at a good speed would be best. The following exercises are related to the mechanics of the front crawl stroke. For each component, the relevant exercises are described and their mechanical relationship to the stroke explained. Arm pull down exercises 1. Cable rotational front and back pulls Front pull. This is the mechanical equivalent to the pulling-through-the-water action in front crawl, as the hand comes diagonally across the body as it pulls down. For this exercise you need a high pulley machine with a simple handle grip. Kneel down on one knee to the side of the machine. Take the hand nearest the pulley and grasp the handle with the hand high and slightly out to your side. Before you start the exercise make sure your back is straight, your shoulders are wide and your chin is tucked in. Pull the handle down and lower your arm across your body in a rotational movement until your hand is next to the opposite hip. Smoothly return the bar to the start position and continue performing sets of 5 to 8 repetitions for maximum strength or 12 to 15 repetitions for strength endurance.