Biology is Hard…
The understanding of aerobic physiology is a disappearing skill in the physical preparation profession. The seductive draw of speed and power is so strong that many coaches neglect to address the biological underpinnings that allow speed and power to be expressed repeatedly, as required by every sport.
“Gas Pedal, Gas Pedal, Gas Pedal” - Pharrell
I like to think of aerobic metabolic function in sport through the “gas pedal” metaphor: imagine every time an athlete executes a high output as pushing the accelerator in a car. Now imagine this action empties the gas tank completely and in order to execute a subsequent high output, the tank has to refill. On the cellular level, this is similar to what actually happens with ATP being utilized for energy and the refill being supported by oxidative function of the mitochondria. Aerobic training enhances the overall capacity of the “tank,” the speed at which the tank refills, and reduces the speed at which the tank is drained to begin with.
RSA
No, not the Republic of South Africa… Repeat sprint ability. RSA might be the most critical ability in speed/power sports. Repeat sprint ability demonstrates a more comprehensive physical capacity than a 10m fly or a vertical jump because the efforts assessed have to be repeatable tens of times. The connection to sport being that in any competition there may 50-150 changes of possession necessitating short duration, high intensity outputs followed by incomplete recovery.
Coaches love to measure speed/power outputs in a vacuum during training to enhance “buy-in” which is understandable. Similar to why young adult novels sell millions of copies despite being vapid, there’s appeal in the oversimplification of context-free speed/power data. However, when compared to RSA data, a fly 10m or vertical jump lacks the sport context of having to be executed 50, 75, maybe 100 times in a competition…
Then there’s the “practice as conditioning” fallacy: there are multiple repeat efforts in practice and GPS data - velocities, distances - to prove it! While this assertion is not wrong superficially, the data is there, but it’s not meaningful because practice does not mirror competition. Every play/possession is a series of repeated, high output efforts that have a range of recovery times that have been well-researched. Practice reps are an inaccurate reflection of work:rest ratios because the efforts are either too high with incomplete recovery or too low with too long of a recovery interval.
We Need an Intervention
So, what’s the solution? I wish there was a simple solution to satisfy this massive gap in athletic development, but there are too many factors and misconceptions for there to be one clean answer. Extensive tempo variations are easily understood by coaches and athletes and pay non-linearly high dividends. The basic principle of extensive tempos is that work is done for an “extended” work interval at a sub-maximal intensity - around 70% of max velocity/7RPE - followed by incomplete recovery at ratios ranging from 4:1-1:1 work/rest, broken up into multiple sets allowing for complete recovery between sets.
Here are some extensive tempo interventions I’ve found to be effective:
Extensive tempos AS extensive plyometrics
Low amplitude plyometrics are a great solution for small spaces
Combine 4-5 different variations: pogos, line hops, skaters, split squat jumps
Sample volume: 3x5x20s/20s w/ 90s recovery between sets; each rep is a different plyo
Progress 5s/5s per week for 3-4 weeks.
Long interval tempo runs
2x6x2’/1’ w/ 3:00 recovery between sets
Progress volume by adding 1-2 reps per week for 3-4 weeks
Extensive tempo shuttles
3x6x30s/1’ w/ 2-3’ recovery between sets
Progress volume by adding 2 reps per week for 3-4 weeks.
The Disconnect
You could probably walk onto any field or court in the US and see conditioning that looks like what I just described. However, the inability of coaches to control their desire to see “work” being done presents itself as intensities that are too high to be beneficial followed by work intervals that are too short. If you want what’s best for your athletes, give them detailed instructions as to the “feel” of extensive tempo work, keep your eye on the clock, and rein in your own inclination to push too hard.
Next week we will talk about rethinking and restructuring the microcycle to accommodate more effective conditioning interventions.