Maintaining strength in high-season??

thirtyfoot

This is relevant to most athletes who want to maintain strength in a busy high-season when fatigue is high and time is scarce. For example a GAA player may be playing 2/3 games a week in the high-season, training with the team also and may be only able to get to the gym twice or even once a week. In this instance what are people's opinions on combining exercises in the gym as a means to maintaining strength and getting the most out of your session. For example, combine a heavy bench press with a medicine ball throw or a heavy squat with a plyo drill. Does anyone have other examples of combination exercises they use?

Patto

I'm very interested in this one as well. I've no definitive answers really. I'm very interested in a discussion though. Playing football all my life (30 years) and I'm still using trial and error to balance recovery, diet and training.

One thing I have done this year (so far) is completely change my diet. From eating 3 times a day to 5 times a day, upping my protein substantially and the carbs a little. I have also almost doubled my daily water intake. I have either training or in the gym 6 days a week for the past 2-3 months. Season doesn't get going propperly for another few weeks so I am still in pre season mode. In this time despite eating abou 20-30% more I have lost bodyfat and maintained the same overall bodyweight.

In previous years I noticed that once every two weeks or so I would have a very flat training session. I litterly wouldn't have the energy to run 50M at any decent pace more than 5 or 6 times. I always blamed (in this order) lack of sleep, being over trained, old age catching me up, lack of fitness and alcohol. Diet never occured to me. I blamed lack of sleep because once I got a 10 hour sleep and a big feed I was grand again. Thanks to a lot of what I have read on this forum I now believe diet is the key!

Anyway, enough about me:o Playing 2 to 3 GAA matches in a week is too much imo. If you play 3 matches a week you can almost forget the gym I think, maybe do 1 session of upper body stuff. In high season (when you have only one match a week) I would aim for doing 1 sessions of legs and plyo stuff and 1 session of upper body stuff. I would do the medicine ball and core stuff in both sessions. You won't be able to do the legs the day after training or a match and I would leave the plyo stuff at least two days away from before a match. Your going to have to be fairly flexable on this one but this is a sample week I would look at:
Monday: Legs, plyo, core
Tuesday: Training with team
Wednesday: Upper body, core
Thursday: Training with team
Friday: Rest (option of another upper body session, depends how important the match is and how you feel)
Saturday: Match
Sunday: Active rest/recovery (Tempo runs and/or a few SAQ drills)

thirtyfoot

In recent years I used to just stop going to the gym in the summer, which was really stupid, but this year I will liftk through the summer. What weights and reps relative to your pre-season work do you lift in high-season?

Patto

I'm the same, when the evening gets longers and there's a smell of fresh cut grass in the air I find it very difficult to face into a weights session. I'd much rather be out on the field running after the ball. Same as yourself again, I do plan to stick with the weights this year.

In early pre sason I would spent about 6 weeks on basic strength building. The tempo of the lift is slow and controlled with high reps i.e. lots of 3x10s. After the strength stuff is done you start lifting with power in mind. So you bring in the plyo, the reps go down, the weight goes up and the tempo of the lift changes from slow and controlled to as powerful as you can and still controlled.

Thats the general gist of it as I understand it. I'm not an expert on this. You really need to have a good coach to design you a programme for this for maximium results. I'd be interested is the opinions of some of the bodybuilders on this one. Transform is a personal trainer, he seems to be very well versed on this subject also.

thirtyfoot

Yes, I'd be interested to hear Transforms opinion on this, he talks a lot of sense. I'd envisage that if you are still hoping to lift heavy weights but quicker that form can suffer, I've had problems with that before. Thats were a combinantion exercise might be good, lift a clean at say 85% of your max and straight away drop the weight to much lower and lift 3-5 reps at that weight. You will use a large number of motor units in the muscle in the heavy lift and the lighter faster lift will take advantage of that motor units usage, and at a higher tempo. Not sure if I've explained that very well, but you will be using a lot of motor units at a high tempo, which will match up very well to the other training you are currently doing on the pitch, sharpening up, and everything fast, fast, fast.

Reyman

Tingle wrote:

In recent years I used to just stop going to the gym in the summer, which was really stupid,

I usually stop doing weights for a few months in the summer too. Do you reckon this is a bad idea?

I thought it might prevent me getting a bit stale from the same old training month in month out

Patto

You only use the power tempo in the concentric part of the lift e.g. pushing up in a squat. The eccentric part of the lift is executed at a slower and more controlled tempo. You should also pause for a moment at the bottom of the lift (between eccentric and concentric).

You need to be lifting between 75% and 85% of 1RM. If your form is off the weight is either too heavy or too light.

Transform

Need to put together some info for this so will post next week on it.

Overall though - when you are in season i would not perform any exercise to failure when taking into consideration the volume of total training performed.

Transform

I would return to my aformentioned statement on optimal sports performance.

Step 1
First and foremost the athlete (for any sport) should be developing general strength in their off season - using compound movements and focusing on rep ranges of 8-12 for varying sets. During this time there would be a strong emphasis on weight training and building an aerobic base through long slow aerobic sessions.

Step 2
Getting closer to season
Weights - more of a focus on the power lifts/olympic lifts. Rep ranges are lower than above and the athlete would have learned the correct technique in the previous stage with light weights.

Fitness - Combination of long slow runs with short interval work and some light plyometrics or SAQ training (google if unsure).

Stage 3
Start of season
Weights - Start using heavier lifts for lower reps in olympic lifts and some strength work (non-bodybuilding e.g. tricep kickbacks, preacher curls etc, NOT to be used). Again focusing on big lifts like the squats etc. Keep all lifts close to failure but still one or two reps short of failure to prevent a catabolic state as the fitness and skills will require more recovery time

Fitness and skills training
Huge focus on development of skill and quickness for the sport in question e.g. sig sag drills, saq, plyometrics, and most of all just playing your sport more against different and varying opponents.

During this phase you will require more carbs and recovery is vital so cold baths, hot baths later with epsom salts, more antioxidants, use of protein drinks, massage, foam rolling, stretching etc
If you continue to train with weights 3-4 days per week burn out will certainly happen - i recommend 2 days per week on the weights. Day 1 - day after match, Day 2 - 2-3 days before match.

Closing thoughts - it pains me to see so called athletes training in gyms doing bodybuilding style training when its elevated performance they are after not just getting stronger or trying to build strength at the WRONG time of their season. Just becouse someone can bench 300lbs is not going to make him Michael Jordan and conversely just because you can run all day does not mean you can hold off stronger and faster opponents


This is generally due to a total lack of periodization by the coaches and athletes following what they see in the gym. All the best and remember your season is not going to be judged on what you can bench, or curl but how fast you can close down and opponent or have the fitness to chase down a ball in the dying seconds of a game.

ford2600

Apologies for zombie thread revival but looks like it's exactly what I want to know.

@Transform and any other knowledgeable folk I presume this advice is still current.

Training for a loopy, 6-7 day event in mid June on bike, which will entail 18hrs cycling, a little time eating/navigating/sleeping etc.

Current regime is 3 days strength training, primarily focused on compound lifts, with one long day 4-6hrs on bike with one other short ride at higher intensity if low fatigue levels. Lots of mobility work/stretching/foam rolling also.

Is two low volume days strength training enough to maintain most strength gains ( I know that spelling is wrong!)?

Keep in mind training will involve multiple loopy rides in the 200-600km range which even with a careful eye on nutrition/sleep can lead to fatigue for which rest is only cure I've found.

Last event of this nature so would like to go out with a strong performance; I know it not a remotely health pursuit:)