Coaches Corner: Conditioning
Six Factors for Assessing Activity or Sport:
As a conditioning specialist I must have the ability to adapt the programs I develop to a variety of training objectives and goals. This ability to adapt is required of me due to the broad array of clients and athletes I may encounter during any given period. It is important that I view all people individually and evaluate all training variables that relate to their program. To achieve this end I must consider the following six training variables when creating a comprehensive conditioning program:
1. Energy systems to be utilized.
2. Demands to be placed on each energy system.
3. Ways that each energy system will change according to competition or position.
4. Active movement to recovery ratios.
5. Sports specific demands of the activity and what is necessary for a comprehensive conditioning program.
6. The development of a periodic training plan designed to incorporate all training variables, adjusted as needed over time.
The above six factors are just a few of the things I take into consideration when developing a comprehensive conditioning program for the athletes I am working with.
Keep an eye out for more tips in the Coaches Corner series, coming soon.
Be sure to go to www.hybridfitness.tv and register your name and email address. We’ll keep you up-to-date on the Hybrid launch, as well as provide you with great training information ONLY available by email.
PAU for NOW
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
Another H.I.I.T Success Story
[digg=http://digg.com/health/High_Intensity_Interval_Training_3]
As many of you probably know, at Hybrid Fitness, we’re BIG proponents of High Intensity Interval Training (or H.I.I.T). Taku and I have integrated HIIT successfully into the programs of countless individuals of varying backgrounds and athletic abilities. I’ve personally used HIIT to train for a marathon. Honestly, every training session was focussed around short, maximal-effort intervals which had enormous carry-over into my general conditioning and a profoundly positive impact on my VO2 Max. More on that later.
Most recently, I’ve been working with a client who wants to get lean and back into her college shape. She has 2 kids (both very young) and a demanding, high-stress job in the tech industry. Needless to say, she has many factors in her life and schedule that preclude her from really taking the time she needs to get to the gym on a regular basis. She wants to get in better shape and wants to run, but the problem is, she HATES RUNNING. She has a mental block that prevents her from really turning on the effort and I’ve explained many times that a slow jog for a few blocks will never make any sizeable impact on her conditioning or aesthetic goals.
Not a problem.
I introduced her to HIIT about two weeks ago and I made her a promise. If she sticks with the HIIT training, she’ll see a difference in her body composition in a few week and an increase in her conditioning almost immediately. We literally have 3 HIIT sessions completed at this point and she called me yesterday to say she went running over the weekend (on her own) and noticed a profound increase in her running ability. Mentally and physically, she’s noticed a difference and that’s with only 3 HIIT sessions under her belt. To clarify, this is not someone who’s just started working out, either. She has a lifelong athletic history, though she’s never chosen to push herself or had someone push her.
I could write all day about the benefits of HIIT, but suffice it to say, it’s working wonders for my client and it can work wonders for most anyone. This includes competitive athletes. Honestly, entirely too much emphasis is put on LSD or Long Slow Duration training. Athletes of most any sport and certainly the average person looking to get in shape or better shape will benefit from incorporating some type of HIIT training into your program.
Look through some of our past postings for additional HIIT articles and audio clips.
Post your thoughts, HIIT success stories or questions to the comments section and we’ll address them directly.
Keep training hard!
Jason K.
www.hybridfitness.tv
High Intensity Training: Is it right for everyone?
As a follow-up to our articles on High Intensity Training (or H.I.T.) here is an audio interview with Liam “Taku” Bauer, talking about why H.I.T works and who it’s designed for.
Do yourself a favor - click the audio link below and take the next 3 minutes to listen to what Taku has to say. It could change the way you train for good.
Audio Link —–> Who is H.I.T designed for (audio)
As always, we’re interested in your feedback so feel free to post your comments or questions. We address them right away.
Keep training hard!
Jason K.
www.hybridfitness.tv
Training OUT of the Zone
You hear talk all the time about “training in the zone”, “being in the zone”, etc. I want to convince you to train OUT of the zone. By “zone”, I mean your comfort zone.
People naturally gravitate towards what’s easiest. We avoid tougher, more challenging training and stick with what we know. It’s the reason people fall into ruts, athletes stop progressing and individuals stop seeing changes, despite putting in long hours in the gym.
I went to the climbing gym today, as I do every week. My climbing partner and I got in a discussion with some other climbers about a particular route and why it would be so challenging. It had a lot of overhangs, but technically, it was rated far below what this climber is capable of doing. In theory, it should be an easy climb for him.
The climber said “I don’t do overhangs”. Right away, we asked him why? He said he wasn’t comfortable with them and would rather spend his time getting better on the vertical routes. We started discussing comfort zones and how important it is to work on the weak areas of your sport. The climber fully understood the importance of this, but still avoided the tougher overhangs whenever possible. This same mentality exists in any sport. I’m certainly not saying it happens with everyone, but the key is to recognize that there are weak spots with your training, then work to overcome them.
For many people in many different sports, conditioning is a huge factor. I’ve said it before, but it can make or break an individuals performance. Interval training can be extremely beneficial when it comes to increasing your aerobic and anaerobic endurance, but performing intervals can push the body’s heart rate to extremely high levels and bring on a level of fatigue that many have never experienced before. As a result, they avoid it outright.
The same is true when it comes to strength and skill training. This also goes for recreational athletes and people just looking to get in shape. If you stick solely with what you know, the body will never be able to push beyond it’s current level. Try new skills, lift heavier weights (safely and within reason) and switch up your “cardio” training. You’ll be surprised just how fast the body adapts to overcome it’s new stress.
Got some specific training issues that you feel are hindering your performance or results? Post them here and we’ll address them specifically.
Keep training hard!
Jason K.
www.hybridfitness.tv
Have a plan
Goal Setting for Sports or Life
If you read my article about peaking for competition you may have thought “cool, this is just what I have been looking for”. However if you do not compete at any particular sport then you may be asking yourself what does an article about peaking for competition have to do with me?
The truth is we all train better when we have a specific goal in mind. Your goal may be an athletic one like running faster or jumping higher or it may be an aesthetically based one like losing some body fat or just looking good naked. Finally your goal may just be to improve on a personal best like adding 50lbs to your bench press. The goal itself is not as important as the fact that you have one. Once you have established the specifics you must then go about creating a plan to help you reach your goal in the most efficient way possible.
Remember when it comes to goal setting, the more specific the better. Just telling yourself “I want to get in shape” or “I want to lose some weight”, is not specific. You have to ask your self, in shape for what? How much weight do I want to lose? You will find that the more specific your goal the easier designing and implementing your training program will become. Create a sense of urgency by setting your goal within a time frame such as: “I want to lose 10lbs by April first or I want to run 3 miles in under 20 minutes by May first.”
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
Peaking for Competition (Taku’s Intervals: PHASE 4)
In sports the competitive season marks the boundaries of your training cycle(s). For sports such as Football, Basketball etc, you can plan according to the needs or goals of each block such as pre-season, in-season, and post- season. For sports with little or no structured season such as MMA and other combat sports then a more “structured-improvisational” style of planning may be used. Regardless of the sport, the goal of any well designed strength and conditioning program is always the same. Have the athlete(s) at their peak when it is time to compete.
I created my original interval program as a supplemental endurance training plan for combat athletes. I wanted to move people towards energy system specific endurance training and away from wasting valuable time on outdated methods which were not serving their needs. Although it has worked well and continues to do so for thousands of athletes around the world, I soon saw the need for an even more specific peaking protocol that could be used when preparing for an actual fight or competition. It was with this in mind that I created the fourth phase of my interval program.
The following program details are outlined based on the assumption that you have used or at least read my original interval program. Remember Phase 4 was designed with competition preparation in mind. If you have never done any interval training I suggest you start with the first three phased plan and work up to this one.
For those of you familiar with my original plan you will notice Phase 4 incorporates maintenance days that use the phase 3 protocols along with days that use longer and shorter work and recovery times. On these “new” days drop the two five minute steady state sections from your 15-minute warm-up period and go directly from the five minutes “easy” to the intervals. As before, finish with a 5-minute cool-down period. This program is designed to expose you to a wider range of stressors then the original plan. On all the work intervals with longer rest periods you should be striving to push to the max, hold nothing back.
On the training days that have multiple sprint intervals during one session, you will complete one set of intervals, rest approximately 2-3 minutes and continue with the next set of intervals. Repeat these work/rest cycles until the entire workout is completed. As your conditioning improves, you will find that the intervals become easier which should translate to more gas in your tank wether on the mat or in the cage.
To add these to a pre-competition schedule, find the date of your event and count back to the start of the phases. If you have never done intervals, start with phase 1 and work up from there. If you have done intervals, just adapt these into your current schedule. Be sure to have a few days (2-3 at least) off from these just before fight day. The days of the week are just examples, work these interval days in to your routine on whatever days work best.
PHASE 4
Week 1 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 1 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 3X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 2X
Week 2 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 2 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 5X
Week 3 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 3 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 4 Monday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds of recovery: 5X
Week 4 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 4X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 6X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10 X
Week 4 Friday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 10X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 12X
The original Taku’s Intervals program is available in the “Free Workouts” section at www.hybridfitness.tv. We plan to launch soon and we’ll keep you updated on the status.
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
Peaking for Competition (Taku’s Intervals: PHASE 4)
In sports the competitive season marks the boundaries of your training cycle(s). For sports such as Football, Basketball etc, you can plan according to the needs or goals of each block such as pre-season, in-season, and post- season. For sports with little or no structured season such as MMA and other combat sports then a more “structured-improvisational” style of planning may be used. Regardless of the sport, the goal of any well designed strength and conditioning program is always the same. Have the athlete(s) at their peak when it is time to compete.
I created my original interval program as a supplemental endurance training plan for combat athletes. I wanted to move people towards energy system specific endurance training and away from wasting valuable time on outdated methods which were not serving their needs. Although it has worked well and continues to do so for thousands of athletes around the world, I soon saw the need for an even more specific peaking protocol that could be used when preparing for an actual fight or competition. It was with this in mind that I created the fourth phase of my interval program.
The following program details are outlined based on the assumption that you have used or at least read my original interval program. Remember Phase 4 was designed with competition preparation in mind. If you have never done any interval training I suggest you start with the first three phased plan and work up to this one.
For those of you familiar with my original plan you will notice Phase 4 incorporates maintenance days that use the phase 3 protocols along with days that use longer and shorter work and recovery times. On these “new” days drop the two five minute steady state sections from your 15-minute warm-up period and go directly from the five minutes “easy” to the intervals. As before, finish with a 5-minute cool-down period. This program is designed to expose you to a wider range of stressors then the original plan. On all the work intervals with longer rest periods you should be striving to push to the max, hold nothing back.
On the training days that have multiple sprint intervals during one session, you will complete one set of intervals, rest approximately 2-3 minutes and continue with the next set of intervals. Repeat these work/rest cycles until the entire workout is completed. As your conditioning improves, you will find that the intervals become easier which should translate to more gas in your tank wether on the mat or in the cage.
To add these to a pre-competition schedule, find the date of your event and count back to the start of the phases. If you have never done intervals, start with phase 1 and work up from there. If you have done intervals, just adapt these into your current schedule. Be sure to have a few days (2-3 at least) off from these just before fight day. The days of the week are just examples, work these interval days in to your routine on whatever days work best.
PHASE 4
Week 1 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 1 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 3X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 2X
Week 2 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 2 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 5X
Week 3 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 3 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 4 Monday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds of recovery: 5X
Week 4 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 4X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 6X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10 X
Week 4 Friday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 10X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 12X
The original Taku’s Intervals program is available in the “Free Workouts” section at www.hybridfitness.tv. We plan to launch soon and we’ll keep you updated on the status.
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
Peaking for Competition (Taku’s Intervals: PHASE 4)
In sports the competitive season marks the boundaries of your training cycle(s). For sports such as Football, Basketball etc, you can plan according to the needs or goals of each block such as pre-season, in-season, and post- season. For sports with little or no structured season such as MMA and other combat sports then a more “structured-improvisational” style of planning may be used. Regardless of the sport, the goal of any well designed strength and conditioning program is always the same. Have the athlete(s) at their peak when it is time to compete.
I created my original interval program as a supplemental endurance training plan for combat athletes. I wanted to move people towards energy system specific endurance training and away from wasting valuable time on outdated methods which were not serving their needs. Although it has worked well and continues to do so for thousands of athletes around the world, I soon saw the need for an even more specific peaking protocol that could be used when preparing for an actual fight or competition. It was with this in mind that I created the fourth phase of my interval program.
The following program details are outlined based on the assumption that you have used or at least read my original interval program. Remember Phase 4 was designed with competition preparation in mind. If you have never done any interval training I suggest you start with the first three phased plan and work up to this one.
For those of you familiar with my original plan you will notice Phase 4 incorporates maintenance days that use the phase 3 protocols along with days that use longer and shorter work and recovery times. On these “new” days drop the two five minute steady state sections from your 15-minute warm-up period and go directly from the five minutes “easy” to the intervals. As before, finish with a 5-minute cool-down period. This program is designed to expose you to a wider range of stressors then the original plan. On all the work intervals with longer rest periods you should be striving to push to the max, hold nothing back.
On the training days that have multiple sprint intervals during one session, you will complete one set of intervals, rest approximately 2-3 minutes and continue with the next set of intervals. Repeat these work/rest cycles until the entire workout is completed. As your conditioning improves, you will find that the intervals become easier which should translate to more gas in your tank wether on the mat or in the cage.
To add these to a pre-competition schedule, find the date of your event and count back to the start of the phases. If you have never done intervals, start with phase 1 and work up from there. If you have done intervals, just adapt these into your current schedule. Be sure to have a few days (2-3 at least) off from these just before fight day. The days of the week are just examples, work these interval days in to your routine on whatever days work best.
PHASE 4
Week 1 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 1 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 3X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 2X
Week 2 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 2 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 5X
Week 3 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 3 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 4 Monday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds of recovery: 5X
Week 4 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 4X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 6X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10 X
Week 4 Friday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 10X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 12X
The original Taku’s Intervals program is available in the “Free Workouts” section at www.hybridfitness.tv. We plan to launch soon and we’ll keep you updated on the status.
PAU for NOW.
TAKU
www.hybridfitness.tv
