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UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN BODY TM

ANTHONY DAISY, M.Ed, CSCS

Training Questions: Formulating and

Monitoring Training for the Strength &
Conditioning Coach
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Forward

Today, there exists an abundance of quality training literature from varying

constructs of knowledge (i.e. empirical, theoretical & practical), and all have their
place in time within the “optimal” planning/training for the athlete. The strength and
conditioning coach is urged to objectively question whether the means and methods
taken from this literature are congruent with the most important training intention:
the athlete’s attainment of sport mastery. The strength and conditioning coach must
also ensure that the general aspects of physical training create the basis for the
perfection of more specific technical-tactical mastery of sport skill, and speed of
execution during the competitive exercise (1). This is of even greater significance
with athletes of higher qualification; for aside from the anomaly, the specific abilities,
not general, result in progress towards the athlete’s sport mastery and personal
performance. This phenomenon has been recently acknowledged in the research of
Dr. Bondarchuk (2), who’s correlate data have pointed out an absent relationship of
training transfer between “general” physical exercises and heightened sport form in
athletes of high qualification in various athletic events. Therefore, it may seem to be
irrational to use these general exercises in an attempt to “directly” manifest sport
form. However, this relationship may not be as strong with athletes involved in team
sports, where game results rely more on tactics rather than on weight room
mastery, or with athletes of lower qualification, where small broad stimuli provoke
sufficient adaptation. The scrupulous review of the physical preparation
dissimilarities, as they relate to the “on field” sporting results at the High School,
Collegiate, Professional or Olympic levels, further reinforces the hypothesis that
general physical preparation serves as a supportive role in the athlete’s sport
mastery attainment. It must also be recognized, however, that physical preparation
is, in fact, necessary in sport preparation, albeit constrained to certain times within
the training, and harmonious with all stimuli invoked by the athlete’s preparation. In
this case, physical preparation, along with all other training, must be monitored and
optimally planned.

Especially in contact sport, the idiosyncrasies of injury, rehabilitation and injury

prevention, may also occupy the primary objective of training, depending on the
peculiar state of the sportsman.

The title, strength and conditioning coach, may prove to be a misnomer, as the
responsibilities of the job must go beyond the scope of what the title simply implies.
The coach must ensure that any sportsman under his/her guidance receive much
more than physical development, if that sportsman is to eventually realize his/her
potential. The integration of physical, psychological, tactical, and technical
preparation to suit sportsmen of varying disciplines, of varying levels of preparation
and qualification in their process of attaining sport mastery is of primary importance
for any coach, regardless of his or her “formal” title. With this said, all coaches must
collaborate when implementing and monitoring their athlete’s training.

It is imperative that any coach carry out continued examination of the sportsman
under his care with careful, critical attention being placed on the training process in
its organic whole. “Control over the course of training can only be effective if one
carries-out regular observations of the dynamics of the sportsman’s state” (1).
Conclusions may be formulated, or solutions to various training problems can be
postulated, based on the resultant outcomes of how the team and/or individual
athletes react to the training methodic(s). This objective scrutiny may steer the
coach away from the, “I do what was done in the past” mentality, which forgoes any
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logic of training science, or the all too common dogmatic trends that create “instant
excellence”, which consumes the industry and hebetates basic, yet effective forms of
exercise.

The abundance of quality training literature is of immense necessity to transcend

performance. However, what is lacking in the literature is an organizational tool that
can be used to partition the vast information available to the coach in a way that
he/she can easily document and formulate planning in an efficient and precise
manner, while also allowing for continued study and scrutiny of the training process.
Employing such a task of simple management is essentially a utilitarian aspect of a
coach’s job.

Therefore, the principal aim of this guidance is to document, organize and monitor
the athlete’s training in a quick and efficient manner. It is meant to manage and
highlight the various aspects of training, by questioning the training process, and
thereby keeping the coach aware of the athlete’s past, present and future training
state.

Anthony Daisy

1. Verkhoshansky, Y. V. (1985). Programming and Organization of Training. Moscow:

Fizkultura I Spovt.

2. Bondarchuk, A. P. (2007). Transfer of Training in Sport. Michigan: Ultimate Athlete

Concepts.
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ATHLETE INFORMATION
-Target group/ level of experience in physical preparation?

-Target group/ level of experience in sport preparation?

-What is the training age of the athlete?

-What is the chronological age of the athlete?

-What is the athlete’s pre-training physical condition?

PREVIOUS TRAINING
-What has the athlete done (in terms of training means/ methodics) for the past 4
weeks?

-What has the athlete done (in terms of training means/ methodics) for the past 12
weeks?

-What has the athlete done (in terms of training means/ methodics) for the past 52
weeks?

-What was the purpose of the previous training plans?

-What cumulative training effects will you expect from the previous training going
into the current training?

-How has my program developed over the course of the season/ training years?
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INITIAL TRAINING QUESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING PROPER TRAINING

METHODS
-What is the purpose of the training plan?

-Where would you integrate this type of training into an annual plan?

-Where are the most important competitions?

-Have you developed a time table- and work backwards?

-Where, within the training year, will the athlete peak?

-What training effect do you want to achieve?

Cumulative? (any latencies expected)

-What phase of training is the athlete in?

Early Off-season
Late Off-season
Early Pre-season
Late Pre-season
In-season
Taper
Recovery
GPP
SPP
Training Camp

-What training methodic will be used? Why?

Concurrent
Complex-parallel
Conjugate/Block
Linear
Undulating

-How many weeks will the Macrocycles last?

-How long will the Mesocycles last?

-How will the training change from training block to training block?

-How will the loading/training change from microcycle to microcycle?

-How will the training change from workout to workout?

-What training intensities will be used?

-What load volumes will be used?

-What exercises (means) will be used?

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-Why have you chosen these exercises?

- at those volumes
- in that order
- within a workout
- in that order over a course of a microcycle

-What is the primary stressor?

-What percentage of training volume will be devoted to

Physical
Technical
Tactical
Psychological
Rehabilitation

-What percentage of special exercises make up each training phase Macrocycle

-What bio-motor abilities are needed in the sport?

-What special strength qualities are needed in the sport?

-What are the positional strength requirements?

-What are the sport physiological requirements?

-What are the sport positional physiological requirements?

-How does the athlete measure up with these qualities?

-What energy systems needs for the athlete during the game?

-What are the energy system needs for the athlete during practices?

-How will the conditioning components be trained?

-What is the average heart rate during the game at each position?

-What are the ranges of heart rate during the game?

-Is the conditioning congruent with these heart rates?

-What work capacity is needed?

-How does the athlete measure up with these qualities?

-What is the load volume for conditioning?

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TRAINING SPECIFICS
-Optimal training time (of day)? According to work/school schedule etc.?

-What is the readiness of your athlete to train?

-Are the most important workouts done when the athlete’s are most
“fresh”?
-What is your daily training target?

-What are your mesocycle targets?

-What are your macrocycle targets?

-What is the loading parameter that corresponds to ME, DE, SE, RE?

-Are exercises rotated to avoid stagnation?

-Is ME training deloaded every 4-6 weeks?

-Is SE training the “better” alternative than ME in-season?

-What exercises (means) will be used?

-Do you have alternative means?

-What means are low in specificity?

-What means are high in specificity?

-Do these means correspond to the principle of dynamic correspondence?

-What are the expected training effects of the means and methods used?

-What will be done within the individual workout?

-What will be done during the warm up
-General warm up/Specific Warm up
Various stretching, mobility & prehab work, drills, technical work,
psychological drills, stimulation work etc.
-Is the warm up consistent and reliable?
-Does the warm up sufficiently warm the athlete up and prepare
him/her for the training or competition?

-What will be done during the training session?

-does the training session accomplish its intended targets?

-What will be done during the cool down?

Low intensity exercises
Breathing relaxing exercises
Stretching exercises
Extra work/RE

-Do all training sessions include:

movement preparation?
technique and technical work?
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flexibility/mobility/stability work?
injury prevention/rehabilitation work?
“core” work?
cardiovascular work?
strength training?
recovery/regeneration?

-Does each training session fulfill some degree of GPP and SPP, albeit to a greater
or lesser extent?

-Have you adhered to training economy?

-For training efficiency, are simple training means used instead of complex
means?

-How will you individualize the team training?

-How will individual workouts differ with athletes of different physical preparation

-Are you giving optimal instruction to your athletes when they are training?

-Are the athletes aware of the intended training targets?

TESTING AND MONITORING

-What is the current & target state of preparedness?

-What is your prediction of how your athletes will respond to their current plan?

-How will you test the programming efficacy?

-How will they be measured?
-why are you measuring them in this manner?

-What are your indicator exercises?

-Are you aware of means that test well in the weight room, but show little
correspondence to sport form?

-What physiological tests will be given?

-When are your test days within the yearly plan?

-Are One-Two tests performed monthly, assessing special-physical and technical-

preparedness?

-Are you keeping tests consistent?

-Are you aware of the significance between readiness vs preparedness

-does this show by the training- means/methodics selected?
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PSCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION

-What are the athletes’ perceptions/attitudes of physical development?

-Do the means ensure a proper psychological mindset (one that will be
experienced during competition)?

-Do the means ensure that there is no apprehension in their execution?

-Is there a psychological framework installed in the training?

RECOVERY

-Where are your restoration days?

-Is sufficient recovery given after workouts?

-What stimulus preceded the restoration day?

-What exercises are performed during recovery days?

-Does the athlete need therapy? When? Why?

-What volume/intensity will be performed during recovery days?

NUTRITION

-Is the athlete trying to make weight?

-Is the athlete trying to gain weight?

-Is the athlete trying to lose weight?

-Is the athlete trying to lose fat?

-Is the athlete trying to actively improve body composition?

-Have you accounted for the energy expenditure of training when calculating
daily energy requirements?

-Are you addressing peri-workout nutrition?

-Is the athlete taking in sufficient Macro- and Micro- Nutrients to support their
training
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MISCELLANEOUS
General Client Information
Training Goals-

Training History-

Injury/Rehab History-

Stats- age, height, weight, estimated body fat percentage

Body Type-

Typical Dietary Habits-

Problematic Exercises-

Weakness-

Equipment Restrictions-

Occupation-

Work Environment-

Consideration of Non-Training Activity-

Ideal Training Schedule-

Previous 12 Weeks of Training-

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Orthopedic Assessment (performed by contracted PT/ATC or Orthopedic

Surgeon)
History-

Static assessment-

Dynamic assessment-

Manual muscle tests-

Special tests-

Compensatory movements-

Tightness-

Weaknesses-

Deficiencies in form during competitive exercise-

Deficiencies in form during weight exercises-

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REHABILITATION/PREHABILITATION
-Is the athlete injured?
Where
Does the injury affect training

-What rehab is needed?

Any imbalances

-Is a rehabilitation professional available within the network?

-Where will the recovery be programmed?

-Where/what is the athlete’s weakness?

-Has a dynamic assessment taken place?

-Has a static assessment taken place?

-What means/methods will be used for rehab?

-What means/methods will be used for prehab?

-How does the athlete move during the competitive exercise?

-are there any compensatory movements during a particular exercise

-Have you developed a needs analysis?