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You are here: Home / Blog

Blog

Rugby Specialization

Navigating the Global Landscape of Youth Sports Specialization

Blog| ByRyan Hicks

Rugby Specialization

As coaches, we excel in the delicate ballet between research and reality. Each day, we are forced to reconcile academic best practices with the stark realities we encounter. This is particularly relevant in the discussion of early sports specialization. In this high-stakes gamble between long-term health and immediate success, we often don’t know whether we’ve gone bust until long after that athlete has left our care.

Unlike a chef who can instantly recognize a charred steak, the repercussions of our decisions as coaches may take years to manifest—and by that time, they likely won’t be attributed back to us. I’ll admit, in my most insecure moments, this prospect haunts me.

Every once in a while, I receive messages from athletes that I haven’t trained since their teenage years. It’s usually a question about training methods or issues related to their current injuries. Knowing that they still value my opinion after all these years brings me a sense of accomplishment that far surpasses any trophy or medal. Yet, I can’t help but grapple with the nagging thoughts: “How much did I contribute to that injury?” and “What about the athletes who had to retire due to injuries?”

Unlike a chef who can instantly recognize a charred steak, the repercussions of our decisions as coaches may take years to manifest, says @_RyanHicks. Share on X

These lingering thoughts inspired me to write this article and explore the complex landscape of early sports specialization while reflecting on my experiences as a coach. I draw upon the challenges faced working across different continents, from my time as an elementary school PE teacher to my role as a performance coach for developing teens and established professionals.

The State of Play

Type “early specialization” into any search engine and it’s clear that this is a hot topic—I found at least eight TED Talks dedicated to it. Head over to your go-to research database and you’ll find enough data to make your head spin.

So, what does the current research tell us?

A commonly used definition of early sports specialization is the practice of engaging in intensive training in a single sport for more than eight months a year and typically beginning at a young age—often as early as 5 or 6, but normally before ages 12-13 or adolescence.1 However, any coach with a basic understanding of load management knows this barely scratches the surface. Diving deeper, several studies have attempted to qualify early specialization using weekly hours and categorizing participation as low, moderate, or highly specialized.2,3

Concerns raised by researchers include:

Physical Effects

  • Increased Injury Risk: Young athletes who specialize early are at a higher risk of overuse injuries due to repetitive movement patterns.5,2
  • Delayed Physical Development: Early specialization can impede the natural physical development of young athletes, leading to imbalances and long-term health issues.6,7

Psychological Effects

  • Burnout: A singular focus on one sport can lead to emotional exhaustion and a diminished passion for the game, particularly in young athletes who feel pressure to perform.8,9
  • Increased Anxiety: Young athletes may experience heightened competitive anxiety, which can negatively impact performance and overall enjoyment of the sport.10,11.12

Social Effects

  • Reduced Social Interaction: Specializing early often limits opportunities for young athletes to engage in diverse social activities and develop interpersonal skills that come from playing multiple sports.1,13
  • Family Pressure: Families may inadvertently create an environment of high expectations that can strain relationships and lead to feelings of inadequacy in young athletes.14,15,16

Developmental Effects

  • Narrow Skill Set: Focusing on one sport too early can hinder the development of a well-rounded athletic skill set, making it harder for athletes to adapt to new demands later in their sporting careers.7,17
  • Limited Career Longevity: Early specialization often corresponds with shorter athletic careers, as the athlete may burn out or sustain injuries that curtail their potential.18

As expected, this data is not without its critics, and rightly so.

Many of these studies fail to adequately account for the number of sports and recreational activities individuals engage in during that period, or how time is distributed among them.  Furthermore, other stressors, such as academic demands, are often overlooked.

As shown by my rugby academy player example, it will often fall on us as the performance coaches to deviate from the program or regress if we believe it's in the best interest of the athlete, says @_RyanHicks. Share on X

It has also been noted that a number of the studies in the area suffer from considerable selection and recall bias18; meaning they rely on self-reported data from athletes, their parents, or coaches. Further still, many don’t consider other potentially influential variables in their studies, such as stage of physical maturation.16

Despite these shortcomings, we should probably cut researchers in this field a little slack. Even with clear definitions, standardizing research with this population is a daunting task.

And let me be clear, as a performance coach and a father, I am by no means endorsing early specialization. After all, S&C coaches make careers out of instructing athletes to perform auxiliary exercise, with the aim of enhancing performance in their primary activity. For me to suggest varied physical activity doesn’t offer a beneficial “cross-training” effect would be absurd.

Additionally, as coaches, we understand better than most just how slim the chances are for an athlete to succeed. Supporting this perspective, a 2019 NCAA study revealed that only 1.2% of high school athletes advance to Division I level sport and this figure predictably declines to less than 1% for those making it to the professional ranks.20

So, why are so many young athletes, parents, and coaches willing to risk it all? One explanation is the societal trend for immediate success and fame, along with the allure of potential scholarships or professional contracts make it worth the gamble.

Early Specialization in Europe and America

The tradition of youth academies in European sport is well-established, with renowned institutions like FC Barcelona’s La Masia and Manchester United’s Academy being recognized talent mills. Lionel Messi serves as a prime example. His journey illustrates how early specialization can cultivate incredible talent in a supportive environment that also nurtures personal growth.

However, not all athletes experience the same trajectory; there are poignant stories of individuals who struggled under the weight of early expectations. My experience working with rugby academies is no different. Most athletes participated in rugby nearly year-round. While they participated in other sports, this created a different issue.
Rugby Academy
These talented individuals were often asked to participate in nearly every competitive school sport. As you can imagine, these driven youngsters, who never shy away from a challenge, jumped at the chance. Kids like this want to support their friends and put more trophies in the school cabinet, often at the expense of their own well-being. By the time two-thirds of the academic year had passed, I frequently had conversations with coaches asking, “What have you done with athlete X? He’s packed on some muscle,” to which I would reply, “I gave him two weeks off.” Naturally, these imposed breaks were often met with protest from the athletes, but they quickly learned the value of rest once they saw the rebound in their recovery markers.

Whilst the academy system isn't fully adopted in American sport, early specialization is still prominent, says @_RyanHicks. Share on X

Whilst the academy system isn’t fully adopted in American sport, early specialization is still prominent. Programs such as travel baseball and club basketball place a heavy emphasis on sport-specific training from an early age with the carrot being dangled of a pathway to higher education and professional leagues. Recent changes to NCAA rules likely won’t help the situation either.

I fully agree that athletes deserve a share of the fortune that’s being made off of their backs, but try telling a high school football player to take a day off once they learn how much Shedeur Sanders is earning. I recently witnessed a top high school football induction where the coaches asked players why they were there. The first kid replied, “To grow my brand.”

Watching the different coach’s facial reactions to this comment was incredibly entertaining.  But this left me with a question: as an industry that stresses the importance of empathy, are we doing enough to truly understand parents’ and athletes’ drive to specialize early?

Early Specialization in Southeast Asia

Something that never fails to amaze me is how many unconscious biases creep into my thinking. I often believe I’ve been thoughtful, levelheaded, and considerate—then, whack, it hits like an ex-professional tight-head prop turned coach, taking a sly jab at the S&C coach during a friendly game of touch rugby.

If you think you’re immune to this trap, grab your kit bag and head to the other side of the planet from where you currently sit. It’ll likely be the most accelerated learning experience you’ll ever have.

A few years back, I had the incredible opportunity to coach in Southeast Asia. I entered the role fully aware of the differing practices I would encounter, or so I thought. In fact, the cultural shift was one of the aspects that excited me most: an opportunity to reevaluate my methods and principles in a truly different setting.

One of the first things that instantly struck me was the intensity with which these athletes pursued their craft. The pressure to succeed and excel extended beyond personal ambition; it was a responsibility to their families that I had never witnessed before.

What I hadn’t fully considered was how the economic landscape dramatically influenced early sports specialization. Sure, I’ve seen rugby players from working-class backgrounds earn scholarships and pro contracts, but for these young athletes, success in sports can lead to financial stability for their entire extended family. We’re not talking about a new truck for dad or a home for mom; these athletes can create multi-generational wealth. Even being on the bottom rung of a government-sponsored program could provide an income that eclipsed the national average wage.

For example, I worked with a highly successful Paralympic athlete who became a national star. His success supported multiple families back in his hometown. Before joining the national program, he left school early to help provide for his family by paving roads. While I respect those who take on such jobs—someone has to do it—given the choice between full-time training or manual labor in annual daily temperatures exceeding 80°F (27°C), I know which path I’m choosing. Yes, I might end up hating the sport and suffer physical and psychological injuries, but I’d like to know how that differs from a career in construction.
Paralympic Athlete
This realization left me feeling embarrassed: who am I, with my relatively privileged perspective, to question their motivations? While the same risks apply to them, their choices look profoundly different. For these athletes, sport is not just a passion; it’s a lifeline and a pathway to a better life, despite the considerable risks involved.

Moreover, athletes in this region often see neighboring countries, notorious for early specialization, achieve success on the world stage. Just look at the Chinese diving team at the 2024 Olympics—they took home seven gold medals out of eight events. I’ve seen firsthand how this program doesn’t meet our Western ideals, and it’s eye-opening to observe.

These young divers are drilled as early as ages 6 and 7 in China’s sports academies. These schools follow a rigorous selection process with highly focused and intensive training methodologies that can be hard for a Western-educated coach to watch. My personal experience of witnessing these practices is etched into my memory as some of the most difficult moments of my professional career.

In Southeast Asia, we're not talking about a new truck for dad or a home for mom; these athletes can create multi-generational wealth, says @_RyanHicks. Share on X

While this system has undoubtedly brought success on the world stage, it’s hard to morally justify the risk-reward equation at play here. Crucially, the countries that I’ve seen attempt to emulate the Chinese model often overlook a key factor—population size. Lacking the vast talent pool that nations like China possess, and considering estimates that only 0.01% of competitive athletes reach the Olympics, these programs can impose unsustainable pressure on young athletes.

Imagine for a moment that you’re the performance coach in this scenario. How much extra volume will you throw on top of a young athlete’s load for the sake of variety? This assumes, of course, that they listen to you in the first place.

Putting moral arguments aside, this approach poses an interesting question: in sports where technical skills are crucial, can such mastery be achieved without a singular focus? Given what we know about Hebbian learning, the role of the cerebellum and basal ganglia in movement refinement, as well as the importance of myelination and synaptic pruning for neural efficiency, at what age should we start training these skills to align with an athlete’s physical peak?

Such examples continue to question the role of specialization in achieving excellence. Is our globalized world pushing more societies towards this hyper-focus on early specialization? And are we as coaches paying close enough attention to these societal pressures before implementing training plans?

Cultural Contradictions

Why do we continue to see a push toward early specialization? Well, in the West at least, it could be a reflection of our conflicted society. On one hand, we express concerns about this trend; on the other, we celebrate young prodigies who achieve success through relentless dedication.

Take Simone Biles—her journey perfectly encapsulates this contradiction. Starting from just 8 years old, she devoted herself to gymnastics, training tirelessly to become a sensation. This unwavering commitment has deservedly earned her “GOAT” status. However, her challenges in Tokyo are rarely linked to early specialization risks. Instead, the media frames her story as a testament to the power of dedication and hard work

This isn’t a one-off. Every day, sports media celebrate someone who completes 1,000 repetitive motions. YouTube rakes in millions of views of child music prodigies, and parents proudly share stories of kids dedicating hours to academics. In a society that preaches 10,000-hour rules and “practice makes perfect,” it’s no surprise that children feel pressured to specialize. And so, the cycle continues.

Crucially, the countries that I've seen attempt to emulate the Chinese model often overlook a key factor—population size, says @_RyanHicks. Share on X

Anecdotally, many of the most interesting and successful people I know were singularly focused from a young age. As adults, you can see the experience has left its scars, but name one person who reached the pinnacle of their field while maintaining a sense of “balance”?

This links to the idea of “Post-Traumatic Growth” (PTG), which suggests that overcoming adversity can lead to strengths, resilience, and new perspectives. But, as Angela Duckworth points out, children who experience trauma need a supportive environment with caring mentors or stable relationships to help them turn those experiences into grit instead of negative outcomes.

Ethical Support Systems: Ensuring Holistic Development

Most practitioners who have mentored young athletes will likely agree that pressure and adversity are integral to a rounded development, but as subject matter experts, we owe a duty of care to those we mentor. We must not shy away from our responsibility within the young athlete’s support structure.

Pressure may forge diamonds, but it also crushes other equally precious gems.

Blaming the issue on sports management or our cultural traditions isn’t wrong, but what does that do to help our athletes on Monday morning?

Shifting perspectives on early specialization is a formidable task, and contemplating the concept as a whole is enough to overwhelm even the most ambitious coach. Instead, I believe we need to take advice from our own playbook and concentrate on what we can control. What actionable steps can we take today to make a meaningful impact?

1. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Be the Glue

I’ve always sought to promote a unified approach to youth athlete development where possible. Good relationships and trust among everyone involved form a supportive backdrop for athletes’ growth. This approach not only emphasizes their physical development but also prioritizes emotional and social well-being,19 enabling athletes to thrive in every aspect of their lives.

For me, learning to master difficult conversations was transformative in this process. It allowed me to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration among coaches, educators, and parents. I found the book “Crucial Conversations” to be a great starting point for reflecting on my communication skills. I say starting point, because I believe this is one of those skills that can be continuously improved.

2. Balance Long-Term and Current Development

As youth coaches, part of our mission is to equip athletes with a toolbox that ensures their success once they move on from our program—but not at the expense of their current development. For instance, while I rarely program complex Olympic lift derivatives for high-school athletes, there’s a high chance they’ll go into a program that does. At a bare minimum, I want them to be proficient in the underlying movement patterns and know how to successfully bail a lift.

I believe a well-designed curriculum should strike a balance with such structured practice and free play. This ensures that athletes not only develop fundamental movement patterns but also foster a love for physical exploration.19 That’s not to say we can’t develop specific physical qualities while also promoting free play. The rise of the Constraints-Led Approach has demonstrated how we can adjust tasks and environments to influence behavior while fostering creativity and adaptability. Sprinkle in an emphasis on autonomy, add competitive elements, and I believe you have the perfect environment for learning.

3. Monitoring and Adapting Training Programs

As shown by my rugby academy player example, it will often fall on us as the performance coaches to deviate from the program or regress if we believe it’s in the best interest of the athlete. In a perfect world, programmed recovery weeks would suffice, but these weeks often get filled with other strenuous activities. In these situations, having a standardized monitoring system has been essential.

When developing load monitoring systems, I ask myself these five questions:

  1. Can it alert me to something we believe needs to change?
  2. Can it detect things that need changing that we are currently unaware of?
  3. Can it be done with validity, reliability, and in a simple and timely manner?
  4. Does it allow me to easily adjust training for each athlete’s unique needs and growth stages?
  5. Is it informing training or is it detracting from it?

Though my methods for load monitoring have evolved over time, these qualifying questions have remained constant. Meeting this criteria has provided confidence during those difficult conversations with athletes and their support teams as I know my decisions are grounded in solid rationale.

I believe a well-designed curriculum should strike a balance with such structured practice and free play to ensure athletes develop fundamental movement patterns and foster a love for physical exploration, says @_RyanHicks. Share on X

In full transparency, while I’ve seldom shied away from boldly sharing my decisions with other stakeholders, improving those communication skills has allowed me to be more tactful in making them agree.

4. Education and Support for Parents: We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know

It’s essential to equip parents with knowledge about the risks and benefits of early specialization. After all, our education system doesn’t adequately teach nutrition, rest, and mental well-being for adults, let alone developing children. Just as I’ve always tailored my coaching to cater to different learning styles, I try to do the same for parents.

I’ve found that, for the most part, people fit somewhere between the following three categories. Covering these bases has helped me communicate this valuable message and build parent trust.

The Learner (Step-By-Step)

  • Who It Appeals To: Parents who thrive on clear, methodical instructions and want in-depth guidance to feel confident in executing tasks.
  • Content: Detailed, step-by-step instructions for parents who prefer structure and precision.
  • Format: Written manuals, thorough video tutorials, and detailed checklists.

The Explorer (Hands-On Learning)

  • Who It Appeals To: Parents who enjoy learning through experience, experimenting with different approaches, and seeing demonstrations in action.
  • Content: A variety of multimedia formats that engage parents in active learning.
  • Format: Interactive videos, workshops, and role-playing exercises.

The Doer (Quick Reference)

  • Who It Appeals To: Parents who prefer minimal theory and just need something practical they can use immediately.
  • Content: Simplified cheat sheets or quick guides that are handy during the task itself.
  • Format: Cheat sheets, infographics, task flow charts, and mobile-friendly reference guides.

Yes, creating resources takes a lot of time. In my experience, it’s well worth the effort. Not only does it help parents better understand what we want to achieve in our sports program but it also confirms our commitment to their child’s development. Plus, having clear and accessible resources can assist in minimizing confusion and misunderstandings, ultimately leading to a more positive experience for both parents and athletes.

5. Cultivate Athletes Who Ace Both Fields

Over the years, I’ve received more than one call from a disgruntled academic advisor inquiring whether an athlete was at training instead of attending class. Admittedly, as I watched them sprint around the field in front of me, my personal disdain for authority and aversion to classrooms tempted me to swiftly say “get lost.” However, I’ve come to realize that programs tackling athletic and scholastic achievement better prepare athletes for life on and off the field.22

I’ve learned the wiser move is to get academic advisors and other educators on your side early. This could be as straightforward as reaching out to synchronize study halls or tutoring sessions with practice timings. By taking these steps, we ensure that young athletes aren’t put in a position where they’re forced to choose between sports and education. Moreover, a lot of youngsters haven’t learned to play “the game” yet, and by the nature of their developmental stage, they will make mistakes. Having some goodwill built up with academic departments can be invaluable if you ever have to go to bat and advocate for an athlete facing the consequences of a less-than-ideal decision

6. And…Better Empathize

I encourage us all to pause and reflect on whether we truly understand our athletes’ and parents’ aspirations or motivations. Are we imposing our own wants or prejudices onto them?

Investing time to ask about their concerns and objectives has served me well. Although, here’s something I’ve been guilty of forgetting—making sure to actually listen. Remembering to do this fosters trust, and you might just uncover something you didn’t see coming.

I believe we should strive to build environments where nurturing future talent goes hand in hand with addressing the urgent needs of today. By embracing different perspectives and fostering empathy, we can better support young athletes on their journeys, helping them prepare for both challenges and successes.

As mentors, our role isn’t just about building athletic skills; it’s about guiding these young rockstars to become resilient, well-rounded adults.

Don’t get bogged down by the bigger picture; focus on what you can change today, and keep in mind that our true success isn’t just in the medals we win, but in the lives we positively impact.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


References

1. Côté, J., Lidor, R., & Hackfort, D. (2009). ISSP position stand: To sample or to specialize? Seven postulates about youth sport activities that lead to continued participation and elite performance. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1), 7-17.

2. Jayanthi, N. A., LaBella, C. R., Fischer, D., Pasulka, J., & Dugas, L. R. (2015). Sports-specialized intensive training and the risk of injury in young athletes: A clinical case-control study. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 43(4), 794-801.

3. Brito, J., Malina, R. M., Seabra, A., et al. (2012). Injuries in Portuguese youth soccer players during training and match play. Journal of Athletic Training, 47(2), 191-197.

4. Fabricant, P. D., Lakomkin, N., Sugimoto, D., et al. (2016). Youth sports specialization and musculoskeletal injury: A systematic review of the literature. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 44(3), 257-262.

5. Woods, C. T., McKeown, I., Keogh, J., & Robertson, S. (2018). The association between fundamental athletic movements and physical fitness in elite junior Australian footballers. Journal of Sports Sciences, 36(4), 445-450.

6. Bell, D. R., Post, E. G., Trigsted, S. M., Schaefer, D. A., McGuine, T. A., & Brooks, M. A. (2018). Prevalence of sport specialization in high school athletics: A 1-year observational study. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(6), 1469-1474.

7. Côté, J., & Vierimaa, M. (2014). The developmental model of sport participation: 15 years after its first conceptualization. Science & Sports, 29(Supplement), S63-S69.

8. Myer, G. D., Jayanthi, N., Difiori, J. P., Faigenbaum, A. D., Kiefer, A. W., Logerstedt, D., & Micheli, L. J. (2015). Sports specialization, part II: Alternative solutions to early sport specialization in youth athletes. Sports Health, 7(5), 437-442.

9. Jayanthi, N., Pinkham, C., Dugas, L., Patrick, B., & LaBella, C. (2013). Sports specialization in young athletes: Evidence-based recommendations. Sports Health, 5(3), 251-257.

10. Smith, R. E. (1986). Toward a cognitive-affective model of athletic burnout. Journal of Sport Psychology, 8(1), 36-50.

11. Gould, D., & Whitley, M. A. (2009). Sources and consequences of athletic burnout among college athletes. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 2(1), 16-30.

12. Goodger, K., Gorely, T., Lavallee, D., & Harwood, C. (2007). Burnout in sport: A systematic review. The Sport Psychologist, 21(2), 127-151.

13. Fraser-Thomas, J., Côté, J., & Deakin, J. (2008). Understanding dropout and prolonged engagement in adolescent competitive sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 9(5), 645-662.

14. Wiersma, L. D. (2000). Risks and benefits of youth sport specialization: Perspectives and recommendations. Pediatric Exercise Science, 12(1), 13-22.

15. Harwood, C. G., & Knight, C. J. (2015). Parenting in youth sport: A position paper on parenting expertise. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 16(1), 24-35.

16. Baker, J., & Young, B. W. (2014). 20 years later: Deliberate practice and the development of expertise in sport. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 7(1), 135-157.

17. Gulbin, J. P., & Weissensteiner, J. R. (2013). Functional sport expertise systems. Talent Development & Excellence, 5(1), 25-43.

18. DiFiori, J. P., Benjamin, H. J., Brenner, J. S., Gregory, A. M., Jayanthi, N., Landry, G. L., & Luke, A. (2014). Overuse injuries and burnout in youth sports: A position statement from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 48(4), 287-295.

19. Aspen Institute. (2015). Sport for All, Play for Life: A Playbook to Get Every Kid in the Game. Project Play. Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program.

20. NCAA. (2019). Estimated Probability of Competing in Professional Athletics. Retrieved from here.

21. Malina, R. M., Rogol, A. D., Cumming, S. P., Coelho e Silva, M. J., & Figueiredo, A. J. (2016). Biological maturation of youth athletes: Assessment and implications. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(13), 852-859.

22. Cronin, L. D., & Allen, J. B. (2017). The development of a sport-specific measure of need satisfaction: A sociocultural perspective. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 28, 119-130.

Olympic Lift Volleyball

A Percentage-Free Way to Ensure Olympic Lifting Gains

Blog| ByCole Hergott

Olympic Lift Volleyball

If you’re an S&C Coach, you probably sit on one side or the other of the Olympic lifting fence. Whether you use them or not, it is hard to deny their benefits for athletes. Whether you are chasing force production, rate of force development, or even mobility, it’s hard to deny that these benefits (and more) can be gained by getting good at the clean or snatch variations.

I personally competed in Olympic Weightlifting for over five years, so I know firsthand how challenging and fun they can be. Because of that, you might look at me and say, “Oh, you must be an Olympic lifting guy.” However, even I don’t use them with all my teams and athletes. For me, they are just tools in the toolbox—I can use the tools to get those benefits, but they are not the only ones I have (nor should they be for you). I most often use them with our volleyball teams, but also have used them with soccer, track and field, and rugby. Plus, I typically just use the hang power variations of snatch and clean, sometimes dabbling into other variations (muscle snatch, clean pulls, etc). More often than not, I will stick with the basics (and easiest to learn), which are the hang power variations. “Hang” meaning the movement starts above the knees and “power” meaning you catch it above 90 degrees.

I want to share with you the way I program Olympic lifts and how I have used this system to develop some pretty powerful kids who throw up some HUGE weight, says @chergott9. Share on X

When I competed in weightlifting, I had a coach who would write my programs. Those would be periodized out with percentages so that I would peak for my next competition. As an S&C coach for athletes, I very rarely use percentages. While I would love to dive into my thoughts on that, that is a topic for another article.

So, your next thought might be, “How do you program Olympic Lifts for your athletes without percentages?” That is a great question and the main idea behind this article.

The Rep-Drop Method

I want to share with you the way I program Olympic lifts and how I have used this system to develop some pretty powerful kids who throw up some HUGE weight.


Video 1. Here is one of our volleyball guys throwing 3 plates around for a double. Crazy.

For starters, Olympic lifting is much more technical that other lifts. When it comes to progressing in the Olympic lifts, it can be quite easy at first because there is such a large skill component to it and you are able to increase the weight simply by getting better at the skill of doing them.

But, once your technique becomes “good,” the gains come very slowly. Yes, they come slow for squats, bench, and deadlifts too once you are moderately trained, but I have found that a technical lift like the Olympic variations come even slower. While I do not exactly know why, my best guess would be simply because the exercise is so technical. Plus, it’s done very fast, so it isn’t something you can just “grind through” like a heavy bench or squat set. You either get the rep or not within the first 0.5 seconds. So, if you are feeling at all sluggish that day, it’s over for you.

For an S&C coach who doesn’t use percentages, and whose athletes don’t compete in that as a sport, what is the best way to prescribe sets and reps to ensure gains? Here is my answer, says @chergott9. Share on X

Using percentages in Olympic Weightlifting can be a great way to wave load, deload, and accumulate volume so that you can hit your PRs at the right time (in competition). But for an S&C coach who doesn’t use percentages, and whose athletes don’t compete in that as a sport, what is the best way to prescribe sets and reps to ensure gains? Here is my answer and what I have found to work quite well over the last 3-4 years with my teams.

This is actually quite simple, and while I have used it with other exercises (squats, bench) I find that it works the best for the Olympic variations. Therefore, I consistently use it with them. For weight selection, I always encourage athletes to choose a weight they can confidently get for four reps at first, then each week we progress. The idea is not to hit a 4RM Week1, then a 3RM Week 2, etc., but to gain experience hitting good quality reps to learn the movement for the heavier work to come.

  • Week 1: 4 x 4
  • Week 2: 4, 4, 3, 3
  • Week 3: 4 x 3
  • Week 4: 3, 3, 2, 2
  • Week 5: 4 x 2
  • Week 6: 4, 3, 2, 1
  • Week 7: Restart at 4 x 4

Simple, right?

There are probably many reasons why it actually works physiologically, but here are three reasons I like it:

  1. With an explosive movement, you want more volume to get the most benefits from it as well as more “practice” to learn the technique (hard to learn with one set). So, doing four is a great way to get lots of work on it without taking too much time (we only have one-hour slots and more exercises to do in a session than just these).
  2. Doing five reps is cardio with Olympic Lifting (especially for volleyball players), hence I drop the hard/accumulation weeks to four reps. Still sucks, though.
  3. With this, you have six weeks of programming all lined up. Six weeks is a great amount of time to make gains and progress over the course of a semester. And the progression makes it simple to add weight because there are less reps every week. By dropping a rep each week, athletes have a better chance of adding more weight to the bar.

While the first six weeks are great, Week 7 is where the magic starts to happen. The goal when you restart in Week 7 is that you do more weight. So, while the weight you use for four reps in Week 1 might not change when you do four reps in Week 2, the goal is that you add 5-10 lbs to at least one set of four when you hit Week 7. Then, more weight in Week 8 than Week 2, and so on. It sounds simple and maybe too easy, but it really does work.

Giving athletes a chance to go for it and do more weight than they have ever done before is a pretty potent training stimulus and effective way to challenge the mind and body, says @chergott9. Share on X

I know progressive overload is something we all preach (add weight to the bar), but this six-week cycle gives athletes time to not only get stronger but get better at the movement with lots of reps. Because we perform so many reps, when we get around to the second or third cycle, they are able to add weight. This way, we aren’t forcing more weight onto the bar with the same rep scheme week to week and we end up “starfishing” our catches. We add weight because the reps go down. Then, we are able to add weight because we are more powerful and better at cleaning or snatching.

Plus, with this style, every six weeks you get a shot at a new PR (personal record). I always tell athletes that you don’t HAVE to hit a 1RM those weeks, but just go for something heavy. I know the injury risk of Olympic lifting isn’t super high, but it isn’t exactly low as far as weight room exercises go—so having them max out is not something I am a huge fan of all the time, especially in-season. However, giving athletes a chance to “go for it” if they feel good and do more weight than they have ever done before is a pretty potent training stimulus and effective way to challenge the mind and body.

There you have it. Simple. Effective.

Trusting the Process

As mentioned, I have been using this with some of our teams—primarily volleyball teams—365 days a year for the last 3-4 years straight (save for a couple weeks here and there where we take a break from these lifts). Obviously, it takes lots of hard work and commitment to the process, but I have been blessed to work with athletes who trust me, work hard, and love to learn and get better at these lifts. Plus, these athletes have often commented on how much better they feel on the court, how confident they feel, and how much higher they are jumping. Over the last couple of years, the most frequent comment their coaches give me is “Cole, the team is looking very physical,” so I feel like that is a good thing to hear!

Again, you can see the video above of our volleyball teams getting after it, or find more on our Instagram page (@twustrength)—they love it! And while their progress is obviously a product of their hard work in the weight room, this template for programming allows that work to create gains and progress to being the beasts they are.

Peace. Gains.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


McDonald Ketogenic Book

Cutting Edge Sports Nutrition and Fat Loss With Lyle McDonald

Freelap Friday Five| ByLyle McDonald, ByKim Goss

McDonald Ketogenic Book

If you’re a coach and don’t know who Lyle McDonald is yet, you need to. I’ve known Lyle for over two decades, and he has always been one step ahead of the mainstream fitness industry in sports nutrition and fat loss.

With an athletic career that spanning three decades, McDonald has “walked the talk” as a cyclist, gymnast, swimmer, triathlete, powerlifter, and speed skater. His interest in sports led him to pursue a degree in kinesiology from UCLA, followed by a lifelong passion for research in nutrition and sports performance.

McDonald got much of the mainstream fitness community’s attention with the 1998 publication of his book, The Ketogenic Diet: A Complete Guide for the Dieter and the Practitioner. Extensively researched, this 323-page nutrition gem provides an extensive review of the pros and cons of this popular, low-carbohydrate diet.

McDonald can dumb down complex research studies for the general population, and his body of work is remarkable. Among his books are The Stubborn Fat Solution, The Protein Book, The Ultimate Diet 2.0, A Guide to Flexible Dieting, Bromocriptine, The Women’s Book: Vol 1, Birth Control and Athletic Performance, and Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports. Whew! And when he’s not pounding away at his keyboard in his home in Austin, Texas, McDonald engages in online consultations through his company bodyrecompositon.com.

McDonald says he is always working on something new, so you don’t see second editions of his books—they’re one and done! Rather than revisiting old material, he would rather invest his time pursuing new topics.

In this exclusive interview, McDonald took time from his busy schedule to answer some of the most controversial questions about sports nutrition and fat loss for athletes. Let’s get started. 

Freelap USA: What is your opinion of intermittent fasting for athletes, and how should training be modified if fat loss is the primary goal?

Lyle McDonald: Intermittent fasting has come to represent many different approaches. Many athletes are probably familiar with Time-Restricted Eating, which involves people eating within a time window of perhaps 8-10 hours. For an athlete who only trains in the evenings or does easy training in the morning, calorie restriction can be effective since the daily food can be situated around the important workouts

It took decades for sports nutrition to realize that a short-distance sprinter or a power athlete has different nutritional needs than a long-duration endurance athlete, says @lylemcdonald23. Share on X

Another approach I’ve used is Alternate Day Fasting (ADF). This approach alternates “fasting” days (really low calorie/high protein days) with days eating at maintenance calories. The way I use it is to have athletes put the “fasting” days on their easier or off-days with the higher calorie days on their big training days. For someone training intensely 3-4 days per week, this can give them 3-4 “diet” days but still support their training effectively.

Workouts should not change much when fat loss is the goal, besides possibly needing to reduce the total training volume. Recovery is down when you’re eating fewer calories (although ADF helps with that), but athletes must maintain their training intensity to avoid losing muscle or performance. I’d rather see an athlete do fewer repetitions or sets but maintain the intensity of the training.

Lyle McDonald books
Image 1: Lyle McDonald is a prolific writer whose books represent the latest in helping athletes achieve physical superiority.

Freelap USA: Recently, ketogenic diets have become a rage in the fitness industry, with specialized keto products available at supermarkets and health food stores. What type of athletes would benefit most from a keto diet?

Lyle McDonald: While ketogenic diets have mainly been promoted for endurance athletes, they are probably more appropriate for strength/power athletes. Those athletes always “knew” they needed more protein and less carbohydrates than the endurance guys. I mean, how many carbs does a triple in the clean and jerk or a sprinter doing 20m repeats really need?

I prefer moderate carbs for strength/power athletes. It needn’t be the 5-6 g/lb (10-12 g/kg) that a road cyclist might need, but 1.5-2.5 g/lb (3-5 g/kg) is a nice balance of enough to support training without being excessive. The downside of keto diets is that they can cause dehydration and mineral loss.

Freelap USA: Supplement ads promise a competitive edge. What supplements should athletes consider using regularly, and how can they determine which companies are legitimate?

Lyle McDonald: I recommend creatine, fish oils, Vitamin D, and a basic multivitamin (since nobody’s diet is perfect all the time) to basically everyone. For sports with a high anaerobic component, beta-alanine seems to have benefits. I don’t know if people consider caffeine a supplement (more of a daily need), but it absolutely improves strength, power, and endurance.

Workouts should not change much when fat loss is the goal, besides possibly needing to reduce the total training volume, says @lylemcdonald23. Share on X

Protein powders can be useful for athletes who have trouble meeting their protein intakes, especially collegiate athletes, as they may be on the run during the day. I think the biggest change is a proliferation of higher-quality vegetarian proteins such as pea and rice proteins, which can be useful for athletes who don’t want or can’t use a dairy-based protein such as casein or whey. These are typically fortified with amino acids, especially leucine, and can give similar results to what we typically think of as higher-quality proteins. Protein bars also provide a quick and easy form of calories and protein, although they are more of a food than a supplement.

How much protein does an athlete need? I have some articles on my website where I give my protein recommendations. Mine tend to be higher than what you’ll usually see, but I set values for lean body mass rather than total bodyweight, since it’s more accurate. For pure endurance athletes, perhaps 0.8-1 g/lb (~1.75-2.2 g/kg) lean body mass would be appropriate. This number goes up when someone is seeking fat loss, and women can often get by with a little bit less for physiological reasons.

For strength/power athletes, 1.0-1.2 g/lb (2.2-2.5 g/kg) lean body mass would be an appropriate daily intake, and while dieting, this might go as high as 1.4-1.5 g/lb (3.0-3.5 g/kg).

I recommend creatine, fish oils, Vitamin D, and a basic multivitamin (since nobody's diet is perfect all the time) to basically everyone, says @lylemcdonald23. Share on X

As for supplement brands, I recommend choosing companies that have been around for a long time. NOW is one of my favorite brands. They’ve been around for decades, and I trust their products to be high quality. Solgar is another U.S. company I’d recommend. If you come across a new company selling something at much lower prices than everyone else, I’d suggest staying away.

One concern with athletes is tainted supplements, which can cause athletes to fail a drug test. To learn more, USADA keeps a list of certified and high-risk supplements and companies on their website here.

Supplements
Image 2: Determining which supplements are best for athletes can be challenging. (Photo courtesy BFS)

Freelap USA: How do the nutritional needs of female athletes differ from those of males?

Lyle McDonald: Not as much as you’d think. Some research shows that women need 20 percent less protein than men, but they tend to set it to bodyweight. That’s a body composition thing, since women typically have a higher bodyfat percentage. When you scale things to lean body mass, the differences tend to go away. A woman’s nutritional needs can change slightly during their menstrual cycle, although this may not be as big of an issue for hard-training athletes.

Some research shows that women need 20 percent less protein than men, but they tend to set it to bodyweight...When you scale things to lean body mass, the differences tend to go away, says @lylemcdonald23. Share on X

Women have lower total daily energy expenditures, so they tend to have fewer calories and total food to work within their daily eating. This is mainly due to being smaller overall, so they burn fewer calories at rest and during training. This becomes a real problem when their goal is fat loss since they often can’t fit enough of every nutrient into their daily diet. When protein is set appropriately, that doesn’t leave much room for carbohydrates and fats. The ADF approach I described is a good way around that.

Freelap USA: Is there one general diet optimal for most athletes, such as Paleo? And besides your books, what basic nutrition resources would you recommend?

Lyle McDonald: The modern trend is for athletes to adjust their calorie and carbohydrate intake on a day-to-day basis, depending on their training volume. One hour of endurance training doesn’t have the exact needs as 4-6 hours, and most weight room work burns depressingly few calories.

It took decades for sports nutrition to realize that a short-distance sprinter or a power athlete has different nutritional needs than a long-duration endurance athlete. The former needs fewer calories and doesn’t have the carbohydrate requirements of the latter.

I’ll be honest: I mostly read research at this point. I can’t even recall the last nutrition (general or otherwise) book I read. I recommend that athletes be wary of anybody promising a new magic diet (or supplement) since those fads tend to come and go.

As for supplement brands, I recommend choosing companies that have been around for a long time, says @lylemcdonald23. Share on X

One book I highly recommend for coaches and athletes is Louise Burke’s Practical Sports Nutrition. She’s a top nutrition researcher and has worked with athletes at the Australian Institute of Sport, so she has a background in the science and practice of good sports nutrition. Her book combines the science and practice of sports nutrition with fascinating insights into what we might call the “culture” and “lore” of the different sports—a topic I don’t recall any book I’ve ever read addressing.

To sum up, most of the best athletes eat according to fairly well-established scientific nutritional principles. That means sufficient protein, carbohydrates, and fat, avoiding any of those extremes. They also make sure to fuel their training, recovery, and performance and tend to stay away from magic approaches.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


Ankle Wrist Weights

Weight, There’s More! The Risks and Benefits of Using Ankle and Wrist Weights

Blog| ByMark Heidelberger

Ankle Wrist Weights

The widespread use of wrist and ankle weights began in earnest during the 1980s as America’s fitness culture was reaching an apex. Step aerobics in particular saw these as a way to increase leg resistance and build firmer muscle tone. While benefits like increased strength and speed accrued for some wearers, drawbacks like injuries and muscle strain occurred for others. By the early 1990s, with little understanding of factors like proper load and placement in professional training circles and elsewhere, these wearable weights began falling out of favor.

As recently as 2020, however, during the height of the COVID pandemic when gyms were shuttered and athletes were seeking new methods for speed and strength development that were viable in isolated locales—often with limited space and equipment—wearable weights began seeing a resurgence. But that’s only part of the story. The tech age had simultaneously ushered in a wealth of new data that more effectively analyzed the relationship between load, placement, velocity, and results so athletes could improve the benefits while minimizing risks wearable weights.

The combined load on both ankles should be around 1% to 2% of your body weight, or one to three pounds, whichever is less, when you first start wearing weights, says @mhfilmz. Share on X

While weights can obviously be worn on many parts of the body to boost workout intensity, this article specifically focuses on the application to joints like wrists and ankles, which are unique in both their strengths and vulnerabilities. The challenge is to determine optimal conditions for maximizing performance while reducing adverse effects that can regress and even completely negate the prior benefits accrued by using such weights. While joint-specific studies regarding the application of these weights are still somewhat limited, significantly more data now exists than did during their earlier heyday.

How Do Wearable Weights Work?

Adding weight to your wrists and ankles essentially increases your overall body weight, which means your cardiovascular system and muscles need to exert more energy to move your body. The greater the load, the more resistance to those body parts and the stronger they become. And while greater resistance over time doesn’t always translate to superior sports performance, which can be affected by myriad outside factors, improvements to muscle mass, metabolic rate and cardiorespiratory fitness have been evident in studies conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

However, placing added weight at the wrist or ankle will likewise influence specific parts of the body. For instance, ankle weights not only significantly affect the ankle, but the calf, knee, and thigh, while weights placed above the knee dramatically reduce the effect on muscles below the knee. We see the same effect when weights are placed at the wrist rather than higher up the arm. Moreover, the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute claims ankle and wrist weights don’t actually make ankles and wrists stronger, leaving these joints vulnerable to injury if overloaded.

What Are the Benefits?

According to NSCA-certified personal trainer and running coach Amber Sayer (MS, CPT), ankle and wrist weights offer an effective, hands-free option for cardio and strength training that not only builds muscle and boosts resistance to calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, arms, shoulders, and upper back muscles, but also increases caloric burn rate, mitigates the chances for injury when used properly, and helps prevent bone density loss. The NIH actually found ankle and wrist weights can increase bone mineral density an average of 1% to 3%.

Additional studies have signaled even greater benefits. An article published in the Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences in October of 2016 cited a five-month Malaysian study that determined “ankle-wrist weight training leads to changes in body composition and anthropometric parameters with potential cardiovascular disease risk reduction.” Moreover, a slightly longer six-month study applying ankle and wrist weights for 20-minute durations, three times a week “lowered participants’ waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body fat percentage.”

Adding weight to your wrists and ankles essentially increases your overall body weight, which means your cardiovascular system and muscles need to exert more energy to move your body, says @mhfilmz. Share on X

To be certain, more research needs to be done to replicate these results, particularly in athletes who already have a propensity for lower body fat and better body composition. But a 2017 NIH study found 10 weeks of resistance training also led to improvements in speed, movement control, functional independence, cognitive abilities, and self-esteem—all while increasing resting metabolic rate by 7%, improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides.

What Are the Risks?

More weight doesn’t necessarily lead to better performance, and, unfortunately, too many wearers are prone to excessive weight that might put an unhealthy amount of strain on the wrists and ankles. In addition, most experts decry the use of any amount of weight on these areas during cardio workouts, which can overwork muscles, destroy muscle balance, and place excess strain on the joint, resulting in ligament or tendon injuries to the hip, back, knees, shoulders, elbows, and neck, as well as the wrists and ankles themselves.

According to Terry Downey, a physical therapist with the Harvard-associated Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, avoid any wearable ankle weights during an aerobic workout “because they force you to use your quadriceps and not your hamstrings, (which) causes a muscle imbalance.” She further adds that a similar imbalance is prone to occur when wrist weights are applied during cardio as you swing your arms back and forth.

How Do I Determine How Much Weight to Wear?

Determining weight load should be based on several factors, including your fitness goals and where you’re currently at in your training. However, a common rule of thumb corresponds the load to your total body weight, which will increase as your resistance training builds muscle mass. The combined load on both ankles should be around 1% to 2% of your body weight, or one to three pounds, whichever is less, when you first start wearing weights. The combined wrist load should be about the same.

Sayer recommends initially allowing 48-hour intervals between workouts using wrist and ankle weights, and then gradually decreasing this window as your body acclimates. She also suggests a gradual addition of weight as each exercise starts to feel easier, resulting in a more steady, consistent, and measurable increase in performance over time. As you get accustomed to the weights and notice improvements across strength and power metrics, you may increase to a combined ankle load of between 5% and 10% of your body weight. Same for wrists.

However, in situations where sprinting, agility, momentum, and torque are paramount, trainers may suggest a lighter load to achieve the necessary force and acceleration that begets quickness. “The future of fast is light, as wearable resistance uses micro-loading to provide sprint-specific resistance training as part of your sprint training,” says John Cronin, Professor of Strength and Conditioning at AUT University in New Zealand. In this method, gains in strength will be more readily apparent through sprint performance.

Who Should Avoid Wearable Weights?

If you’re experiencing pain in your back, hips, ankles, knees, wrists, shoulders, or elbows, or if you otherwise have balance and gait issues, especially resulting from a recent injury, you should be cautious, as exercising with ankle and wrist weights could exacerbate these problems.

Likewise, they should be avoided if your workouts are predominantly cardio-focused or involve high-impact movements such as plyometrics. Wearable weights also pose a safety concern if you have a history of ligament tears, dislocations, sprains, or tendinitis.

How Do I Know I’m Using the Weights Correctly?

Getting positive results from wearable weights is based on using them for targeted, low-impact resistance exercises like lunges, leg lifts, arm circles, and bicep curls. The weight should be placed directly above the ankle or wrist, and the straps should be fastened tightly enough that the weight doesn’t slide around. The weights should not be left on for extended periods of time, which can lead to muscle and joint pain as well as chafing and skin irritation.

Having a measurable system to track performance metrics along with clear performance objectives will ensure proper increased gradation of load and duration without compromising the wearer’s safety, says @mhfilmz. Share on X

Dr. Adil Ahmed, an orthopedic surgeon at the Baylor College of Medicine, recommends starting with 30-minute intervals and then increasing duration as strength, endurance, and other resistance training benefits begin to bear fruit.

What Are Some Viable Exercises to Do With Wrist and Ankle Weights?

Wrist Only:

  • Cuban Presses
  • Pivot Pickoff Throws
  • Two-Arm Overhead Throws
  • Pronation Swings
  • Prone Bicep Curls

Ankle Only:

  • Single-Leg Glute Bridges
  • Double-Leg Glute Bridges
  • Side-Lying Hip Abductions
  • Prone Hamstring Curls

Wrist and Ankle:

  • Superman Holds / Pulses
  • Rocketman Holds / Pulses
  • Goblet Squats with Arm Extensions
  • V Holds

Final Takeaways

The effectiveness of ankle and wrist weights stems largely from how they are employed. Clear delineation exists between right and wrong methods of utilization, regardless of the wearer’s level of fitness. Use during targeted, low-impact exercises for limited amounts of time and in a proportionate ratio to total body weight offers the best chance for improved biomechanics, including increased speed, strength, muscle mass, and endurance, while also limiting the potential for joint and muscle injury.

Having a measurable system to track performance metrics along with clear performance objectives will ensure proper increased gradation of load and duration without compromising the wearer’s safety.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


References

Wescott, Wayne L. (July-August 2012) Resistance Training is Medicine: Effects of Strength Training on Health. NIH National Library of Medicine, Pub Med.

Carmel PT, DPT, Justin M. (2024) Ankle Weights Workout, Is it Good or Bad? Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute.

Yaacob DrPH, Najib M., et al. (October 2016) Dumbbells and ankle-wrist weight training leads to changes in body composition and anthropometric parameters with potential cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, Volume 11, Issue 5 , Pages 439-447.

Wearable weights: How they can help or hurt. Harvard Medical School, Harvard Health Publishing. (February 15, 2021)

Cronin, John. The Future of Fast Is Light: Wearable Resistance Load and Placement. SimpliFaster.

Wrist and Ankle Weights: Do They Actually Work? Baylor College of Medicine. (January 16, 2024)

Big Picture Soccer Conditioning

What Most Youth Soccer Coaches Get Wrong About Conditioning

Blog| ByNathan Huffstutter

Big Picture Soccer Conditioning

Can I ask you a question, Coach? she asked.

Of course, fire away.

Are we ever going to do any actual conditioning?

If I were prone to conspiracy theories, I’d swear the kid was a plant—this conversation popped up after one of my June practices, just as online disputes were coming to a boil regarding Tony Holler and Brad Dixon’s Sprint-Based Football clinic, which set about challenging traditional views on conditioning and weekly training volumes for high school football.

This player, an incoming freshman, had just joined my multisport soccer team and with new players, the most common question I get is “why do we always jump so much?” The answer to that I have down: “To help you girls get faster, more explosive, and build resilience in a sport where a lot of kids your age get injured. And since no one’s ever taught most of you how to jump, if you leave my team able to hop, jump, backpedal, skip, and sprint, whatever else happens, that’s a win.”

The conditioning question, though, was a first because…my practices aren’t a walk in the park. But, like many teen soccer players, she was accustomed to finishing practices either spread out on a line and running gassers or knocking out laps around the pitch.

You’re not tired, I asked?

No, I’m pretty pooped, she said.

What did we do that made you tired, do you think?

Well, there were the sprints and jumps at the start and the passy-thingy and then the transition game was pretty tiring.

Right, I said. That’s the conditioning.

No, she said. But I mean conditioning-conditioning, like running after practice. Do we ever do that?

Conditioned to Conditioning

A few years ago, I interviewed Darcy Norman, Performance Coach with the US Men’s National Soccer Team, and he defined conditioning simply as: the ability to endure the demands of what is put in front of you. For many youth soccer players, what is regularly put in front of them are:

  • Jogging laps before and/or after practice.
  • Repeat “sprints” box to box or corner flag to corner flag.
  • Line drills, gassers, suicides (whatever clever and catchy name you prefer to call COD sprints to failure).
  • Sets of burpees or push-ups, either as punishments for failing to execute a technical, tactical, physical, or mental skill in the course of practice or just because burpees are hard.

Most 12-16 year-oIds do not have the natural ability to endure repeat sets of 20 burpees or 100-yard gassers or 20-30-40-50-yard repeat sprints. Soccer is a hard sport and running 100-yard gassers is hard and youth soccer coaches assume that if they can get their players conditioned for that second hard thing it will, by some clear-cut application of the transitive property, prepare their athletes for the first hard thing. And if those demands are put in front of the players practice after practice, over time, they will become conditioned to endure those practice conditions.

Soccer IS hard and running gassers IS hard & youth soccer coaches assume that if they can get their players conditioned for that 2nd hard thing it will, via the transitive property, prepare their athletes for the 1st hard thing. Share on X


Video 1. Here’s a routine attacking moment from one of my teams (high school freshmen and sophomores competing at a regional club level), selected not for anything noteworthy but instead because it’s a routine, recurring game action for this age level (mostly players who will be on their high school’s JV teams).

In that game moment, you see:

  • A couple of 2-3 yard bursts.
  • Backpedaling, quick/coordinated turns, and moving efficiently at various angles oriented to the ball or to teammates/opponents or to a gap in open space.
  • An 8-10 yard burst into open space by the #11 (right wing) to receive a pass.
  • The #10 (center-mid) makes a 30-yard run (accelerating ~8-10 yards at ~80-85% of her sprint speed) which is a result of her physical, technical, tactical, and mental abilities.
  • (What you don’t see because it’s boring: after the ball ends up out of play, it takes 15-20 seconds to restart from a goal kick).

In that game moment—or, for that matter, anywhere in the entire 80-minute game—you ALSO don’t see:

  • Anything that resembles players jogging a lap around the goal posts or much that immediately relates to steady-state running.
  • Anything that resembles players running back-and-forth until their legs/bodies are at the point of giving out.

Those absent game moments were also what my baffled new player was missing—and, what she had been conditioned to: running for the purpose of achieving exhaustion/fatigue to finish a training session. She’s not alone—this is what a large percentage of youth athletes associate conditioning with and, if you ever take a fundamental NFHS coaching course, many of their warnings and “teachable moments” on the topic address the institutional pervasiveness of this type of conditioning.

Here’s our practice plan from that June day that “appeared” to lack a dedicated conditioning element:

Flex Practice Plan
Figure 1. Practice plan that targets range of physical, technical, tactical, and mental qualities.

The demands placed in front of the players across the 90 minutes in this session are not easy to endure physically, mentally, technically, or tactically—the training session was meant to be fast-paced and challenging. And, it was meant to prepare players for the game moments they would not just need to endure, but those they would need to excel in over time.

In addition to game-relevant movements, as a matter of planned volume accumulation, the diamond passing pattern includes 4 x 35-yard self-paced jogs each rotation. 5 rotations each direction covers ~1400 yards and in 10 minutes of working on the day’s game-relevant focus skill, the players also accumulate ¾ of a mile of autoregulated running volume (Does this produce the same aerobic adaptations/cardiac benefits as steady-state jogging? No, I know it does not. More on that later).

What Is Speed In Soccer?

Whatever their current level, most youth soccer players have an opportunity at some point to also “play up” a level: an ECRL player guesting with an ECNL team, a G2010 player guesting with a G09 team, a JV player getting called up to Varsity for a game, etc. Upon returning to their normal team, inevitably, the first thing that player will remark upon is how much faster everything was at that next level of play.

What makes each next level faster? Well, first, faster players.

Regional City Freelap Times
Figure 1. Fly 10s timed with Freelap from 25-yard build on grass practice pitch in cleats. Position-by-position differences between a team that plays one competitive level higher in same age range. As a coach, developing players who want to reach their goal of playing at a higher level means working on the speed to play at that higher level.
In addition to physically faster players, what makes THE GAME faster at each progressive level are that the technical, tactical, and mental skills are also a full click more advanced, says @CoachsVision. Share on X

In addition to physically faster players, what makes THE GAME faster at the next level are that the technical, tactical, and mental skills are also a full click more advanced. Take the routine game moment shown earlier and instead envision an equivalent moment played out by my club’s G09 ECNL (national level) team or the Varsity teams at these players’ high schools.

What would be different outside of pure physical speed?

  • Technical: Cleaner 1st touches in the initial transition moment—this would force the defensive side out of their compact shape and compel them to cover more ground at pace due to the ball moving more decisively (better possession also leads to the ball spending more time on the pitch and less time out of bounds, which leads to more total player actions and a “faster” feel to the game because of fewer stops/restarts).
  • Tactical: A greater emphasis on closing space defensively—with more practice pressing and closing down balls, defenders at a higher level do so with greater intensity and purpose, which limits time/space for offensive players to make decisions. And attackers learn to create space with multiple types of runs to disorganize the defense—so rather than drifting toward a possible pass/cross, there would be more incisive and purposeful runs into gaps, forcing the defenders to react accordingly.
  • Mental: More players “switched-on”—at every moment in the clip, 2-3 players are moving to be available for a pass, whereas with another year of development (and at the next higher level) 7-8 players should be moving to be active participants in the attack, and that anticipation/movement combines to create an elevated pace/electricity.

Being fit enough to endure a 40-minute half doesn’t matter if a player can’t play fast enough to get into the game for 10 minutes. So, how do you teach youth soccer players to play faster? Well, first you have to teach them to do the thing—they can’t do faster what they can’t do period. They can’t learn a faster/more efficient first touch if they can’t take a considered first touch unopposed, they can’t learn to make varied runs if they don’t know why to be a willing runner and where to make those runs, and… it’s hard to learn the difference between a game with everyone on the pitch switched-on and engaged unless they progressively gain more experience and learn to feel the difference.

From a developmental perspective—and youth soccer is developmental—being able to endure the demands put in front of them is not a useful skill until they are able to execute the demands being put in front of them.

From a developmental perspective, being able to ENDURE the demands put in front of them is not a useful skill until they are able to EXECUTE the demands being put in front of them, says @CoachsVision. Share on X

Fast AND Fit

My favorite pro soccer players are the most well-conditioned. Not the most technically-gifted, not the flashiest, not the biggest goal-scorers—I like to watch the ones who cover the most territory with the most competitive fire. Achraf Hakimi and Theo Hernandez on the men’s side, prime Kelly O’Hara and now Trinity Rodman on the women’s side.

Achraf Hakimi PSG
Image 1. Achraf Hakimi playing with his club side, Paris St. Germain (PSG). Photo by Glenn Gervot/Icon Sportswire.

In the 2024 Champions League semifinals, one of the most electrifying in-game battles was PSG’s Hakimi dueling with Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi down the flank, attacking and defending each other from touchline to touchline with ludicrous pace and stamina. Though Adeyemi’s team came out ahead and advanced, Hakimi won the individual duel—each game in the home-away set, there was a definable “throw the damn towel” moment around the 70th minute where Adeyemi’s legs went rubber and he looked one firm nudge or stumble from going down for the count. He would be subbed off shortly after, looking relieved, having put in a truly heroic effort.

Hakimi has regularly been tracked at 22-23 mph in game actions and covers 8-9 miles in a 90 minute game (Theo Hernandez, meanwhile, averaged just over 10km p/match in the 2024 Euros). Let’s be very clear—when we talk about conditioning for youth or high school soccer players, we are not talking about the same thing as conditioning for an elite international player. When Darcy Norman and I have a conversation about the demands on our players, those demands bear very little resemblance to each other.

Any time online debates about conditioning become heated, most of those who criticize “conditioning” are specifically targeting old-school, Junction Boys-inspired conditioning to collapse—sets of 12 x 100s, line drills on a whistle, repeat suicides (again, the common practices that players expect and that the NFHS needs to continually warn coaches against in their educational materials).

Meanwhile, those arguing most passionately in support of conditioning tend to be advocating for soundly-progressed and carefully-monitored conditioning practices that are research-and physiology-based. Like elite international soccer vs. youth soccer, the practices being denounced and those being promoted… do not bear any substantive resemblance to each other.

For my own athletes, in previous articles and elsewhere, I have repeated my belief that any competitive athlete over the age of 10 should be able to roll out of bed in-season and run a 5k in 30-35 minutes without keeling over. Three miles is not far and a 10-12-minute mile is not fast (and yes, I get it, there are outliers in terms of lineman in football, bigs in basketball, and others for whom jogging 3 miles could be unwise due to body type, joint/tissue stress, other reasons).

How do youth athletes develop the capacity to endure a 1-3 mile jog? With limited practice time and the high cost to rent fields and pay for lights, jogging around the outside of that field for 25 minutes tends not to be the optimal use of time and money; but, that doesn’t mean you can’t put the demand in front of your athletes and provide the right encouragement.

If players live in California and attend a public middle or high school, they will need to run a mile in PE somewhat regularly. Encourage your players to run that mile with a competitive goal in mind vs. walking and talking with friends. If your team practices twice a week, encourage your players to use one of their off days to plan a 20-25 minute run someplace they find peaceful and enjoy running (a park, a trail, the beach, their neighborhood, wherever). Can’t run for 20 minutes? No problem. Run until they need to stop, walk for one minute, start running again…repeat as necessary for 20 minutes. Keep at it and keep trying to push the stopping point where they have to slow and walk until they can run a full 20 minutes.

A self-paced 2+ mile run has almost all upside: provides repetitive foot contacts that can improve general running form, develops the aerobic system to support all those other energy systems more frequently tapped into in soccer, enhances the parasympathetic nervous system’s ability to aid recovery, and improves overall cardiac health in ways that ideally become a lifelong habit for active kids to grow into healthy adults. All of these benefits will be more pronounced in a 20-25 minute autoregulated run than in 8-10 minutes of laps after a 90-minute practice.

What do MY Soccer Players Need to Be Conditioned to Endure? Common Factors that Impact Conditioning

One of the broader challenges with planning conditioning for youth soccer is that you cannot generally work backward from the game demands—those will vary wildly player-to-player and game-to-game, depending on:

  • Speed and technical/tactical ability—Players who are faster, more confident, more technically-gifted, and more tactically aware will have more ability to impact the game and cover more ground in total than those who are slower and less impactful (and keep in mind, for those who appear slower and less dynamic, the issue is not that they are not FIT enough—it’s that they are not FAST enough).
  • Position/Shape—Do you play a 4-3-3 or a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2? A wide attacking player will have different responsibilities in different shapes…and even in the same shape, an outside back playing the #2 or #3 in a more conservative 4-3-3 system may cover less ground than a #2 or #3 in a more attack-minded one
  • How long are the games and what are the substitution rules? A summer tournament game for 15-year-olds may be 2×30 minute halves and a fall regular season game could be 2×40 minute halves. Some leagues/showcases do not allow players who are subbed off to re-enter the game during the same half, while others do. Consequently, at a similar competitive level, some players need to be conditioned to play a full 40-minute half and others only need to be conditioned to play 20 minutes, rest 5 minutes, and then play 15 minutes.
  • How big is the field? That same 15-year-old may play some games end-zone to end-zone on a full turf football field and others on a more compact 90 yard by 70 yard grass pitch. Turf plays faster than grass. Narrower fields have more balls out of bounds (down time). Fields rimmed by tracks have more out of bounds balls that then roll a distance (even more down time).
At a similar competitive level, some players need to be conditioned to play a full 40-minute half and others only need to be conditioned to play 20 minutes, rest 5 minutes, and then play 15 minutes. Share on X

The biggest issues I see in youth soccer with coaches “conditioning” their players are that they are not working from the game in either direction. Instead:

  • Volumes are fixed, excessive, and appear arbitrarily-chosen (12 sets of 100s!). The intensity is then not based on managing that volume, but is instead dictated by the coach shouting FASTER and PUSH like they are driving galley slaves to row harder.
  • Conditioning is tacked on after practice with no connection to the volume and intensity of the preceding session…which may have already included a lot of high-intensity running volume.
  • Outputs don’t resemble the sport in terms of speed, movement patterns, directionality, or duration.
  • Lack of variation/fun—coaches have a lot of different names for suicides, but it’s all the same miserable line sprints.

Instead of working backwards, work forwards—develop players capable of executing your training session at pace. If they can’t? Here are a few things I like to mix in.

1. Off-Season/Early-Season Conditioning: Medball Conditioning Circus

Most youth athletes do not have an “off-season” where they drop everything and spend 3 months doing cannonballs at the pool, loitering around the mall, and playing video games.

But, if they’ve been traveling or there’s been a training gap of 2-4 weeks, general conditioning circuits are a very useful way to rebuild the stamina to endure the demands of their upcoming practices. I like these because for the athletes it feels more like skilled work towards a goal and less like a grind of mindless crushing labor.

Medball Circus
Figure 2. My younger daughter misheard me once talking about medball circuits (inspired by Missy Mitchell-McBeth) and thought we were going to go do a “Medball Circus” which, frankly, sounded way more fun. So I’m keeping the name.

2. Mid-Season: The World’s Greatest Sprinting Game

During our fall competitive season, there will inevitably come a dog-days of October stretch where we’re practicing twice a week and playing both Saturday and Sunday, the players are all getting slammed with other sports and activities, homework and tests, school dances and Friday night football games, all throughout one of the year’s longest unbroken strings of full academic weeks. Amid the all-of-thatness, I dial some things back to keep the athletes upbeat and engaged.

But, dialing back will, by definition, risk coming at the expense of being conditioned to endure the demands being put in front of them. At one time during this stretch, we’ll swing the opposite direction and wrap up an early-week training by playing “The World’s Greatest Sprinting Game.”

World's Greatest Sprint Game
Figure 3. “The World’s Greatest Sprinting Game.” Branding and presentation matter! Would you rather run Suicides or play The World’s Greatest Sprinting Game? Those of my players who’ve played each year for 3-4 years do not, in fact, truly consider this game “The World’s Greatest”…but they don’t hate it either. Instead of “ugh, Suicides, for real?” we banter back and forth about the name, “Coach, you may keep saying it, but I swear, this is NOT the world’s greatest game!”
  • Split into two teams of different colors and have the players alternate on one touch line. Set ½ as many cones as the total number players on an opposite touch line (50-60 yards depending on age/level).
  • On “GO” players sprint across the field and try to retrieve an available cone. Every player must cross the opposite touch line whether they get a cone or not, and after crossing the line they immediately turn and sprint back.
  • The first 3 players carrying a cone who finish across the original touch line score a point for their team. The last 3 players to cross the line lose a point for their team.
  • Play 3 rounds with a rest period of approximately the time it takes you to re-set the cones.

Physical: Your fastest players will get the cones every round (I have never had a player finish in the top 3 but not have a cone), but getting back in the top three will vary round-by-round and the closing 10-15 yards will be very competitive among those players.

Mental: Your slowest players do not have to compete stride for stride over 100 yards with your fastest—their job is to push themselves to not be the weakest link, which is crucial in any “weak-link” sport. Not being in the last 3 is more a test of will than of speed or fitness and they’ll push themselves to do their role and not cost your fastest players the points they’ve earned.

Technical: Getting a step and running into the line of an opponent to beat them in space is a crucial soccer skill and also a key to success in being the players to get to the cones.

Tactical: Your fast and high Game IQ players will realize that winning all 3 races is unlikely…although this is a conditioning game, as a coach, it is gratifying to watch your fastest kids figure out how to WIN based on the established rules. The first round they may line up next to another fast player out of competition or next to a friend or at random, but in subsequent rounds they will purposefully line up in more tactical ways. They’ll start to talk strategy while you reset the cones—discussing with their teammates who should line up where, who should go all out for the point and who can save something in reserve for the next race while still not being anywhere near the bottom group.

At the end of three rounds, my girls will crash out on the field and look like Tony Holler’s 400m runners after a lactate workout…which tracks, since they will have just pushed to sprint all out for 360 yards in a matter of a few minutes. But, conspicuously, they end more on the giddy side of the exhausted spectrum than the broken side, still talking trash and knowing they’ve just competed through a hard thing. (Another conditioning game I started adding last year is the curved sprint variation of Drew Hill’s Infinity Tag from his Game On article—competitive, adds variety, self-regulating, and achieves a conditioning stimulus while similarly hitting positive instead of negative receptors).

3. Late Season: Beep-Test

Many high school athletes are anxious about conditioning tests, for all the reasons kids fear things: they don’t understand the way they will be conducted, they think it’s unfair to be tested on something that matters less than other important things, and if they fail they don’t want to be split off from the group and marked with that UNFIT scarlet letter.

Taking a judo approach to those fears, you can flip the Beep Test and use it as a conditioning means—for my club teams, I’ve done one during an early week practice at the tail end of the fall season, a couple weeks before the players have tryouts for the winter high school soccer season.

  • Judo Move #1: Have the players all come check out the app or system you are using to run it. Kids like apps, as you may be aware. Explain the set-up and protocol very clearly so they understand they are not just there running blindly until they fall over.
  • Judo Move #2: I have players from eight different high schools on my multisport team alone. So, I explain that WE are running it not as a test but as a confidence-builder and developmental tool just in case coaches at some of those eights high schools do use a version of the Beep Test in their tryouts or early season player assessments.
  • Judo Move #3: Make this a team-driven activity and not an individual competition. They should all pace off each other, encourage each other, and once players begin dropping out, keep encouraging those still running. There is no consequence for dropping out and no threshold that MUST be reached.

It’s hard but not that hard—players who have been playing games every weekend and training regularly perform just fine and as a conditioning means, you can get a more upbeat and engaged 15-17 minutes of conditioning from running this one time than 15-17 minutes of just about any other form of running.

Okay, Coach, What Next?

Instead of working backward from the game, work backward from your understanding of conditioning. Does it come from an understanding of physiology and how to progressively develop energy systems to work in concert to meet a range of sport and lifestyle demands? Fantastic, carry on, you got this. Does it come from the old school WE WILL OUTWORK THE ENEMY coach you had back when you played in the 1980s & 90s who, in turn, adopted their approach from coaches they had in 1950s in an era when sport coaches were often WW II veterans who’d learned that boot camp methods could effectively turn unfit and unmotivated teenagers into an effective fighting unit (which, importantly, could reduce their chances of getting killed)?

Just like the demands of youth sports and the demands of elite sports don’t resemble each other, the demands of youth sports and the demands of close contact warfare don’t resemble each other either. Share on X

Just like the demands of youth sports and the demands of elite sports don’t resemble each other, the demands of youth sports and the demands of close contact warfare don’t resemble each other either. In 10 years of coaching competitive soccer spanning 500+ games…I’ve never had a team that was physically, mentally, technically, and tactically superior but lost a game solely because our less-able opponent was better able to repeat their abilities over time while we could not endure the demands of the game.

My own understanding of conditioning falls into the dreaded it depends category because I fully agree with Darcy Norman, that conditioning is the ability to endure the demands of what is put in front of you and what is put in front of different players at different levels will be very, very different. One thing that is not different is that every soccer player trains to get better…and given that, by far the most simple and effective starting point I’ve found is Tony Holler’s imperative to “make practice the best part of a kid’s day.” Beginning there—with kids who want to show up and train with joy and purpose—over time, they will naturally become conditioned to what is being put in front of them.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

Mancini Flag Olympics

Competitive Longevity in Sprinting and Coaching with Pascal Mancini

Freelap Friday Five| ByPascal Mancini, ByDavid Maris

Mancini Flag Olympics

Pascal Mancini is a coach and elite athlete from Switzerland, having represented his country in multiple World and European Championships. He has been self-coached since 2014 and ran his personal best in the 100m at 33 years old (10.20sec) and his 60m PB at 34 years old (6.58sec). He was a semi-finalist in the 60m at the World championship in 2024 (6.62) and finished fifth at European Championships in the 4x100m relay.

At 15-years-old, he knew that he wanted to be a sprint coach and began to think about how to prepare for this, using his own career as an opportunity to gain relevant experience. He began coaching in 2018, and his top male athlete (Bradley Lestrade) has run 10.29 for 100m.

At the end of the 2023 season, his top female athlete, Hélène Parisot, had the following personal bests:

  • 60m: 7.51
  • 100m: 11.35
  • 200m: 23.26

By the end of 2024, she had run:

  • 60m: 7.33
  • 100m: 11.20
  • 200m: 22.55

Parisot also won a bronze medal over 200 metres at the European Championships in Rome and placed ninth in the same event at the Olympic Games in Paris. We caught up with Mancini to learn more about the process that brought about these notable improvements.

1. Primary Coaching Influences and Personal Athletic Background

David Maris: You’ve been self-coached for a while, but you have been coached and advised by some very well-respected coaches in the past—additionally, you are a keen reader of Henk Kraijenhoff’s work. What are some of the principles you have learned from these coaches that you now apply to your training and the coaching of your athletes?

Pascal Mancini: Throughout my career, I have worked with several excellent coaches, including Ralph Mouchbahini, Laurent Meuwly, PJ Vazel, and Adrian Rothenbuhler. Perhaps my two key takeaways from the accumulation of these experiences are that there is no one way to get fast and you need to be smart to be a great coach!

I try to take a holistic view to improving sprint performance. I think it’s easy, and risky, to assume that performance will improve simply based upon how tough the training is, says Pascal Mancini. Share on X

When I was coached by Mouchbahini, we did not use much specialized equipment and the approach was quite simple, but he was able to get a lot out of me. Training sessions were shorter than I’d been used to, sometimes as short as forty minutes and up to as long as seventy-five minutes, but in the three months I worked with him in Berlin, my 60-metre personal best improved from 6.79 to 6.67. Since I was training quite a bit less than I had previously, I was anxious that I was underprepared. I hadn’t done any lactic work, nor had I done any tempo, and the strength training I did was minimal, perhaps once per week, with a greater focus on how the load was moved as opposed to how heavy the load was. I would categorize Mouchbahini’s approach as being focused on quality and elasticity and he was very intuitive in the way that he coached me.

Laurent Meuwly was extremely methodical—everything was thoroughly planned, and he would make small adjustments based upon what he had observed in previous cycles. Currently, I am trying to implement this in my own coaching by creating more structure.

PJ Vazel is known for being an encyclopedia of sprinting (and general track and field) knowledge and he has a superb memory. He has read everything he possibly can to improve his understanding of how to develop sprinters and has even learned different languages so he is able to read more, such as books in Russian and Chinese. He is also in contact with many coaches, past and present, and asks them lots of questions to be able to obtain information that many other coaches do not have access to. I still have a great relationship with PJ, having been in contact with him since about 2010.

I also want to mention Adrian Rothenbuhler, who I worked with for my strength training and learned a lot from.

For a while now, I have been self-coached, and I have tried various methods, and have even changed things up when I was running well because my primary goal since I was 15 years old was to be a coach as opposed to an athlete. Therefore, I wanted to learn firsthand about the impact different training methods may have on an athlete. For example, in 2014, I trained a lot, somewhere between four and seven hours a day, six days a week, and I ran 10.28. Two years later, I was probably less motivated but trained three times a week for maybe 40 minutes each session and ran 10.33! However, in 2016 I was quite a bit less consistent. In cases such as this, I think it is important to acknowledge that the work done in previous seasons can impact our performance as well.

2. Training Smarter

David Maris: You mentioned that you like your athletes to feel like they did not reach their limits. How do you go about progressing the development of the athlete without the focus being on working harder?

Pascal Mancini: I try to take a holistic view to improving sprint performance. I think it’s easy, and risky, to assume that performance will improve simply based upon how tough the training is. For a sprinter, the toughest type of training on the track is anything that causes high levels of lactic acid. However, an athlete can only work so hard before recovery is compromised and injury risk is heightened. Inflammation is increased, runs are performed under fatigue with poorer mechanics, so unless an athlete is extremely robust, with an excellent nervous system and a lot of talent in terms of resiliency, I do not think this is a good way to go. For ninety percent of athletes, I think they would see less injuries and more success by broadening their focus and targeting more qualities to improve their performance. Finally, when an athlete has worked harder than ever before and doesn’t improve, it can be extremely demotivating and I wonder how many athletes we have lost from the sport because of this!

When an athlete has worked harder than ever before and doesn’t improve, it can be extremely demotivating and I wonder how many athletes we have lost from the sport because of this, says Pascal Mancini. Share on X

Helene knows that she has many areas in which she can improve, which will all contribute to her running faster—and I like my athletes to understand that it’s not just the ability to complete tough lactic based sessions that will enable them to improve. To put an arbitrary number on it, I’ve seen some approaches that may place 65 percent of the programme emphasis on lactic development, whereas I prefer to have that number at more like 15 percent. I like to emphasize other qualities, such as flexibility, mobility, technique, relaxation, strength, and power. For example, Helene was limited by her flexibility when she joined me, so it is something that we developed, which has enabled her to run with more range and relaxation as she is not fighting the restricted movement, which has enabled her to be more efficient and therefore faster over 200 metres.

Core Training
Image 1. Core training for hip placement.

In my opinion, training for the sprints is almost like an intelligence challenge, and as I said, not simply about how hard you can train. I enjoy this problem-solving aspect of training and coaching and trying to figure out the best way to manage the training variables to get the best result. People talk about “training smart” quite a lot, and I really think there is a lot to be said for trying to do so. I follow quite a low-volume programme, and a lot of athletes who start training with me are anxious that they won’t have done enough training.

For ninety percent of athletes, I think they would see less injuries and more success by broadening their focus and targeting more qualities to improve their performance, says Pascal Mancini. Share on X

This season, Helene opened 0.5 seconds faster than her 200 metres personal best, albeit with a 2.1 wind, and I like showing athletes that they can run fast training this way.

3. Age Is Just a Number: Progressing Beyond the Age of 30

David Maris: You and Helene have both run your fastest times in your 30s, whereas many athletes do so in their 20s. Why do you think you were able to keep improving late in your careers? At what age do you think it becomes unlikely that an athlete can improve? Do your training methods/principles change for athletes as they get older?

Pascal Mancini: I think there are multiple factors that can allow an athlete to continue to improve well into their thirties. Personally, I believe that I am fortunate enough to have good genes—which means that I did not have to train that much to run quite fast. This helped me to avoid injuries and therefore stay healthy and consistent. My training philosophy complements this genetic factor as well. I’ve learnt to focus on the quality of my training more so than simply working hard, which again assists in health and consistency.

Pascal Mancini
Image 2. Pascal Mancini on the track

Due to my long-standing interest in coaching, I have kept a close eye on the effect of different training programmes on my body, so I think that with each year I have an improved understanding of what I need to do to stay healthy and to run faster, which has led to performance improvements over a long period of time. Related to this, I also think the fact that I have continued to learn theoretical concepts relating to sprint training has enabled the efficacy of the training programme and training sessions to improve each year, which has led to improved performance. When I coach an athlete, I continually reinforce what I believe to be the important training concepts and technical aspects, and I am often demonstrating these, and I therefore need to make sure that my technique is of high quality when doing this. This means that these factors are constantly being reinforced within myself as an athlete, which I think contributes to my being able to run fast as an older athlete.

In addition to sleep and nutrition, we use some recovery techniques, such as meditation and Wim Hof breathing, which can be combined with visualization, says Pascal Mancini. Share on X

In the case of Helene, I also think she has good genetics, with a good nervous system, and she does not get injured easily, which again has allowed for consistency. I think we are now optimizing her training in her thirties, which has allowed her to run significantly faster than she has in previous seasons; therefore, she has been able to go from making national relay teams in the past to winning a medal over 200 metres at the European Championships and finishing ninth at the Olympics in the same event.

This past year, she has improved her nutrition and focused more on her sleep and recovery. She does not enjoy stretching, but we have paid extra attention to this, and her improved flexibility I believe has helped her performance. I have also removed resisted sprints from her training, as I believe, when sprinting, she was not able to relax as much as she needed to in the past, and resisted sprinting was encouraging her to focus on the concentric component, which led to excessive tension when she was sprinting without resistance. I have also reduced the volume of lactic tolerance-based training that she does, as I believe she was perhaps excessively fatigued in the past.

Obviously, as a 200 metre runner, there does need to be some attention paid to be able to tolerate the acidic environment within her muscles towards the end of a race, but I think we only did four sessions to really address this between the end of the indoor season and the Olympics. However, it is important to mention that prior to the indoor season, we would complete a couple of sessions each month to work on this quality. All this has contributed to keeping her fresher and able to deliver higher quality training sessions, with a smoother, more relaxed, and overall better technique.

People talk about “training smart” quite a lot... I follow quite a low-volume program, and a lot of athletes who start training with me are anxious that they won’t have done enough training, says Pascal Mancini. Share on X

From a training perspective, I think a few things perhaps change as an athlete gets older. For example, the volume of tempo runs can decrease. I think they are a useful tool to possibly assist with recovery, and for younger athletes to reinforce smooth, relaxed, and technically sound running mechanics, so I am not against implementing them in a training programme; but, after a point, I am not convinced it helps anymore. I now prefer to use technical sessions with skips and drills that bleed into technically focused runs to serve the same kind of purpose.

We have already spoken about reducing the focus on lactic sessions, but being technically more sound means an athlete is moving more efficiently and has been more economical with their ATP-PC system, so that they do not need to be as reliant on their lactic pathways later in a race. This, therefore, makes those types of sessions less important, especially for an athlete like myself who predominantly focuses on the 60 metres and 100 metres.

One final thing that I think is important for both the mind and the body is time away from training at the end of the season. After the European Championships, I took two months off training, without doing much in the way of physical activity, and having only returned to training for only a couple of weeks so far, I already feel great. Once an athlete is in their thirties, it is likely that they have done this sport for so long that some time away from it at the end of each season becomes very important as a sort of mental and physical reset.

Kim Collins ran his personal best time at forty, and Dwain Chambers has recently run very fast in the 45 to 49 age category, so I think it’s possible to continue to run fast as an athlete gets older. I’m currently 35 and I believe if I focused purely on training, I could still run 10.20 when I reach forty.

4. Addressing Strengths and Weaknesses

David Maris: You mentioned that Helene’s start was not a strong part of her race, but you didn’t focus on specifically improving it. Can you elaborate on how you play to an athlete’s strengths?

Pascal Mancini: To build and maintain the confidence of an athlete, I like to primarily focus on their strengths in training. I’m a big believer that the mental side of sprinting is very important, and this is another example of how the mind can impact performance. If we have spent a long time in training focusing on the weakness of an athlete, when they get to competition, this weakness can still be a focus, which may create stress for them. Related to this, I like to give instructions as opposed to corrections when coaching an athlete. Instructing and correcting may sound similar, but there is a subtle difference, because the latter addresses what has been done that is wrong or sub-optimal, whereas the former does not.

When Helene came to be coached by me, we knew her start was a relative weakness, but I didn’t spend too much time worrying about it and this allowed her to feel good in training—and I think this helped! I have seen cases where an athlete has a poor start, so a lot of time is spent addressing it, and it may improve sightly (or it may not), but at the same time, the rest of their race gets worse, so they end up with a slower overall time than they had before.

Interestingly, PJ Vazel told me of a study about two groups of athletes: one group did sessions of 20 block starts, and the other group did two block starts plus 18 other types of runs, and it was the second group who improved their start more significantly. I implement accelerations from different positions, which then transfer to a more effective start, something I learnt from Ralph Mouchbahani. For example, have an athlete place their feet on the floor and create a straight line through their knees, hips, and head, whilst leaning into, and placing their hands on, a Swiss ball. The athlete then rolls the ball away to the side and they are left with no choice but to push and accelerate, otherwise they will fall over. This exercise replicates the impact of gravity on the athlete when they exit the blocks optimally and encourages them to engage their hips correctly. Once the athlete is comfortable with the sensations generated by this drill, they can then look to generate the same feeling from blocks, which will likely mean they are doing a lot of things correctly in their start.

I once heard a quote that I stress to my athletes: We judge a start not at 30 metres, but at the finish line. The job of the start is not to get to 30 metres first, but to effectively set up later stages of the race.

A further issue Helene had related to acceleration was that her body angle to the ground would continue to rise for too long, so that she became “too upright” and could even lean back slightly once she reached maximum velocity, which led to her running with excessive tension. Therefore, we did longer accelerations to allow her to practice finishing her acceleration in the correct position, which allowed her to complete races with more relaxation—this may also be an example of how maximum velocity training can help acceleration. There is certainly an argument that the coordination developed by maximum velocity sprinting can have a positive transfer to an athlete’s acceleration. Also, she improved her general strength and power by about 20 percent while keeping the same bodyweight, which contributed to her improved acceleration.

We judge a start not at 30 metres, but at the finish line. The job of the start is not to get to 30 metres first, but to effectively set up later stages of the race. Share on X

5. Approaching Sprint Technique

David Maris: What are some of the technical considerations you think are important? For example, you mentioned that you thought Helene lacked vertical displacement.

Pascal Mancini: When I teach an athlete how to sprint, I typically like them to focus on a feeling more so than specific technical aspects. I think it’s very important for an athlete to feel smooth and this allows them to run freely without the metaphorical brakes on.

Henk Kraijenhoff has a saying regarding an athlete’s technique: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Technique is something that is easy to overcoach and this can cause the athletes to overthink, and their performance can suffer. I have a young 200m runner who runs 21.6 as a 17-year-old, with many areas he could improve technically. I think what was happening is that he was almost scared to run as fast as he could, as it gave him the sensation of losing control, so to subconsciously self-sabotage, he would change his body position and become tight. So, we worked on teaching him to “embrace the speed,” which helped us to break the brakes!

This comes back to making the athletes feel good and feel confident—I continuously reinforce the concept of embracing the speed because some of the previous habits tend to creep back in.

When an athlete sprints, “pursuing a feeling” means that they have fewer thoughts going through their mind. If they are thinking about multiple cues, it can be hard to perform well under pressure, and there are examples of athletes with excellent technique who sometimes do not deliver their best performance when it matters. Helene, like many sprinters, was over-emphasizing the horizontal component when sprinting, by both pushing back and reaching forward excessively. I therefore provided her specific exercises to give her the sensation of running more vertically, such as skipping before transitioning into a run. This felt better and she was able to apply this concept in training runs and then competition, and I believe this contributed to the improvement that we saw in her performance in 2023 culminating in the Olympic Games. This is one of the things I am so proud of with regards to Helene: She ran her best times in the Olympic Games and the European Championships this year, which were her most important races.

I see my job as being to help each athlete figure out what allows them to run free and fast, and I think too much technical correction can be dangerous at times. Ultimately, we are working to run fast, not to run pretty. If a coach had tried to change the way Michael Johnson had run, despite his technique being unorthodox, would he have run any quicker? Of course, at times it is appropriate to provide some technical feedback, but I usually prefer to do this once the athlete has got to the point where they are able to run freely and smoothly. We can improve the efficiency of the athlete by giving them individualized work like drills, core exercises, and strength exercises, for example, that will improve their technique without the need for lots of verbal feedback during training sessions.

I have a young athlete who couldn’t lift his knees, but his father didn’t want to let him strength train with me, which led to him underperforming. When we finally did two strength sessions with individualized exercises, he beat his PB on the 100m by 0.6 seconds. He went from 12.9 to 12.3 in just a couple of weeks simply because he learnt how to activate the appropriate muscles with the appropriate timing.

6. Lifestyle Factors and Longevity

David Maris: What are some of the important factors to be controlled away from training and how do you manage this? You have highlighted some changes to Helene’s diet, the use of an Oura ring, and meditation, for example. How else do you manage recovery? Helene works close to full-time hours for an insurance company, how do you balance that with her training?

Pascal Mancini: This year, Helene’s goal was to be on the French 4×100 metres relay team at the European Championships and at the Olympic Games. With the World Relay Championships being in May, it meant she needed to be able to run fast in April to be on that team; then she needed to maintain her form to qualify for the European Championships in June; and after that she still needed to qualify for the Olympic Games in August. As I mentioned, she ended up running a personal best in the semi-final there, missing a place in the final by one position. This is to say it’s been a busy season and it’s been important for Helene to manage her lifestyle away from training, so she was able to consistently deliver high-level performances. My impact on this was made easier by the fact that I live with Helene, but an additional challenge is that she works 80 percent of a full-time position for an insurance company!

In terms of Helene’s lifestyle, we have made sure she sleeps a lot. She is usually in bed by nine o’clock and wakes up at seven in the morning, and we use an Oura ring to quantify her sleep by looking at two metrics:

  1. Her quality of sleep.
  2. Her readiness score.

Our goal is to have both of these scores at above 90 percent, and this motivates her to go to sleep early and avoid staying up late watching Netflix! I also think the Oura ring is helpful for athletes to learn what high-quality sleep feels like. Simply by seeing a poor sleep score after feeling like they have slept well could encourage them to improve their sleep habits.

Helene’s diet is something we have worked hard on this year, because in the past she has enjoyed sugary foods, so we have tried to reduce her intake of those types of things. She does not like to eat in the morning, so typically for breakfast, she will have a protein shake, with collagen, creatine, and a multi-vitamin. For lunch and dinner, she will have beef, rice, and avocado or similar healthy sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. After weight training sessions she will also have a protein shake and any snacks will typically be fruit.

Throughout the sessions, there are often constant adjustments being made, so it is difficult to provide an exact example of what my athletes do, says Pascal Mancini. Share on X

In addition to sleep and nutrition, we use some recovery techniques, such as meditation and Wim Hof breathing, which can be combined with visualization. I think that in Helene’s case, active recovery techniques, such as going to saunas, for example, all take time and can be tough to fit in around work and training and can cause added stress! Therefore, we try to keep it quite simple and pay a lot of attention to balancing training and recovery. In past seasons, she has done five-hour sessions, whereas this year the sessions have generally been smaller and less difficult. Throughout the day, she and I will communicate about how she is feeling, and I’m happy to reduce the training load for a given day or even have her take the day off training entirely if necessary. I also use the sleep data to provide information regarding whether I need to adjust training sessions to reduce the risk of injuries, etc. As I’ve got to know her better as an athlete, and because my training isn’t overly taxing, I do not have to make too many adjustments despite her hectic schedule. But, for example, a technical session may be eight runs over 100 metres (with specific instructions), and if she is tired, she may do six runs instead.

7. What Training Sessions Look Like

David Maris: What might a typical week of training look like? Are you able to elaborate on the warm-up you devised for Helene?

Pascal Mancini: I think the warm-up can be a difference-maker between good athletes and elite athletes. It is also what sets the athlete up to be able to execute their best possible sessions, so it is something I take very seriously.

I have had athletes who have just started with me and only done “warm-ups” in training and have gone out and run personal best performances. They progressively felt better and better throughout the few weeks of doing only the warm-up, and it’s led to them running faster than they ever have before!

When a new athlete joins my training group, I ask them to show me the warm-up they have been doing up until this time. Based upon what I see when they run, I will adjust it. For example, if an athlete has excessive rear-side mechanics and has butt kicks in their warm-up, I will remove them. I make sure all the athletes have specific exercises in their warm-up related to what they need in terms of technique, flexibility, and posture, amongst other things. For example, Helene has abdominal exercises in her warm-up to help ensure she can maintain a more neutral pelvis when she sprints, which has a knock-on effect to improving her technique. I see the warm-up as an opportunity to develop weaknesses in an environment where they worry about it less because “it’s just the warm-up.” For example, Helene was not great at one-legged jumps, so they are worked on as a part of her warm-up.

As mentioned, flexibility can be targeted in the warm-up, and ideally, I like to have a second person to help manually encourage an athlete through a greater range of motion.

I coach a lot of my sessions intuitively, which means I may not know the exact distances, numbers of runs, and recovery intervals before the session starts. In the past, I might write the training programme for the next two weeks and feel like it might be too much or it wasn’t appropriate, so I’d throw it away! Although I have said I want to have more structure in my training programme, I think it is very important to allow for flexibility based upon what you are seeing from the athletes.

Throughout the sessions, there are often constant adjustments being made, so it is difficult to provide an exact example of what my athletes do, but the following is a broad outline. Of course, the time of year will also dictate exactly how the sessions might look.

Monday: Technical

  • Drills
  • 6×40-100 metres technical runs with self-directed recovery periods (I find rest periods can be stressful for an athlete if they know they must run without being recovered).
  • This session prioritizes establishing a good feeling, and therefore the emphasis is on how we run, rather than the number of runs we do or how far they are.

Tuesday: Strength

  • Often includes contrast training implementing jumps. For example, squat followed by jump squat followed by assisted jumps. If Helene is tired, she may do a session with the kBox at home instead.

Wednesday: Acceleration/Speed

  • 30m individualized warm up with 15-20 different exercises.
  • 45min of drills, jumps, mobility exercises all together.
  • 1×10 metres fly with a 40-metres run-in timed using a Freelap.
  • 2×80 metres blocks. I time last 30 metres with a Freelap. They run against each other, and their goals are to both win the rep and have the fastest last 30 metres. I have also done this over 60 metres, with the last 20 metres timed. This is a session I learnt from Randy Huntington, when I joined in with a group of his athletes from China.

Or

  • 1-2 x 10m fly.
  • 20 metres, 30 metres, 40 metres, 50 metres all from blocks.
  • It may be controversial to have speed and acceleration in the same session, but I have had good experiences with this.

Thursday: Strength

  • See Tuesday.

Friday: Technical

  • Similar to Monday.

Or

  • Drills.

Or

  • Big warm-up.

This session depends on the athlete’s needs. Helene may need more relaxation in her runs, so this would be her focus. This session also serves to prepare for the next day’s session on Saturday.

Saturday: Speed

  • 30m individualized warm up with 15-20 different exercises.
  • 45min of drills, jumps, mobility exercises all together.
  • 4-6×50-60m technical runs done alone. These runs are focused on searching for a “smooth” feeling.

The following runs are done together in a competitive environment:

100 metre runners:

  • 1×120 metres

Or

  • 3×80 metres

200 metre runners may progress over the months from doing:

  • 3×300 metres with 20 minutes rest (this session is completed around four or five times).

To

  • 2×300 metres.

To

  • 1×300 metres (this session took place this past year right before the indoor season).

Alternatively, the following session may be run alone:

  • 2-3x 250 metres, untimed, with a focus on smoothness and maintaining technique and frequency (John Smith once gave me a piece of advice, and said “always look easy”).
Croc Show Missy

Why are Coaches D.U.M.B (Don’t Understand My Brain): The Croc Show Featuring Missy Mitchell-McBeth

Blog| ByElton Crochran

Croc Show Missy

“For sport coaches everything is in the short term, right? Everything is surrounding wins and losses. So where we as a strength coach look at, ‘Okay, I’ve got six years to develop this kid into the athlete they need to be’…the sport coach is like, ‘I’ve got six minutes to win this game or I’m getting fired.’”

Starting from that difference in the immediate imperatives of a sport coach vs. the longer-term developmental perspective of a performance coach, Missy Mitchell-McBeth joins Coach Croc to discuss the frequent disconnect between a school’s team sport coaches and the strength and conditioning staff. Mitchell-McBeth, longtime S&C coach and author of Developmental to Division I: Strength and Conditioning for the Volleyball Athlete, is clear that communication breakdowns cut both directions.

“I don’t think there are many coaches out there that have anything but the best interests of their athletes at heart,” Mitchell-McBeth says. “The real reason sport coaches are *dumb* about strength and conditioning is that nobody is putting out clear and concise information to help serve and plug that gap.”

Sometimes people aren’t ready to listen ever. Sometimes people aren’t ready to listen right now, says @missyMmcbeth. Share on X

What are solutions to serve and plug that gap? Certainly not confrontational attacks or putting them on blast on social media, which is why the D.U.M.B acronym is offered with tongue (mostly) in cheek. Recognizing that coaches are defensive about lapses in what they don’t know—or, what they think they know, but may be misinformed—Mitchell-McBeth shares communication approaches that are more likely to lead to progress and help the long term professional growth of fellow coaches and the athletes across a program.

“Sometimes people aren’t ready to listen ever. Sometimes people aren’t ready to listen right now,” Mitchell-McBeth says, likening the message of an S&C coach to that of marketing for a product, where sometimes it can take 7-8 positive exposures before a customer is finally ready to pull the trigger and buy. She also makes the point that the D.U.M.B acronym can equally swing the opposite way.

“(Online S&C arguments) make our profession appear fractured and fractured professions don’t garner a lot of respect. Going back to the original topic, why are sport coaches so dumb, we could easily flip this into ‘why are strength coaches so dumb’ and get their feathers ruffled over sport coaches questioning them.”


Video 1. The Croc Show featuring Coach and author Missy Mitchell-McBeth.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


HIIT Training

Applying HIIT Training for In-Season Conditioning in Team Sports

Blog| ByKonstantinos Stratakis

HIIT Training

In-season, immediate sports performance is the primary goal; thus, proper stress management is crucial. Given the heavy game schedule in team sports, coaches need to find ways to optimize the time efficiency of concurrent training by combining different stimuli. Small-sided games (SSGs) are often used to improve motivation, sport-specific movement efficiency, tactical awareness, and technical skills. The intensity of exercise SSGs can be modulated by manipulating variables such as field dimensions, player numbers, technical rules, coach encouragement, and the type of exercise regime (continuous vs. intermittent), making them an effective method for improving metabolic conditioning via inducing aerobic, anaerobic, and neuromuscular adaptations in a time-efficient manner.

While all metabolic conditioning ideally should be done through playing and practicing the sport, as it’s challenging to replicate the physical and emotional stress produced by the sport, it’s crucial to recognize the potential drawbacks of small-sided games as a tool for improving metabolic conditioning such as:

  • It is difficult to precisely standardize the overall load of SSGs due to the variability of responses within players. This variability can lead to differences in cardiovascular responses and neuromuscular responses as well as inconsistent blood lactate.
  • Data shows that the average oxygen consumption (VO2) is inversely related to VO2max during SSG, suggesting a possible ceiling effect for VO2max development in fitter players.
  • While being enormously flexible, SSGs may not always be highly specific to competitive games.
  • Overexposure to high-intensity competitive drills during SSGs may increase athletes’ risk of acute injuries.

SSG
Figure 1. Visual representation of SSG in soccer, figure via Ryan Cotter’s article “Training Your Substitutes in Soccer.“

It is important to note that besides SSGs, responses among players during actual games are significantly variable. Scientific literature establishes that factors such as playing time, position, competition level, and playing style, among other elements, affect the players’ external and internal load.

While all metabolic conditioning ideally should be done through playing and practicing the sport, it’s crucial to recognize the potential drawbacks of small-sided games for improving metabolic conditioning. Share on X

Non-specific conditioning methods do not substitute for small-sided games (SSGs) and the actual game, but rather complement them as individualized tools that provide a controlled environment for developing metabolic conditioning while objectively measuring progress.

It is worth noting that different conditioning methods fall across the intensity spectrum from low to high, depending on the overall load on the body. More volume is generally needed to achieve training adaptations and improve conditioning when intensity is lower.

While there are various methods of metabolic conditioning, discussing and analyzing each one is beyond the scope of this article. This article is all about understanding the role of HIIT training as a non-specific conditioning method in-season.

HIIT Training: What? Why? How?

Before I begin writing this section, I want to highlight the book Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training. This book is an invaluable resource, and much of the information presented in the following paragraphs is derived from it.

HIIT variables can all be manipulated to modify the physiological load (aerobic, anaerobic, neuromuscular), says Konstantinos Stratakis. Share on X

All the chapters in this magnificent book are genuinely outstanding. That being said, I loved chapters 3-5 the most. The authors do an excellent job describing in detail the physiological targets of HIIT, explaining the HIIT variables and ways to manipulate them according to the desired outcome while smoothly transitioning to the actual utilization of the different HIIT formats.

Now that we’ve addressed that, let’s begin: HIIT training is defined as the repeated performance of relatively short intervals of high-intensity work interspersed with low-intensity work or rest intervals, where full recovery is usually not allowed. HIIT has gained popularity due to its ability to positively impact both the aerobic and anaerobic systems while inducing neuromuscular adaptations in a time-efficient manner.

Nine HIIT variables, including work intensity, work duration, recovery interval intensity, recovery interval duration, exercise modality, number of intervals, number of series, between-series recovery duration, and between-series recovery intensity, can all be manipulated to modify the physiological load (aerobic, anaerobic, neuromuscular).

In HIIT, there are two types of load intensity indicators: external and internal. External intensity load indicators include running speed at VO2max (vVO2max or MAS), maximum sprinting speed (MSS), anaerobic speed reserve (ASR = MSS – MAS), and VIFT (achieved speed in the intermittent fitness test 30-15) for running and power output at VO2max (PVO2max) and maximum power output (Pmax) for rowing and bicycle-ergometer. On the other hand, the most commonly used internal intensity load indicators in the practical field include heart rate (% of HRmax), level of perceived exertion (RPE), and blood lactate accumulation.

According to the authors of the book Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training  there are four HIIT formats:

1. HIIT Long

Work intensity:

  • 90-105% vVO2max (MAS)

Work duration:

  • 1-2 min to a maximum of 5-6 min

Relief interval duration and intensity:

  • Shorter passive
  • Longer active, but with a lower load intensity (40-50% vVO2max)

Example:

  • (5-8 x 3 min [95% MAS], r= 4-5 min [50% vVO2max] or r= 2-3 min passive)

2. HIIT Short

Work intensity:

  • 100-130% vVO2max (MAS)

Work duration:

  • 15-60 sec

Relief interval duration and intensity:

  • Passive for higher work/rest ratios and work intensities
  • Active (50-60% vVO2max) for lower work/rest ratios and work intensities

Example:

  • 2-3x (8 x 30 sec [110% vVO2max], r= 30 sec [50% vVO2max] or r= 15 sec passive)


Video 1. A player performing a repetition of HIIT repeated sprint interval..

3. Repeated Sprint Training

Work intensity:

  • Maximum (85-100% of MSS)

Work duration:

  • 3-8 sec

Relief interval duration and intensity:

  • 3-5 times more than work duration passive
  • 5-8 times more than work duration active (50-60% vVO2max)

Example:

  • 2-4 x (6-10 x 3-6 sec max, r= 15-20 sec passive or r= 20-30 sec active)


Video 2. A player performing a repetition of HIIT short interval.

4. Sprint Interval Training

Work intensity:

  • Maximum

Work duration:

  • 15-45 sec

Relief interval duration and intensity:

  • 2-4 min, passive

Example:

  • 1 x (4-8 x 20-40 sec max, r= 2-4 min passive)

When using different HIIT formats, it’s essential to consider the specificity continuum of exercise modalities. More specific exercise modalities, such as patterned running, are great for simulating the demands of the sport. In contrast, more general modalities, like biking, are better for inducing central adaptations without overloading specific structures. In my practice, particularly during the in-season, I typically use specific exercise methods most of the time. However, there are certain situations where I might use more general exercise methods, such as during long HIIT sessions or when I want to reduce strain on the neuromuscular system. I will delve into this further in later sections of this article.

Training time above 90% of VO2max has been established as a good criterion for judging the effectiveness of a training program to improve aerobic fitness, says Konstantinos Stratakis. Share on X

The videos above provide examples of exercise modalities specific to basketball. In the first clip, the player performs a repetition of a HIIT short interval. In the second clip, the player does a repeated sprint interval. It is important to note that the player’s skill level should not be a limiting factor. Therefore, familiar movement patterns are preferred.

HIIT Training and Aerobic, Anaerobic, and Neuromuscular Contribution

The various HIIT formats uniquely affect the aerobic, anaerobic, and neuromuscular systems. As mentioned earlier in this article, adjusting the nine different HIIT variables allows for modifying the overall physiological load.

1. HIIT Training and Aerobic Contribution

An increase in VO2 max positively relates to training intensity in the 50-100% VO2max range. Several reviews have supported the superior efficacy of training at near VO2max. More precisely, training time above 90% of VO2max has been established as a good criterion for judging the effectiveness of a training program to improve aerobic fitness.

Both HIIT short and long seem to be very effective training methods for accumulating time above 90% of VO2max. When it comes to repeated sprint intervals, 4 seconds of work, including jumps and COD, and 20 seconds of active rest is going to maximize time above 90% of VO2max, even if this training method is not optimal for this purpose. Even if there is a high demand for muscle oxygenation, sprint interval training hardly maximizes time above 90% of VO2max. That said, the higher the session volume, the more the aerobic system contributes to energy production.

2. HIIT Training and Anaerobic Contribution

Occasionally, coaches prefer to limit the anaerobic contribution of specific HIIT sessions to lower the overall RPE or avoid depletion of glycogen stores while accumulating higher volumes of near VO2max training.

The use of blood lactate concentration to assess anaerobic glycolytic energy contribution has several limitations (nutritional status, aerobic fitness, timing, etc.). However, it is still the most reliable method for assessing anaerobic contribution during HIIT.

Long HIIT intervals are less flexible overall. Higher work intensities, longer work interval durations, and shorter rest intervals are all closely related to a higher rate of blood lactate increase. When the rest interval duration is more prolonged, active recovery can accelerate blood lactate clearance.

Short intervals, on the other hand, are generally more flexible. Short HIIT sessions with similar mean intensity but higher work interval intensities elicit more significant blood lactate responses. Increases in the work/rest ratio and work interval durations are associated with increases in the initial rate of blood lactate accumulation. With increased recovery intensities, a progressive increase in blood lactate is observed at exhaustion.

The initial rate of blood lactate accumulation during repeated sprint intervals is primarily correlated with its work/rest ratio. Sprints longer than 4 seconds and relief intervals less than 20 seconds and active elicit more blood lactate accumulation. Greater COD angles may increase muscle recruitment, but absolute sprinting speed is lower, which results in less lactate accumulation.

Regarding sprint interval training, shorter sprints and/or lower intensities will lower the anaerobic glycolytic energy contribution. That said, more than 45-second sprints engage a more significant contribution from the aerobic system. For more lactate production, recovery periods should be long enough to allow the aerobic system to return to its resting levels while avoiding over-acidic status.

3. HIIT Training and Neuromuscular Contribution

Managing neuromuscular load during HIIT training is essential because it:

  1. Affects time at VO2max.
  2. Might have potential carry-over effects for subsequent training sessions.
  3. Might modulate long-term neuromuscular adaptations.
  4. May influence injury risk (traumatic and overuse).

While the majority of muscle fibers might already be recruited during long intervals, the firing rate and relative force development per fiber are likely greater during short intervals. Long and short intervals with more anaerobic contribution might equal more fatigue. For “bigger” athletes, the musculoskeletal load of long intervals might be higher than during short intervals due to poor running economy. Incline running and softer surfaces seem to reduce neuromuscular strain during both HIIT short and long intervals.

A lower work/relief ratio is generally associated with a more significant impairment of repeated sprinting capacity during sprint interval training. However, maintaining a higher running speed may induce a greater musculoskeletal strain. 45° COD may be an effective alternative to reducing acute neuromuscular load during RSS, with an even sharper COD being associated with a higher acute risk of both ankle and knee injuries. The high volume of decelerations has the potential to increase acute muscle fatigue.

When it comes to sprint interval training, longer rest durations show greater impairments in neuromuscular performance because they allow for max-effort bouts. Longer sprint intervals (up to 72 seconds) might have more neuromuscular demands than shorter intervals (15 seconds or 30 seconds).

The use of blood lactate concentration to assess anaerobic glycolytic energy contribution has several limitations... However, it is still the most reliable method for assessing anaerobic contribution during HIIT. Share on X

As a closer to this section, I want to mention that even if quantifying the exact physiological load of HIIT may be challenging, following the tips and tricks from the authors of Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training is an easy and effective way to achieve the desired results. However, due to the chaotic environment of team sports, it can be challenging to prescribe HIIT based on predetermined numbers such as ASR or MAS. Personally, I regularly use subjective (RPE) and objective (heart rate, accelerometer) measures of internal and external load to get an idea of what I get out of my HIIT sessions.

Incorporating HIIT Training as a Non-Specific Conditioning Method In-Season

I can’t hide that I am a big fan of Daniel Bove’s book The Quadrant System. This book has defined my training system. Considering this, in my system, additional non-specific conditioning always accompanies the nature of the stress related to the volume and intensity of sports practices and games. As mentioned in the book, this way, physical preparation and sport-specific training are coordinated in tandem, creating a congruent perception of stress and helping to avoid flatlining.

For example, game days are accompanied by conditioning protocols such as HIIT short protocols, which place high stress on the aerobic, anaerobic, and neuromuscular systems. The overall volume of the conditioning sessions depends on various factors, including the acute/chronic load, the psychophysiological status and age of players, the availability of resources, etc.

Generally, high-minute players do not undergo extra conditioning unless there is an overreaching phase. However, moderate and low/no-minute players have additional conditioning sessions, with the overall session volume varying based on the need analysis process, as already mentioned.

Regarding sports practices, higher-intensity, lower-volume practices are usually combined with conditioning protocols that place high stress on the neuromuscular and anaerobic systems and moderate/low stress on the aerobic system. This can include repeated sprint intervals or HIIT short with lower density but higher outputs.

Lower intensity, higher volume sports practices, on the other hand, are most often paired with tempo intervals or even LISS training. Hopefully, another article will provide more information on these protocols.

The most challenging practices of the week, which involve both high volume and high intensity, are more commonly paired with HIIT short or, less often, HIIT long intervals, thereby stressing all systems (aerobic, anaerobic, neuromuscular). Rarely, I might program very low-volume sprint interval training to challenge athletes mentally and physically.

Overall, non-specific conditioning should support and complement specific training, or in other words, the sport itself. Too much allostatic load at the wrong time can be detrimental to both performance and development. Thus, it is crucial to intelligently combine HIIT training with the sport’s stressors while adjusting its overall volume according to each athlete’s status.

More precisely, the likely acute neuromuscular impact of different training formats may play a critical role in the neuromuscular adaptations and interferences that develop from supplementary training and match content.

In addition to looking at the neuromuscular load as a general term, it’s important to consider the specific effects of HIIT on different muscle groups. For example, when organizing a tactical session that involves a lot of high-speed running (HSR), it’s advisable to avoid putting too much strain on the hamstrings. However, if the aim is to specifically work those muscle groups, for example to prepare for the high demands of a match, a HIIT sequence focused on high-speed running could be included in the program.

This year, I have the opportunity to work with Firstbeat technology. Firstbeat provides me with insights into the players’ external factors (such as movement load) and internal load (like TRIMP) in real-time. This enables me to make well-informed decisions about programming additional non-specific conditioning, including HIIT. Firstbeat also provides me with real-time feedback on the aerobic and anaerobic demands during sports practices and non-specific conditioning sessions, allowing me to adjust HIIT variables (Figure 2).

Firstbeat
Figure 2. Firstbeat session details from a top-up HIIT short session.

A Thing to Consider When Programming HIIT

One aspect that has not been given much attention is that, for most high-intensity interval training options, the average movement intensity (movement load per minute, density) tends to be much higher than the peak match demands for similar durations.

For example, certain HIIT short protocols enable athletes to cover the same high-speed running (HSR) distance as a 90-minute match in less than 15 minutes. This principle applies to other vital metrics in different sports, such as high-intensity accelerations/decelerations in basketball and high-intensity jumps in volleyball.

This means that HIIT can easily overwhelm the average movement intensity for a given metric during a match. The question is: “How much does this matter regarding fitness development, match preparation, and injury management?”

It might be reasonable to assume that such extreme overload is unnecessary and should be avoided. Breaking the HIIT sequences into smaller effort sequences, followed by rest periods, may reduce the average movement intensity of a certain metric closer to the actual game demands.

HIIT can easily overwhelm the average movement intensity for a given metric during a match. The question is: How much does this matter regarding fitness development, match preparation, and injury management? Share on X

However, this may not be sufficient to enable the desired adaptations in cardiorespiratory response. Coaches may need to decide whether to prioritize metabolic conditioning (longer HIIT sets) or match-specific average movement intensity for a given metric (shorter HIIT sets) to achieve the desired outcomes.

In my practice, I often mix different movement patterns within the same HIIT block. For example, I alternate linear runs with multidirectional movements or jumps. This approach can help decrease the volume and average movement intensity of high-speed running (HSR), allowing players to exercise for longer periods without accumulating high volumes of a specific metric, which could lead to a sudden increase in workload.

Final Thoughts

In a perfect world, all conditioning should be completed by playing and practicing the sport. Even if it’s challenging to replicate the physical and emotional stress produced by the sport itself, there are times when non-specific metabolic conditioning is necessary.

HIIT is a powerful and highly flexible weapon for non-specific conditioning in-season. The manipulation of the different HIIT variables allows coaches to adjust the physiological load. In my system, additional non-specific conditioning always accompanies the nature of the stress related to the volume and intensity of sports practices and games. When utilizing HIIT, considering the density might be worthwhile.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


Athlete iPad VBT

Velocity-Based Training: From Theory to Application

Blog| ByEric Richter

Athlete iPad VBT

Velocity-based training (VBT) is great for improving how effective your training sessions are with its real-time performance feedback, allowing you and your athletes to fine-tune your training in the gym.

That said, it can be tricky moving velocity-based training from theory to application because it’s quite different from traditional training.

Today, we’ll explore the ins and outs of VBT, comparing it with traditional percentage-based training, looking at who can benefit the most from it, and checking out some of the best devices for it.

Let’s jump in!

What is Velocity-Based Training (VBT)?

So, what is velocity-based training?

Basically, it’s a method of training that uses the speed of movement to decide on the load and volume of exercises in a training session.

More specifically, that speed of movement is a measurement of how fast an athlete can move the weight they’re lifting.

VBT is very individualized and adaptive, as it accounts for daily fluctuations in an athlete’s performance.

One of the biggest benefits of velocity-based training is that it gives you real-time feedback on lifts so that you can make immediate adjustments to optimize your training.

Velocity-Based Training vs Percentage-Based Training

Percentage-based training relies on the predetermined percentages of an athlete’s one-rep max (1RM), whereas VBT focuses on the velocity at which an athlete can move a given load.

Enode Sensor Squat Lift

That said, traditional percentage-based training has been a staple in strength and conditioning programs for decades for a reason.

Since it involves prescribing loads based on a percentage of an athlete’s 1RM, it keeps the intensity of training close to optimal.

While effective, this approach has its limitations:

  • Static Prescriptions: Percentage-based training doesn’t account for daily variations in an athlete’s performance due to factors like fatigue, stress, or nutrition.
  • Lack of Real-Time Feedback: Athletes might not know if they’re lifting too heavy or too light on any given day.
  • Skill Requirement: Performing a 1RM requires a certain amount of skill and experience with that specific lift that’s being tested. This can make 1RMs inaccurate for new lifters or those that don’t do 1RMs regularly, affecting the programming.

VBT offers several advantages over this:

  • Dynamic Adjustments: VBT allows for real-time adjustments based on the athlete’s performance thanks to the immediate feedback, which allows them to train at the optimal intensity even if they’re fatigued.
  • More Motivation: The real-time feedback can serve as a motivational tool, encouraging athletes to push harder and achieve better results.
  • Beginner Friendly: Whether you’re a new or experienced lifter, VBT doesn’t require much skill past lifting the weight correctly, which can be taught quicker than a true 1RM.

Who Should Train with VBT

VBT can be a great training method for everyone, but it’s especially beneficial for:

  • Elite Athletes: Those looking to gain a competitive edge through precise and adaptive training.
  • Strength & Conditioning Coaches: Professionals who want to provide more individualized training programs for their athletes.
  • Rehabilitation Specialists: Physical therapists and other professionals who need to monitor and adjust training loads for injured athletes.
  • Amateur Athletes: People who want to optimize their training and track their progress more accurately when they can’t get an accurate 1RM.

Velocity-Based Training Devices

You need reliable devices that can accurately measure the velocity of each lift if you want to get the most out of VBT.

Several types of tools are available on the market, each with its unique features and benefits.

Two of the most popular types of VBT devices include:

Wearable Sensors

These can be attached to the athlete or the equipment to measure velocity in real-time.

One standout device in this category is the Enode Sensor.

Enode Sensor

Known for its precision and ease of use, the Enode Sensor provides accurate velocity measurements and integrates seamlessly with other training tools.

It’s small, lightweight, and much more affordable than many other options, making it a great tool for budget-friendly VBT or large groups of athletes when you buy multiple.

Linear Position Transducers (LPTs)

These devices measure the displacement and time of a lift, providing accurate velocity data.

They’re tethered to the barbell or athlete, making them a great option if accuracy is the most important aspect you’re looking for–it acts similar to a measuring tape.

LPTs are also one of the easiest VBT devices to use.

Something like this GymAware PowerTool is a LPT – make sure to check out our GymAware guide to get the most out of them!

GymAware

How is Velocity-Based Training Used?

With all this data, how do you actually use velocity-based training?

A good way to start is by setting your training goals, then following a couple steps:

  • Initial Assessment: Use the data from your VBT device to get a baseline from your athletes. You can use this data to measure their 1RM, which will help guide weight-setting.
  • Set Velocity Zones: Define specific velocity ranges for different training goals so that you can train for different types of strength, power, speed, etc.
  • Monitor and Adjust: Use VBT devices (like the Enode Sensor) to monitor the athlete’s velocity during each lift and adjust the load or volume as needed.
  • Track Progress: Take advantage of immediate data and review it to identify trends and make both short and long-term adjustments to the training program.

VBT Training Metrics

There are a couple key metrics in VBT that you want to keep an eye on:

  • Mean Velocity: The average speed of the lift, often used to determine the overall effectiveness of a training session.
  • Peak Velocity: The highest speed achieved during a lift, useful for assessing explosive power.
  • Velocity Loss: The percentage decrease in velocity from the first to the last repetition, indicating fatigue and helping figure out when to best rest.
  • Rep Height, Distance, Duration: Often through visual data, this metric shows the distance of your movement path and the time it took.

There are more metrics, but not every device measures the same ones.

Velocity-Based Training Methods

There are several methods for integrating VBT into your training program, each with its unique benefits:

  • Load-Velocity Profiling: This method involves creating a profile that maps the relationship between load and velocity for an athlete. This profile can be used to determine the optimal load for different training goals.
  • Autoregulation: By using real-time velocity data, athletes can adjust their training loads on the fly, ensuring they’re always working at the optimal intensity.
  • Cluster Sets: This method involves breaking a set into smaller clusters with short rest periods in between. By monitoring velocity, coaches can make sure that each cluster is performed at the intensity goal.
  • Velocity Targets: Setting specific velocity targets for each lift can help athletes focus on improving their speed and power.
  • Velocity Drop-Offs: Use velocity loss to control volume and manage fatigue.
  • Estimate 1RM: Predict 1RM using velocity.
  • Monitoring Progress: Track strength development over time without risky 1RM tests.

Conclusion

Velocity-based training is a powerful tool that can transform the way athletes train.

By focusing on the speed of movement, VBT allows for more individualized and adaptive training sessions, providing real-time feedback that improves performance.

If you want to move your velocity-based training from theory to application or take your current velocity-based training up a notch, make sure to visit our store and look into VBT devices like the Enode Sensor!

FAQs

How to implement velocity-based training?

Implementing velocity-based training involves using technology to measure the speed of an athlete’s movements during exercises. This data helps adjust training loads in real-time to optimize performance and reduce the risk of injury. To get started, you’ll need a device like a linear position transducer or an accelerometer, which can be attached to the barbell or other equipment. During workouts, the device provides immediate feedback on the velocity of each lift, allowing for adjustments in weight or repetitions based on the athlete’s performance. This ensures that athletes are training within the most effective velocity zones for their specific goals, whether they are focusing on strength, power, or endurance.

Is velocity-based training worth it?

Velocity-based training is highly beneficial for athletes and coaches who aim for precise and individualized training programs. By using velocity as a metric, VBT allows for real-time adjustments that can lead to more effective workouts and quicker adaptations. Athletes can avoid overtraining and undertraining by making sure they are working within the optimal velocity ranges for their specific goals. VBT also helps track progress more accurately and provides a more responsive and adaptive training environment. For those committed to maximizing performance and minimizing injury risks, VBT is definitely worth it.

What is the difference between VBT and percentage-based training?

The main difference between velocity-based training (VBT) and percentage-based training lies in how the training loads are determined and adjusted. Percentage-based training relies on predetermined percentages of an athlete’s one-rep max (1RM) to set the load for each exercise. VBT uses the actual speed of movements to adjust loads in real-time, providing a more dynamic and responsive training approach.

What kind of technology does velocity-based training use?

Velocity-based training uses several types of devices to measure the speed of an athlete’s movements. The most common devices are linear position transducers, accelerometers, and wearable sensors. Some systems integrate with software applications to offer more detailed analytics and feedback, making it easier for coaches and athletes to track progress and make informed adjustments to training programs.

What are the advantages of velocity-based training?

One of the main benefits of VBT is the ability to make real-time adjustments to training loads based on the athlete’s performance. This provides more accurate tracking of progress, as it accounts for daily variations in an athlete’s condition, which also helps avoid overtraining. VBT can also help identify strengths and weaknesses by analyzing the velocity at different loads.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


Three people are exercising in a gym. The left person is doing a split squat with weights, the middle person is using resistance bands for seated rows, and the right person is performing a cable pull on a stack of boxes.

Beyond Power Training Technology Review

Blog| ByMatt Cooper

Three people are exercising in a gym. The left person is doing a split squat with weights, the middle person is using resistance bands for seated rows, and the right person is performing a cable pull on a stack of boxes.

I’ll just skip any warmup and get to the meat and potatoes: I’m happy to write an unaffiliated review of the VOLTRA I resistance training technology by Beyond Power—one of the most versatile, highly beneficial pieces of equipment I’ve ever come across.

Usually, when I’m writing reviews or telling a coach about a tool they may want to consider integrating, it’s generally coming from a specific place. A lot of the time, that perspective sits somewhere on the “hey, this really can add some value to what you do” or the “maybe this could be useful and worth exploring” areas of the spectrum.

The VOLTRA I is a Swiss Army Knife of resistance training technology all in one convenient little package, smaller than a shoebox, says @rewirehp. Share on X

However, there are a few instances where something truly stands out and gets me excited enough that I find myself jumping to the “must try” tier. I’m happy to report that the VOLTRA I is absolutely in that latter category for athletes, individuals, practitioners, and coaches alike.

Beyond Power Unit
Image 1. The Beyond Power VOLTRA I consolidates a lot of features into a compact, convenient unit.

What Does the VOLTRA I Do? Features & Functionality

The VOLTRA Iis a Swiss Army Knife of resistance training technology all in one convenient little package, smaller than a shoebox.

The high-level overview of the machine is that it offers various resistance settings to capture benefits generally seen in separate machines.

Beyond Power Rack Mount
Image 2. The VOLTRA I easily mounts onto most racks with ease for horizontal, force vector-driven movements.

These include traditional cable machine resistance, lighter resistance modes for speed (think Vertimax), eccentric-overload aka flywheel settings, chain resistance, as well as adaptive isokinetic resistance. Some of those have been added over time to my pre-existing unit (they’re still in startup mode) via their software upgrades with potentially more to come in time. I’ll do my best to summarize the various features here.

    • Weight Training Mode feels like an ultra-smooth cable machine. Think Keiser Functional Trainer-esque. This would be like traditional isotonic resistance you can preload prior to performing an exercise.

 

    • You can add a flywheel feeling component by adding additional resistance to the eccentric portion of the movement.

 

    • You can also add a chain-resistance-mimicking setting to this mode where resistance gets heavier the further you progress through the concentric phase of movement—similar to real chains on, say, a squat.

 

    • Damper Mode simulates the resistance experienced during a parachute run with resistance increasing as speed increases.

 

    • Resistance Band Mode sees the resistance increase as the range of motion increases, akin to a literal resistance band. This is ideal for movements where speed is the goal, such as loading a first step, lateral push off, and other athletic patterns.

 

  • Isokinetic Mode provides adaptive resistance to the user on the concentric phase of movement with no eccentric load. This means the harder the user pulls or pushes, the more resistance the machine offers in order to adapt to the user’s given capabilities. This is highly useful as each rep is a living, adaptable, relative max. It’s also pragmatic because multiple athletes of various physical abilities can work on the same machine concurrently.

Those are the main settings; the machine, however, also has other qualities that really tie everything together.

Weight Training Mode feels like an ultra-smooth cable machine. Think Keiser Functional Trainer-esque. This would be like traditional isotonic resistance you can preload prior to performing an exercise, says @rewirehp. Share on X

The various attachments and accessories are very helpful. I’m a big fan of the rack attachments (including the new one that rotates in whatever direction it’s pulled for cleaner movement setups) as well as the base for vertical plane of movement exercises. The various settings are largely intuitive, with some light experimentation, so the whole thing is quite user friendly. Even some of the more functional/practical settings like the cable rollback are reasonably easy to figure out on your own. All in all, it was nice to dive into a piece of technology without feeling overwhelmed in start-up mode.

Who Is It For?

I personally view the VOLTRA I as something that’s soon-to-be ubiquitous across virtually all physical fitness, rehabilitation, and performance arenas with benefits to offer everybody.

It certainly has a place in home fitness due to the minimal fingerprint and sheer amount of boxes it can help you check (cable machine, flywheel, isokinetic machine, Vertimax-type settings, chain resistance mimetic).

That same Swiss Army Knife offering of features plus the minimal footprint makes it ideal for boutique gyms and training studios that want to integrate various pieces of equipment with those features but may not have adequate floor space.

Speaking of the portability and small footprint aspect relative to features, the machine should legit be considered a must-have for all mobile or pop-up trainers. Those familiar with the scarce resources for some professional sports training staff when on the road (e.g., in the NBA) are likely already thinking of this as something they can bring along on road trips for sports teams. This has implications for pre-game prep and being able to get athletes sufficient post-game load on the road. I can see tissue recruitment/potentiation and movement prep benefits prior to competition as a key area it addresses.

The performance benefits make the VOLTRA I an ideal choice for athletes as well as those who train them. This can include speed coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, and rehabilitation specialists who want a reasonably cost-effective, convenient solution for reconditioning and return-to-play needs. The isokinetic mode in particular—being able to match the output of the user—means athletes are offered scaled challenges relative to the level of their present abilities.

I personally view the VOLTRA I as something that’s soon-to-be ubiquitous across virtually all physical fitness, rehabilitation, and performance arenas with benefits to offer everybody, says @rewirehp. Share on X

There’s more that could be said here because the device can benefit so many populations with so many use cases, but I think the best way to put it is that I use it daily and have trouble thinking of demographics who wouldn’t benefit from the technology.

How Do I Integrate The VOLTRA I Into My Programming With Athletes?

Arguably, the in-the-trenches coaching experience is the most important part when evaluating equipment. Here are some of the ways I’ve been integrating the VOLTRA I on the applied side.

From a logistics standpoint, I’ve enjoyed using it as a separate station at my gym. Having a more or less zero footprint machine that doesn’t take up real estate has made coaching groups even easier to navigate. On that same practical side of the coin, I’ve enjoyed the mobile aspect of the device for pop-up, off-site training. Once the outdoor attachment is ready, I plan on traveling with it.

As far as how I use it with clients, the modes I use the most are:

    • The traditional weight training mode (akin to a cable machine)

 

    • The added eccentric overload (the flywheel-type setting)

 

  • The isokinetic mode

While, conceptually, I’m a huge fan of the Damper Mode, the length of the cable makes it better suited for loaded dynamic exercises and plyometrics as opposed to literal loaded sprinting. Perhaps a future update is in the works there?


Video 1. The VOLTRA I works just as well for sagittal and vertical displacement exercises as it does for horizontal force vectors. Here, the athlete is using the eccentric overload (flywheel stand-in) adjustment of Weight Training mode.

I’ve absolutely loved doing vertical displacement exercises on the platform using the flywheel/eccentric setting for training the brakes during the downward phase of vertical jumping as well as simply building general strength for squat variations. I also like having athletes do split squat variations with their hands on either side of the rack (hand supported split squats).

Having a more or less zero footprint machine that doesn’t take up real estate has made coaching groups even easier to navigate, says @rewirehp. Share on X

Another movement I’ve really enjoyed using the machine for is lateral lunge and lateral lunge/row combos with slant boards under the plant leg to develop competency in the frontal plane and change of direction activities.


Video 2. Using this movement not only for general strength, but also to capture intent, the appropriate muscle sets, and proper bony alignments for frontal plane competency prior to doing frontal plane athletic patterns/dynamics. This is an adaptive resistance isokinetic mode with no eccentric load so as not to fatigue the athlete as much prior to plyometric activity.

I tend to use a mix of the weight training with eccentric overload as well as the isokinetic mode for this.

Of course, I enjoy using the general weight training mode for simple things like single arm cable presses from a staggered stance as well as staggered stance cable rows. I should also mention that I only have one unit at the time of this writing, though the dual unit movements unlock so much more exercise selection possibilities and/or stations.

The isokinetic mode might be my favorite. I love the idea of the adaptable resistance and each rep being a relative max for both general strength and tissue recruitment purposes. The concept of each rep offering maximal resistance through the entire range of motion is also huge for rehab due to being able to strengthen each joint angle.

The unloaded eccentric component means there will likely be less delayed onset muscle soreness than you might expect from an eccentric version of this or from flywheels.

Thus, I also see this as a phenomenal way to microdose strength work in-season for athletes without taxing their CNS or physiology on the whole quite as much. Speaking of in-season and pop-up training options, I like the idea of bringing this on the court (or field) as a way to achieve tissue recruitment, loaded movement prep, and going beyond the typical pre-game routines.


Video 3. Weight Training (cable feel) mode.

This whole section is still a living document, but hopefully this gets prospective users excited about a lot of different possibilities on the rehab-to-performance spectrum.

Specs: Cost Breakdown and Room for Development Moving Forward

When you factor in everything it does, the VOLTRA I is ultra-affordably priced at $2,099, with the ability to net two for dual-pulley setups for $4,774 (at the time of this writing). You will need to pay à la carte to add accessories, be it a platform, travel bag, 3D omnidirectional rack setup, and more. That’s going to be easily within budget for those who were already planning to add various types of equipment to their offerings, but could be something other trainers need to save for.

BP Coil
Image 3. The VOLTRA’s cable resistance is as smooth as it gets and highly durable.

The good news is that it has so many helpful features and functions, while being incredibly efficient to house and move, that all of these factors collectively bump it up near the top of the benefits-relative-to-cost equipment power rankings.

So far, the Beyond Power team has been amazingly receptive to input about everything from features to functionality. I’ve brought to their attention the need for a pop-up mobile training attachment for trees, fences, poles, etc. and that’s in the works. I’ve also brought up an ultra-mild software issue (the equipment got a little extra warm once), and their support team has gone above and beyond to ensure I experienced no further issues.

As a practitioner, I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered such a receptive team in the sports technology space. It really is this—the quality of the team and their drive to problem solve for the end consumer—that makes me believe Beyond Power will not only take the resistance training technology market by storm as a lead product, but also have a ton of staying power.

As coaches, a lot of the time we are used to techies coming in and trying to “disrupt” fitness, but Beyond Power has an excellent onboard mix of both technological specialists and those who understand the actual needs of coaches—I could not ask for a better team behind the brand.

If there is one thing I haven’t been in love with so far (but is fixable) is the platform for squatting and vertical displacement/sagittal dominant movement (e.g., curls, split squats, rtc.). If newbies aren’t careful about having their mass on the deck when they load it, the deck can get pulled upwards from under them. Ideally, a solution able to bolt the deck down would be great, or a way to make the loading phase something easier for one person to do (such as in the form of a remote) rather than a probable two-person undertaking. Again, something that is most definitely fixable from a software and/or hardware standpoint that’s easy enough to navigate in the meantime with a bit of mild supervision.

Parting Shots

I’ve written reviews before and I’ve told other coaches about equipment I use and recommended they integrate certain things—but I’m not sure I’ve ever been so much in the camp of “you gotta try this” about anything else I’ve reviewed. There are a handful of things I can think of in this category for sure, but few that offer such a wide array of benefits to so many potential users.

I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered such a receptive team in sports technology. The team’s quality and drive to problem solve makes me believe Beyond Power has a ton of staying power, says @rewirehp. Share on X

The wide array of features and holes plugged by one machine speak for themselves. So does the corresponding collection of use cases and those whom it can help. The ease-of-integration level grades out very high with comparatively low costs involved, user-friendliness, minimal footprint, portability, and convenience factors.

While the price may not be something everybody will be able to pull off on a whim, it’s many times more cost-effective than buying all the equipment needed to execute what this one singular unit does (cable machine, Vertimax, flywheel, isokinetic machine, and more).

I think for me, the only thing I like to also have in addition to the VOLTRA I (as someone who has a physical gym space and isn’t as mobile) is at least one Keiser Functional Trainer in order to have more stations going at once and because you may not be able to move your racks to accomplish more distance between two VOLTRA units for certain movements (e.g., cable row/press variations).

But aside from that (and that may be a less common want relegated to some biomechanics-lead coaches), integrating the VOLTRA I is a no-brainer. My advice would be to find a local coach that has a unit so you can try it first (I’m hoping the team adds local channel partners/places you can demo the tech) before making a call on purchasing.

In summation, I’m confident the VOLTRA I adds a ton of value for both trainer and trainee alike.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF

2nd Set of Eyes

High Performance Library: “Second Set of Eyes”

Blog| ByCraig Pickering

2nd Set of Eyes

It’s often said, in both academic and practical work, that coaches are performers in their own right. Like athletes, coaches are required to manage their emotions and actions under pressure to deliver the performances their athletes need to then deliver their own exceptional performances. This is even true in the daily performance environments; coaches are required to motivate the athletes they work with while providing feedback and instruction, all of which may require some elements of a performance.

We often feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness, but, instead, it’s a crucial part of developing our performance potential and becoming experts, says @craig100m. Share on X

Similarly, if a coach has a bad day—their mood is low, or they’re tired—their ability to effectively coach (i.e., their performance) will likely suffer. Like any performer, success does not come without practice, and a disciplined approach to developing the knowledge and skills to deliver the required performance, at the required time, is needed to truly deliver high-performance outcomes.

If an athlete came to you and wanted to improve their performance, you’d likely suggesting coaching in some capacity—maybe even your own coaching services. And yet, as coaches, we’re often not open to being coached ourselves. This is somewhat of a paradox: we know that coaching enhances performance, and we know that coaches are performers…and yet coaches very rarely have their own coaches.

Coaching the Coaches

Cody Royle, who views himself as a coach of head coaches, is trying to change this through his most recent book, Second Set of Eyes, which delivers an essential, compelling argument for why coaches need a coach. Royle refers to his coaching practice as a second set of eyes; someone who is focused on the individual’s coaching skills and how effective they are.

Typically, this is more focused on what we might term the “softer” skills of coaching—i.e., the how to coach as opposed to what to coach, such as interpersonal skills and the coach’s own well-being (and I often find it ironic, given all coaches know about human performance, that they often fail to apply this knowledge to themselves). This also includes their overall leadership ability—a crucial, but often under-considered, aspect of coaching. According to Royle, modern coaching—especially at the highest level—is no longer about the Xs and Os, but often focused on leading athletes and staff across the organisation, which requires developing leadership potential, maximising wellbeing, and relentlessly pursuing new knowledge.

As Royle writes in the prologue, “Winning in the current landscape is not about your individual brilliance; it’s derived from your ability to elicit collective greatness from every person within your organisation.” Are you good at this? How do you know? How do you improve? That’s the job of your second set of eyes, your coach.

If an athlete came to you and wanted to improve their performance, you’d likely suggesting coaching... And yet, as coaches, we’re often not open to being coached ourselves, says @craig100m. Share on X

In the first chapter proper of the book, Royle identifies the biggest myth in coaching—essentially, that we can do it all ourselves. We often believe that there is a linear relationship between hard work and success, with more always being better. Royle terms this Chronic Individualism, which is characterised by being a workaholic, things never being good enough, and an endless search for more. We often think that doing these things makes us strong leaders, but we’re not—we’re broken and burnt out, which means we can’t perform to the best of our ability, and we therefore let our athletes down. We think that we’re tough because we demonstrate absolute self-reliance and total availability.

I’d argue, as I’m sure Royle would, that working hard all of the time is paradoxically lazy—it’s easy to work hard, but it takes far more courage to set boundaries, focus on what is actually important, and ensure you can perform at your best. Royle provides the example of Emma Hayes, the incredibly successful soccer coach who only had eight weeks off following the birth of her son (and the stillbirth of his twin) before returning to elite coaching—largely due to the culture of chronic individualism that pervades elite sport. However, since becoming a mother, Hayes has developed a whole new perspective with regards to compassion—both to others and herself. She now better understands that her role as an elite coach is to create an environment that can operate successfully without her—a big shift away from chronic individualism that allows her, and those she works with, to perform at their best.

Part of this myth of coaching is due to what research has identified as the greed of coaching: the duties often associated with being an elite coach are highly demanding, both in terms of time and energy, such that the person can’t dedicate any further time or energy to things outside of work (such as their family, friends, hobbies, or health). It’s common to view what happens inside sport as separate from what happens outside—but, to the individual, they aren’t. Stress at home can lead to underperformance in the job; similarly, spending time building bonds with people in your personal life can make it much easier to build bonds in your professional life. Speaking from experience, I find that being a parent gives you lots of transferable skills to sports coaching—so, the more I can be a present parent, the better I can become at coaching.

So, what’s the solution?

We need to move away from the culture of always working, from individuality and self-reliance, to the opposite poles—protecting time away from work, working as part of a larger group, and sharing the load, says @craig100m. Share on X

Royle highlights that we need to move away from the culture of always working, from individuality, self-reliance, and almost competitive presenteeism (“who can work the longest?”) to the opposite poles—protecting time away from work, working as part of a larger group, and sharing the load. This includes bringing in an additional set of eyes, often as a way of forcing you to make these changes. And by making these changes, you allow the rest of the performance staff to grow, as a true leader should—making it even easier for you to protect your non-work time.

Dedicated Practice and Objective Feedback

In the second chapter of the book, Royle outlines how great coaches actually get coached. He draws on the work of Anders Ericsson, whose pioneering work explored mastery and deliberate practice. Ericsson found that experts have coaches who can provide constructive feedback, who can identify an aspect of performance that requires improvement, and who challenge them to drive to higher levels. Ericsson’s work highlighted the importance of feedback, with experts being hungry to receive feedback as a way of enhancing their growth.

The issue for head coaches is that, by virtue of the job title, people already believe they are experts. They believe you don’t have self-doubt or performance anxiety, and that you don’t need feedback, says @craig100m. Share on X

The issue for head coaches, however, is that, by virtue of the job title, people already believe they are experts. They believe you don’t have self-doubt or performance anxiety, and that you don’t need feedback (or, at least, that it’s not their job to provide feedback). This can make it hard for head coaches to develop their own expertise—they actually can’t get the constructive feedback they need to improve. This is why it is crucial to have a person—a second set of eyes—who can seek out and provide the feedback needed in a format you’re most likely to listen to. But it’s also crucial that the coach is open to receive the feedback and deliberately carves out the space and time to actively work on themselves. This is another reason why the myth of being able to do everything ourselves is harmful—it reduces the time and energy we can dedicate to our own development. As Royle writes in this chapter, the best player development is coach development. By developing ourselves, we can better drive our team to success.

In a later chapter, Royle then moves on to what the primary skills of a second set of eyes are. The most common way that coaches, including head coaches, seek to improve their performance is through developing their technical skills via traditional learning methods—a course or a seminar, for example, focused on, say, training session design. However, to truly develop a high-performance coach, Royle believes it’s far more effective to understand—and therefore develop—the human qualities required to be an exceptional coach.

Royle describes elite coaching as “high performance knowledge work” (“knowledge work” being the term developed by management guru Peter Drucker to describe how a person’s work expands the knowledge available to a given organisation). Essentially, as a head coach, your ability to think provides the most value to your team. This is similar to research from coaching science experts Andrew Abrahams and Dave Collins, who wrote in a 2011 paper that a key skill for coaches is in their decision-making ability. This decision making can either be classical (termed CDM – classical decision making), in which we have time to weigh various options, or naturalistic (NDM – naturalistic decision making), which is about using intuition and heuristics to make decisions quickly with imperfect information. This requires a variety of mental skills and abilities, such as attentional capacity and control, pattern recognition, memory, intuition, creativity, and self-regulation (of both emotions and behaviours). It also requires us to communicate effectively and be very self-aware.

Anyone who is a parent will tell you that, when your kids get tired, their self-regulation goes out of the window. And the same is true for adults, including coaches—the more tired we are, the worse we are at making decisions. Decision making is what makes us good at our jobs, and yet we consistently allow ourselves to be placed in environments that degrade our ability to make those decisions well. Taking time to work on yourself and having the self-discipline to be healthy and happy seem selfish, but by not doing this, you are harming your own performance. By proxy, you’re harming those you’re tasked with developing and leading. We need to start viewing the coach as a performer, and, as result, set aside time to improve our performance through dedicated practice. We often feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness, but, instead, it’s a crucial part of developing our performance potential and becoming experts.

Working hard all of the time is paradoxically lazy—it’s easy to work hard, but it takes far more courage to set boundaries, focus on what’s actually important, and ensure you can perform at your best, says @craig100m. Share on X

This is what a second set of eyes can do. They can provide you with an objective assessment and perspective on what good looks like, where you are now relative to that, and how to improve. This can include how to optimise your self-awareness, communication, and decision making, which allows you to create better coaching sessions (and, as a result, spend less time working because you’re more effective with the time you do have). Meanwhile, this also ensuring your wellbeing is optimised to support your coaching performance, which, in turn, allows your success to be sustained. You’re far less likely to experience burnout and/or mental ill-health—aspects that we’re quick to protect our athletes from, but not ourselves.

Performance Equals Potential Minus Interference

In the final two chapters, Royle introduces Gallwey’s Equation (from the book The Inner Game of Tennis):

    Performance = Potential – Interference

The role of the second set of eyes, for Royle, is to guide the coach in eliminating—or at least reducing—interference. This, in turn, places the coach in a state where they can achieve peak performance. This involves developing intuition (the NDM I mentioned earlier), which better prepares coaches to read people, and, ultimately, teams. The coach themselves may also be the interference, as reflected in a quote by Danny Kerry:

    “The thing that often gets in the way of performance is the coach. The coach will do an awful lot to prepare the team, but often they’re the handbrake or the glass ceiling.”

Again, elite coaches can use a second set of eyes—their own coach—to ensure they’re not the issue that limits the performance of the athlete or team they work with.

Elite coaches can use a second set of eyes—their own coach—to ensure they’re not the issue that limits the performance of the athlete or team they work with, says @craig100m. Share on X

Overall, Royle’s latest book really resonated with me. I’ve been working with my own coach for over two years now, to better prepare me for my two key roles, one as a team leader and one as a lead coach. Through the process, I’ve undertaken a 360 feedback process, which enabled me to better hone in on my strengths and understand my weaknesses. I’ve become better at dealing with difficult situations and managing complexity.

Alongside my main coach, I’ve utilised a secondary coach to build my capability to design and deliver training sessions that work towards the end goal that I’m trying to achieve. This coaching has been incredibly useful to me—I don’t think I’d be where I am today without it. As a result, I am in full agreement with Royle regarding the need for a second set of eyes. For me, every high performance coach should actively be working on their own development, but, crucially, this development rarely needs to be technical in nature (or at least not solely). I’d recommend that everyone involved in sport read this book, reflect on the core messages, and then take steps to improve their own performance. Coaches are, after all, performers in their own right—it’s about time we treated ourselves as such.

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


Basketball dunk

Why Did the NBA Combine Switch Vertical Jump Measuring Equipment?

Blog| ByScott Mervis

Basketball dunk

In 2024, both the NBA Combine and the CFL Combine switched from the Vertec to The Top Hopper Vertical Jump System for their vertical jump tests. Many other combines have also made the same switch. At the NBA Combine, athletes are routed to two vertical jump stations:

Station #1: Max Vertical Jump – Here, the NBA Combine uses a Top Hopper TH500 Floor Stand System with an extension tube to measure the running max vertical jump. The standard configuration can measure a jump height up to 147.5 inches. Adding the extension tube safely raises the measuring device another two feet off the ground.

Station #2: Sargent Jump – This station measures a stationary Sargent Jump. They use a Top Hopper TH500 Floor Stand System in combination with Hawkin force plates. They use the TH500 to accurately measure the vertical jump height and use the force plates for jump performance data.

Feedback from the strength and conditioning coaches that ran the stations was very positive—they said the stations went very fast this year and everyone loved it!

A vertical jump measuring device must be accurate, repeatable, and reproducible, says Scott Mervis. Share on X

I entered the world of measuring vertical jump heights about eight years ago—I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and was a basketball coach for many years. After buying several vert testers and talking with thousands of trainers and strength and conditioning coaches, I have a very good understanding of the marketplace. Please allow me to share what I have learned.

The 3 Qualities Experts Demand From a Vertical Jump Measuring Device

It must be:

  1. ACCURATE – If an athlete can jump 42 inches, then the equipment must measure 42 inches. The measurement tolerance must be +/- a half inch. For example, the equipment should measure 41.5 – 42.5 inches.
  2. REPEATABLE – The equipment must deliver the same measurements every time when using the same operator, athlete, process, and procedure. If you cannot repeat the measurements, then you cannot calculate the accuracy of your equipment and will never have reproducibility.
  3. REPRODUCIBLE – The equipment must be reproducible. If the same equipment and procedure is used, an athlete’s vertical jump height should measure the same height regardless of location and operator. For example, if a trainer replicates the same procedure used at the NBA Combine and uses the same equipment, then the athlete should have the same vertical jump height measurement at both locations.

Trainers and strength and conditioning coaches basically have two requirements:

  1. It must be accurate. “Why would I use a vert tester to measure vertical jump heights if the measurements are not accurate.”
  2. It must be easy to use. “My time is limited, so it can’t take long to get the measurement.”

Market Segmentation

What vertical jump measuring equipment does everyone use? That is a great question. These numbers are not exact, but close enough for our purposes.

Jump Equipment Pie Chart
Figure 1. It is important to note that a Vertec is found in about 60% of all training facilities. Prior to 2023, it was the “Gold Standard” for measuring vertical jump heights.

Vertical jump testers are either:

  1. Mechanical – These are moved up and down manually and have plastic indicators the athlete hits to identify the measurement location. The operator has to manually calculate the vertical jump height.
  2. Electronic – These provide a digital measurement that has a complex calculation built into the equipment processor.

All types of equipment have pros and cons. Every trainer and strength and conditioning coach has a reason for why they use a certain piece of equipment. The NBA Combine is no different.

After six years of designing, testing, and improving, The Top Hopper vertical jump measuring system was launched. All of the complaints that coaches had about the Vertec were targeted and eliminated, says Scott Mervis. Share on X

Pros & Cons of Force Plates, Contact Mats, and Mechanical Jump Testers

Let’s first start with the oldest products. In the late 1970’s, force plates entered the market. Force plates are designed to provide data on the athlete’s strength, movement, asymmetries, and balance. To say it another way, force plates measure the ground reaction forces applied during the jump.

If you are looking for an accurate vertical jump measurement, force plates are not the right piece of equipment. If you are looking to collect data on jump performance, then you have to get force plates. Share on X

The ground reaction forces and flight time are used to calculate vertical jump height. Unfortunately, the calculated height is always several inches below the actual height measured against a mechanical tester. So, if you are looking for an accurate vertical jump measurement, force plates are not the right piece of equipment. If you are looking to collect data on jump performance, then you have to get force plates.

    Pros:

    • Best piece of equipment for analyzing jump performance.
    • Eliminates human “math” errors when measuring.
    • Delivers repeatable and reproducible measurements.

    Cons:

    • Delivers an inaccurate vertical jump height (~3 inches lower).
    • Can only measure a stationary Sargent jump.
    • Vertical jump height is a calculation.
    • Very easy to cheat the vertical jump height calculation.
    • Most expensive—requires an annual software subscription.
    • Heavy and not easily portable.
    • Highest level of technical knowledge required to use.

Contact mats were introduced in the early 1990s. They use pressure-sensitive sensors to detect when an athlete leaves and then lands back on the mat. The system includes a timing mechanism to record the duration of the jump. The flight time analysis is used to calculate the jump height.

    Pros:

    • Easily portable.
    • Eliminates human “math” errors when measuring.
    • A low-cost electronic vert tester.

    Cons:

    • Without a VERY controlled procedure, they deliver the least accurate vertical jump height—jump heights can very drastically depending on athlete’s body position.
    • Can only measure a stationary Sargent jump.
    • Vertical jump height is a calculation.
    • Very easy to cheat the vertical jump height calculation.
    • Durability issues.
Today, the new 'Gold Standard' is The Top Hopper. This mechanical tester can be mounted anywhere because the math is 100% built into the measuring device and independent from the mounting system. Share on X

The Vertec was introduced in the early 1990s. It was the most popular mechanical tester and was the Gold Standard until 2023. The NBA Combine used a Vertec through 2023. The Vertec has no electronic component. It has plastic indicators above the athlete that are used for measuring the vertical jump height, which is manually calculated. The measuring device is raised and lowered into position by the operator.

    Pros:

    • Prior to 2023, the Vertec was the most accurate vertical jump measuring device on the market.
    • Delivers good repeatability and reproducible measurements.
    • Can be used to measure all types of jumps (Sargent, one-step, or running max jump).
    • Baseline for all other vert testers to be compared against.
    • Very difficult to cheat—only by not reaching up as high as possible during the standing reach baseline measurement.
    • It has been proven that athletes jump higher when a visual target is provided.
    • Cost competitive.

    Cons:

    • Durability issues.
    • Math is difficult.
    • Telescopic design results in accuracy issues—the pole bends the higher it is raised.
    • Some models require counterweight to be added to prevent them from falling over.
    • All adjustments were made at chest height, exposing the measuring device to damage when not in use.
    • Versatility and portability.
    • Can only measure up to 144 inches from the ground.

Why Mechanical Testers Are the #1 Choice for Measuring Vertical Jump Height

It’s pretty simple to understand why mechanical testers are the most popular. If you want to accurately measure vertical jump heights, then you must use a mechanical tester. Mechanical vert testers have no limitation on what types of jumps you can measure, and studies show that athletes jump higher when they have visual targets.

Also, mechanical testers are very hard to “cheat.” The only way for an athlete to cheat the tester is to not reach as high as they can when capturing the standing reach height. This is why almost all sports combines use mechanical testers. They are very simple pieces of equipment that everyone uses correctly, which allows for repeatable and reproducible measurements.

Mechanical vert testers have no limitation on what types of jumps you can measure, and studies show that athletes jump higher when they have visual targets, says Scott Mervis. Share on X

Electronic measuring devices are very accurate when the procedure and the athlete’s jump is highly controlled. Unfortunately, in the real world, athletes can easily cheat the calculation by doing several things during the jump process to delay landing on the mat or force plates. Mechanical testers are also limited to measuring only a stationary jump.

Everything You Need to Know About the Vertec

Manufactured and sold by Sports Imports, Vertec has been the “standard” vertical jump tester for over 30 years. It is the benchmark that every other vert tester is compared against.

There are two Vertec systems available:

  • A floor stand system.
  • A wall mounted system.

The most common is the floor stand system. It measures in half-inch increments across a range of 72 inches to 144 inches from the ground. The measuring device is attached to square tubing that telescopes. This telescopic tube has etched markings on it that are measurements from the ground. The operator will tighten a screw at the etched line to hold it in place. The athlete will jump and hit thin plastic vanes, which identify the peak of the jump. The base of the floor stand is painted red. The inside telescopic square tube is bare steel.

Manufactured and sold by Sports Imports, Vertec has been the 'standard' vertical jump tester for over 30 years. It is the benchmark that every other vert tester is compared against. Share on X

Here are some of the complaints I heard from thousands of trainers and strength and conditioning coaches.

  • Determining the height of an athlete’s vertical jump is a difficult process.
  • The math is confusing.
  • It breaks easily.
  • It takes up a lot of space.
  • It is time consuming for a large group.
  • It leans the higher it is raised.
  • It only comes in red.

Birth of The Top Hopper

In 2016, I decided to make the best vertical jump measuring device—after six years of designing, testing, and making improvements, The Top Hopper vertical jump measuring system was launched. All of the complaints that coaches had about the Vertec were targeted and eliminated.

Today, The Top Hopper vertical jump measuring systems are industrial grade and the most accurate vert tester on the market. The process for measuring an athlete’s jump height is quick and easy. There are four powder-coated steel mounting systems that do not telescope:

  1. Traditional floor stand
  2. Wall mount
  3. Basketball rim mount
  4. Extender mount

Top Hopper Systems

All four are stocked in four colors with the option for custom colors. There is a TH500 measuring device that measures in ½” increments and a TH1000 that measures in 1” increments. Both are stocked in six color combinations along with an option for custom colors.

Comparing the Top Two Mechanical Vertical Jump Measuring Systems

Top Hopper vs Vertex

As more trainers and coaches become aware of The Top Hopper, its popularity continues to grow. The most common comment I get? “Where have you been the past 30 years?”

Since you’re here…
…we have a small favor to ask. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. — SF


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