Training Protocol Summary
I will divide the training protocol into 3 parts: beginning of pre-season training, end of pre-season training, and in season training:
In the early pre-season part of the training, which will begin before summer vacation, I will implement low intensity, high volume distance training as part of the protocol to increase the cardiorespiratory capacity of the athletes. Per the principle of specificity, exercise adaptations are specific to the mode, intensity, and duration of training. Ergo, a training program must stress the physiological systems that are critical for optimal performance in a given sport (Kenney et al., 2015). Therefore, someone like a soccer player who is continuously running in a game will benefit more from long distance running than something like cycling or swimming, although both can increase VO2 max and overall performance. Distance running can also promote increase the Bone Mineral Density, which is beneficial for a weight-bearing sport like soccer (Carbuhn et al., 2010). Since a typical athlete is moving non-stop during the game, it is beneficial for the …show more content…
athletes to maintain a constant oxygen delivery to the working muscles. Cardiorespiratory endurance increases maximal cardiac output by increasing stroke volume, which is determined by venous blood return, ventricular distensibility, ventricular contractility, and aortic or pulmonary artery pressure. Cardiorespiratory endurance may also result in an increase in size of the left ventricle, allowing for a greater contraction force. Additionally, with endurance training, the vascular system adapts to increase blood flow to the working muscles through increased number of capillaries, increased recruitment of existing capillaries, increased total blood volume, and more effective blood re-distribution through vasoconstriction and vasodilation. All these factors would facilitate endurance during a match.
These initial few weeks of low-intensity high volume endurance training would transition more into high-intensity low volume interval training, which would incorporate sprints, interval circuit training, and other sport specific movement patterns and drills with the soccer ball that include sharp turns and jumps. A few weeks leading up to in-season, I would implement interval other anaerobic training exercises including HIIT, resistance training, and plyometrics. Anaerobic training would facilitate an increase in speed and agility through an increased recruitment of type II muscle fibers. With resistance training however, I only want the athletes using weights no more than 2 times a week. Resistance training may plateau and the “bulk” could potentially slow down the athletes.
During in-season, I would implement more anaerobic exercises over aerobic exercises since soccer matches, due to their duration, already contribute to endurance training. However, I don’t want the athletes to over train, therefore, I would implement days of recovery and rest and potentially yoga to maintain flexibility, especially the day after a game.
During hot/humid conditions, the circulatory system must meet the dual demand of transporting blood not only to the working muscles, but also to the skin to induce evaporation.
This demand causes an increase in the cardiac output, through an increase in heart rate most likely caused by an increase in skin blood flow and redistribution of central blood volume toward the periphery resulting in a reduction of stroke volume. This phenomenon is known as the cardiovascular drift (Kenney, 2015). During high-heat/humid conditions, the core temperature also increases. As conveyed by Galloway et al., core temperature is the critical limiting factor in exercise capacity not circulatory failure. During hot, humid days, evaporation becomes an important source of heat loss. This decreases plasma volume, however, hormones including ADH and aldosterone help with salt retention and overall fluid
balance.
Heat conditions may lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and in more intense cases heat stroke. Knowing the temperature and relative humidity ahead of time can be helpful in determining the format of a practice. Kenney et al., convey that if temperatures exceed above 82.4-degree F, practices should not be held outdoors. However, as a coach, I would not want every single practice to be held indoors during extreme heat conditions because I want the athletes to acclimatize to the humid conditions. If the practices are held outdoors, I will make sure to decrease the intensity of the exercises, for example maybe have players do low-intense drills or plyometrics, provide them with ample fluids and encourage them to drink every 15 minutes, or hold practices later in the evening or early in the morning when the temperature is cooler.
Kenny et al., convey that women and men respond with similar cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic adaptations. With training, women and men experience similar changes in body composition as determined by total energy expenditure. Women experience the same relative increases in VO2max with cardiorespiratory endurance training. Hence, I would not change the training protocol for the men’s team and the women’s team.
2.
During the academic year, it would be tough to train the runners amidst their academia at high altitudes. However, if possible, I would implement a High- Low training (Live High, train low). If living in moderate-high altitudes is not plausible, then maybe with my unlimited budget, I could develop a hypoxic apartment for the runners, mimicking the conditions of moderate altitudes. Gundersen et al., studied the effects of the HiLo program on elite runners over the course of 27 dates. They found that the running performance was accompanied by a 3% improvement in VO2max, circulating erythropoietin levels doubled 20 h after ascent, and the Hb concentration increased. They concluded that HiLo training improved overall running performance. With this training, the runners would receive dual benefits. Living in high altitude facilitates physiological acclimation like the increase in red blood cells, while with training in low altitudes, the training intensity is not compromised.
During the academic year, they the runners will progressively cover more distance on a weekly basis. Each week they will add 1 mile. If they start with 8 miles, by week 4 they will be covering 12 miles. Unlike the protocol for the soccer players which involved resistance training, I would not want the marathon runners to utilize resistance training. Resistance training leads to hypertrophic gains of the upper extremity. This would potentially slow them down during the marathon. Although, I would implement HIIT in the protocol, for it is shown that HIIT mirrors adaptations associated with aerobic training, including an increase in skeletal muscle oxidative enzymes.
Just after the end of the semester in the 2.5 months I have, I want to begin training the athletes in higher altitudes. However, to avoid conditions like acute altitude sickness or in more severe cases High altitude cerebral edema or high altitude pulmonary edema, I want them to progressively acclimate to the altitude. So rather than going directly to an elevation of 5,364 m, I might train them to an elevation of 1,000-2,000 m for a week and gradually build up to 5,000 at least 3 weeks before the marathon. For as conveyed by Kenney et al., it ideally takes 3-6 weeks for acclimation to take effect. There are several physiological adaptations that derive from the acclimation phase. These physiological changes include changes in the pulmonary, blood, muscle, and cardiovascular. Adaptation to altitude increases pulmonary ventilation. Additionally, the lack of oxygen in higher altitudes releases erythropoietin to stimulate red blood production. In Ekblom et al., the researchers found that injecting low doses of erythropoietin subcutaneously for 6 weeks in 15 male subjects increased hematocrit and hemoglobin concentrations. Consequently, VO2 max increased as did physical performance. With regards to muscle adaptation, capillary density increases upon high altitude exposure. Thus, this increase in capillary density increases the efficiency of oxygen delivery to the skeletal muscles
Additional, problems runners might face during training, especially in severe altitudes, is the cold environment, which may lead to hypothermia (Kenney et al., 2015). The cool weather can cause the muscles to contract with less shortening velocity and less power. The solution to this would be to ensure that that they have sufficient clothing insulation to maintain the core temperature. Cold temperatures also trigger vasoconstriction of capillaries surrounding the skin and subcutaneous tissues, which are great reserves for lipids. Since marathon running increases oxidation of free fatty acids as fuel production, blood unable to reach locations that store the lipids can be problematic. One potential solution may be to have them eat a high-carb meal starting a few days before the marathon.
In the early pre-season part of the training, which will begin before summer vacation, I will implement low intensity, high volume distance training as part of the protocol to increase the cardiorespiratory capacity of the athletes. Per the principle of specificity, exercise adaptations are specific to the mode, intensity, and duration of training. Ergo, a training program must stress the physiological systems that are critical for optimal performance in a given sport (Kenney et al., 2015). Therefore, someone like a soccer player who is continuously running in a game will benefit more from long distance running than something like cycling or swimming, although both can increase VO2 max and overall performance. Distance running can also promote increase the Bone Mineral Density, which is beneficial for a weight-bearing sport like soccer (Carbuhn et al., 2010). Since a typical athlete is moving non-stop during the game, it is beneficial for the …show more content…
athletes to maintain a constant oxygen delivery to the working muscles. Cardiorespiratory endurance increases maximal cardiac output by increasing stroke volume, which is determined by venous blood return, ventricular distensibility, ventricular contractility, and aortic or pulmonary artery pressure. Cardiorespiratory endurance may also result in an increase in size of the left ventricle, allowing for a greater contraction force. Additionally, with endurance training, the vascular system adapts to increase blood flow to the working muscles through increased number of capillaries, increased recruitment of existing capillaries, increased total blood volume, and more effective blood re-distribution through vasoconstriction and vasodilation. All these factors would facilitate endurance during a match.
These initial few weeks of low-intensity high volume endurance training would transition more into high-intensity low volume interval training, which would incorporate sprints, interval circuit training, and other sport specific movement patterns and drills with the soccer ball that include sharp turns and jumps. A few weeks leading up to in-season, I would implement interval other anaerobic training exercises including HIIT, resistance training, and plyometrics. Anaerobic training would facilitate an increase in speed and agility through an increased recruitment of type II muscle fibers. With resistance training however, I only want the athletes using weights no more than 2 times a week. Resistance training may plateau and the “bulk” could potentially slow down the athletes.
During in-season, I would implement more anaerobic exercises over aerobic exercises since soccer matches, due to their duration, already contribute to endurance training. However, I don’t want the athletes to over train, therefore, I would implement days of recovery and rest and potentially yoga to maintain flexibility, especially the day after a game.
During hot/humid conditions, the circulatory system must meet the dual demand of transporting blood not only to the working muscles, but also to the skin to induce evaporation.
This demand causes an increase in the cardiac output, through an increase in heart rate most likely caused by an increase in skin blood flow and redistribution of central blood volume toward the periphery resulting in a reduction of stroke volume. This phenomenon is known as the cardiovascular drift (Kenney, 2015). During high-heat/humid conditions, the core temperature also increases. As conveyed by Galloway et al., core temperature is the critical limiting factor in exercise capacity not circulatory failure. During hot, humid days, evaporation becomes an important source of heat loss. This decreases plasma volume, however, hormones including ADH and aldosterone help with salt retention and overall fluid
balance.
Heat conditions may lead to heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and in more intense cases heat stroke. Knowing the temperature and relative humidity ahead of time can be helpful in determining the format of a practice. Kenney et al., convey that if temperatures exceed above 82.4-degree F, practices should not be held outdoors. However, as a coach, I would not want every single practice to be held indoors during extreme heat conditions because I want the athletes to acclimatize to the humid conditions. If the practices are held outdoors, I will make sure to decrease the intensity of the exercises, for example maybe have players do low-intense drills or plyometrics, provide them with ample fluids and encourage them to drink every 15 minutes, or hold practices later in the evening or early in the morning when the temperature is cooler.
Kenny et al., convey that women and men respond with similar cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic adaptations. With training, women and men experience similar changes in body composition as determined by total energy expenditure. Women experience the same relative increases in VO2max with cardiorespiratory endurance training. Hence, I would not change the training protocol for the men’s team and the women’s team.
2.
During the academic year, it would be tough to train the runners amidst their academia at high altitudes. However, if possible, I would implement a High- Low training (Live High, train low). If living in moderate-high altitudes is not plausible, then maybe with my unlimited budget, I could develop a hypoxic apartment for the runners, mimicking the conditions of moderate altitudes. Gundersen et al., studied the effects of the HiLo program on elite runners over the course of 27 dates. They found that the running performance was accompanied by a 3% improvement in VO2max, circulating erythropoietin levels doubled 20 h after ascent, and the Hb concentration increased. They concluded that HiLo training improved overall running performance. With this training, the runners would receive dual benefits. Living in high altitude facilitates physiological acclimation like the increase in red blood cells, while with training in low altitudes, the training intensity is not compromised.
During the academic year, they the runners will progressively cover more distance on a weekly basis. Each week they will add 1 mile. If they start with 8 miles, by week 4 they will be covering 12 miles. Unlike the protocol for the soccer players which involved resistance training, I would not want the marathon runners to utilize resistance training. Resistance training leads to hypertrophic gains of the upper extremity. This would potentially slow them down during the marathon. Although, I would implement HIIT in the protocol, for it is shown that HIIT mirrors adaptations associated with aerobic training, including an increase in skeletal muscle oxidative enzymes.
Just after the end of the semester in the 2.5 months I have, I want to begin training the athletes in higher altitudes. However, to avoid conditions like acute altitude sickness or in more severe cases High altitude cerebral edema or high altitude pulmonary edema, I want them to progressively acclimate to the altitude. So rather than going directly to an elevation of 5,364 m, I might train them to an elevation of 1,000-2,000 m for a week and gradually build up to 5,000 at least 3 weeks before the marathon. For as conveyed by Kenney et al., it ideally takes 3-6 weeks for acclimation to take effect. There are several physiological adaptations that derive from the acclimation phase. These physiological changes include changes in the pulmonary, blood, muscle, and cardiovascular. Adaptation to altitude increases pulmonary ventilation. Additionally, the lack of oxygen in higher altitudes releases erythropoietin to stimulate red blood production. In Ekblom et al., the researchers found that injecting low doses of erythropoietin subcutaneously for 6 weeks in 15 male subjects increased hematocrit and hemoglobin concentrations. Consequently, VO2 max increased as did physical performance. With regards to muscle adaptation, capillary density increases upon high altitude exposure. Thus, this increase in capillary density increases the efficiency of oxygen delivery to the skeletal muscles
Additional, problems runners might face during training, especially in severe altitudes, is the cold environment, which may lead to hypothermia (Kenney et al., 2015). The cool weather can cause the muscles to contract with less shortening velocity and less power. The solution to this would be to ensure that that they have sufficient clothing insulation to maintain the core temperature. Cold temperatures also trigger vasoconstriction of capillaries surrounding the skin and subcutaneous tissues, which are great reserves for lipids. Since marathon running increases oxidation of free fatty acids as fuel production, blood unable to reach locations that store the lipids can be problematic. One potential solution may be to have them eat a high-carb meal starting a few days before the marathon.