Special Work Capacity- An

Objective, Quantifiable
Approach to Train Athletes
 A Search for Knowledge and
Understanding
n Bridge the gap between research and
practice

n Question what is being done esp. at

the elite levels of sport
 A Search for Knowledge and
Understanding
n Great thinkers always ask questions
and attempt to find truth!

n Improve Performance

n “How can we make our athlete’s

better within the context of having
the highest training result being
obtained at the least expense of time
 Take Home Message
- Evaluate what we as trainers do
- Manage training
- Scrutinize Sport Training Process

- Be a better consumer of information

- Is the information that you receive sound
- Context is everything
- Learn how to decipher literature
- Text Book vs. Real World

- Stay objective

- Continue to learn!
PRESENTATION DIRECTORY
n Motive
n Theory of Training
n Physiology
n Examples of Research Data
 INTRODUCTION
n The sport training process for team sport disciplines is a multi-
faceted process, requiring the concurrent preparation and
development of several physiological systems and motor
abilities as an organic whole-
• training is as alive as the organism- Matvyev, Ozlin, Verkhoshansky,
Siff, Zatsiorski, Viru, Smith, etc.

n The aim of coaching, in this regard, is to understand and

employ a system(s) of training appropriate for both discipline
and athlete, allowing the assembly of all training objectives
whereby the improvement of sport result is assured
 INTRODUCTION
• i.e. American Football, Basketball, Fight Sports:
• Anaerobic Alactic, Lactic & Aerobic Metabolism (%’s vary)
n power and capacity (%’s vary)

• Idiosyncrasies in work capacity

• Multiple strength qualities
• Fine motor skills, visual equity, etc.
• Knowledge to execute tactics and technique
• Strong psychological component

PASM
Tactical*Technical*Physical*Psychological
 INTRODUCTION
n Regardless of the training programming and
periodization regimes utilized to train a
particular sport discipline, training loads must
be scrupulously manipulated to successfully
heighten these multiple systems and abilities
throughout the training year.

n The ultimate endpoint being that the athlete

attains the highest level of Sport Form at the
desired time within the competitive calendar
“Upon conscientious review of training programs that serve
to heighten physical preparation, it is not uncommon to
see more than elaborate plans that develop various motor
qualities such as strength and speed, but also, it is not
uncommon to see little attention devoted to developing the
special endurance or the physiological/bioenergetic
qualities needed for sport preparation i.e. biological
power…..
 …careful details are greatly paid to the
programming of means, volumes and
intensities in the weight room. Conversely,
a light jog, pushing and pulling of apparati
or “speed work” of no physiological logic
are often ignorantly employed as
“conditioning” means or intended as
psychological methods.”
Anthony Daisy
 Problem
n Would this style of training bring about….
• the highest degree of Sport Form at the desired time within the
competitive calendar?
• The highest degree of sport form at the least expense of time and
energy?

n How do we train all relevant systems appropriate for sport, athlete, position
etc.
 Problem
With respect to programming conditioning…. There are a few problems
coaches of higher level athletes encounter

n The coach must manipulate the sport training process so that the
most important technical/tactical/motor abilities/work capacities
etc. are planned harmoniously among each other and optimally
realized at the most important times within the annual plan. J. Smith

n Some of these abilities must be independently trained for optimal

realization
• However: All abilities are important and highly related within the training process
• No one ability can be viewed independently
 Problem
• The physiological incompatibility of simultaneous motor
quality training (strength/power/technique) with
(special) endurance training
n The training of team sports brings about an interesting
dichotomy
• develop various motor abilities
n technique, strength, power, speed & agility etc,

n Concurrent training: Attenuation of either motor or

endurance indices together, or independently when both
are employed in concert as primary training objectives.

n Develop the special fitness of these same motor abilities

(special endurance or work capacities) in the attempt to
realizing their greatest possible technique, strength, power,
speed & agility etc on multiple occasions throughout the
course of competition
 Problem
• Within the framework of classical
annual plan programming, the
percentage of time allocated to
train certain abilities are
emphasized while others are either
omitted or reduced
n GPP; SPP
n Early Off-season periods; late off-season periods; in-
season etc
n Consider appropriate Periodazation regimes
• Concurrent; Block; Linear (see presentation 2)
 Why the Particular Interest with
Conditioning?
n Out of all aspects of training, “conditioning” is the ability least studied
n Get your “cardio” up
n Lends itself to recipe coaching
• Methods are employed regardless of athlete preparation
n Limited team sport information regarding conditioning programming. Most
of the literature is derived from individual sports and what “successful”
coaches have done
• Problem of modeling programs that are successful
n We all know we need it… we are just not sure as to how much, how specific,
how and when it is individually trained
n Pendulum change as to how we condition our athletes
• Too much or too little & of the wrong type
n Differences between General and Specific work capacities……
 Why the Particular Interest in
Conditioning?

…..Just like strength, there are many different

qualities of “conditioning”, each too distinct to
be trained or labeled en masse
n Special Endurance vs Aerobic Capacity
n General and Specific Work Capacities, etc.
n Each affecting the development of sport form in its own unique
way and therefore cannot be viewed under one single entity or
posses a sole title
n Client example: Stepper vs Treadmill
 PURPOSE #1
As coaches, why are we doing what we are
doing if…
• It is not congruent with physiology
• It does not transfer to augment sport form

1. Question what is currently been done for

conditioning means and methodics in Acyclic
sports, in particular team sports, at High School,
Collegiate and esp. Professional Levels
n “What is popular is not always right & What is right is
not always popular”
 PURPOSE #1
n Rarely do any of us objectively question the effectiveness of
the routines we prescribe.

n Often we assume that the work we are doing transfers in a

positive way to the sport discipline.
• An increase in weight room outcomes result in an increase in sport form,
right!?!? – (CACC REFERENCE)
• Lack of measurement

n Many types of training work!

• How can we make our athlete’s better within the context
of having the highest training result being obtained at
the least expense of time and energy
 Exercise Physiology
n Energy systems
• A brief look at bioenergetics

n Physiological adaptations to training

• Possible physiological adaptation with
training
 Interaction Between Aerobic
and Anaerobic ATP Production
•Energy to perform exercise comes from an
interaction between aerobic and anaerobic
pathways
•Effect of duration and intensity

• Short-term, high-intensity activities

• Greater contribution of anaerobic energy

systems
• Long-term, low to moderate-intensity exercise

• Majority of ATP produced from aerobic

sources
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 ATP Demand during
Exercise
0.35
1.2

Oxygen Uptake (L/min)

Exercise
0.3
ATP (moles/min)

1
0.25
0.8
0.2
0.6
0.15
0.4
0.1
Rest
0.05 0.2
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (min)
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 ATP Supply during
Exercise
0.35
1.2

Oxygen Uptake (L/min)

Exercise
0.3
ATP (moles/min)

1
0.25
0.8
0.2
0.6
0.15
0.4
0.1
Rest
0.05 0.2
0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (min)
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Hughson et al. Exerc. Sport Sci. Rev. 29:129-133, 2001,
Fig. 1.

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Two
Phases of
Glycolysis
 Glycolysis
Energy Investment Phase
 Glycolysis
Energy Generation Phase
 Original Intracellular Lactate Shuttle

Glycolysis LDH
glucose
6-phosphate
glyceraldehyde
3-phosphate
pyruvate lactate
NAD+ NADH NADH NAD+

Sites remote
From
mitochondria
Intracellular lactate
Sites near LDH flux
mitochondria lactate pyruvate
Cytosol
NAD+ NADH

PYR MCT1
Shuttles

NAD+ NADH pyruvate

Mitochondrion TCA

NAD+ NADH

ETC
 Aerobic ATP Production
Krebs cycle (citric acid cycle)
•

•
Completes the oxidation of substrates
and produces NADH and FADH to enter
the electron transport chain
Electron transport chain
•

•
Oxidative phosphorylation
•
Electrons removed from NADH and
FADH are passed along a series of
carriers to produce ATP
 The Three
Stages of
Oxidative
Phosphorylation
 Relationship Between the
Metabolism of Proteins, Fats, and
 Table 3.2

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Control of Bioenergetics
Rate Limiting Enzymes
Glycogen 1. Creatine kinase
ATP-PC System 2. Phosphofructokinase
3. Isocitrate dehydrogenase
PC + ADP C + ATP 4. Cytochrome oxidase
1 Glucose

Glucose 6-phosphate
2
Glycerol Phosphoglyceraldehyde Glycolysi
s

Triglycerides Lactic Acid Pyruvic Acid

Fatty acids -ox Acetyl CoA Amino Acids Proteins

Ketone C Urea
bodies Kerb’s 6
C
Cycle NADH
4
Table 3.2 3 FADH ETS
C 4
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
5
 Bioenergetics
%’s in each system vary

• Athlete qualification
• Position
• Period of time within the competition
• Coaching style / tactics
• Sport discipline etc.
Running Economy

Fig 20.7
 Recovery From Exercise
Metabolic Responses
•Oxygen debt or
•Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)

• Elevated VO
2 for several minutes immediately following
exercise
•“Fast” portion of O
2 debt
• Resynthesis of stored PC

• Replacing muscle and blood O

2 stores
•“Slow” portion of O
2 debt
•
Elevated Heart rate and breathing, 
• Elevated body temperature, 

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Metabolic Response to Exercise
Short-Term Intense Exercise
•High-intensity, short-term exercise (2-20 seconds)
• ATP production through ATP-PC system

•Intense exercise longer than 20 seconds

• ATP production via anaerobic glycolysis

•High-intensity exercise longer than 45 seconds

• ATP production through ATP-PC, glycolysis, and

aerobic systems

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Lactate Threshold
•The point at which blood lactic acid suddenly
rises during incremental exercise
• Also called the anaerobic threshold

•Mechanisms for lactate threshold

• Low muscle oxygen

• Accelerated glycolysis

• Recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fibers

• Reduced rate of lactate removal from the

blood
•Practical uses in prediction of performance and

as a marker of exercise intensity

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cell-to-Cell Lactate Shuttle

CO
2 Gly/Glu
+
H2
CO
Ox 2
Muscle
Fiber Fiber Gly +
Producing H2
La --
La CO
2
+
H2
Blood
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Identification of the
Lactate Threshold

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Sources of ATP for Muscle
Contraction

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Divisions of the Nervous System

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Endurance and resistance training
•

• Can result in shift from Type IIx to IIa fibers

• Toward more oxidative properties

(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Training-Induced Changes in
Muscle Fiber Type

Fig 8.13
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Physiological Adaptations to
Training
n There are multiple – mechanistic-
physiological adaptations to training

• The physiological adaptation will be

directly related to the stimuli applied to
the organism
 Physiological Adaptations to
Training
n Speed/Power/Intensive work
• Neural Adaptations
n MN firing rates

n Coordination

n Alpha and Gama adaptations

• Structural Adaptations
n Connective tissue (Facial, lig. Tendon)

n Skeletal Muscle hypertrophy, hyperplasia- assembly of

contractile apparatus (actin, myosin & titin etc.)
n Myoisoform shift to white characteristics

n
Biochemical & Enzymatic changes (Ca++ ATPase)
n Specific metabolic changes
 Physiological Adaptations to
Training
n Endurance/Extensive work
• Central or Cardiac Pulmonary Adaptations
n Ventricular Myocyte alterations- mass & contractile ability

n Enzymatic (Ca++ ATPase)

n Alveolar network

• Peripheral Adaptations
n Angiogenesis, capilliarization

n Blood oxygen carrying capacity

n Mitochondria biogenesis- size and number

n Myoisoform shift to red characteristics

Physiological Adaptations to
Training

Conditioning (adaptive,
physiological perspective)
n Pros: generically stimulates aerobic
system
n Cons: competes negatively with

physiological reserves & possibly neural

adaptations
 Physiological Adaptations to
Training
When training Coaches must ask?
n 1. Does the work athletes do transfer and

augment Sport Form

n 2. If there is no direct transfer, is the athlete

doing this work to build a base for, or augment,

another system or ability.
n While one form of work may not transfer to the competitive
event it may yield a supportive role in more specific forms
of loading . (CACC reference)

n 3. Values are only relevant to the Preparation of

the athlete
 Why is there a disconnect?
n So why are we training our athletes
the way we train them?

n A few assumptions lend themselves as to the

reasoning why such an occurrence is seen,
even among highly skilled sportsmen, within
the coaching community:
 Why is there a disconnect?
• Coaches are famous for their legions to their favorite
programs, methodologies and training systems…. no matter
how good or bad
n stem from their devotion to passed behaviours and mentors

• Assume transference, but no one ever measures it

n Verkhoshanski talks about the importance of monitoring training
n Bondarchuk’s recent (soon to be classical) text training transfer
 Why is there a disconnect?
•Sport training is a lucrative Industry and
marketplace
•Capitalistic Society
•Instead of learning relevant physiology, biomechanics, motor
learning & training methodology coaches are subjected to current
trends
 Why is there a disconnect
The 3 factors that characterize the current status of training methodology:

3. the probability to discover new, original and very effective training

means is very low now. There are many effective means already
discovered. The best way to improve the results comes from the
methods and systems that uses them;

5. the volume of training loads achieved the limit of reasonableness. Today

professional athletes are training about 8 hours per day, 2-4 times
during the day, near to 1,700 hours per year. It’s quite impossible to
imagine any further increase of load volume. We should look for models
that assure the most rational use of the training loads over the year
cycle;

9. today there is the tendency to increase the intensity of the training work
to increase the effectiveness of the training process, especially for the
top class athletes. This is an expedient that needs to be used very
carefully according to the qualification of athletes, the level of their
preparedness and the calendar of competitions.
 Why is there a disconnect?
“The coach fails to truly understand the training
appropriate to realize bioenergetic development for the sport,
and position within a sport. Tudor Bompa best describes
coaching requirements pertaining to implementing training in
this regard ‘The coach’s acquaintance with the specifics of
competition is a prerequisite for successfully modeling the
training process….. The coach must fully understand the
specifics of the work structure, such as volume, intensity,
complexity …. Familiarity with the contribution ratio of
aerobic and anaerobic systems for a sport or event is
important in understanding the aspects to emphasize in
training.’“
Anthony Daisy
 Why is there a disconnect?
“The coach fails to understand the biomechanical technique upon
which the bioenergetics should be expressed during training. This failure
may resort in the manifestation of unfavorable technique during
competition. This is often seen when quantity, not quality of speed and
endurance execution is employed by coaches to get their athletes in “game
shape”, or when the means chosen by the coach in no way satisfy the
mechanical peculiarities needed for technical competency during
competition, especially under conditions of fatigue. It should be
understood that team sport athletes need not the technical acceleration
abilities of an elite sprinter, they must, however, be able to replicate
greater than remedial execution of positive and negative acceleration
mechanics.”
Anthony Daisy
 Why is there a disconnect?
“The coach fails to understand programming which
incorporates all aspects of fitness. The training taxonomy must
be appropriately managed when “special work capacity”
work is programmed. This may be due, in part, to neglecting
how the “strength work” positively or negatively affects
“conditioning work” and vice versa. The result is that the
coach is remiss or unaware of the appropriate training
stimulus needed to induce a desired training effect, especially
when this training stimulus is employed concurrently with
other training irritants (such as strength, tactics and technique
etc), as well as to athletes of dissimilar fitness.”
Anthony Daisy
 Why is there a disconnect?
n The western sport training process is largely void of
mindfulness physiology. Until this situation is resolved
we will continue to observe the most successful of sport
programs continue to attain results that, while they
exist in a state of excellence in relative terms, are
well beneath what is truly attainable. Meanwhile,
uniformed program administrators and media are none the
wiser.

n The solution to this problem lies in rectifying the

misdirected lessons that are taught in academia to those
individuals who aspire to work, at any conceivable
capacity, in the industry of sport

n James Smith
 Why is there a disconnect?
“Much of the confusion placed on conditioning seems to be apparent
in team sports rather than individual cyclic sports. The individual
peculiarities of team sports (tactical style of play, level of preparedness,
etc.) bring about different degrees of freedom as to the energy provision
needed during the course of a game situation. This is opposed to cyclic
sports, where the ergogenesis is relatively stable as the competitive
distances covered are finite. Furthermore, the ergogenesis of team sports,
shown elsewhere (Bompa), may be inappropriate for sports where the
athlete qualification or style of play may differ from those sports where the
original data were developed. Therefore, the coach must be aware of this
fact if he is to rely on this data while programming, as the data may be
erroneous.”
Anthony Daisy
 Disclaimer- Beyond the textbook
n I have full consideration of the fact that there are
no means (lab, omegawave or otherwise) that
can offer the certainty of direct energy provision
for a given sport, position, player etc. Also, I
think putting an over emphasis on one area is
never a good idea, especially with team sport. It
is also not the intent to duplicate the demands of
a competition, as this feat is almost impossible in
training (even research is equivocal in the area of
bioenergetics). It is the objective here to better
understand and approximate the energy system
contribution with further quality
Anthony Daisy
 PURPOSE #2
Objectively analyze the special work capacity needed for sport
Objective quantifiable data- this is what really happens

• Improve technical ability at higher speeds, at a greater more specific

work capacities for longer periods of time, more frequently.
n The ability for the athlete to repeatedly demonstrate a maximal effort of high quality throughout
a contest

• Unlike strength training, only theoretical models exists concerning

“conditioning” transference to sport form.
n Little primary research
n Anecdotal experience
n Sport theory and methodology from individual cyclic sports or non-team
power/speed sports (classic Metveyev model)

• Look at the players, not the game.

 How Do We Measure It
n HR
n Video Analysis
n Physiological Markers

• Use top Athlete within each subset as

barometer
 How Do We Measure It- HR
n Central computing data based
• Polar models T2
n HR variability
n See how HR’s fluctuate at given times within

competition or practice
• Model this for training
 How Do We Measure It- Video
Analysis
n Time motion software capable of converting visual sport play (via a digital
video camera) into:
• distances traveled
• times
• speed; velocity and accelerations
• frequency of player movement
• attained at arbitrary selected match times (i.e. 1st half vs. 2nd half etc.) or
through an entire competition.

n With this information we have the ability to know exactly:

• how many sprints
• runs
• jogs
• walks
• performed for a given distance, by a given positional player, at a given intensity,
at a given time during the game, etc.

n We can also note the development of fatigue, aid in the selection of means and
methodics used to heighten strength/speed qualities during training, as well as
observe technical flaws in movement (especially upon fatigue commencement) etc.
How Do We Measure It-
Physiological Markers
 Others who have done similar
work
Physiological and Biomechanical
Peculiarities of Different Sporting
Disciplines

• Verkhoshansky
n Dynamic Correspondence
• Bondarchuk
n Training transfer
• Prozone
n Video analysis
 Basic Criteria for the Dynamic
Correspondence
n Verkhoshansky
• Amplitude and direction of movement
• Accentuated region of force production
• Dynamics of the effort
• Rate and time of maximum force
production
• Regime of muscular work
 Other factors to consider
n Siff and Verkhoshansky
• Type of Muscle Contraction
• Movement Pattern
• Region of Movement
• Velocity of Movement
• Force of Contraction
• Muscle Fiber Recruitment
• Metabolism
• Biochemical Adaptation
• Flexibility
• Fatigue
 Our Group’s Data
n Matt Nichol S&C, Toronto Maple
Leafs
2. Analyzed the relationship between their current
strength and conditioning methods to “biological power”
improvements

2. To determine if their methods of practicing are

effectively preparing their players to perform in a game
situation
n Used two NHL and two AHL regular season games
n Measured heart rates, lactate accumulation and time-
motion analysis.
• Novel technique at the professional hockey level
 Results Summary
n 40 min practice analysis consisting of 7 different drills.

n 2.31s- average duration of a maximal sprint in each drill

• similar to the average sprint time observed in games.

n One repeat of each drill averaged 8.23s of work time

• similar to the average work time at maximum intensity during a game for forwards and slightly lower
than what is seen for defencemen.

n Average lactate at the end of practice was 6.72 mmol/L

• similar to the lactate levels seen at the ends of periods during game play
• suggesting a high speed of recovery for the players analyzed & lactate metab is not as high as once
thought.

n Each player performed approximately 8:21s (max speeds) of total work time in the practice.
• Research would suggest that this is enough work to provide an anaerobic-alactic conditioning effect.
• Conclude: This is not how most NHL S&C coaches prepare their athletes for the season
 Results Summary….Other
n Testing and training camp velocities and
accelerations were much higher compared to
the velocities and accelerations during
practice.

n Little difference between velocities and

accelerations when the players are handling
the puck and when they are not.

n No significant decrease in velocity or

acceleration from the beginning of practice to
 SAMPLE: NEW YORK
DRAGONS
n Show data
n Show video

n NOTE: EMAIL ME FOR VIDEO AND

DATA
 A simplified 5-factor model for
assessing specificity
n Range of Motion
n Type of Contraction
n Magnitude of Resistance
n Direction of Resistance
n Energy System
 SAMPLE: TCU WOMEN’S
BASKETBALL
n The following illustrates a conditioning template during the
General and Physical Preparation for women’s basketball at
the collegiate level.
• The training taxonomy shown below will be dictated by the
training targets (as described at the beginning of each training
block), and the individual needs of the athletes. It should also
be considered that only relevant work done within the context
of conditioning would be shown here. The conditioning work
will be congruent with ALL training stimuli, such as strength
training, therapy and sport practice. Only the first microcycle
will be shown for each training block, with subsequent
microcyles being adjusted according to the undulating volumes
and intensities as typically seen in a concurrent periodized
training model. As always, training will be constantly and
reliably monitored, allowing scrutiny of the training process,
program efficacy as well as allowing the coach to approximate
athlete readiness.
 Solutions to Training
n Special work capacity relevant only WR2 microcycle
taxonomy
• WR2 general conditioning building aerobic capacity for the
duration of the match (i.e. 60-90 minutes) that does not
compete negatively with speed/power/technique work regimes
• Training should always be as individual whenever possible,
even when working with team sports

n Distance covered, duration, HR Rest & recovery have all got

to be specific.

n Football probably does not need significant lactic capacity

work

n Values are only relevant to the Preparation of the athlete

The End… Pt. 1
Thank You