Sports form - part I

Term “sports form”

In the research literature many various terms and definitions of sports form can be found. Common for all of them is harmonic uniqueness of all components that enables the highest level of specific training performance.

Let me present you some definitions:

Matveiev – condition of training level, which enables athlete to successfully take part on the competitions

Krestovnikov – athlete condition, that is featured by ability to achieve high sport performance, stabile results conservation over some period of time, with often taking place on the competitions

Letunov – athlete condition on specific stage of sportsmen training level development, when the athlete is ready to achieve the most important sport results in its sports discipline

Sports form components

Three components:

1)      Validities of sports form development

2)      Sports form regulation

3)      Methods of sports form determination

During sports form analize it is needed to know that it mustn’t be watched like a static components congregation, but like a dynamic phenomenon that constantly changes, develops and adjusts to the adjustable conditions and needs.

Validities of sports form development

Validities of sports form development are based on science researches, which shew itselves relevant in practice situations. It is concluded that, during training process, exist periods when athlete is in that kind of preparation stage, that good sports results can be achieved, so as the periods when that ability is being lost. In the process of sports form development, three mutually connected phases are changing:

• Phase I –  sports form ingoing
• Phase II – sports form maintenance
• Phase III – temporarily loss of sports form

Sports form ingoing is featured by gradual improvement of all primary features, abilities and athlete features, and it is ended with start of sports form forming, as an integral system of athlete anthropology status.

Sports form maintenance is featured by relevant sports form stabilization, as a system of primal anthropologic features, abilities and features, that enables sport results achievement. According to that, it is necessary to take care about sport results oscillations because athletes take place on different level tourments; and about periodic endogenic oscillations of organism functional stage.

Temporarily loss of sports form is featured by adaptive processes direction change, organism transition to recovery level, so as weakening and temporarily stop of connections that were stabilizing earlier achieved sports form.

If achieving of the highest sport results is shown by chart, we will see a chart that has emphasized upward and downward lines. These curves can be different types(one peak, two peaks and relatively small downline among them etc.), which means that athlete inside of one competitive year can be in form and out of form many times. Sports form arisal, maintenance and loss depend on athlete preparation level, sport discipline, competition calendar, training, individual athlete abilities…

Each phase of sports form development is connected to training process content and construction. If preconditions for sports form arisal are created through extensive training load growth, than, in the phase of sports form, extensity of load is dropped, and intensity of competitive load is raised. In the phase of sports form loss, extensity and intensity of load is dropped, and contents are used in purpose of active recovery.

Optimal athlete prepareness doesn’t have same value in each sport discipline. In some sport disciplines, mutually with relevant, dominant features also exist. That means, for example, in some sports endurance is dominant, in some power, speed, explosivity etc., and somewhere primary spot is reserved for cognitive, conative and other features. It is necessary, during sports form acquirement, to pay special attention on anthropologic features hierarchical structure, abilities and features of sports discipline.

Sports form maintenance

Sports form maintenance is done with goal to lead the athlete to the level of optimal preparation in acquired moment. During maintenance phase a model of features, abilities and athlete features must exist through hierarchical structure. Bigger number of reversal informations about these features level, abilities and features in specified stages of preparation process for specified athlete also has to be presented in order to be more precise with maintenance process.

Only training process that is formed on cybernetic access(theory of reversal connections), can respond how to construct training, where to put maximum work effort and what to do in specified situation at the moment. That shows that successful sports form maintaining is possible only when, if all endogene and egzogene factors are analized(all their components), that create sports form. Because of that, it is needed to use these contents and methods of work that can be mostly changed and modificiations of sports form have to occur in limits of wished plans and change directions.

Periodization of sports training is constructed of the base of individual periods, stages and cycles(monocycle, microcycle, mesocycle, macrocycle), where every training segment represents one special training unit, that has its own contents, assignments, methods and loads.

For example, one macrocycle has an assignment to direct the highest part of sports form on the period when, according to competition calendar, most important competitions take place. First period(preparation) has an assignment to ensure good and complex preparation for sports form development, during second(competitive) period enables first acquiring, that form keeping; so as its realization through sport competitions; while during third(transition) period renewal of adaptive possibilities is being made. The most important assignment is on mesocycles, that have specially directed assignments, while realization of extremely concrete assignments is done through mycrocycles and individual trainings.

Individual periods and cycles are related stadiums of sports form maintenance process. Influence to sports form is possible only in some limits, first due to their lasts, because they are limited with periodic rhythmic changes at man; and from the other side, due to their dependence of concrete conditions(athlete prepareness level, athlete individual features, sport discipline features, competition calendar…).

The most critical moment of sports form maintenance represents the last mesocycle(competitive), in which competition occurs, and inside this mesocycle the last microcycle(competitive), and days before the competition, where form comes to expression after mesocycle.

During mesocycle is known in advance who will be the opponent, when the competition will be and under which circumstances competition will be done, all condition exist to build an adequate plan of such cycle, that sometimes can have all the features of one mini-year plan.

During these preparation phase the biggest errors are possible, especially through training conditions changes, that occur during organized mutual preparations, where little or no attention is payed on individual athlete features, adaptation degree achieved; consequence is disharmony of previous and new influences. These factors can lead to opponent effect – sports form loss.

“Technology of sports training and recovery”, Julijan Malacko&Dragan Doder