Training variability

Variability

Modern training is hard activity that asks for big number of working hours. Training volume and intensity are being increased continuosly without stop and athletes repeat exercises numerous times. To achieve top performance, training volume has to be over 1000 hours per year. Here are some examples that will show you realistic picture. Weightlifter must have 1,200-1,600 hours of hard training work per year. Rower passes 40-60 kilometers on 2-3 trainings per day. It is a fact that top gymnastics has to train at least 4-6 hours per day, during which same exercise can be repeated 30-40 times. These high volume training shows that athletes must repeat particular exercises or technique elements for almost infinite number of times. Unfortunately, it can lead to monothony and bored athletes. This type of repeat is emphasized in sports where crucial factor is endurance, while technique area is minimal(running, swimming, rowing, canu, ski running).

To overrule monothony, coach has to be creative with big knowledge and exercise choice, that will enable periodic changes. Coaches can enrich their skills and exercises by inserting movements with similar technic patterns or the ones that develop biomotoric abilities that are demands of sport. Athletes whose intention is to increase leg power for soccer in order to have better jump(defensive players and centerforwards mostly), don’t have to do jumps everyday. Various exercises are available: semi-squats, leg press, jumps from squat, stairs exercises, deep jumps,platform jumps... These exercises will enable to the coach to change them in some amount of time and decrease training monothony.

 Coaches capacity to create, be intensive and work with idea, is important for successful training variability. Coach should plan program which will enable athletes to use various exercises on training and in microcycle. While training program is being written, all skills and movements for targeted goal should be considered. Coach will enable athletes enjoyment on training instead of monothony and apathia. For example, after hard work in gym soccer players should have some fun activity, for example basketball or volleyball game that will relax them, and also develop endurance and coordination in indirect way. Similar, during preparatory phase athletes can develop particular biomechanical features by use of other training types or sports performance according to athletes choice. For example, soccer players can also develop their endurance through mountain bike, swimming, roller blading or ski running. These propositions can enrich training program content and  enter bigger variability which will influent positively on mental and psychological factor of an athlete. Athletes should always perform variability on training and coach has to ensure it.

"Periodization, theory and methodology of training", Tudor Bompa