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Run Slow to Run Fast? Zone 2 Training for Athletes
The popularity of the term “Zone 2 Training” seems to have increased in recent years, not only within the field of endurance sports where you might expect it, but also within the context of field sports and general health advice.
Zone 2 training generally refers to continuous exercise (e.g. running, cycling, stationary cardio machine training) done at a conversational pace for a sustained period of time.
More specifically, Zone 2 refers to the second in a 5-zone heart rate based framework, where Zone 1 generally refers to a brisk walk or really slow jog, and Zone 5 refers to an all-out sprint.
Zone 2 here refers to a pace just above a jog, where you could still hold a full conversation, generally referring to somewhere in the range of 60-75% (as a very rough guide) of your maximum heart rate.
This is in contrast to what people often do when they “go for a run” - that is, run at a fast pace for as long as possible, feeling out of breath with burning leg muscles throughout.
In reality, this is probably closer to Zone 3 or 4 for most people.
Before getting into the specifics of Zone 2 training and whether it is in fact as important as its recent popularity may imply, I’m going to get into the topic of aerobic fitness, one of the main proposed reasons for including Zone 2 Training.
From there, we can look at the specifics of Zone 2’s role in developing that.
What is Aerobic fitness?
As obvious as it sounds, every activity we carry out, athletic activities included, requires the body to produce energy.
It produces this energy using 3 main systems in the body.
The first is known as the phosphocreatine system, which produces energy rapidly, when we jump, sprint, or throw, for example.
The trade-off for this system’s ability to produce energy rapidly is that it can only do so for a very short period of time, usually less than about 10 seconds, before it needs to rest and regenerate the substrates required.
You can imagine yourself trying to sprint at your max speed - you can’t hold it for very long before you end up slowing, and this is due to this system’s limitation.
The second system is the ANaerobic system (I’ve added capital letters to give clarity when discussing this and the next system).
This system also produces energy quickly (albeit not as quickly as the first) but can sustain it for slightly longer, potentially up to a few minutes.
However, it is limited by the fact that when it produces energy, it also creates a lot of byproducts (those correlated with increases in lactate) that contribute to fatigue.
It is also relatively inefficient in terms of the amount of energy it yields per gram of fuel (in this case, carbohydrates, or more specifically, glucose).
You can imagine yourself trying to run an all-out 1km time trial, and feeling the ‘burn’ in your leg muscles, correlated with a build-up of lactate - this is you finding the limits of your ANaerobic system.
NOTE: While lactate doesn’t directly cause fatigue (in fact, it can actually be recycled to be used as a fuel source), it is correlated with those byproducts that contribute to fatigue in the muscles, so for now, when I refer to increases in lactate, I’m also referring to increases in those byproducts.
The third energy system, the aerobic system, is slower to produce energy, but can do so for much longer periods.
In fact, this is the system that fuels the vast majority of our daily activities, as well as being the major contributor to any exercise or activity lasting longer than a few minutes.
It also is much more efficient with how much energy it is able to get from each gram of carbohydrates.
Furthermore, unlike the ANaerobic system, it can not only use carbohydrates to produce energy but can also use fats (or more specifically, fatty acids), meaning it has a practically unlimited source of fuel.
Why is it Important to Increase Aerobic Fitness?
The above description will likely make it easy to see why improving your aerobic fitness would be beneficial if you were running long distances, for example, and it is.
This is because the more well-developed a runner’s aerobic system is, the higher speeds and distances they can sustain before needing to either slow down, or significantly tap into their ANaerobic system.
But what you might not expect is that it’s also important for those engaging in activities that involve repeated outputs at those higher speeds that are more within the range of the phosphagen or ANaerobic systems.
For example, if you consider a field sport athlete like a GAA player or Rugby player, whilst the main sporting action happens at high speeds and intensities, most of an individual’s movement within game will be done at submaximal levels, which will be primarily fuelled by the aerobic system.
Not only that, but when the athlete is engaging in those higher-intensity, ‘ANaerobic’ runs, the aerobic system is responsible for the clearing and recycling of the lactate produced during them.
Finally, the ability of the aerobic system to use fatty acids for fuel can allow athletes to save their stored carbohydrates for when they’re needed in those higher intensity efforts.
What this means, both for runners and field sport athletes (as well as anyone else engaging in such activities) is that increasing aerobic fitness can lead to:
Increasing the speeds, intensities, and distances at which the aerobic system can be the major energy-producing system - that is, delaying the need for the contribution of the ANaerobic system and accompanying lactate build-up.
Increasing the ability of the aerobic system to clear and recycle the lactate produced by the higher-intensity ANaerobic runs - that is, better ability to sustain near-maximal runs for longer, and quicker recovery between them.
Increasing the overall availability of fuel (both at lower intensities and higher) due to the aerobic system’s ability to use fatty acids as fuel, and its efficiency when using carbohydrates.
The mechanisms through which these adaptations occur (including improvements in mitochondrial density, changes in their function, and increased heart stroke rate volume) are beyond the scope of this article, but might be discussed more in future articles.
“So Should I do Zone 2 Training?”
As you can imagine, Zone 2 training - again, low/moderate intensities sustained for longer time periods - predominantly uses the aerobic system.
For that reason, you might have made the obvious connection that Zone 2 training is a good way to increase aerobic fitness.
And you’d be correct.
However, what we haven’t touched on yet is that while these are distinct systems, they all overlap.
Meaning that even activities that require a large amount of ANaerobic system contribution will often also involve a large contribution from the aerobic system.
For example, a 1km max effort run will certainly require a lot of ANaerobic system involvement - you’ll know this from the burning sensation in your quads - but the aerobic system will still be heavily involved.
So that might lead you to the conclusion that the aerobic system can not only be developed by aerobic-focussed/low-intensity/Zone 2 training, but also by higher-intensity training.
And again, you’d be correct.
So you might then ask, do we need to bother with Zone 2 training?
Is there any benefit?
Is it an overblown fad?
Can’t I just keep running fast, pushing myself to my limits, getting out of breath, and engaging in my specific sports training?
Consideration 1: Training Load
Firstly, you can certainly increase aerobic fitness through higher-intensity training.
However, imagine you’re a team sport athlete, for example, who wants to further increase their aerobic fitness.
Imagine you’re already training hard 2-3 times a week with the team, playing a match at the weekend, getting in a couple of gym sessions, and managing the stress of day-to-day life.
The idea of adding in another high-intensity run or interval session on top of that without it taking away from the rest of your training might be unrealistic, both mentally and physically.
But, you might feel able to add in an extra 1-2 x 30-60 minute slow and steady stationary bike sessions, without it taking away from your ability to push yourself in team training and matches (when done with appropriate volumes and progression, of course).
Or take a distance runner aiming to get in 4-7 runs per week and accumulate 50-100 miles of volume.
Even the highest elites aren’t able to run all those at high intensities.
In fact, most elite runners will tend to run around 80% of their running volume at low intensities - Around Zone 2.
On the flip side, let’s say you’re someone whose current weekly training load consists of 3 gym sessions, and a few walks throughout the week.
As long as you’re starting low and building up over time, it could be a great idea to start adding in a couple of higher-intensity runs or interval sessions to bring up your aerobic fitness.
In fact, in this case, it will potentially do so better than the equivalent time spent doing Zone 2 training.
However, the key term there is “time”, where opting for Zone 2 training will allow you to take advantage of the decreased intensity by increasing how much time you can spend doing it, thereby increasing training volume, and increasing your aerobic adaptations as a result.
For example, most athletes could sustain a slow pace on the stationary bike for 60 minutes without a problem, but an hour of 400m intervals runs would be a completely different story, both during and after the session.
The key here is that any additional training should take into account your current training load and type, as well as how much time you are able to give to it.
If the additions place you beyond what you can recover from, both from a time and intensity perspective, it’s too much.
By decreasing the intensity (e.g. opting for Zone 2 training instead of higher-intensity training), we can potentially include more volume without having recovery be an issue, or at least as much of an issue.
Consideration 2: Sport-Specificity
In the examples above, the context is mainly that of adding training to your existing training load.
However, other factors need to be taken into account when creating a plan from scratch.
For example, all this talk of Zone 2 training and its advantages might have you wondering why you don’t just ONLY do Zone 2 training.
Well, there’s a good reason your football coach doesn’t have you just running slow laps around the field to develop aerobic fitness.
It’s because we have to consider the other adaptations that go along with the type of training we’re doing, rather than only focussing on aerobic fitness.
For example, you may be familiar with Tempo Runs, which generally involve running repeats at submaximal speeds for somewhere in the 10-30 second range, followed by 60-90 seconds rest.
Whilst these might not be optimal for developing aerobic fitness, they will likely improve it somewhat, whilst allowing athletes to accumulate some higher speed running, and getting the benefits associated with that.
This trade-off may be worth it in the scope of the overall development of the athlete if their sport needs them to run at high speeds repeatedly.
It may also be the case that too much time spent working on aerobic fitness might mean less time working on ANaerobic fitness and speed, and if these are important to peak performance in the sport, neglecting it would be detrimental.
As another example, even elite marathon runners don’t only run at Zone 2 pace.
This is (partly) because they also want the benefits associated with spending some time running faster: improving running form and economy, improving higher end aerobic capacity, improving their ANaerobic system, and other benefits.
The key here is that given that there are many intensities and methods of developing aerobic fitness, doing so in a way that matches the other demands of your sport may be necessary, especially given the time and recovery constraints.
“So, Again, Should I do Zone 2 training?”
If I was to put it briefly, if you’re someone who is hoping to improve your aerobic fitness further, is already doing sufficient sport-specific training, and has the time/recoverability to include some lower-intensity training without it taking away from other important elements of your training (or life), it could certainly be a solid option to start bringing into your overall training schedule.
This could be as simple as a 30-60 minute jog, swim, bike, or similar continuous activity.
For athletes who are already doing a lot of running in their sport training, opting for “off-feet” options for their Zone 2 training could be a good option to get the benefits without putting extra impact stress on the muscles and joints involved in running.
Of course, if their chosen sport is running, accumulating more time on your feet could be one of the advantages of including more Zone 2 training.
However, with all of the above said, whilst the Zone 2 training can be a great option to include in your overall training plan, neglecting other training methods that are more specific to your sport or athletic goals will be done at your peril.
Article Written By Conor O’Neill
You can find out more about The Everyday Athlete Program by going to everydayathleteprogram.com/coaching.
How to Use Plyometrics to Build Athletic Power and Speed
What are Plyometrics?
While the benefits of plyometrics have been touted for decades, the definition is debated.
However, most experts agree that it involves the use of what is known as the Stretch-Shortening Cycle (SSC).
This is a process that occurs when the muscles and tendons are forcefully stretched, causing a reaction from both the nervous system and the structures of the joints and muscles, that leads to a higher (and faster) force output than you’d get from simply contracting the muscles.
To illustrate this, you can imagine a car hitting a speed bump, compressing the suspension springs, causing the front of the car to forcefully move upwards.
More specifically, imagine trying to dunk a basketball from standing under the rim versus being able to take a run and spring off the ground.
To get even more specific to plyometric exercises, this generally starts with an initial ‘eccentric’ phase, where a landing causes the joints and muscles to be stretched, storing elastic energy, and sending signals to the nervous system to tell it there is an extreme stretch occurring.
This is followed by what is called the ‘amortisation’ phase where those signals sent to the nervous system cause it to implement a protective reflex known as the myotatic reflex, which causes an involuntary rapid contraction of the muscles.
This reflex is thought to be evolved to protect us during a fall, for example, and it calls on motor units that we usually don’t have voluntary access to.
This can be thought of similarly to the reflex that causes you to retract your hand much more rapidly than you might be able to do voluntarily, when you touch something hot.
This is followed by the ‘concentric’ phase, where the stored elastic energy in the muscles and tendons, along with the involuntary contraction from the myotatic reflex leads to a higher force output at a faster speed (that is, more power), than you would have otherwise been able to create.
What are Plyometrics Good for?
We can think of the benefits of plyometrics in a range of ways, but one useful way is through the lens of a general exercise science principle known as the S.A.I.D. (specific adaptation to imposed demands) principle.
This principle can be basically defined as “You get better at what you practice”.
In the case of endurance running, that might mean you get better at running long distances by running long distances.
In strength training, that might mean you get better at lifting heavy weights by lifting heavy weights.
In the case of plyometrics, we can ask the question, “What is it that plyometrics allow us to do, and therefore get better at?”
In the most general way possible, if we’re doing a lot of powerful movements (by doing more plyometrics) we’re likely to get better at moving powerfully and/or we’ll be able to we’ll be able to use less energy to produce power at lower intensities (potentially improving performance even in distance running, for example).
That will likely mean we’ll get better at doing the specific plyometric exercises themselves, but could also transfer over to other explosive movements that are involved in a sporting context, such as jumping, throwing, and sprinting by:
Increasing our ability to access the previously mentioned high-threshold motor units.
Increasing the rate at which these motor units can be recruited by improving neuromuscular efficiency (improving rate of force development).
Improving our general coordination in movements involved in moving the body quickly through space, through enhancing proprioception (the body's awareness of its position in space) and intermuscular coordination.
Improving the strength/size of the muscles, tendons, and their connections, and the stiffness of the tendon.
In summary, by including more plyometrics, we improve our ability to produce higher forces at higher speeds, while improving coordination and robustness of the tissues involved.
Types of Plyometrics
Similarly to the definition of plyometrics generally, the definition of their subcategories is also debated.
One way is to think of them on a spectrum based on the ground contact time, that is, the amount of time that is spent on the ground in between landing and jumping.
At the top end of that spectrum is what we might call intensive plyometrics like depth jumps, high-intent pogo hops, bounds, and sprints.
The aim with these is to produce the highest force output whilst spending the least amount of time on the ground.
Observe the final few steps, where the foot hits the ground forcefully, and the lower body is ‘loaded up’ before jumping.
These type of plyometrics will generally create more direct adaptations to power output and subsequent sporting improvements, but they are likely to impose a greater recovery demand, so should therefore be introduced more gradually than the following types.
Below that is what we might call extensive plyometrics, which are generally lower-intensity versions of the intensive plyometrics like hops and bounds, but done for higher repetitions, and can also include other repetitive, reactive activities like skipping, for example.
These variations are more focussed on building up the strength and endurance of the tissues involved as well as improving rhythm and coordination, both for the direct benefits, but also as a means to building up the ability to do more intensive plyometrics.
Below that in terms of ground contact time is what we can call deep plyometrics, and this is where we get into a “grey zone” around definitions.
This could include things like Squat or Split squat oscillations, skater hops, as well as squat jumps and split squat jumps.
And whilst these movements have a lot of the characteristics of plyometrics, including a landing a take-off sequence and the intent to move reactively and powerfully, the long ground contact times and the lesser involvement of the tendons mean that most experts would agree that they’re not strictly plyometric movements.
Still, I think it can be useful to include them in the discussion, given that they can be included in the overall training plan in a similar way.
The idea with these movements is to expose the body to the reactive, eccentric-to-concentric process in deeper ranges of motion than usual plyometrics.
This is useful for athletes specifically because increased exposure to these movements prepares the body to perform better and be more resilient for when they encounter these positions in sporting contexts.
This is particularly relevant to instances of deceleration and acceleration, but also in more static instances, where you’re having to push your way out of a tackle, or engage in something like a rugby scrum.
But even for the everyday non-sport athlete, these can be a useful way of warming up for strength training or running, as well as being an alternative way of exposing the body to higher forces in these end ranges without the need for an external object like a barbell.
The grey zone extends further to exercises like box jumps and broad jumps, which again, are focussed on improving one’s power output, so can be included in the discussion, but which stray further from the strict plyometric definition given that they don’t have a landing before the take-off, and technically therefore have an even longer ground contact time, whilst making even less use of the tendons’ effects.
This doesn’t take anything away from their effectiveness within a training plan, given the similarities in terms of benefits to the deep movements.
How to Include Plyometrics in Your Training Program
As with any new addition to a training plan, starting small and building up gradually is advised.
This is certainly the case with plyometrics, given the high forces and novelty involved.
For most people, it could be as simple as adding in 1-2 plyometrics exercises to the start of each gym session and/or sport/running session - This could be incorporated as part of the warm-up, for example.
Starting with lower-intensity variations and building up volume through increasing the number of repetitions per set and the number of times you’re doing them per week will allow you to build up the skill and coordination involved, as well as building up tissue tolerance required.
Again, these alone will bring benefit, but they will also allow you to safely progress to higher-intensity variations over time.
That is not to say that once you progress to higher-intensity variations, that you need to drop the lower-intensity variations, in the same way that you wouldn’t drop all slower running just because you can sprint.
Over time, as you build tolerance and skill, you can start to include more intensive variations, again, building in 1-2 additional plyometrics exercises per session to your existing training plan.
These can also be progressed by adding more complexity, exploring variations in foot positions, movement directions, external objects, and combinations of multiple exercises.
Over time, you may even move towards including sessions to your weekly training schedule that focus exclusively on plyometric-based exercises, but for most, starting to include them to your existing training sessions is sufficient.
This might start with something as small as (after a general warm-up) 2-3 sets of 20 pogos into 2-3 sets of bounding practice.
That might progress to 3 sets of 10 pogos for max height into 3 sets of 10 lateral bounds into 3 sets of 3 deep squat jumps.
Eventually that might progress to something like 3 sets of single leg pogos, 3 sets of high-intent bounds with a run-up, 3 sets of hurdle jumps, and 3 sets of broad jumps.
Of course, it could be progressed beyond that if needed.
These are very vague examples, and each person’s goals, current training schedule, training history, and other factors will majorly affect how these are started and progressed, but the general recommendation of starting with lower intensities, volumes, and complexities, and building these up over time will allow you to reap benefits from the start, while also continuing to progress over time.
Article Written By Conor O’Neill
You can find out more about The Everyday Athlete Program by going to everydayathleteprogram.com/coaching.
The Body Composition & Performance Conundrum: How to Improve Both Together
Lads often (apologetically) apply to work with me saying, "I know it's a bit vain, but I'd like to have a 6-pack to go along with performance improvements."
This is in spite of most of my testimonials focussing on both areas, and every social media platform and webpage of mine saying "Working with everyday athletes to improve body composition AND performance."
That shows the level of stigma athletes can feel about admitting they also have body composition goals.
It's strange, because if we're being honest, we all want a body that reflects the level of work we put into training and nutrition, even if performance is also a goal.
But balancing both can be difficult.
You may have tried losing weight, but ended up eating too little, affecting your energy levels and recovery.
You may have tried increasing food intake to fuel up for training and matches, only to realise you ended up adding a few unwanted pounds.
You might have tried a bodybuilding program, only to realise performance wasn't improving.
Or you may have done many Strength and Conditioning programs, but never seen the body composition improvements you wanted.
From working with 100s of athletes on addressing these issues, there are 3 things I now see as critical to achieving both your body composition and performance goals.
1. Manage Your Progress Expectations (Not rapid, not slow, but steady progress)
Most approaches fail because they're too extreme.
You want to lose a few kg, so you cut out all carbs, stop eating sweets, and start running an extra 3 sessions per week.
You see great progress on the scale, and the belly is starting to go away.
But 2 weeks in, you realise that you're struggling to keep going to the final whistle, and you're starving all the time.
You're delighted that you're seeing fat loss, but you know you can't keep it going at this rate.
Ultimately, you give up, either not keeping at it long enough to see progress, or seeing some progress and undoing it all after you go back to your old ways.
What if instead, you were willing to make slightly slower progress, but this allowed you to do so whilst still performing and recovering well, and not being hungry all the time?
If you're willing to make that small trade-off, adjusting your progress expectations from rapid to steady, you'll ultimately see more progress, because you're able to stick to it for longer.
Not only that, but you'll also be able to fuel yourself along the way, meaning your performance doesn't suffer.
Walking that fine line can be tough, but the first step is the next point.
2. Get Accurate with Your Nutrition (Enough fuel for the work required. Not More. Not Less.)
So you've accepted that this time around, you're going to avoid the extremes, and instead, find that balance between fuelling and fat loss.
Getting accurate with how much food you're consuming is going to be key.
Consider trying to save money to buy a new car.
You could simply start spending as little as possible, cutting out all the things you usually enjoy, and hope that your bank account has increased by the end of the month.
Or you could commit to keeping to a specific spending budget, allowing you to spend on the things you enjoy up to that amount, and putting a specific amount aside each month for the car savings.
Either could work, but it's clear which one is more likely to you getting that car you're after.
The same is true with nutrition.
Knowing how many calories you're eating will allow you to adjust towards that sweet spot that has you losing weight, whilst keeping you energised and recovering properly.
Without that accuracy, you're shooting in the dark.
This is also true for muscle gain, where you want to find that balance between eating enough to see the scales going up, but not so much that it's leading to excess body fat gain.
Even strictly from a performance point of view, having this level of accuracy allows you to adjust your intake for training vs. rest days, for example, where needed.
3. Be Smart with Your Gym-work (Train like an athlete. Indulge your inner bodybuilder.)
I've seen both types of athlete in the gym:
The lad who does the bodybuilding split, but leaves himself slower and less agile on the pitch.
And the lad with the fancy plyometrics and bosu-ball workouts who doesn't fill out his jersey sleeves.
Either approach is fine, as long as you're seeing the progress that YOU want.
But realistically, most lads want both, and each of the athletes above could learn something from each other.
My general advice for someone in this position is to train like an athlete, but indulge your inner bodybuilder.
That is, a lot of your gym work should be focused on getting stronger at the compound lifts and working on things like power output and athletic movement.
But that doesn't mean you can't construct your workouts to allow for some higher-rep chest-work or getting a bicep pump.
Of course, this should be programmed strategically, and the focus will sway one way or the other based on the time of year.
But the point is that you can approach this problem in a way that will allow you to not only become stronger and more powerful in sport, but will also allow you to feel great taking your top off on your next beach holiday.
Article Written By Conor O’Neill
Conor O’Neill is a Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning coach, Psychologist, and Author.
He has helped 1000+ everyday athletes to pursue excellence in their physique and performance through optimising their nutrition, training, and psychology.
You can find out more about The Everyday Athlete Program by going to everydayathleteprogram.com/coaching.
Peaking at the Right Time: How to Periodise Your Gym-Work Throughout the Year
You can also listen to the article in podcast form by clicking play below!
As athletes, we want it all.
Bigger, leaner, stronger, fitter, faster, and more powerful.
In pursuit of this holy grail, you've probably noticed a few things:
You only have a certain amount of time to train, and trying to cram training all these aspects into your week can be tough.
You can't progress all aspects at once. Trying to get bigger means you might lose a bit of leanness. Optimising for endurance might mean strength won't increase as much.
You want different things at different times of the year. You might not care about losing a bit of abdominal definition in winter if it means you can pack on a bit more muscle. And when it comes to championship time, you probably care more about performing at your best on the pitch than you do about your bench press PB.
With these things in mind, your training focus will, and probably should, change throughout the year.
Contemplating these changes ahead of time will allow you to plan how and when you're going to prioritise and progress each quality at the appropriate time.
The process of systematically planning these changes in training ahead of time is known as periodisation.
Splitting up the Year
For most sports, the season works in a yearly cycle, so it makes sense to plan your training across that period of time.
Even if you're someone who doesn't play sport, it can still be useful to think of your training over a yearly cycle. For example, you might want to get lean for a summer holiday, or shift your strength focus to winter when outdoor conditions are less favourable to running, or peak for a marathon that’s at a specific time of the year.
This yearly cycle would be applicable to the structure of a season for athletes in most sports: GAA, soccer, rugby, track & field, jiu-jitsu, golf etc.
When we look at these sports, there is generally an off-season period, a pre-season period, and an in-season period.
The off-season and pre-season generally make up roughly half of the year combined, and the in-season generally makes up the other half of the year.
With that in mind, you can divide the season into 4 blocks:
Off-season
Pre-season
Early In-season
Late In-season
Given that there are 52 weeks in a year, you can divide these into 4 x 12-week phases (that's 48 weeks total), leaving 4 weeks throughout the year for holidays, planned or unplanned de-loads, minor injuries, and other scheduling issues (you could obviously choose a different amount of weeks, based on your own needs).
Each of these 12-week phases will focus on a specific set of adaptations, building on the previous phase, and setting you up for the next.
So What Quality Should You be Peaking and When?
Ultimately, you generally want to be performing at your best in the late in-season, usually the "business end" of the season, where the most important matches/races/meets/competitions are happening.
Planning to perform at your best at a given time of year in this way is a part of periodisation known as peaking.
In terms of priorities for improving athletic performance, nothing beats being an expert in how to play your sport from a tactical and skills perspective.
But when it comes to your physical preparation, the quality you'll likely want to prioritise is power.
That is your ability to produce more force with greater speed.
Optimising power will mean faster sprinting, quicker turning, and higher jumping ability, as well as improved ability to push off opponents and avoid getting caught up in tackles.
Correlational studies have also shown power to be a reliable predictor of athletic success.
So, why not just train for power all the time?
Firstly, as previously discussed, you have other goals that you want to achieve throughout the year.
But more than that, your ability to produce power is dependent in part on your strength (how much force your muscles can produce).
Furthermore, your strength is in part dependent on how much muscle mass you have.
So working backwards, that means in order to optimise power output, it’s beneficial to have worked on building muscle mass, then increasing the contractile ability (strength) of that muscle, before then increasing the ability to use that strength at speed (that is, power).
With that in mind, you can align those goals with the phases of the season mentioned earlier, using the off-season to work predominantly on hypertrophy (increasing muscle size), the pre-season for focussing more on strength work, and the in-season for focussing more on power development. This should allow you to maximise power output when it matters most.
However, that doesn't mean you have to only focus on the aspect you're prioritising at that time.
For example, when focussing on hypertrophy, you should still be including smaller amounts of strength-focussed and power-focussed work to prepare you for the upcoming phases.
And when focussing on power, for example, you should still include smaller amounts of hypertrophy-work and strength-work in order to maintain the progress you've made in those areas.
What Does This Look Like Practically?
The relationship between volume and intensity is an important consideration here.
Higher intensities (heavier weights and higher speeds in this case) require lower volumes (fewer reps in this case).
This is obvious in a sense: You can only lift extremely heavy weights for a small number of reps before you fail to be able to lift them.
The opposite is also true: higher volumes (more reps) require that you decrease the weight you're lifting.
This is important when it comes to the changing nature of your goals throughout the year.
Hypertrophy is generally optimised by higher volumes. i.e. more total reps.
Strength is generally optimised by higher intensities. i.e. more weight lifted.
Power is generally optimised by even higher intensities. i.e. more weight lifted at higher speeds.
Given our plan to progress our focus from hypertrophy to strength to power, we can suppose that 2 things will occur as the year goes on:
Intensity will be lower at the start and increase as the year goes on.
Volume will be higher at the start, and decrease as the year goes on.
That forms a graph as shown below, and this lines up with what most strength and conditioning textbooks will say about periodisation.
In reality, the change won't be as linear and smooth as it looks.
During training phases (such as the 12-week examples) themselves, and even within a training week, there can be fluctuations in volume and intensity (more on this in future articles).
Plus, as mentioned, it's important to include a baseline level of each attribute in each phase even when focussing on one attribute.
But the general premise still remains:
As the season goes on, the volume will decrease (through decreasing the number of weekly sessions and/or the total number of reps), but the weights you're using (in the case of barbell/dumbbell exercises) and forces you’re producing (in the case of plyometrics etc.) will move closer to maximal efforts.
In Practice, What Might This Look Like?
The off-season could consist of 3-5 gym sessions per week, consisting of 3-6 sets of 10-20 reps of the main exercises in those sessions.
The pre-season could consist of 3-4 gym sessions per week, consisting of 3-5 sets of 4-10 reps of the main exercises in those sessions.
The In-season could consist of 2-3 gym sessions per week, consisting of 2-3 sets of 2-6 reps (many of these done at higher speeds) of the main exercises in those sessions.
(Take those numbers with a pinch of salt, since they will vary based on the individual and the specific training methods used, but they represent the general trends of volume and intensity outlined above).
What if This all Seems a Bit Complicated?
If all this seems a bit complicated, you're probably early on in your training experience.
If this is the case, getting into the weeds of periodising your training is probably more hassle than you actually need.
For you, simply focus on getting stronger.
Especially for those early in their training experience, training for strength has not only been shown to increase strength (obviously) but also been shown increase muscle size and power output, thereby achieving the goals set out above, without the need to over-complicate it.
So, if in doubt, just focus on getting stronger, without the need to change this focus much throughout the training year.
However, if you are well-experienced, have achieved a solid level of strength already, and want to optimise your ability to perform to your highest potential when it matters, it may be time to start looking at planning and periodising your training.
Conor O’Neill, Know Yourself Performance
To find out more about how you can work with me, click the image above or go to knowyourselfperformance.com/coaching
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Learning the Clean
You can also listen to the article in podcast form by clicking play below!
As an athlete trying to build muscle, strength, and power, you want to get the most out of your time in the gym.
Many tools can be useful in this pursuit.
One set of tools is the Olympic lifts. That is, the Clean & Jerk, and the Snatch.
Completing these movements requires high force production and speeds, making them useful tools for improving power output and rate of force development. These are 2 key predictors of athletic performance.
They also involve high eccentric loading (the benefits of which I'll explore in a future article) as you catch the barbell.
As a bonus, there's no gym movement that looks better than a perfectly executed Olympic lift.
But if you tried them yourself, you've probably realised they're not as easy as they look.
Lots of practice is needed before you can perform them safely and effectively.
I want to help you get started on that, looking at the Clean as a starting point.
Learning the Clean, Backwards
The clean is usually taught from the ground up.
That is, you start by learning to lift the bar from the ground to above the knees.
Then you learn to move the bar from above the knees to your chest height.
Then you learn how to catch the bar in the finish position, with intermediate steps along the way.
If this method works for you, great.
But in my experience, most issues occur in the catch position, and the transition into it.
For that reason, I prefer to coach people to start with the end in mind, perfecting that aspect first.
This not only leads to safer lifts, but also confidence in knowing that you can catch the bar safely when you get it up. Ultimately, it also means you'll be able to use higher weights over time.
Step 1: The Catch
Learning the most important part of the clean is often left until last, and unsurprisingly, it's where most people experience issues.
Often people end up catching the bar (win), but in a weak position, leaning backwards, with their back arched.
In this position, you're relying on smaller muscles in the upper body (in the abdomen and lower back) to absorb the force of the bar.
Leaning backwards - Not ideal!
As the weights increase, these muscles will be less able to withstand the force of the bar. This will potentially increase injury risk and definitely decrease the amount of weight you're able to lift.
Instead, you should aim to finish in a position like a quarter front squat, with your butt back, your knees bent, and head facing forward.
This is known as the 'power' position.
Quarter squat. Hips back, knees flexed, legs doing the work.
You can try this now. Stand up, and lean backwards. How confident would you be if someone gave you something heavy to hold at your chest in this position?
This time, go into a quarter squat position. How much more confident would you be if someone gave you a heavy load to hold now?
In this position, the large leg muscles of the quads, glutes, and hamstrings are engaged and ready to absorb the high eccentric loads involved in catching the barbell.
So here's how to practice it.
Start by ensuring the bar is resting on the front of your shoulders, with your elbows high in front of you, all four fingers under the bar, and the thumb on the top of the bar.
Gaining enough mobility to get your elbows and grip right alone could take a few weeks.
Once you've got that, you can now begin practising maintaining it as you drop into that quarter squat, 'power' position. Again, depending on where you're at, you might need to practice this for a few sessions or weeks.
When you're comfortable, you can now start to emulate the catching of the bar, by rapidly dropping into the power position from standing.
Step 2: Add Upright Row
Once you feel comfortable and strong in the catch position, you can start to address the transition into that position.
The first element of this is to perform an upright row, followed by a quick turnover into the catch position.
You won't actually perform an upright row in the full movement, but practising it in this way will help you avoid the common mistake of 'curling' the barbell into position.
Step 3: Add Shrug
Once you've mastered the upright row to catch position transition, you can start to work on speeding that up.
This starts with adding a shrug before the upright row. That is, shrug, upright row, drop in to catch position.
With practice, this should become one flowing movement.
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Step 4: Add Thigh Contact (Hang Power Clean)
We've pretty much nailed the transition of the bar from hanging to the catch. Now it's time to add some extra force by using the legs.
This will allow for more force and speed, and will be required as the weights you're using increase.
First, start in a position where the bar is hanging around mid-thigh, a few inches out in front of the thighs.
From here, practice bringing the bar towards the thighs (contacting them) and starting the shrug/upright-row/catch process at the same time.
As you increase the speed of this movement, you'll find yourself using your legs more, even getting up on your toes momentarily as you forcefully extend your knees and hips to get the bar moving.
As the weights get heavier, the transition to the catch becomes more of a case of 'getting under’ the bar at its highest point.
Congratulations, you are now able to perform a Hang Power Clean. The 'hang' refers to the starting position of the bar at thigh level, and the 'power' refers to the catch position being in the quarter squat position.
Step 5: From Ground (Power Clean)
Once you've gotten the hang power clean technique on point, you can practice starting start the movement from the ground, rather than mid-thigh.
One crucial step here is to keep your eyes facing straight ahead, as you should throughout the movement. This will allow you to pick a visual spot to focus on through the movement, which will help with balance more than anything.
Also, you should resist the temptation to rip the barbell off the ground as quickly and powerfully as possible.
Instead, smoothly lift from the ground to mid-thigh, and get aggressive at the mid-thigh point.
Congrats. You can now do a Power Clean.
Step 6: Add Squat (Full/Squat Clean)
So now you've nailed the power clean.
But as the weights get heavier, you may find that it's not as easy to get the bar up as high as you once could.
In this case, you should now work on improving your ability to 'get under' the bar as part of the transition to the catch.
This inevitably leads to a lower catch position than before, ultimately ending up in a full front squat position at near maximal weights.
So this step is as simple as aiming to catch the bar lower than the power position and allowing yourself to go into a full front squat, before standing up to complete the movement.
Congrats. You can now perform a full clean.
As you can now see, there are many elements to learning the clean, and it could take months or years, depending on your current experience.
But bear in mind that you will likely experience benefits along the way without needing to do the full movement. For example, hang clean high pulls have been shown to increase rate of force development. (This is where you simply perform the thigh contact, shrug, and high pull elements, even without the catch.)
That's not to mention the fun of learning a new skill, and the strength and power adaptations you’re likely to experience as you expose your body to novel stimuli in the form of new movements.
Conor O’Neill, Know Yourself Performance
To find out more about how you can work with me, click the image above or go to knowyourselfperformance.com/coaching
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