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Specific Metabolic Conditioning
By: Juan Carlos Santana
A message from Tim Drown MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, ATC, LAT
Dear To Be A Champion Teammates,
I want to share with you this paradigm changing article from one of the top conditioning experts in the world. Read and reread this article and then implement this idea into your training and conditioning. You will outlast your competition, become mentally tougher, develop a high level of physical fitness, and reduce the chance of injury.
In Juan Carlos's words:
"How many times have you heard the old cliché, I'm starting a jogging program to get in shape? How many times have you seen soccer or football conditioning programs begin preseason training with 2- to 5-mile runs 3 to 5 times per week? Most coaches, trainers, athletes, weekend warriors, and fitness aficionados still prescribe long steady distance (LSD) training for anyone trying to create a training base. You can see this when football players, regardless of their position, are asked to run the famous 12-minute run for maximum distance or to run 1.5 miles for time, all in the name of showing their ability to successfully engage in strenuous practices and to be in shape for camp!
If you believe that running long distances is the best way to get in shape for sport participation, I would like to introduce you to specific metabolic conditioning (SMC). The concept of SMC centers on the training theory of specificity. Specificity dictates that your physical abilities adapt to the specific demands of the training stimulus.
If you train long and slow, you increase your endurance at slow speeds. If you train fast, repeated sprints, you increase your ability to repeat sprints. What you train for is what you get-specificity is that simple!
To properly prepare a person's metabolic machine for a specific sport, we must first look at the physiological demands of that sport. This is often referred to as performing a needs analysis. What is the work-to-rest ratio? What are the distances covered at one time? How many and what kinds of changes in direction are necessary in a work bout (i.e., a play, a point, an exchange, etc.)? How often do the changes in direction take place? How much strength and what type of strength are needed? Is the sport power or strength dominated? What kind of body positions does the sport require (i.e., what are the activity's biomechanics)? These are just some of the questions that must be answered in order to prepare a common sense approach to metabolic conditioning.
Let's look at some very general guidelines for most field, court, racket, and combat sports. These sports require near-maximal intermittent work lasting less than 5 to 7 seconds, followed by 15 to 30 seconds of light recovery work. This work-to-rest ratio of approximately 1:4 can last for 2 to 5 minutes and is usually followed by some kind of rest period that can last 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Most distances covered in these sports are less than 20 meters and include 2 to 10 changes in direction per work bout. Does this sound to you like long-distance training? It shouldn't, because it's not!
Most sports are power dominated; they use short, high-intensity intervals. Their quick bursts of action require immediate fuel, and thus they can't rely on aerobic metabolism to provide their high rate of energy demand. Short, high-intensity intervals require the ability to quickly restore immediate energy supplies so that another burst can be performed. Furthermore, in rare instances when high energy is required for about a minute, lactic acid must be buffered, removed, and used for energy. If lactic acid production becomes excessive, it will shut down muscle contraction and you will stop or slow down what you are doing! Both the ability to quickly recharge the immediate energy stores within the muscle and the ability to buffer lactic acid are not improved significantly by steadily jogging a few miles!
If you want to create these very important adaptations, remember specificity of training: Train in repeated, short, and intense bursts with incomplete recovery, the way it happens in most sports! "
For more information on Specific Metabolic Training and how it can help you reach your performance goals call 207.934.0555.
Spring Sports Preparation and Winter Athletic Performance Conditioning begins Jan 12, 2008 to learn more or to register go to www.buildingchampionsinme.com. We reward fast acting decision makers so register today.
To Be a Champion encourages you to pass this article along to athletes, coaches, and parents who might benefit from reading and implementing this training concept.
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