Six core exercises, 6 assistance exercises, 6 prehab
exercises, 6 core-stability exercises and 6 flexibility exercises were chosen
for the training schedule. Beachle and Earle (2008) was the primary reference
used for exercise selection: push press, dips, front raises, skull crushers,
deadlift, bent-over rows, chin-ups, barbell shrugs, muscle snatch, calf raises,
Bulgarian squat, back extensions, abdominal crunches, Russian twists,
internal/external shoulder rotation, SAQ ladder work, overhead squats, hanging
leg raises, oblique crunches, hamstring stretch, glut stretch, quad stretch,
pectoral stretch and rotator cuff stretch were all sourced from there. The back
squat was shown to be a good functional multi joint movement in an article by
Masamoto, Larson, Gaites and Faigenbaum (2003). The bench press is a very
effective exercise for developing upper body strength as shown by Kim, Mayhew
and Peterson (2002). To develop explosive power in the entire musculoskeletal
system the power clean was chosen from McBride, Haines and Kirby (2011). For
ankle prehab uneven surface squats were shown to be effective by Drinkwater,
Pritchett and Behm (2007). Landing mechanics can change following an ankle
sprain leading to further injury. It was shown by McKay, Goldie, Payne and
Oakes (2000) that calf stretched can help to stop this from occurring.
Training Frequency
Beachle and Earle (2008) suggest that an elite athlete
completes between 4 and 7 training sessions per week, therefore the athlete has
been prescribed five training sessions each week. Beachle and Earle (2008) state
that complete muscle recovery takes 72 hours therefore a minimum of 2 complete
rest days between strength sessions. It is also important that there are no
more than 3 rest days since this would lead to a level of detraining. A
prehabilitation session has been scheduled twice each week since the athlete
has a history of injury, therefore it is important to work towards preventing a
repeat of this injury.
Exercise Order
Multi-joint (power) exercises were
introduced at the beginning of each training session (Spreuwenberg et al.,
2006) because these exercises are fundamental to strength development and need
to be trained when the athlete has a minimal amount of fatigue, additionally
causing a positive effect on subsequent exercise performance. Multi-joint exercises must be trained in a
non-fatigued state (Stone & O’Bryant, 1987). After completing the large muscle multi-joint exercises, the athlete
then progressed to smaller mass, single joint exercises (Vorobeyev 1978). Training
smaller muscle groups first can lead to fatigue, resulting in poor
technique, and increase the risk of injury. A push day and a pull day was implemented
to ensure that the same muscle group will not be used for two exercises in
succession, thus reducing fatigue in the involved muscle (Beachle & Earle,
2008)
Training Load and Repetitions
For hypertrophy, 80% of 1RM and
repetitions of 8 were used for core exercises. This is based on Tan’s findings (1999) which suggested higher training
volumes are associated with increases in muscular size (6-12 reps with
three-six sets). Research suggests that
performing three or more exercises per muscle group is the most effective
strategy for increasing muscle size. For
power exercises, 75-85% 1RM and repetitions of 5 were used for the power
exercises where Beachle & Earle (2008) recommended 3-5 repetitions of
75-85% of 1 RM. For assistance
exercises, 75% 1 RM of 10 repetitions were used.
Volume
Periodised multiple-set programs are
superior to single-set programs under both short and long-term periods for
improvements in muscle strength, as well as lean body mass and motor
performance (Kraemer et al., 1995). The athlete performed 5 sets of each exercise because Fleck &
Kraemer (2003) states that range of 2-5 sets promote the greatest increases in
strength, at the corresponding 1 RM. However,
for assistance exercises 3 sets were performed because 1-3 sets are more
appropriate due to the muscles being pre-fatigued from power exercises and
performed at the end of the session (Kraemer & Koziris, 1992). Increasing set volume can
lead to fatigue, resulting in poor technique, and increase the risk of injury.
For hypertrophy, 5 sets were implemented for power and core
exercises in reference to Hather et al. (1992) finding stating that higher
training volumes with 3-6 sets per exercise are associated with
hypertrophy.
Hedrick (1995) suggested that performing three or more exercises
per muscle group is the most effective strategy for increasing muscle
size.
Rest and Unloading Weeks
For heavier loads, longer rest
periods were implemented, especially for lower body exercises i.e. back squat
(Kraemer & Koziris, 1992). For
strength and power sessions, rest periods of 2 minutes have been used which
Sewall & Lander (1991) have shown to result in greater strength gains than
30-second rest periods. These rest
periods can be equally applied to maximal strength and muscular power (Kraemer
& Koziris, 1992).
For stages of hypertrophy, 60-90
seconds were used between sets, in reference to Pauletto (1986) findings which
support a short to moderate rest periods because greater muscular gains were
shown with athletes beginning the next set before being fully recovered to
elicit concentric or eccentric contraction failure within the 8-12 reps. However, slightly longer rest periods depend
upon the high metabolic demands of exercising larger muscle groups (Stone &
Wilson, 1986).
At the conclusion of the first
cycle mesocycle, there will be an unloading period of active rest, which
includes unstructured training such as cycling, running, and recreational
games, preventing accumulation of progressive fatigue (Corcoran & Bird,
2009).
Periodisation and Peaking
The athlete for this case study is in the off-season of their training cycle. During the off-season the athlete will be in a hypertrophy/endurance phase leading into a strength phase. The primary goal of this phase being to increase lean body mass. The start of the cycle is lower intensity; towards the end training becomes more intense leading into the strength phase and more specific towards the athlete (Baechle & Earle, 2008). The training schedule would aim to peak the athlete at the end of the pre-season then maintain that level as much as possible during the competitive season.