LONG TERM ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT

POWER PERFORMANCE LAB

ZAC CONNER

WHAT DOES LONG TERM ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT (LTAD) MEAN?

• LTAD = DEVELOPMENT OF ATHLETIC QUALITIES OVER TIME TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND FITNESS, SPORT PERFORMANCE, REDUCE RISK OF INJURY, AND DEVELOP CONFIDENCE (NSCA POSITION STATEMENT ON LTAD)
• LTAD IS A SMALL PIECE OF OVERALL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST ATHLETES)
• MY DEFINITION: LTAD IS THE PROCESS OF ATTEMPTING TO MAXIMIZE AN ATHLETES’ POTENTIAL IN ONE OR MORE SPORTS (OR JUST THEIR GENERAL FITNESS) THROUGH THE ACQUISITION OF A LARGE VARIETY OF MOTOR SKILLS OVER MANY, MANY YEARS (10+)

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WHY DOES LTAD MATTER?

• REGULAR PARTICIPATION IN MODERATE INTENSITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MAINTAINS AND IMPROVES OVERALL HEALTH
• REGULAR PARTICIPATION IN MODERATE INTENSITY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ALSO IMPROVES AND MAINTAINS COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND MEANTAL HEALTH

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LTAD (OR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN GENERAL) HAS MANY BENEFITS FOR EVERY TYPE OF PERSON OUT THERE

REASON 1

Qiu Y, Fernández-García B, Lehmann HI, Li G, Kroemer G, López-Otín C, Xiao J. Exercise sustains the hallmarks of health. J Sport Health Sci. 2023 Jan;12(1):8-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2022.10.003. Epub 2022 Oct 29. PMID: 36374766; PMCID: PMC9923435.

ATHLETIC QUALITIES LIKE STRENGTH AND POWER TAKE YEARS TO DEVELOP

REASON 2

GRIP STRENGTH OF LOW TO MODERATELY ACTIVE CHILDREN

• THIS CHART IS FROM A STUDY OF 691 KIDS FROM TURKEY (AGES 11.5-12.4 YEARS OLD)
• THE REPORTED GRIP STRENGTH (I KNOW ITS HARD TO READ) IS BETWEEN 21-22.4 KGS DEPENDING ON MALE OR FEMALE AND RIGHT OR LEFT HAND
• THE KIDS IN THIS STUDY ONLY HAD TO BE INVOVLED IN 2 HOURS PER WEEK OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS, SO IT LIKELY TELLS US A LITTLE ABOUT LESS ACTIVE KIDS AND THEIR STRENGTH LEVELS

GRIP STRENGTH OF VERY ACTIVE YOUTH CANADIAN HOCKEY PLAYERS

• THIS GRAPH IS FROM A STUDY ON 260 CANADIAN HOCKEY PLAYERS AGES 13-17, AND SHOWS HOW THEIR GRIP IMPROVES WITH THEIR AGE
• THE REPORTED GRIP STRENGTH IN THE 13-YEAR-OLD GROUP WAS AROUND 35 KG (LIKELY SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THE LAST STUDY DUE TO ONLY INCLUDING COMPETETIVE ATHLETES)

GRIP STRENGTH OF MINOR LEAGUE AND MLB PLAYERS

• THIS DATA IS FROM A STUDY DONE OVER 2 SPRING TRAINING SEASONS WITH THE TEXAS RANGERS ORGANIZATION
• THE REPORTED GRIP STRENGTH OF ROOKIE BALL ATHLETES WAS 103.5 KG AND THE REPORTED GRIP STRENGTH OF MLB ATHLETES WAS 111 KGS
• BOTH OF THESE NUMBERS ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN THE GRIP REPORTED IN PREVIOUS TWO STUDIES, SHOWING GRIP CONTINUES TO CLIMB THROUGHOUT AN ENTIRE ATHLETIC CAREER
• IT IS ALSO INTERESTING THAT GRIP STRENGTH CONTINUES TO DEVELOP FROM ROOKIE BALL TO THE MLB

NATURAL DEVELOPMENT WILL SLOW DOWN

• THIS GRAPH IS FROM THE YOUTH HOCKEY STUDY, AND SHOWS HOW THE ATHLETES’ STANDING LONG JUMP (OR BROAD JUMP) ALSO IMPROVED OVER TIME

• BROAD JUMP IMPROVEMENT BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN FROM AGES 15 TO 17
• THIS IS LIKELY AN EXAMPLE OF PUBERTY BEGINNING TO SLOW DOWN
• HOWEVER, THE MLB STUDY SHOWED US THAT PHYSICAL QUALITIES (GRIP STRENGTH, POWER, AND MORE) CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AFTER PUBERTY
• THE IMPROVEMENTS ATHLETES WISH TO MAKE AFTER PUBERTY ARE MORE DEPENDENT UPON QUALITY TRAINING THAN NATURAL MATURATION

LTAD IMPROVES THE CHANCES A YOUTH ATHLETE STAYS ACTIVE FOR LIFE

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REASON 3

• THE NATIONAL STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING ASSOCIATION RELEASED A MISSION STATEMENT ABOUT LTAD IN 2016
• THE MAIN POINT OF THIS STATEMENT WAS TO SHINE LIGHT ON THE BENEFITS ON LTAD FOR BOTH ATHLETES AND NON-ATHLETES
• ONE OF THEIR MAIN ARGUMENTS WAS THAT CHILDREN TAUGHT HOW TO PROPERLY IMPROVE SKILL HAD LESS FRUSTRATIONS WITH SPORT AND STUCK TO IT LONG ENOUGH TO FORM A HABIT OF REGULAR EXERCISE

NOW THAT WE KNOW THE BENEFITS OF LTAD, HOW DO WE EXECUTE IT?

GENERAL VS SPECIFIC

GENERAL PHYSICAL SKILLS LAY THE FOUNDATION TO BUILD SPECIFIC SPORTING SKILLS, WHICH IN TURN ALLOW YOU TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS AT THE RIGHT TIMES IN COMPETITION (I.E. TECHNICAL AND TACTICAL PREPERATION)

LTAD FACTORS

GENERAL PHYSICAL PREPERATION

• THE GOAL OF GENERAL PHYSICAL PREPERATION IS TO BUILD A ROBUST BASE OF A WIDE VARIETY OF MOTOR SKILLS
• MOTOR SKILL = THE ABILITY TO PERFORM PURPOSEFUL MOVEMENTS USING VOLUNTARY MUSCULAR CONTROL
• MUSCULAR CONTROL IS CHARATERIZED BY COORDINATION OF DIFFERENT MUSCLES TOGETHER, AS WELL AS TOTAL MUSCULAR FORCE PRODUCTION (HOW HARD A MUSCLE SQUEEZES) AND RATE OF FORCE DEVELOPMENT (HOW FAST THE MUSCLE SQUEEZES)

STRENGTH TRAINING

• LEARN THE BASIC MOVEMENT PATTERNS AND GET GOOD BEFORE ADDING VOLUME, THEN ADD WEIGHT (THIS TAKES YEARS)
• SQUAT, HINGE, LUNGE, UPPER BODY PUSH AND PULL (BOTH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL, ROTATION (RIBCAGE, PELVIS, SHOULDER JOINT, HIP JOINT), SPINAL FLEXION AND EXTENSION, ANTI-EXTENSION AND ANTI-ROTATION
• PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD (WEIGHT/INTENSITY, VOLUME, TIME)
• STAY CONSISTENT
• THE POINT OF STRENGTH TRAINING FOR AN ATHLETE IS TO BUID THE FORCE PRODUCTION OF THE MUSCLES IN GENERAL MOVEMENTS, WHICH CAN LATER BE TRANSLATED OVER TO SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS
• MAXIMAL EFFORTS ARE NOT NEEDED UNTIL LATER IN ONES CAREER
• RHEA (2003) – 140 STUDIES WERE STATISTICALLY ANALYZED, AND IT WAS FOUND THAT AN UNTRAINED INDIVIDUAL COULD INCREASE THEIR 1RM WITH AN AVERAGE INTENSITY OF 60% 1RM, WHILE TRAINED INDIVIDUALS NEEDED 80%
• MAX ATTEMPTS CAN BE SAFELY DONE, BUT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO AS A YOUNGER ATHLETE YOU DON’T HAVE TO

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POWER TRAINING

• THE MAIN ADAPTION FROM POWER TRAINING IS RATE OF FORCE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSCLES DURING GENERAL MOVEMENTS, WHICH CAN LATER BE TRANSLATED INTO MORE SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS
• FATIGUE IS THE ENEMY; POWER WORK MUST BE DONE WITH 100% EFFORT TO MOVE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE EACH REP
• THE MAIN METHODS USED FOR YOUNGER ATHLETES ARE JUMPS, SPRINTS AND MEDBALL THROWS
• THE SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS ADDED ON BY OLDER ATHLETES ARE FAST BARBELL MOVEMENTS AND COMPOUND LIFTS (OLYMPIC LIFTS, SQUATS, BENCH, DEADLIFTS) AT LIGHT TO MODERATE WEIGHTS AND LOW VOLUMES
• FULL SPEED SPRINTS WITH PROPER REST (6 SECONDS PER YARD SPRINTED) ARE ALSO THE BEST WAY TO TRAIN FOR SPEED

MOBILITY/FLEXIBILITY

• PROPER MOBILITY IS ABOUT HAVING NECESSARY RANGE OF MOTION IN KEY JOINTS FOR YOUR SPORT AND GENERAL HEALTH
• FULL RANGE OF MOTION COMPOUND LIFTS (I.E. STRENGTH TRAINING) ARE NECESSARY TO ENSURE JOINTS HAVE FULL ROM
• HOWEVER; EXTRA MOBILITY WORK CAN BE BENEFICIAL
• THIS CAN INCLUDE STATIC STRETCHING AND FOAM ROLLING/SOFT TISSUE WORK, BUT DYNAMIC MOBILITY IS THE WAY TO GO
• FOR MOBILITY WORK, THINK ABOUT TAKING JOINTS THROUGH THEIR LARGEST RANGES OF MOTIONS UNDER NO WEIGHT (PJF PERFORMANCE-MOVEMENT SNACKS)
• LOW STRSS, HIGH FREQUENCY (NOT VOLUME)
• IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS TYPE OF WORK IS EASIER FOR THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND MUSKULOSKELETAL SYSTEM TO RECOVER FROM THAN SPORT PRACTICE OR STRENGTH/POWER TRAINING

WORK CAPACITY/CONDITIONING

• WORK CAPACITY = THE AMOUNT OF TOTAL WORK (PHYSICAL STRESS) AN ATHLETE CAN PERFORM AND STILL RECOVER AND POSITIVELY ADAPT FROM
• AN ATHLETE HAS PROPER WORK CAPACITY WHEN THEY CAN HANDLE LARGER AMOUNTS OF WORK THAN WHAT A COMPETITION CALLS FOR
• WORK CAPACITY IS INVERSE OF INTENSITY (MEANING YOU CANT DO AS MUCH WORK IF YOU ARE TRYING AS HARD AS YOU CAN)
• WORK CAPACITY IS TASK SPECIFIC, YOU COULD THEORETICALLY BE ABLE TO HANDLE A LARGE VOLUME OF RUNNING AND STILL NOT BE READY FOR A LARGE VOLUME OF THROWING
• THAT MEANS PRACTICING YOUR SPORT IS YOUR BEST WAY TO RAISE YOUR SPECIFIC WORK CAPACITY

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROPER LTAD

• PLAY YOUR SPORT 2-5X PER WEEK (DEPENDING ON VOLUME OF GENERAL SESSIONS, AGE, AND OTHER FACTORS) FOR 35+ WEEKS PER YEAR
• PERFORM GENERAL PHYSICAL TRAINING SESSIONS 2-4X PER WEEK (DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF GAMES AND PRACTICES FOR YOUR SPORT, AND AGAIN, AGE AS WELL AS OTHER FACTORS) FOR 35+ WEEKS PER YEAR
• HAVE STRENGTH AND POWER WORK EACH WEEK YOU PRACTICE YOUR SPORT
• TRAINING IS LIKE A RECIPE, YOU CAN PLAY WITH THE AMOUNTS OF EACH ASPECT OF GENERAL PHYISCAL PREPERATION
• SOMETIMES YOU HAVE MORE STRENGTH WORK THAN POWER, SOMETIMES YOU HAVE MORE GENERAL WORK THAN SPECIFIC WORK, AND SO ON

HOW CAN POWER PERFORMANCE LAB HELP WITH YOUR ATHLETE OR TEAMS LTAD?

1. DATA

• AS SEEN INT HE STUDIES EARLIER, GENERAL PHYSICAL QUALITIES LIKE GRIP STRENGTH AND JUMP PERFORMANCE ARE SEEN TRENDING UPWARDS FROM 13-32 YEARS OLDS
• HOW CAN YOU BE SURE YOUR ATHLETE/TEAMS GENERAL PHYSICAL QUALITIES ARE DEVELOPING OVER MANY YEARS UNLESS YOU KEEP RECORD OF THESE QUALITIES?
• WE TRACK QUALITIES RELATED TOO STRENGTH, POWER, AND MOBILITY OVER AN ATHLETE’S ENTIRE CAREER WITH US

2. EXPERIENCE

• WE HAVE WATCHED THE GENERAL PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OVER THOUSANDS OF ATHLETES FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND HUNDREDS THROUGH COLLEGE
• AS YOU COULD IMAGINE, VARIABLES CHANGE FOR ATHLETES AS THEY CHANGE LEVELS
• HIGHER LEVELS OF SPORT HAVE DIFFERENT AMOUNTS AND INTENSITIES OF PRACTICE
• YOUNGER ATHLETES PLAY MULTIPLE SPORTS
• INJURIES IN A CAREER CAN BEGIN TO PILE UP

3. RECOVERY EDUCATION

• YOUNGER ATHLETES CAN CONTINUE TO IMPROVE WITH SUBOPTIMAL LIFESTYLE FACTORS
• BEING YOUNG IS NICE
• AS WE SAW IN THE YOUTH HOCKEY STUDY, DEVELOPMENT SLOWS POST PUBERTY, AND CONTINUES TO SLOW THE CLOSER AND CLOSER AN ATHLETE GETS TO THEIR GENETIC POTENTIAL
• THAT MEANS THAT EVENTUALLY, FOR ATHLETES TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP, THEY MUST CONTROL THEIR RECOVERY, NOT JUST TRAINING
• WE CAN TEACH ATHLETES ABOUT THE STRESS-RECOVER CYCLE AND HOW SLEEP AND NUTRITION ARE PRIMARY FACTORS FOR LONG TERM DEVLEOPMENT

4. WARM UP

• WE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU SOMETHING YOU CAN LEAVE WITH AND IMPLEMENT IMMEDIATELY WITH YOUR TEAMS, SO THIS IS A SAMPLE WARM UP
• WE FOLLOW WHAT IS CALLED ‘RAMP’ PROTOCOL
• R - RAISE
• A - ACTIVATE
• M - MOBILIZE
• P - POTENTIATE
• TO SUMMARIZE IT AS SIMPLY AS I CAN, WARM UP SHOULD RAISE YOUR HEART RATE AND USE GENERAL MOVEMENTS THAT ARE SIMILAR TO THE SPECIFIC MOVEMENTS COMING IN A PRACTICE OR GAME

RAMP PROTOCOL

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RAMP PROTOCOL

• 1. QUADRUPED CAT AND COW - SPINAL FLEXION AND EXTENSION
• 10 REPS
• 2. QUADRUPED T SPINE ROTATION - UPPER SPINE ROTATION
• 7 REPS EACH SIDE
• 3. SUPINE PELVIC ROATION - LOWER SPINE/PELVIC ROATION
• 5 REPS EACH SIDE
• 4. PRONE SHOULDER EXTERNAL ROTATION - SHOULDER EXTERNAL ROTATION
• 8 REPS, EACH ARM AT ONCE
• 5. LUNGE CIRCUIT - SINGLE LEG STRENGTH AND HEART RATE
• ONE FORWARD, ONE REVERSE, AND ONE LATERAL ON EACH LEG IS ONE REP
• 6 REPS
• 6. YOGA PUSHUP - UPPER BODY STRENGTH, SPECIFICALLY SCAPULAR PROTRACTION AND UPWARD ROTATION
• 6-8 REPS WITH FULL ROM, REGRESS TO PUSHUP PLANK OR ON THE KNEES IF NEEDED
• 7. RANDOM TAG - THIS DOES TWO THINGS, RAMPS THE HEART RATE UP AND ALSO GETS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM READY TO MAKE DECISIONS
• SET TWO KIDS UP LIKE A WIDE RECEIVER AND CORNERBACK, COACH RANDOMLY DECIDES WHICH ONE IS ‘IT’ AND CHASES THE OTHER ONE

WAYS TO REACH US FOR HELP

FACEBOOK - POWERPERLAB

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INSTAGRAM - POWER_PERFORMANCELAB

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TWITTER/X - POWERPERLAB

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EMAIL - ZCONTRAINING@GMAIL.COM OR INFO@PERFORMANCELABSLEX.COM

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WEBSITE - POWERPERFORMANCELABLEX.COM

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