Fueling Athletic Performance - Gatorade Performance Partner

Hey all! I wanted to share a change I made to my pre-season and GPP programming this past summer because it was a highly influential and positive adjustment that was made, resulting in zero soft tissue injuries during our Fall practice season. Often, what I hear from strength & conditioning coaches is that we don't want to deliver conflicting training stimuli within a day's training. Looking at speed development, this typically looks like sprinting maximally by itself, usually accompanied by jumps and plyometrics. Then we have tempo running between 65-75% of max velocity which is often reserved for low intensity training days. Most tempo days involve a 1:1-3 work:rest ratio to promote some cardiovascular adaptations as well. The problem I saw with this running intensity polarity within my program is that we didn't have enough days in the week to achieve enough running in general when I split up these two training emphases. As I learned more about the running demands of softball (and it's the same in other sports as well) is that a large majority of the running we see is actually performed at sub-maximal speeds. What I stopped doing is treating tempo running as its own training day all the time. We delivered some kind of running stimulus 3-4x per week during the summer. Only one of these days were exclusively sprinting; this was a max velocity session performed right before a lift. We then had another day that was filled with acceleration work for about 150-180yds total at max effort, and we followed that up with a progression from 400yds to 600yds of tempo runs across 5 weeks. We used a walking back rest for these tempos to stay away from delivering a cardiovascular stimulus on this day to keep the alactic, high intensity theme of the day in tact. This acceleration+tempo running day was a huge difference maker because it much more closely reflected the demands we saw, and we only performed tempos once a week by themselves on our lower intensity training day. I am curious if anybody else has taken a similar approach. How have you programmed your speed sessions to ensure player health and preparedness?

Having a great off season is what sets a solid foundation of strength development, movement quality, and tissue resilience to endure a full season. During a peak season push the goal shifts from focusing on adaptation to finding the balance between maintaining strength/power and managing fatigue. Here are some of the things I focus on for maintaining strength. - Training with moderate to high intensities – Main lifts are performed with moderate to submaximal loads of 70-85% while keeping volume low. The goal is to drive intent, preserve strength and power while avoiding neuromuscular fatigue. - High vs. low minute athletes – High minute players require maintenance and recovery. Due to the density of the NBA schedule, training frequency can be limited 1 to 3 lifts per week. This is where micro-dosing can be effective in season. Having short 10 – 15 minute sessions spread throughout the week ensures consistent loading, fatigue management, and compliance. Depending on the schedule or the athlete’s fatigue level, sessions may focus on either heavy strength lifts, speed/power, or mobility/injury prevention. On the other hand, low minute players require more frequency, intensity, and volume. We typically shoot for 3 – 4 lifts per week. The focus is to continue to build and maintain the physical qualities gained through the offseason. - Maintaining tissue health – Different methods can be used to maintain tissue health and resilience. Heavy yielding isometrics can be used to elicit healthy tissue adaptation. If athletes tend to feel sore due to the stress on field/court, yielding isometrics with light to moderate load for long durations can also be beneficial to help manage pain/soreness. Yielding Isometrics is a good method for tissue adaptation, pain management, while minimizing muscle soreness. Utilizing machine-based exercises for accessories is another way to promote healthy tissue surrounding the joints. These exercises are less taxing on the nervous system and serve as a safe alternate in providing load to the athlete. - Managing Recovery - Continue to stress the importance of sleep, nutrition, and hydration as the primary tools for recovery. Utilizing passive modalities and active recovery methods can be just as beneficial. Our active recovery sessions consisted of yoga, light pool workouts and team mobility sessions to maintain movement quality and readiness. Throughout the season the athletes go through a continuous cycle of feeling fresh and fatigue from the demands of the sport. It's important to understand when to implement stress and when to pull back. The peak season is where athlete availability takes priority. Balancing all aspects of performance, recovery, and injury prevention is key. What we do in the weight room should supplement readiness and resilience rather than accumulating fatigue. Elbert Denina - Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach - Dallas Mavericks

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