Competition volumes and Intensity

Expert Discussion Planning and Periodization
1

With the indoor competition season coming up soon I have a few questions regarding volumes and intensity.

Lets say that during SPP we’ve worked down to 700m/wk of speed and our intensity is at 3x60m at 15 minutes break and this has worked very well. From this point we enter the competition phase at a much higher level then previously.

Let say the competition period is 2 months long. The final taper will take place at the end of this period for a championship meet. I know that volume is reduced to allow for intensification. Does this continue to apply during the competition phase?

So would we further intensify through 2x60m @ 20 minutes rest?

A reduction in volume but increase in intensity. This sorta seems like the natural course since competitions are similar to this intensity and volume.

Or do we maintain volume to allow for further adaptations? So continue at 3x60m with 15 minutes break but simply do competitions?

The second part to this question is can we use potentiation to intensify our sprints if we continue with intensification?

So once we’ve hit 3 or 2x60m with the given break can we progress to the same but with a single set of max bench press 10 minutes before each rep? Or whichever method best potentiates the sprinting ability.

2

Remember everything in comp will be submax and vol kept on the low end with the final drop at the end of the indoor season.

Session 1: This is a technical session
3-5x70 standing submax

Session 2:
2x3x30 blocks
1x60 submax

Final taper:
Session 1:
1-2x70

Session 2:
2x2x30

3

So The goal for the competition period is to maintain speed to allow for competition intensities?

And we accomplish this by maintaining the low volume but reducing the intensity?

4

During competition period, the intensity (and SE outdoors) is the meet. Everything else needs to be submax.

5

Yep. I would keep volume btw 240-300 meters maybe 360 meters the first week or two of the season. I would keep cap all sprints with a 30 meter int limit.

6

I see, so the competitions are the stimulus and the time in between is sort of a maintenance/recovery period. So if we dont have a competition every weekend should we simulate one every weekend?

This is sort of how I have done things in the past. Just have easy weeks in between meets. It has worked ok in the past but coming down from less volume creates a dull peak. I’m assuming coming down from this sort of volume and intensity will create a much sharper and better peak.

7

If you had a off week I would keep training the same and let it serve as a recovery week and get ready to explode the following week.

8

So what would the difference be for a taper vs competition period volumes?

I know how the taper works, it just seems as though the competition period is a whole bunch of slightly smaller tapers. Is there a Charlie product that covers the topic of competition volumes?

9

Not sure what you mean “whats the difference be for a taper vs comp period”? You could start at 360 and when you start your taper drop down to 240 and final taper would drop down to 150-200 range. The big difference during comp is the intensity of the sprints.

10

Ok, I think that clears things up quite nicely. I was wondering what the difference is between a final taper and the volumes used in competition intensity.

So what I think I’ve got out of this is that the competition period is a continuation of the drop in volume and rise in intensity. To the order that it takes roughly 5-7 days to recover/supercompensate from competitions.

And so if volumes came from 1400m to 600m in SPP, then the comp period would also see a drop in volume. From 400-250 in the competition period. And for the final taper down to 150-200m in that week.

So its basically one giant triangle pointing towards the championship.