plyo program

[svincenz]

@NumberTwo

To some degree, absolutely. I spend a lot of time doing HRV monitoring with myself and different athletes to to measure sympathetic-parasympathetic nervous system balance. Regardless of how measured and careful the prescribed workloads for training, I must look at the contribution of all stressors to determine if I am getting a positive adaptation with my athlete (or myself), as opposed to simply creating fatigue. In most cases, I am unloading (or opening up recovery time) on the “training side” and managing on the “day to day” side. In other cases I will purposely pick “low intensity” work to keep a holding pattern and perhaps use it as an active regeneration session (i.e. Live to fight another day). When in doubt, I will pick a simple activity that will give me a general response, as opposed to a specific activity that gives me no adaptive response (if that makes any sense).

I no longer get into debates over “front-squats vs back squats” or “bench press vs push press” or “hill running vs sled dragging”. It drives my interns nuts because that is the kind of stuff they read on the internet. I don’t believe my approach gives them clarity.

I just bought an HRV monitor and I am eager to experiment with it.
I have a few questions:
“I must look at the contribution of all stressors to determine if I am getting a positive adaptation with my athlete (or myself), as opposed to simply creating fatigue”.
Sure, no system is an island in an animal species and so stress responses are general (Salye etc.). Do you find periods of overreaching useful (accumulating fatigue)? For sure it depends on the discipline (I remember a study made on Navy Seals years ago, but for sure we are far from strength- and power-oriented sports).

“When in doubt, I will pick a (1) simple activity that will give me a general response, as opposed to a (2) specific activity that gives me no adaptive response (if that makes any sense)”.
Can you give an example of (1) and (2)? It would be clearer.
I think it’s important to consider adaptations as multi-dimensional.

"I no longer get into debates over “front-squats vs back squats” or “bench press vs push press” or “hill running vs sled dragging”.
Do you do that more for advanced athletes?
Are you not throwing away the baby? Given the general the response, there is also a local response which is probably underestimated in the approach above. If you keep it limited to the general strength tasks, I agree, but do you still enter in debates concerning 10m vs 30m or acceleration vs max V?