Syco - you state:
“I always throw in a few weeks of 15 rep training at the start of a season for the GPP phase.”
But…after a number of years of resistance training do you not see a dedicated AA phase declining in importance?
There are a number of reasons for a dedicated AA phase:
The nature of my training year means there will always be an off-season, maybe only 1-2 weeks, but there is always one.
IMO…
- One must always have a close season.
This helps the hunger develop and rest the body, realise there is more to life etc. etc. - The High rep schemes help strengthen the connective tissues and reduce the possibility of injury later in the season.
- After any close season the likely of injury are greater than maybe at any other time - an AA phase is a sure way to strengthen muscles in a controlled steady manner with reduced CNS stress using PERFECT form.
- A AA phase provides the perfect opporunity to …
a: correct any weaknesses in posture,
b: muscle imbalance
c: correct a lifting technique
d: introduce a new excercise
e: develop new better/habits - Mentally it is a great way to reduce the common mistake of lifting too heavy too early and leaves peaking easier later.
- It also allows the athlete to concetrate on doing things rightas they restart the year again.
I am not adovcating a AA phase, I just feel that it works for me, allowing a proper start to the season, and I must say I have been very “lucky” with injuries since I paid more attention to the AA phase.
I would like to hear what others suggest-
Do some ignore a AA phase?
How long is it? (me = 4-6 weeks -generally 4)
What do you do? etc.
23
I wasn’t recommending no AA phase (or whatever you want to call it). Just its relative importance should decrease as an athletes matures…
No.23:
are you the ‘Artist formerly known as Syco’?!?
Yes, long story - mostly to do with stupidity, lost passwords and bad memory - duh!!