Monitoring Training Status: The Finger Tap Test
By
Bryan Mann
Monitoring training status is something very vital when training athletes.
Because the main goal of training for sport is the actual sport itself—not the
weight training—it’s a constant, careful management of intensity and volume to
assure that the athlete can compete at the highest possible standard.
In order to manage a team’s programming, the coach must monitor where the
athletes are on any given day. One way to know the athletes’ status is with the
OmegaWave system, which monitors the body’s seven systems and tells the coach
how ready and prepared the athletes are within minutes. This is the best way to
know the athletes’ status. However, it’s very expensive so not all programs can
afford one.
Another way to measure the status of the central nervous system (CNS) is with
a finger tap test. A finger tap test is performed with the individual’s heel of
the hand on the table. The hand and fingers are arched up, and the individual
simply taps as quickly as possible for a set time. This is recorded before
physical activity, preferably every day but at least before every workout.
The finger tap test can be used due to the nature of the nerves in the body.
All nerves run away from the brain and will end somewhere. The hands and feet
are the two places where the nerves end and show great sensitivity. Countless
times, Louie Simmons has said, “The two most sensitive parts of the nervous
system are the hands or the feet. If either one of those hurt, you’re done.” It
is because of this that we can utilize tests such as the finger tap test to
measure nervous system sensitivity.
With Microsoft Excel, it’s easy to determine a baseline. Simply find the mode
and the mean (average). Often times they will be very close together, and this
is the baseline. To find the mode and average in Excel, use the drop down box,
which is by the formula box, and select “Stat.” From the “Stat” menu, pick one
column to determine the individual’s mode and the other column to determine the
individual’s mean (average). If the number for the day is 10 percent above or
below baseline, it shows that the CNS status is either elevated or depressed.
There are cases when athletes have a large difference between their mode and
their mean. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that there was a
period when the athlete became sick, and the numbers were depressed. If this
occurs over a period of several days in a row, this data needs to be eliminated.
The second reason is that the athlete decided to start drinking energy drinks
before practice. The caffeine and taurine tend to elevate the CNS, which would
increase the numbers. Often times, this makes for a high mode while leaving the
mean low.
The first step is to council the athlete on using energy drinks. If they
decide they still want to drink them, eliminate the data from when the athlete
wasn’t consuming the energy drinks from the analysis. In this case, it would be
a good idea to keep the other data in case the athlete decides to stop consuming
the energy drinks pre-practice. If the athlete is just an inconsistent athlete
and varies greatly from day to day for various factors including poor eating
habits, poor sleeping habits, and extracurricular activities, there’s nothing
you can really do other than talk to the athlete about his or her choices and
how it impacts life and the team.
If the number shows that the CNS status is elevated, it is a good day for max
effort or a heavy lifting day. The CNS is fresh and capable of handling the
rigors of max effort. If the CNS status is baseline, it’s a good day for dynamic
work. According to Buddy Morris at the 2005 CSCCA Conference in Salt Lake City,
Utah, the zone of 40–60 percent, which is considered the non-quantifiable zone,
is recovery. If the athlete is in this zone, they will continue to be prepared
for the competitions.
If you have the luck of having a Tendo unit, you should be selecting the
weights based off of this to ensure the athletes are going heavy enough to
stimulate gains while not going so heavy that they are causing the CNS to
depress for subsequent workouts. If the CNS status is depressed, it is a good
day for repetitive effort work at very sub-maximal loads. Avoid failure. This is
restoration work and will help restore the CNS for the next workout.
There are other methods for checking the status of the CNS such as the ruler
drop test, the vertical jump test, the hand dynamometer test, the OmegaWave, the
use of the Tendo tests that Bert Sorin developed, and I’m sure many others. The
key is to find what works for you and what you can do with your athletes on a
consistent basis.
By tracking the status of the CNS, you will know where you are on any given
day. By knowing where you are and understanding what’s going on with the CNS,
you can train your athletes properly and possibly prevent overtraining.
Bryan Mann is currently the assistant director of strength and
conditioning at the University of Missouri. He has been in the profession for
seven years and is currently pursuing his doctorate. He can be reached by email
at jbmn69@mizzou.edu.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
