In-Season Training for Division 1 Field Hockey

by Tim Kontos

[Author’s note: When I wrote this article I had just begun to experiment with working the Westside methods into training Division I athletes. This article is a crude interpretation of the Westside methods. However, after speaking with Dave Tate I realized that others could benefit from my past experiences.] 

When designing a collegiate strength and conditioning program for in-season athletes there are many considerations. These include the energy systems that the sport requires, class schedules, competition schedules, the NCAA’s time regulations, the amount of time their coach will allow for the weight-room, as well as the individual mindset during the competitive season. Once all of these aspects are scrutinized a program can be designed to give the most efficient workout in the shortest amount of time. 

Field Hockey is a sport that requires the athletes to have all around conditioning. They must be able to endure intervals of short sprints alternated with moderate to light runs in-between these sprints. They need explosive leg strength in order to complete these sprints as well as upper body strength and power to perform explosive shots on goal and downfield passes. NCAA Division I athletics is such that sport coaches are very limited in the number of hours that their athletes can participate in organized activities. This includes weight room activities. So how much time should an athlete spend in the weight room while maintaining a balance between practice, games and academics?

Many sport coaches ask this question and then opt to omit in-season lifting altogether. Vladimir Zatsiorsky has stressed the importance of continuous training throughout the yearly cycle. Fortunately, the head coach for the field hockey team stressed the importance of lifting during the season and allowed one hour per week for strength training. Because of the limited time, the in-season program was made efficient as possible. Each day the program would take 30 to 45 minutes to complete depending on weight room traffic and equipment availability.

The head field hockey coach implemented the aerobic component of the athlete’s conditioning through drills and full-field scrimmages, mimicking game-like situations. The maintenance of absolute strength and power were achieved with two separate workouts. One workout was utilized to maintain, and in some cases, improve absolute strength. These workouts were done under the guidance of the Strength coach.

Realizing that many forms of strength (explosive, starting, and accelerating strength) are reliant on absolute strength, the maintenance of absolute strength was a priority. Because an increased number of training-goals in one session can decrease the gains made in fitness level, it was decided that another workout would be devoted to the maintenance and further development of power and speed-strength. 

The Training Program

The in-season lifting schedule was arranged around the game schedule. Typically their games were on Saturday and Sunday. On three occasions were games on Wednesday. Thursday and Thursday were designated as lifting days.

On both Tuesday and Thursday exercises were performed to develop the muscles of the forearms, low back, and abdominals (Figure 1). Exercises were rotated every 3 weeks to keep the athletes fresh and to avoid accommodation. 

A primary goal of any strength and conditioning program, whether in-season or out, is injury prevention. During a typical match a field hockey player may spend the majority of their time with one or both of their shoulders internally rotated. Over the course of time this can pose a problem with muscle imbalances and instability of the shoulder joint. In order to relieve this imbalance, each day the athletes had some sort of pulling movement in their program (Figure 2). Again, exercises were rotated with great frequency to keep the athletes from getting bored and to keep their bodies “off-balance.” In addition to the pulling movements, prone external rotations were in place both training days to ensure that the external rotators of the shoulder remained strong. 


Tuesday Workout

Outside of the three occasions where there were games on a Wednesday, Tuesday’s workout was primarily devoted to the development of absolute strength. Tudor Bompa advises that during the competitive season that heavy strength training should take place on the days farthest from the competition. According to Verkohshansky, when absolute strength is the goal, it is advisable to use significant weight “85 to 95% of maximum i.e. 3-5 rm” Here we would pick one exercise for the upper body and one exercise for the lower body and “max out” on it. However, it has been observed that if an athlete were to use near maximum weights on a continual basis that the individual’s nervous system would become fatigued and he or she would burn out easily and the possibility for injury greatly increases. It has also been observed that this can be avoided by changing the exercises in which the athlete is maxing out every two to three weeks depending on the individual’s training history. These two-week cycles were considered one mini-cycle. Every two to three mini-cycles the repetitions on the special exercises were increased to 5 to 6 repetitions in order to aid in recovery and to avoid accommodation. The upper body special exercises are displayed in Figure 3 while the lower body exercises are displayed in Figure 4. The max-effort exercises were chosen to develop weak muscle and muscle groups and to help technique on various exercises. In an ideal situation, the exercises would be chosen based on individual weaknesses, however, because of time constraints the program was designed based on where the group tended to be weak as a whole. 

It was decided that for the upper body the team greatly needed strength in the tricep area and more confidence in dealing with near-maximum loads, as this tends to intimidate many of the team members. Pressing movements with a close grip (shoulder width) were utilized to stress the triceps. Movements with a partial range of motion allowed for supra-maximal loads for CNS adaptation and development of confidence. 

In the lower body strength was needed in the hamstring area and work was needed on starting strength or “the capacity to develop force at the beginning of a muscular contraction; the capacity to overcome resistance and initiate movement.” For hamstring development squats, both front and back, were utilized as well as Romanian dead lifts. A power lifting style back squat was used because it places the load on the hip and was used to emphasize the posterior chain (Spinal erectors, glutes, and hamstrings). The power lifting style squat is with the feet wider than shoulder width. As the athlete descends they are to push their hips back rather than down. The bar placement during front squats places a great emphasis on the hamstrings. For the development of starting strength the athletes utilized box squats. The athlete would squat down to a below parallel box and pause for a split second and then would drive as forcefully as possibly back to the starting position. It should be emphasized here that the athletes were instructed to pause on the box and not relax or crash onto the box, as this would surely cause injury. 

Warm up and Load Progression

Because near maximum loads were utilized in the majority of Tuesday’s workouts it was absolutely necessary that the athletes were properly warmed-up. For the specific warm-up (WU) athletes were given an estimate of their one rep-max (1RM) for the particular exercise. This one rep max was based on information gathered about the special exercise and its relation to the core lift or the classic squat or bench press. Once a prediction for their one rep max was made the athletes were given percentages of their 1 RM to do as WU’s. The first three sets were performed with 50, 60, and 70 percent of their 1RM to be performed for 3 reps pre set. The fourth and fifth warm-up sets were performed with 80 and 90 percent of their 1 rep max. These sets were performed 1 rep each. This WU scheme ensured that the athlete’s joints were warmed up, that they were used to the technique of the particular exercise and their CNS had a chance to adapt to the heavier weight, all without fatiguing the athlete. The athletes were also instructed to use the warm-ups as informational tools to tell them if the 1RM, which was predicted for them, was accurate. If the WU’s felt particularly light they were allowed to increase their first max attempt. If the weight during their WU’s felt relatively heavy they were instructed to lower their 1st attempt. 

Once the athletes were warmed up they were to attempt a one-rep max. The athletes were instructed that if they completed their 1st attempt they were to keep adding weights and attempting a new max attempt. Proper form was the primary concern for all max attempts. If the athlete was able to increase weight but was unable to maintain form they were instructed to stay with the last completed attempt with good form. The last completed attempt was recorded for later use. This was designated as their new 1RM. Rest intervals of 3 to 5 minutes were utilized in-between max attempts to ensure complete restoration of the ATP-PC energy system. Because of time constraints athletes were allowed to perform 1 or 2 sets of an exercise involving an unrelated muscle group. For instance if they were in-between attempts on the floor press they were allowed to perform a set of incline crunches while they were waiting the required 3 to 5 minutes. The following week the athletes would return and warm-up in the same fashion, however, this time the athletes used percentages based off a number which was at least 5 pounds higher than their last completed attempt from the previous week. If they were able to complete this new max they were, again, instructed to “go until they missed.” This was done in three week min-cycles and then the exercises were rotated to avoid CNS deterioration. Every other mini-cycle the athletes would do a 6 rep max (6RM) rather than a 1RM. During these mini-cycles the WU’s were completed in the same way and the athlete would go for the most weight they could handle for 6 repetitions. If six reps were achieved with ease, or if they felt they could have completed two more repetition with good form, they would rest for three to five minutes and then attempt a higher weight. Their best 6RM was then recorded. When they returned the following week they were to now attempt to beat their previous max by the number of repetitions achieved rather that the amount of weight used. If they achieved 8 or more repetitions, they were to rest for 3 to 5 minutes and then attempt a new 6RM with a higher weight. 

There were three occasions where there were games on a Wednesday. On these occasions the workout were rotated so the athletes would do Thursday’s workout, which was devoted to the development of power and speed-strength, on Tuesday as well as Thursday so as to avoid maxing out the day before a game. 

Thursday

Thursday was devoted to the maintenance and further development of power and speed-strength. Speed-strength is defined as “the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce the greatest amount of force in the shortest possible time span.” Olympic-lift variations, the clean from the hang and the split jerk, were chosen because it has been shown that for the development of lower body power and speed-strength these lifts have a strong propensity to develop higher power output and peak force production than the heavier slower movements utilized on Tuesday. Research has shown that there are an optimal number of sets and repetitions for intensity zones, which are optimal for the production of speed-strength. In order to ensure proper technique and bar speed, the intensity, reps and sets were kept within the parameters shown in Figure 5. For the maintenance and development of upper body speed-strength and power the bench press was chosen. However to ensure a high bar speed the intensity was kept at 60% 1RM. The volume (sets multiplied times reps) was waved by increasing and decreasing the number of sets used from eight to 10. A specific type of training known as Compensatory Acceleration Training or CAT was used on the bench press. This is where the athlete attempts to maximally accelerate the barbell during the concentric portion of the lift. This method has been used in the past with excellent experimental results. Another method, which was utilized to enhance the CAT, was the use of bands. The bands were attached to either end of the barbell and run under the bench press. The bands placed additional resistance at the top portion of the movement. The athletes were encouraged to ”beat the rubber band” by the use of CAT. This also added variety and an element of fun to their training. 

Modifications

It was important that when utilizing this system of training that the Athletic Trainer, the Strength and Conditioning Coach, the Sport Coach, and the athletes maintained an open line of communication. If any injuries occurred on the field the Strength coach was notified immediately so as to make the necessary modifications to the training program. Athletes were encouraged to inform the strength coach of high levels of fatigue or stress, which can often accompany a competitive season. When this was reported modifications were made to the individual’s program to decrease both the volume and intensity until the athletes were recovered. 

Conclusion

A well designed in-season program for the maintenance and further development of absolute strength and power can be achieved in a brief amount of time with only two training sessions per week. The athlete’s injury status and energy level must always be a strong consideration when attempting this method of training. Restricting the number of training concentrations in one workout will help keep the athletes focused and increase their training results. 

All too often in-season training is passed off as a loss as far as strength training is concerned. However, this program was used with great success. Our athletes were not only able to maintain their previous level of strength but several were able to increase their 1RMs in the core lifts. 


Figure 1

Low back exercises
Back extensions
Wood chopper
Halter deadlift (Dimel Deadlift)

Abdominal exercises
Incline crunches
Incline crunches w/ a twist
Leg raises
Scoops
Leg lowers

Forearm exercises
Wrist curl
Reverse wrist curl
Wrist roller
Tennis ball crush

Figure 2 pulling movements

Seated row
Seated row (wide grip)
Barbell row
Dumbbell row

Figure 3(upper body special exercises)

Floor press
Close grip bench press
Incline dumbbell press
Board press

Figure 4 lower body special exercises

Box squat
Front squat
Front box squat
Romanian dead lift 

Figure 5



SPEED/STRENGTH REP/SET PERCENTAGE CHART
                                REPS/                 OPTIMAL                             RANGE OF 
PERCENT             SET                         SETS                                TOTAL                         REPS/WORKOUT

55 - 65%                 3 - 6                         3 - 10                                     24                                     18 - 30

70 - 75%                 3 - 6                         4 - 8                                       18                                     12 - 24

80 - 85%                 2 - 4                         5 - 10                                     15                                    10 - 20

90% +                      1 - 2                         2 - 10                                      7                                      4 - 10


Send Questions or comments: 
Tim Kontos
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Virginia Commonwealth University
takontos@saturn.vcu.edu
1-804-827-0948