Show Notes
Kyle Ruth on Athlete Centric Coaching
Mechanical training stressors do serve as the primary stimulus for, yet are not the sole drivers of, fitness adaptations. Instead, imposed training stressors percolate through a sequence of complex interacting modifying filters before eventually manifesting as fitness responses. Some of these filters, genetic inheritance, training histories, and nutritional states, are widely appreciated. The rationale and evidence presented here, however, suggests a further layer of less fully acknowledged psycho-emotional considerations which, although non-biological in origin, significantly influence biological training adaptations.
John Kiely | Periodization Theory
Overcoming “Unknowable” Factors
(1) Keep a Short Feedback Loop
(2) Use Autoregulation
• the more training variables and the more components that fit into an athletes life, the more the program needs to be able to adjust to match the athletes demands.
Requirements of a Coach to Use Reactive Periodization
(1) Build the Program in Small Chunks
• 90% of my athletes programs I build one week at a time
(2) Monitor Athlete Readiness to Train
• lots of communication around scores, times, RPE, recovery status, sleep quantity & quality, soreness & joint distress, etc.
Program Design Sample of Reactive Periodization in Action
Week 5: Coming Off a Deload | E3M x 10 Sets: 5 Back Squat @ 73%
*ride the AirBike @ recovery pace between sets
• I expected that to be really tough, but it was only RPE 7 and he said it felt “really good”
Week 6 | E3M x 10 Sets: 5 Back Squat @ 76%
*ride the AirBike @ recovery pace between sets
• This was a higher RPE (8.5), but I wanted to keep driving intensity so I pulled out the AirBike between sets
Week 7 | E3M x 10 Sets: 6 Back Squats @ 80%
• I fully expected this to be pretty crushing – that’s 60 BS at 80% – most athletes who be ruined from that, but it was only RPE 8 for him, so I decide to increase the intensity yet again
Week 8 | E3M x 10 Sets: 6 Back Squats @ 83%
• This week was -once again- only RPE so I decided to add one more week before a deload. I wanted to jump the load but allows for more variation in volume based on how that weight felt.
Week 9 | E3M x 8-10 Sets: 5 Back Squats @ 87.5%
• This week was RPE 9, so the following week we will deload.
