Blog 3 – Drugs & Alcohol

Posted on by Coach Shannyn

Blog 3 – Drugs & Alcohol

The choice to drink alcohol in the USA is generally a choice legally made by those who are 21 years of age and older for pleasure or for other related reasons.  The choice to use non-prescription or prescription drugs is generally a choice made by those seeking some sort of remedy for a sickness, pain, allergies or to cure some other maladaptive health related ailment.  Many in the USA and abroad also use drugs & alcohol to escape from reality and or to perform better in sports.  The below video touches on Coach Shannyn‘s experiences with both drugs & alcohol to help others who may be seeking answers to how & why both should be used with caution.

The choice to use drugs or alcohol for an escape, pain, or pleasure has been taken by many athletes and may actually hamper or hinder performance in the long run.  Coaches & athletes must consider ethics, morality, & the legalities prior to using drugs & alcohol especially when trying to train to reach their full potential in sport.  Based on Coach Shannyn’s experience, he believes there are other ways & means for athletes to reach their full potential in sport and in life via high performance training like planning, mastering sport psychology, mastering sport specific skills, & mastering the basics of strength & conditioning.  That list is not complete but is a starter for those seeking the highest levels in sport that may also parallel the highest levels in many other endeavors.

There may be large carry-over value to high performance training in sport and in life.  Coach Shannyn suggests that once athletes & coaches master the basics of high performance training for sport, these same principles can be applied to life.  Some of the high performance training carry-over skills include goal setting, taking massive action, learning from mistakes, learning personal strengths & weaknesses, effective communication, teamwork, & overcoming adversity.  This list, again, is not all-inclusive – but will give many athletes seeking to reach their full potential a head-start on achieving success.

Learn more about high performance training right now at the below links:

Copyright © by Coach Shannyn,  All rights reserved

Blog 2 – High Performance Training II Day 1: Volume

Posted on by Coach Shannyn

Blog 2 – High Performance Training II Day 1: Volume

Excerpt from Coaching Wrestling in the 21st Century: The Art & Science of Coaching Wrestling

The amount of training done in a macrocycle, mesocycle, microcycle, or training session is the volume (also known as the volume of training).  Another way to describe volume of training in wrestling would be to say 16 training matches has less volume of training than 32 training matches.  If you use live wrestling in minutes to explain volume of training in wrestling, you could say 96 minutes has less volume of training than 162 minutes.  Those examples were given to show you the differences in volumes of training and how volume can be added or subtracted in a typical mesocycle with a recovery week for high performance training.  The below video & excerpt go in to more detail:

If we use a mesocycle with 2 building weeks and 1 recovery week, applying last paragraph’s examples and increasing volume by up to 30% per building week, we get something that looks like this:

Mesocycle I volume example

  1. Week 1 live wrestling in minutes: 36
  2. Week 2 live wrestling in minutes: 45
  3. Week 3 live wrestling in minutes: 30

Note: the live wrestling in minutes is the total volume for each week.

In that mesocycle example, live wrestling in minutes is the barometer for measuring how much volume of training live wrestling will be per week.  In this case, volume of training is also the volume of intensity which is measured by the amount of live wrestling done each microcycle.  In the recovery week (Week 3), the volume of intensity is reduced so the athletes bodies & minds get a chance to recover, adapt, & supercompensate to the training.

This plan of summating the mesocycles could be used for a macrocycle.  This means that each mesocycle would fit appropriately and progressively into the next in terms of actual live minutes wrestled per microcycle.  Thus, the next mesocycle could look like this if we again increased volume by up to 30% per building week:

Mesocycle II volume example

  1. Week 1 live wrestling in minutes: 45
  2. Week 2 live wrestling in minutes: 57
  3. Week 3 live wrestling in minutes: 40

Note: the live wrestling in minutes is the total volume for each week.

Over the years, I’ve found it easier to measure the volume of intensity via live wrestling in minutes.  And, by increasing or reducing the volume of intensity, you as coach can control how stressful  each training session is and hard the practice sessions feel.  On the other hand, in the examples above, the total volume of training time could also be reduced to induce restorative factors in the body and the mind.  Week 3 (in Mesocycle II) is an example of reducing the volume of training in a recovery week because the volume has been reduced again to increase restorative factors for the athletes ultimately to realize the fitness gained (supercompensate) in the prior 2 weeks of training.  If you couple the recovery weeks in both mesocycles, you will see how those weeks are increasing because the athletes are able to gradually tolerate more training in a well designed and thought out plan.

Learn more about high performance training right now at the below links:

Copyright © by Coach Shannyn,  All rights reserved

Blog 1: High Performance Training – PST Day 1 Intro

Posted on by Coach Shannyn

Blog 1: HPT – Psychological Skills Training Day 1 Intro

Excerpt from Coaching Wrestling in the 21st Century: The Art & Science of Coaching Wrestling

If athletes are stressed-out, unmotivated, or distracted, they are less likely to perform at high levels consistently.  Motivation, focus, & recovery are key to performance and PST can enhance motivation, focus, & recovery.  Sport psychology is a profession as is psychology and psychiatry.  Those professions are all different and all can help anyone understand motivation and focus better.  Many athletes, coaches (in this country and abroad) use the expertise of sport psychologists, books, blogs, & videos like below to gain an athletic advantage.

Long time U.S. Olympic Committee sport psychologist Kirsten Peterson, Ph.D., actually helped me as a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete and as a U.S. Olympic Education Center coach.  Peterson essentially gave me the tools to control my thoughts as an athlete and as a coach.  As an athlete, Peterson met with me once per week and taught me how to let go of the past, move on, and plan for the future.  As a coach, Peterson recommended videos and books that helped me design a PST program for athletes to implement on a weekly if not daily basis.  Peterson also suggested I check out the USOC library for additional PST resources.

PST skills worth mastering:

  • Focus
  • Goals
  • Imagery
  • Self-talk
  • Energy management
  • Performance planning

Learn more about high performance training right now at the below links:

Copyright © by Coach Shannyn ,  All rights reserved

Blog Intro – High Performance Training

Posted on by Coach Shannyn

Blog Intro – High Performance Training

High performance training, also known as periodization, nowadays is used to describe annual training plans that are designed for optimal performance for a career. One way to think of periodization is progressively training (i.e. climbing up stair steps) in specific periods (blocks of time) for optimal results. This video will briefly delve where several voluminous books have been dedicated and outline some the basics of periodization.

Macrocycle

Some coaches use macrocycle to mean an annual or seasonal plan while others use this term to describe a 4 year Olympic cycle. A traditional macrocycle is a well thought out plan that ultimately will train athletes for optimal performances with perhaps 1 or 2 peak performances per year after many months (or years) of preparation.

Mesocycle

More than one microcycle (training week) grouped together is sometimes known as a mesocycle. Some coaches use mesocycle (training month) to mean 5 or more microcycles in a row while others use 3-4 microcycles that determine a mesocycle. Mesocycles are well planned training months based on the time of year, season, or phase of training as are microcycles and training sessions. Each mesocycle, in a well thought out annual or seasonal plan, helps with optimally getting in shape, skills mastery, and peaking for competitions.

Microcycle

Several training sessions in a row, approximately 8-12, make up a microcycle or training week. A microcycle can also be considered a training week which may last 4-7 days. Most coaches prescribe at least one full day of recovery (i.e. Sunday) and many others plan a half day mid week for full recovery and optimal training during the training sessions. In most cases, there are 4-5 microcycles in a mesocycle. Each microcycle should progressively overload (i.e. climbing up stair steps) to the next to ENHANCE performance and recovery. Too much or too little volume and intensity (work) prescribed will many times either overtrain or under-train athletes. Well trained athletes have just the right amount of training each week, month, year, and Olympic cycle – all are considered different training blocks.

Training session

Most elite level sport programs have several training sessions per day and generally have a morning training session and another training session approximately 5 hours later. This time lag between practices allows the mind and body to fully recover and restore itself. Generally, prescribing 2 intense practices in a row is the rule while 3 intense sessions or practices in a row would be the exception. Again, the body and mind tend to recover optimally with alternating intensities and volumes during training sessions. If 3 intense sessions are planned, the next practice prescription could be a recovery session, a game, or an off session or half day.

Conclusion

Optimally training athletes for consistent high performances over a career is the goal of annual plans or periodization. The right prescription for training has been debated for centuries while overtrained, under-trained, and well trained athletes usually have different results over a career.

Learn more about high performance training right now at the below links:

Copyright © by Coach Shannyn ,  All rights reserved