Blog 2 – High Performance Training II Day 1: Volume |

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

Week 1 live wrestling in minutes: 36
Week 2 live wrestling in minutes: 45
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

Week 1 live wrestling in minutes: 45
Week 2 live wrestling in minutes: 57
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: