Over
the last few days I have been reading the research of Natalia Verkhoshansky
(Daughter of Yuri Verkhoshansky) the Russian sport scientists who were credited
with introducing strength training in to the soviet era track and field
athletes. Specifically; the article that first sparked my attention can be
found HERE
Essentially;
the Russians thought that having the athlete perform an explosive movement directly
after a heavy lift would increase their sport specific performance. Furthermore;
and perhaps something that interest me the most, is the Russians theory of delayed
effect of strength training.
I
won’t go in to the full details of the Russians, the above mention article is
very well written and provides some excellent references and foot notes.
I
first came across this theory while researching for a neuromotor control
assignment I had to write in second year Uni; where I found the Russians hypothesis
have been tested in modern times under the working hypothesis of post activation
potentiation (PAP). While the modern test protocols all differ from that of
Verkhoshansky the basic principles remain the same; heavy lift, followed by an
explosive movement.
I
have had the idea of implementing this in to my training, kicking around the
back of my head for a while now. However, in part from developing the
Ben-Eiko-5-3-1 program and simply not finding a training block suitable to the development,
the PAP theories remain un-tested and un-developed in my world. However, since
I just got back from GPC nationals and I have some time away from Uni I have
decided to take on a PAP experiment through the month of July. The primary aim
of this is to develop suitable training protocols for increasing the vertical
and horizontal jump of my clients who specialize in sport performance and also
to test the PAP hypothesis as a viable alternative to West Side conjugate speed
training and of course Olympic lifting.
The
test period is going to look something like this:
-
4 weekly sessions
-
2 specifically related to PAP
testing.
-
2 related to upper body and conditioning
training (essentially; the weather is nice right now, I am going to train in
the park). These mostly work around HIIT/TRX/Kettle Bells and the exact programming
changes day to day
-
-
Day 1: PAP: Front Squat 1 rep 90%
o Directly followed by 1 depth jump from ~45cm
(see below)
o 2
minute interval
o Repeated
7-10 times
-
Day 2: Upper body/outdoor
conditioning session,
-
Day 3: PAP: Box or Comp Squat, no
knee wraps, 1 rep 90% 1Rm (around 140kg)
o Directly
followed by 1 depth jump from ~45cm
o 2
minute interval
o Repeated
7-10 times
-
Day 4: Bench day with the boys or
outdoor session as per above, once again I am fairly flexible with these.
-
Most PAP sessions will have a normal
component of supplementary work such as sled drags, farmers walks, abdominals
and kettle bells.
Understanding
the depth jump:
The
Russians found it was impossible for an athlete to simulate in the gym the
amount of force created when they would push off for a high or long jump. As
such; the concept of first dropping from a box and then immediately rebounding
was developed.
 |
| Interesting pics of Depth Jumps are hard come by |
The
Key performance indicators on this test period are
-
Vertical jump
-
Horizontal jump
-
Outright weight of squats
- Resting Heart Rate (often speculated at a global fatigue measure)
- Resting Heart Rate (often speculated at a global fatigue measure)
Throughout
the test period I am actually expecting these to decrease as per the Russians
ideas of delayed training effect. However, I will test my jumps weekly and
asses my squat weights at each session.
I
will also endeavor to keep my training logs update on facebook and report back
here at the completion of my experiment.
