Abstract des Autors

In a very real sense, strength and conditioning specialists are scientists who work in a weight room. We take such pride in this fact that we often get caught up in an exercise science mentality even when dealing with a sport science problem. This is frequently manifested in metabolic conditioning programs in which "in the trenches" pragmatism toward what happens on the playing field - and how to train for it - may be eclipsed by an ivory tower focus on what's happening under the skin. Case in point, a train-the-energy-systems orientation is still prevalent in many conditioning programs, often at the expense of training for the game itself. To be effective, the strength and conditioning coach must cultivate a movement oriented philosophy wherein training drills are progressively coupled with performance tasks to be executed in simulated competitions. While this may be addressed to some extent during speed and agility development, metabolic training presents a unique challenge in that it is frequently partitioned off from other parts of the training program. Yet at some point during training, game-like skills must be executed in game-like situations to get the best results. This article presents a tactical metabolic training strategy that has been adapted from race-event coaching theory and can be effectively applied to "transitional" sports (characterized by varying work: relief patterns) to extend the self-scouting process. The objectives of this strategy are threefold. (a) optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of training; (b) motivate athletes, thus enhancing compliance, effort, and training effects; and (c) provide a simple way to unify training tasks. A brief explanation of rationale will be followed with a discussion of procedures using an example based on two professional football teams that demonstrate contrasting offensive strategies. Verf.-Referat