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I. Explosiveness in Sports

Athletic performance is becoming more and more

demanding. Athletes are striving harder and coaches are

finding all means to make their players run faster, jump

higher, move quicker than ever before. Searching and

trying different regimens to find the optimal training

protocols is a major undertaking for strength coaches.

Many sports require athletes to jump, move laterally,

sprint, and change direction. Some other sports entail

kicking and throwing. All these movements will be most

effective if done “explosively”.

Furthermore, coaches demand from strength &

conditioning professionals to make their athletes move

more “explosively”.

BUT WHAT DOES “TO BE EXPLOSIVE” IMPLY?

....the ability to achieve high rates of force development

rather than to achieve high levels of force production

(Bradenburg, 2005).*

II. Periodization Flow

Generally, a periodization plan for power or team sports

will follow this flow:

Power / Power Endurance

Maximal Strength

Hypertrophy (optional)

General Strength (Foundation Program)

HIGH FORCE

+ HIGH VELOCITY

= HIGH POWER

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III. How do you develop “explosiveness”?

This is normally trained by adding power training into the

strength program, such as:

Heavy load training

Power exercises or high velocity exercises

Plyometrics

Olympic lifts.

Although, the method of its implementation and

combining the different modes varies and remains an

interest for strength coaches.

IV. Exploring different ways of warming up.

It is generally accepted and well documented that

warming up prior to an exercise regimen or competition

is necessary in order to improve performance and

decrease the likelihood of injuries.

In the past decade there have been several philosophies

or beliefs in prescribing the best activity for warm-up.

1. Static stretching is claimed to prevent injuries but

in the past years there seems to be little support

for this claim.

2. Dynamic stretching is gaining popularity and is

showing promising results.

3. High intensity contractions are now being

explored as part of the warm-up activity.

These high intensity contractions prior to a power activity

causes what they term, “postactivation potentiation or

PAP”.

PAP refers to the enhanced neuromuscular state of the muscled observed immediately after a bout of heavy resistance exercise (15).

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V. What is “Complex Training”?

Complex training is defined as the set-for-set combination of a heavy resistance exercise (preload) followed relatively quickly by a biomechanically similar plyometric exercise (Docherty et al., 2004).

It has sometimes been termed as

“contrast training” (Ebben et al.,

2000; Young et al., 1998).

Author/s Subjects

Strength Protocol Plyo/Power

Protocol Rest Interval Findings

Brandenburg,

J.P., 2005.

9 active men

w/ 1yr.

Strength

training

experience

5r @ 100% of 5RM

5r @ 75% of 5RM

5r @ 50% of 5RM

Bench press

Bench press

throws

3r @~45% of

1RM of bench

press

2 min

4 min

No

difference

between

protocols

and control

Markovic, G,

Simek, S, and

Bradic, A., 2008

11

experimental

12 control

6r @ 60% 1RM;

2s of 3RM of bench

press

4-kg Seated

medicine ball

throws;

measured

velocity

3 min 8.3% with

4-kg MB

throwing

speed

Weber, K et al.,

2008

12 male in-

season track

NCAA

athletes

7 SJ -> 5r @

85%RM back

squats

vs.

7 SJ -> 5 SJ

7 consecutive

squat jumps

Not indicated Mean &

peak jump

height

Mean &

peak GRF

Yetter, M &

Moir, G., 2008

10

recreationally

active men

HBS & HFS

30, 50 & 70% of

1RM

5,4,3 reps

40-m sprint 4 min Speed at

10-20 & 30-

40m sprint

intervals

McBride et al. HBS 3r x 90% 1RM 40-m sprint 40-m sprint

time

Dodd, D. &

Alvar, B., 2007

45 div 2 jr.

college

baseball

players

CT: 2s x 6r of 3

exercises each @

>80%RM

60-yd dash,

vertical jump,

broad jump, T-

test

CT: <10sec

between

complex pairs

3-4 min bet

sets

VJ, BJ, 60-

yd sprint

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VI. Science Behind PAP and Complex Training

2 Possible Mechanisms:

1. Muscle stimulation

sensitivity to Ca2+ released from SR

ATP at actin-myosin complex

rate of cross-bridge cycling

force development

2. Neuromuscular activity or excitability a. Increased recruitment of motor units or

MU b. Better MU synchronization c. Decrease in presynpatic inhibition d. Greater central input to the motor

neuron It may also be an interaction between the 2

mechanisms

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VII. Practical Applications

The practical application for complex training is the

efficiency in implementing a power program with limited

time. This is especially helpful for team sports which

demand a lot of time for skills and tactical training. It fits

well in an undulating periodization model.

VIII. Recommendations

Complex training is still in its infancy stage and there is

still a lot of learning as well experimenting that should be

done. Although from the current results from the

mentioned studies, the use of complex training is

promising aside from the practical applications for it.

There are no established guidelines for designing complex

training programs but it seems that the more advanced

or experienced individuals will benefit most from this

type of training. I think in designing complex training

programs one must just follow the principles of training,

use your common sense and have a lot of imagination.

Based on the current literature it is recommended that a

biomechanically similar high velocity movement follows

the heavy resistance exercise. The general guidelines

below can be followed (Dodd, D. & Alvar, B., 2007):

Length: 4-6 weeks

Heavy resistance: > 80% of 1RM

High Velocity: < 30% of 1RM

Frequency: 1-3 x /week

Rest intervals: <10 sec between pairs

3-4 min between sets

Recovery: 48-96 hrs bet. sessions

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Works Cited Brandenburg, J. P. (2005). The acute effects of prior dynamic resistance exercise using different loads on

subsequent upper body explosive performance in resistance-trained men. Journal of Strength &

Conditioning Research , 19 (2), 427-432.

Docherty, D., Robbins, D., & Hodgson, M. (2004). Complex training revisited: a review of its current status

as a viable training approach. Strength & Conditioning Journal , 26, 52-57.

Dodd, D., & Alvar, B. (2007). Analysis of acute explosive training modalities to improve lower-body power

in baseball players. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 21 (4), 1177-1182.

Ebben, W., & Watts, P. (1998). A review of combined weight training and plyometric training modes:

Complex training. Strength & Conditioning Journal , 20 (5), 18-27.

Ebben, W., Jensen, R., & Blackard, D. (2000). Electromyographic and kinetic analysis of complex training

vafriables. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 14, 451-456.

Markovic, G., Simek, S., & Bradic, A. (2008). Are acute effects of maximal dynamic contractions on upper-

body ballistic performance load specific? Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 22 (6), 1811-1815.

Matthews, M., & Comfort, P. (2008). Applying complex training principles to boxing: A practical approach.

Strength & Conditioning Journal , 30 (5), 12-15.

Robbins, D. (2005). POstactivation potentiation and its practical applicability: A brief review. Journal of

STrength & Conditioning Research , 19 (2), 453-458.

Weber, K., Brown, L., Coburn, J., & Zinder, S. (2008). Acute effects of heavy -load squats on consecutive

squat jump performance. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 22 (3), 726-730.

Yetter, M., & Moir, G. (2008). The acute effects of heavy Back and front squats on speed during forty-

meter sprint trials. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 22 (1), 159-165.

Young, W., Jenner, A., & Griffiths, K. (1998). Acute enhancement of power performance from heavy load

squats. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 12, 82-84.