Performance Training for the Tactical Athlete - Research Paper Example

Performance Training for the Tactical Athlete Performance Training for the Tactical Athlete Introduction Buchenholz (2003) argues that effective training is the key to better performance in any athletic profession. This pertains to be fit both physically and mentally. He notes that, to ensure that an athlete is well prepared before an action, there must be an effective training program in place focusing on the degree of adaptive responses that improve physical and mental fitness of an athlete prior to the action. Such programs must focus on volume, intensity, and frequency. Many believe that training adaptation is directly linked to the volume of exercise performed. Nonetheless, experts’ advice that there is a limit beyond which no more increase in performance can be added by any additional stimuli (American College of Sports Medicine, 2006). They argue that this threshold is vital since it signifies the importance of time duration during an exercise. These are things that competitive athletes are too much aware of and have to be taken into consideration in any given exercise (Hamilton and Luttgens, 2002). Training specificity is said to be one of the key principle of exercise physiology. The principle holds that for an athlete must focus much on training as a way of improving performance. Therefore, the training program must reflect all the demands of the athlete’s specific movements as possible. This not only applies to the neuromuscular system, but also to the movement patterns of the exercise, intensity, and duration of the exercise (Baechle and Earle, 2008). Training experts argue that training specificity helps muscles to adapt to the kind of sporting activity that an athlete is involved in. As such, many athlete trainers do this by ensuring that the training program goes slightly beyond what may be expected in the field. For instance, an athlete who participates in short distance running such as 100 meter race may be required to make a four hundred meters laps round the field so as to enable his muscles adapt effectively for a short distance running. This explains why long distance runners tend to find it easy participating in short distance races without any metal or physical problem. Specificity has also been favored because it lowers the risk of injury during the athletic period because it adapts the body to the sport (Cinea, 2007). Nevertheless, many athletes are neglecting this principle during training, which has seen many athletes getting injuries that can easily be avoided. For instance, many long distance runners fail to complete races due to their inability to endure the race. Experts note that this comes due to failure to adhere to the principle of specificity. Others end up developing muscle pools in the cause of the sporting because of failure to train well so as to enable the muscles to adapt to the kind of sport. All these are a few examples that illustrates the consequences of neglect of specify training by athletes (Baechle and Earle, 2008). Integration of Combat Scenarios The physical development, resilience and combat readiness, is key to performance of combatants such as Marines in real time combat. Therefore, they require training that are more focused on strength and conditioning. This is because such programs enables them acquire enough speed, strength endurance, power and combat readiness while limiting the possibility of injuries and ensuring that combatants are well prepared both physically and mentally for real-time combat. As earlier stated, training for combat missions are required to focus a lot on the development of strength and power. Therefore, it is imperative for them to undergo power and strength training, which not only help in preventing over exercising but also give the combatants a good opportunity of adapting physically at the right time before deployment. Based on the specificity principle, the training adopted must reflect the demands of the specific movements as directly as possible. In this regard, the training program should factor in the energy system of the body, the body muscles, and patterns of movement in any physical exercise (Verkhoshansky, 1986). Combatants are required to devote their time and energy to various types of training focusing on power, strength, endurance, tactical, speed, and agility among others. Once these types of training have been performed, athletes are also expected to have adequate time to pick up from the exercise before deployment. It is noted that the only way that energy can be saved for other types of training is by adopting the most effective resistance training. Ways of keeping the programming relevant and adaptive One thing for sure is that the core objective of combat training is building explosive power and muscles to endure the strenuous jobs that athletes engage in. However, keeping the body muscle flexible throughout is also vital for combat mission. As such, four phases of power and strength development have been identified which may help in keeping the programming relevant and adaptive as far as combat is concerned (Infantolino, 2007). The first phase involves foundational training whose aim is to make the body more adaptive to strenuous resistance during subsequent trainings. In this phase, the focus of the training is on the major muscles of the body, ligaments, tendons and various joint so as to prevent one from being injured. It is noted that lack of enough experience in training a combatant, the more time they will require to develop foundational strength before moving to the next stage, which is more advanced resistance training such as ballistics and polymeric among others. Trainers’ advice that even the experienced combatants should always spare some time to complete the foundational stage of strength trading. This is because foundational strength training helps in correcting the muscle imbalance that might occur for a combatant during deployment (Liebenson, 2006). The second phase is known as the maximum strength training whose objective is to make the neuromuscules more adaptive, which is good for combatants. It is noted that this phase should always follow the foundational strength training as it will enable the combatants gain more strength thereby preparing them for the next phase of explosive power program. Since endurance is also important during combat, maximum strength training helps in building strength for endurance (Dintiman and Tellez, 1998). Third is the explosive power phase. It is reported that most combat tends to move very fast which call for more power than just lifting loads, as is the case with weight lifting. As such, it is reported that in case maximum strength is not immediately transformed into a special combative power, then the performance of the athlete would improve to the level it should if the maximum power is converted into combat-specific power. It is reported that the phase is mainly focused on the overall activities that are always involved in combative actions such as movements and severity (Snyder, 2007). The last phase involves muscular endurance. It is reported that many movements in combats involves the use of a lot of power and explosive actions. As such, this always put a lot of strain on the muscles thereby calling for muscular enduring training. Muscular endurance phase mainly converts the maximum strength acquired to muscular endurance. Combat actions require a combination of explosive power and strength to endure. Therefore, the two must be taken into consideration during training (Verkhoshansky, 1986). In order to keep the programming relevant and adaptive, it is vital for trainers to consider the frequency of the training. This pertains to how often the exercise is performed. For athletes, this should be as often as possible. In fact, the exercise should be performed daily so as to keep the muscles and the body adaptive and ready for any eventuality where military men may be called in for a real time combat. This would certainly reduce the chances of developing fatigue or injuries to the athletes. Training regularly not only helps in building body muscles but also improves the ability of a combatant to endure during combat. It is not good for a military officer to develop problem during combat merely for lack of proper exercise as this may make the enemies take advantage of the situation to win the war (Rippetoe and Kilgore, 2006). In order for the program to be effective and adaptive, it is important for instructors to focus on time. Time in this case pertains to how long the military men take during training. This aspect is important because the military officers engage in intensive and explosive combats that sometimes take too long. This implies that the training programme should be planned in a manner that allows the combatants to spend considerable time training in proportion to the time likely to be taken during real time combat. Despite the fact that estimating the combat duration may not be easy, the training should not last for less than an hour since realest time combats takes too long to win. Focusing on time would certainly enable the military men to be able to ensure the intensity and long fight during combat (Stephenson, 2007). Warm-up is also important for any training program. This is because it helps in increasing the blood flow, body temperature, stimulate the body system, makes the muscles active, as well as increasing the mobility of joints. It is reported that an effective training program should start with warm-up activities so as to prepare the athlete for subsequent intensive activities while seeking to minimize the possibility of suffering injuries during the next training sessions. Research indicate that lack of warm-ups has resulted in many injuries to the athletes during training. This is because subjective a body that to a more complex training before adjusting to that level makes the body vulnerable to injuries and exhaustion. These, in most cases, have caused sicknesses and injuries, which can otherwise be avoided by performing a simple warm-up to prepare the body muscles for a more intensive training program. Therefore, for the programming to be effective and adaptive, instructors should endeavor to ensure that athletes are taken through a warm-up session before being introduced to a more intensive training (Infantolino, 2007). Importance of “open mindedness” Being open-minded is sometime challenging especially when confronted with new ideas that challenge what we believe in. However, being open-minded during training is very important for athletes. This is because it prepares an athlete to accept the challenges that come with the training. For instance, combat trainings involve vigorous and strenuous exercises that require the athlete to endure a lot. It is noted that some people fail to obey the combat training rules making some people leave the training program before completion. This happens mainly to those who do not approach the training session with an open mind. Therefore, it is important for combatants to approach their training session with an open mind so as to understand and endure the hard training sessions common with combat sessions (Dawes, 2007). Being open minded is linked to honesty since it implies admitting ignorance of new things. This is particularly important for performance training for athletes because it makes the athlete be ready to learn during training. Most athletes who are open minded tend to pay more attention to the instructions than those who approach training a closed mind. It is noted that those who approach training with a closed mind tend not to pay much attention to the instructors guidance. This is because they assume that they have grasped what they are being taught, or see no importance to the instructions being provided. This in most cases lead to poor performance of such athletes during combat. Being open-minded, therefore, enables athletes to follow the instructions as provided by an instructor during the training session, which help improve their performance (Moore, 2007). Having an open mind is also important since it enables an athlete to understand the value of training and its demands. It is very important for an athlete to understand why they are required to undergo performance training. This is particularly important for combatants who engage in tactical activities. In this regard, an athlete who has an open mind would certainly score highly in terms of performance since they would exert much effort in following the instructions. In addition, being open-minded enables an athlete to understand the demand of the training, which certainly leads to good training thus improved performance (Tyson and Cook, 2004). Where do many athletes/trainers/organizations fail here? Over-focused? Under-focused? Focusing on the right training activity is very important for performance training for tactical athletes. It is always advisable for both the trainers, and organizations to be very much focused in training since this is the only way an athlete can meet the demands of the training program. Athletes is also advice to stay focused during training in order to achieve the desired outcome as per the training demand. Nonetheless, research reveals that a majority of trainers, athletes, and organizations fail mainly due to being under-focused. For instance, it is said that some instructors fail to focus on areas that should be focused on so as to improve an athlete’s performance. For instance, body building instructors focus mainly on ensuring that the athletes they train increases the size and appearance of the muscle, this is not the case with a combat training whose focus is mainly on developing power, strength, and agility. However, some instructors end up doing the opposite that lead to poor performance. Athletes also make the same mistake as many fail by focusing on poor training programs. For instance, some does not take fail for not taking their training serious by believing that they can do well even without engaging in a training exercise. Others fail for not focusing on the right kind of training that they should undergo in order to enhance their performance (Moore, 2007). Conclusion Training is the key to an athlete’s performance. However, this depends on how effective the training is executed. Therefore, the training program must be structured such that it allows an athlete to adapt effectively to the type of exercise being undertaken. Effective training is particularly important for military men who engage a lot on combat missions. The nature of the activities they engage in certain requires effective training particularly on volume; intensity and frequency to enable them build enough power and strengths. Therefore, taking part in a high intensity tactical training also helps in improving their operation fitness and enhancing combat readiness and flexibility for real time combat. These types of conditioning and strength programs must factor in the physical needs of combat-specific activities in order to maximize performance during combat. Certainly, a tactical training program enhances athleticism to today’s military athletes in the world such as the US marine, Navy, Army, and Air force. However, for an athlete to benefit from the training exercise, it is imperative of them to approach the raining with an open mind. This is because being open-minded improves understanding that is good for any training exercise particularly the military officers. It is also important for athletes and trainers to stay focused on the demand of the training because many fail for being under focused. References American College of Sports Medicine (2006). ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, (7th ed). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Baechle, T. R., & Earle, R. W. (2008). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, (3rd ed.). National Strength and Conditioning Association. Buchenholz, D. (2003). The Best Sports Training Book Ever: Modality Principles. Inno-Sport Publishing Group. Cinea, K. (2007). Rest and recovery: The forgotten training component. National Strength and Conditioning Tactical Strength and Conditioning Report, Issue 1, 1. Dawes, J. (2007). Basic training concepts for improved operational fitness. National Strength and Conditioning Tactical Strength and Conditioning Report, Issue 4, 1 -2. Dintiman, W & Tellez. (1998). Sports Speed (2nd ed.), Human Kinetics. Hamilton, N., & Luttgens, K. (2002). 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Fundamentals of Special Strength Training in Sport: The Means of Special Strength Training for Athletes Pp 104-151, Livonia, MI: Sportivny Press. Read More