June 19, 2020 – I recently “attended” a Zoom presentation hosted by the Head Coach of Core Advantage, Durham McInnis. In a highly informative talk, he firstly explained some of the physiological impacts that a long layoff from sport due to the COVID-19 lockdown can have on athletes, the deload or de-adaptation of the body from its sport specifically-trained state. He then outlined a 4 phase structures-first approach to Reloading an athlete’s body faster, stronger and injury free. Core Advantage have kindly allowed us to distribute their presentation (see link below) but I have extracted some of the key points in the following:
Phase 1: Restoring Game Like Movement
– Return to making the shapes of the sport at low intensity.
– Break impact work up with skill drills to keep the density of workouts down
– DO NOT make the running competitive.
– Attack stationary bike work with max intensity if available.
Phase 2: Restore Moderate Speed and Intensity
– Reacquanit the athletes to moderate speed.
– Gradually push the speeds up to around 80% of normal whilst keeping the rest high so that the fatigue stays low.
– Keep away from competitive running.
Phase 3: Consolidate Moderate Speed with Some Volume
– Keep speeds the same but increase volume of the work for an accumulation of conditioning within the shapes of the sport. These sessions should be a little harder.
– Allow athletes to push more, but no competitive running.
Phase 4: Building up to Game Speed and Intensity
– Scrimmage without counting the score.
– Allow athletes to push but still allow a little more rest than normal.
– Allow athletes to push more allow controlled pacing and pushing competitive running.
The Art of The Reload Presentation
