Question of the Week #2 — Tracking Progress
Implementing a practical training program is a topic in which I covered some of the bases for in last week’s “Question of the week” post which you can read here: https://medium.com/@TuckerHerzberg/question-of-the-week-part-1-4-structuring-45-min-training-sessions-608365a6ca0e#.851cc1ox1. So today I want to focus more on how you track progress and the actual progression side of training.
Tracking progress isn’t super complicated. You just need to be intentional and consistent. Know the goals you are trying to accomplish within every training session that fits into your overall training goals for that time of year, and based on those goals, track the parameters that will help you identify your progress. If your goal is speed or agility, then once a week track a sprint or agility drill time during that portion of your training session. If your main goal is strength, make sure to be tracking weights used and reps completed. If your goal is power, track jumping height or medicine ball throws for distance. If you goal is endurance, have a timed endurance test that fits within your program that you can do once a week or every other week. Because of the limited time we all have with our high school athletes, try to avoid the classic ‘week-long testing’ periods. Though I love the excitement/competition that these weeks bring out in the athletes, you can easily build small portions of this in to your actual training sessions so that the majority of your time is focused on actually training and not testing.
With that being said, there is more to tracking progress than recording weights, reps, and timed sprints. You can track how well an athlete is moving (take videos of them bodyweight squatting and lunging in all directions, and compare it after a couple weeks of training). You can track their strength and endurance together by the amount of time it takes them to complete a bodyweight circuit (50 push-ups, 25 chin-ups, 50 single leg squats). Get creative with this.
Now, the most important thing to consider when deciding what to track and how to progress your athletes is focusing on your training goals. There are unlimited effective programs available to use (basic linear progression, 5/3/1, APRE, Triphasic Training…). Decide what your goals are — strength, speed/agility, improving your vertical jump, adding muscle — and pick a program or set/rep ranges that will fit those goals. Each week, track a few different parameters that you can assess each week/each month to see if you are making progress. If weights used and reps completed aren’t going up, or if timed tests aren’t dropping, or you aren’t jumping higher after 2–3 weeks, really assess your program as a whole. Are the athletes getting enough stimulus from the training (high intensities), are they getting too much stimulus (too much volume), and are they getting enough recovery between training sessions (sleeping 7–8 hours, making hydration a priority, working on solid nutrition habits). On the other hand, if you can clearly see the athletes responding well and making gains, keep pushing them until you feel it is time to de-load and let them get extra recovery (normally after 2–4 weeks of intense training).
Finally, tracking progress is also made much more simple when you keep your program and exercise selection simple. That is not to say you should neglect certain aspects of training or to never change your routine, but many coaches completely switch up their athletes programs before they have time to adapt to them, which isn’t beneficial for the athlete and makes tracking progress even harder. Pick your key movements (examples: rear-foot elevated split squat, a deadlift variation, push-ups, chin-ups), and then stick with those for an extended period of time (4–8 weeks) to allow the athletes time to adapt and then really progress in those movements. You can always add other movements in to training sessions to make sure your athletes are training in all directions and planes of motion, but find a good balance between core movements that you stick with and other movements that balance those core movements.
Please leave a comment, snap me @tuckerherzberg, or email me @ tucker.herzberg@gmail.com with ANY questions about this post — things I didn’t make very clear, things you want me to get more specific with for your situation, or with any other training questions you have. Thank you for reading!
