Whether you’re a football player, boxer, MMA fighter, or any kind of performance athlete, you’ve likely happened across many methods and training techniques for increasing your speed, strength and conditioning. What you might not have happened across or given enough attention to, is the high/low training method. Established years ago by Charlie Francis, the high/low method has foolproof results that allows you to reach your maximum speed, strength and fitness without burning yourself out.

History Behind the High/Low Method

Charlie Francis, best known for training 100m sprinter Ben Johnson, developed the high/low method through his work in neural recovery and sports training. His method came about from the stress put on the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS is essentially the powerhouse for athlete’s performance and coordinates all muscular movements. As the CNS is pushed in intensity, the more it decreases in power and performance, and the longer it takes to recover; much longer than the muscular system. However, most athletes and trainers only place focus at the muscular level. This means athletes who have just undergone a rigorous training session may think that they are ready for the next bout when their muscles have recovered, not when the CNS has. Without going into too many details, this results in neural fatigue over an extended period of time. So no matter how hard your muscles are working, you’re going to be under-performing. Thankfully, this is where the high/low method can help.

How the High/Low Method Works

Simply put by the name, the high/low system is a method of organising your training week based on the neurological demands of each training session. In essence, it is a system of high intensity workouts, followed by low intensity workouts. Its sole premise shatters the notion of pushing yourself 100% every day. Doing that is no longer viable, because even if you aren’t aware of it, there is no way you can perform at your peak the next day, when your CNS is still fatigued from yesterday. In fact, if you push yourself too hard each day, you could enter the training black hole, where your stuck performing at ‘moderate’ intensity. However, there is a catch. During the high intensity workouts, you should be pushing yourself 100%, to reach a higher heart rate, explosive movements and to exceed your personal best in whatever activity it is. It’s during the low intensity workouts where you take it down a notch and instead focus on sharpening your techniques, learning new sporting skills or movements, and improving your aerobic capacity.

What constitutes a High Intensity and Low Intensity Day

To give you a better idea of how it works, here’s an example of a high/low method training schedule I’ve used to organise football athletes’ off/pre-season training. The training includes 3 high intensity training days, two low intensity days, and two rest days:

Why the High/Low Method

The benefits of the high/low method are confounding. First off, it improves your performance by enabling the athlete to perform at a maximum level, helping you achieve new levels of strength, speed, power and conditioning. Second, it incorporates time to learn and hone your skills. Third, it helps prevent over-training and injuries by allowing your body critical recovery time. And even better, the high/low method has practical applications for any sport, fitness junky or gym goer.

Getting Started with the High/Low Method

The high/low method is a great way to organize your training over the course of the week. But there are a few things outside of the method you’ll want to determine. And, as always, everybody and sport is different and you’ll need to keep that in mind before organizing your week (this is where having a personal trainer can be very beneficial).

Last but not least, some guidelines or considerations you’ll want to keep in mind:

Set a minimum of 48 hours between high intensity days to get a full recovery for both your muscles and CNS.Do not perform two high intensity days after one another.Pair up complimentary sporting skills on the low intensity days to get the most out of your training.Keep track of your improvements!

Hopefully this has provided you some valuable information on how you can better organise your own training to smash through plateaus and reach maximum performance.

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Sources:

http://rugbystrengthcoach.com/build-speed-strength-power-for-rugby-high-low-training/

http://www.8weeksout.com/2011/09/13/high-low-training-mma-fight-magazine/

http://www.strengthpowerspeed.com/high-low-training-football/

http://jacktylerperformance.com/training-method-combining-strength-speed-conditioning/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/04/12/conditioning-how-to-do-it-right/

http://www.fredduncan.com/2012/11/01/training-the-highlow-approach/

I think it’s safe to say we all know lower body training is critical in increasing strength, preventing injury, and improving overall performance. But it can be challenging to find the right training for you. If you haven’t seen much progress with your lower body training in a while, then incorporate this 4 phase approach. Whether you’re intermediate or an advanced level athlete, this can work for you.

Based on the Westside System, it uses 3 methods of training to achieve maximal muscle contraction for the lower body. My preference specifically, is the Westside Conjugate Method. I find it elongates the detraining effect that can occur from Western Periodization Methods or Block Training. But the methods remain the same. Method one is the Dynamic Effort Method, which is used to increase the rate of force development and explosive strength. In simpler terms – it makes you faster and more explosive. The second is the Max Effort Method. This method is used to build absolute strength by improving both inter-muscular and intra-muscular coordination. Last is the Repetition Effort Method that involves lifting sub-maximal weights for higher volumes – building hypertrophy and strengthening the weakest muscles. Of course adjustments can be made based on each athlete, but the basic template remains the same:

Phase 1: The first phase of any workout, the warm-up, is often the most overlooked aspect of training. But warm-ups act as both a training technique and an important habit for mobility and flexibility. If you want to read more on how to structure a warm-up routine, then check out our previous article HERE.

Phase 2: The second phase of your workout is dedicated to central nervous system (CNS) intensive movements through the Dynamic Effort Method. These movements are explosive, in turn allowing you to produce rapid force. Examples of these movements involve sprinting, jumping and plyos.

Phase 3: Phase three is focused on strength development through the Max Effort Method. Again, this method builds absolute strength by improving inter-muscular and intra-muscular coordination. At this phase we like to incorporate the Ramp Up method, which gradually increases the load before hitting your full work sets. Gradually increasing weight allows you to increase overall training volume, enhancing neural output and strength gains. But keep in mind you should stick to no more than 10 total reps per workout to avoid over training.

Phase 4: Phase four is a bit more extensive and involves the Repetition Effort Method and is all about lifting a non-maximal load and pushing yourself to failure or near failure to build muscular endurance. This method involves very carefully chosen exercises to strengthen the weakest links of your lower body whether that be hamstrings, glutes or your lower back (posterior chain). If you’re particularly prone to pulling or injuring these muscles, it’s likely because they are typically the most underdeveloped areas of the body. As a result, volume will vary more between athletes in this method. However, no matter the volume, the technique is to aim for a longer time where your muscles are under tension.

Phase 5: Last but not least, phase 5 focuses on the core and glutes. Isolating one or both of these areas with an anti-movement pattern helps to maximize stability. Core stability is vital to getting the best results you can. Many people don’t know your core actually runs from above your knees all the way up to your chest, so make sure you're incorporating movements that can hit this entire area.

Here’s an example of how this four phase training breaks down:

Like we mentioned before, your lower body, and the training it receives is critical to developing and enhancing your strength, agility and overall performance. This methodology and 4 phase approach enhances all of that by increasing your speed, strength, muscle mass and ultimately, your power. Of course, this workout is just an example, and depending on your body, your sport and objectives, you’ll want to adjust it – to find the right lower body training for you.

There are three energy systems which allow the body to produce energy.

While all three are important to athletes, it can be misleading as to which are the most important for the repeat sprint athlete.

Here, we discuss the demands on a repeat sprint athlete and determine the most critical energy systems these athletes should focus on.

What is a Repeat Sprint Athlete?

A repeat sprint athlete is one who is required to tap into a high level of power in a sporadic and repeated fashion while still maintaining a low level of fatigue. Think sports like football (AFL), soccer, rugby, basketball and mixed martial arts….in these sports an athlete may spend a great deal of the game jogging or standing on guard, preparing for action but when action is required – it is explosive, high energy and high-intensity.

These short burst of high intensity, full-body action may be required again and again and yet it is critical that the athlete maintain these actions without becoming fatigued from the very first minute to the last minute of the game.

So what systems most greatly affects the repeat spring athlete?

Let’s examine the energy systems and requirements for the athlete a bit further…

Three Energy Systems Explained…

The three different energy systems are as follows:

Alactic (ATP-CP)Lactic (Glycolytic)Aerobic (Oxidative)

1. Alactic (ATP-PC) – Immediate Energy/ High Power, Short Duration

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PC) also sometimes referred to as the phosphagen system is an immediate form of energy that functions without oxygen. This energy system allows for approximately 12 seconds of maximum effort.

Alactic energy is the type the body calls upon when bursting into a sprint or pitching a baseball. These activities are explosive and typically involve full-body involvement. However, these are not activities that are sustained for long periods of time…

First, ATP supplies the energy…as ATP declines, the PC supplements then decline until there is a shift to a different energy system.

Think: 100m Sprinter

2. Lactic (Glycolytic) – Intermediate Energy / Moderate power, Short Duration

Once energy expenditure moves past the ATP-PC phase, it moves into the lactic phase. This is where dietary carbohydrates are utilized. Glucose circulates glycogen into the blood that may have been in the muscles and liver. It is then broken down through a series of chemical reactions called glycogenolysis.

It is estimated that glycolysis creates an energy expenditure of up to 16 calories per minute during this phase.

The lactic/glycolytic energy system helps to supply energy for approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Once 2 minutes has passed, your body begins to move into the third energy system…

Think: 400m Swimmer

3. Aerobic (Oxidative) – Low Power, Long Duration

After your maximum efforts are fueled by the ATP-PC your performance declined and was fueled by the lactic system – finally as energy continues to be expended your body calls upon the aerobic/oxidative system.

The aerobic/oxidative system is dependent on oxygen and is the most complex of the three energy systems. This is the stage where the body starts to prioritize. With continued energy expenditure it understands the need for a recharge of ATP, yet it knows that first and foremost the most important thing to provide the system is oxygen. In this stage the body is performing a sort of ‘triage’, slowing down many of the systems that are not necessary for this continued performance and instead focusing on the ones that are necessary for ongoing endurance.

Unsurprisingly, these systems all operate via two components: power and capacity. Power, the speed at which the body can derive energy; and capacity, how long the activity can be sustained; are inevitably the defining features of conditioning as a whole and must be kept in the right balance for your sport.

But conventional wisdom on the subject of when these three different pathways are used has often been misunderstood.

It used to be thought that the first system (Alactic) drove the first 30 seconds of output, before the second (glycolytic) system kicked in for the next 90. It was thought the third and final system started up at the two minute mark, and thus sustained activity was considered a waste of time for the repeat sprint athlete.

What really happens?

All three energy systems start at the commencement of intense activity, and not in the staggered model outlined above. However, the extent of their contribution depends on the duration and nature of the activity itself. The aerobic system, whirring away in the background, is critical as the aerobic/oxidative energy system is actually responsible for regenerating the creatine phosphate that is used to fuel the high intensity sprint.

As such, current research suggests the aerobic system actually contributes a significant portion of that initial 30-second burst once thought to be the sole purview of the Alactic system: 13% in a 10-second sprint, and as much as 27% for a 20-second period.

So it’s easy to see the importance a well-developed aerobic system can have on a repeated sprint athlete.

Why that’s important:

Nobody wants to burn out fast on the field: you need to keep up a sustained and reliable performance for the duration of the game, and that means improving your aerobic capacity. The body relies more heavily on the aerobic system with each repeated bout of activity, such as during interval training. Therefore, if an athlete’s aerobic system isn’t properly developed and fails to provide this support, the body fatigues a lot faster when faced with repeat high intensity bouts of activity. Aerobic/oxidative training is about increasing your ability to recover your Creatine phosphate to allow you to sustain levels of high intensity activity for longer!

This means that most field based sports like football (AFL) and soccer are in fact an alactic-aerobic sport. The alactic system provides immediate energy to drive sprint-based activities, while the aerobic system is responsible for substrate recovery between bouts. The old thinking was that particular sports, the ones which relied on explosive energy, didn’t require aerobic conditioning.

In football, it might feel like you’re relying on explosive energy, courtesy of systems one and two as outlined above. But that performance is fuelled by aerobic metabolism, and to a greater degree with each successive bout. Those bursts of explosive power come from the alactic system, and they’re fuelled by creatine phosphate. That essential creatine phosphate would run out quickly… unless it’s being regenerated by aerobic/oxidative metabolism.

A game of football essentially involves a prolonged jog with regular sprint bursts of various types. That means available recovery time on the ground is minimal, and your body has to be able to sustain high levels of activity without allowing your power to drop. It’s a long game, and you’ve got to be ready to play ‘til the very end.

Not every sport requires the same level of aerobic capacity, so it’s important to build your energy systems appropriately to support your sport. But if you participate in a repeat sprint sport, the ability to excel requires a combination of both the Aerobic and Alactic Energy Systems.

Resources:

http://www.8weeksout.com/2011/10/10/research-review-energy-systems-interval-training-rsa/

http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2013/04/09/conditioning-youre-doing-it-wrong/

http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/the-three-metabolic-energy-systems

http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/understanding-energy-systems-atp-pc-glycolytic-and-oxidative-oh-my

Joel Jamieson - Ultimate MMA Conditioning

Medicine ball throws are a great way to develop explosive power in both the sagittal and transverse planes. The sagittal plane is the imaginary line bisecting the body from anterior to posterior, passing through midpoints such as the spine and navel and creating what effectively amount to your right and left halves. The transverse plane bisects the body at the waist, perpendicular to the sagittal plane and forming your top and bottom.

Due to the diverse range of movements employed in medicine ball exercises, they can make an impressive difference in your development as an athlete and capacity for explosive power.

Whether striking the ball in cricket, performing Taekwondo kicks or throwing a punch in boxing, these sporting movements are all made possible by the torque an athlete develops in the transverse plane. Strength and power developed in this rotational plane carries across to innumerable sports and activities, so you need to ensure your training takes full advantage of this.

Mixing up your training with medicine ball exercises opens up a whole new avenue of interesting and beneficial movements to be added to your regimen. Aside from keeping your routine fresh and interesting, there are many physiological benefits to medicine ball throws. Right from the very beginning these exercises activate the central nervous system prior to strength training. Medicine balls also come in handy when teaching triple extension of the knees, ankles and hips in particular positions, while helping develop rotational specific power using the transverse plane.

In order to take full advantage of the aforementioned CNS-boosting effects of the medicine ball throws, I like to incorporate them early on in a workout, usually straight after a warm-up. That way, your body is fresh and ready so you can tackle these exercises with maximum effort.

It’s important not to go too hard too fast: start incorporating Medicine Ball throws into your regimen once a week, then working your way up to twice a week when ready. Vary your sets and reps according to your needs and capacity as well, but generally aim for around 2-4 sets of 6-10 throws.

To get you started building MB’s into your training, I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite medicine ball drills. I use these to develop upper and full-body explosive power in my athletes, using the methods described below. While they may be challenging at first, the medicine ball is a vital tool: too much so to let it languish in the ‘too hard’ pile when it comes to regular explosive power training.

Here are 3 Med Ball Exercises to get you started:

1. MB Half Kneeling Side Toss