Trampoline Periodization Series: Putting It All Together

Welcome to the Final Article of the Trampoline Periodization Series. So far we have spoken about “Basic Strength”, Hypertrophy”, “Max Strength” and “Power”. Individually all of these programs are very important but equally important is the order in which these phases are prescribed. Here we will wrap up the series by describing how to prescribe these phases and some things to think about while coaching 

                Every sport will go through these phases differently and many sports will have different phases such as a “Speed” phase or “Muscle Endurance” phase. We decide what order will best suit trampoline. There are a few different ways of doing a periodization for trampoline.

                The most logical  way would be to be determining the intensities of each phase and prescribe in the same fashion as our traditional Periodization model. If you remember this is where the intensity starts off high along with the volume and then slowly decreases before competition.  In this case the order of the phases would be the following:

1) Basic Strength

2) Hypertrophy

3) Max Strength

4) Power

By the time the “Power” phase is prescribed the main competition should be about a month and a half away. This allows the athlete to get some good adaptation in before tapering before the competition. No point starting a new phase 2 weeks before a competition. No matter what sport or what level of the sport, “Basic Strength” always comes first. This is because, as mentioned earlier, the body needs to learn how to use the muscles and warm up. “Hypertrophy” is usually the next phase because it is a middle step between “Basic Strength” and “Max power”. The intensity takes quite a jump without the “Hypertrophy” phase in the middle. Then the “Max Strength” phase would be great because it then peaks the strength gains of the athlete before switching the priorities. “Power” is last due to the fact  the other phases have been all in preparation for this phase. Never start with a “Power” phase if the athlete is new in trampoline. Generally for trampoline at the beginning levels this format would be the best. A nice a steady increase of intensity and leaving sufficient time in each phase for adaptation and learning should be the aim.

Another way to do this prescription would be to completely forget about the power phase and focus soley on “Basic Strength”, “Hypertrophy” and “Max Power”. The younger athlete may not need power at this point in his or her career, after all Time of Flight (TOF) is not accounted for so jump height does not matter. I would argue that it teaches proper training mechanics and the athlete should be “shown the ropes” earlier then need be so that when he or she does move up they are already prepared. However if this is the avenue you as a coach wish to take with your athletes then you would want to cycle through these three phases a few times usually decreasing the length of the “Max Strength” phase. Max strength is hard on the body and if the athlete is new at conditioning then potentially the focus should be more on “Basic Strength” and “Hypertrophy” with some max strength added on top as a learning tool.  

Some coaches may chose to extensively prolong the “Basic Strength” phase and keep the athlete doing basic exercises for their entire first competitive season. This is not how I would chose to do it but it is not wrong by any means. It is a slow and steady approach with the long term goal being the focus. As long as the coach explains why he or she is prescribing this format then the athletes should understand and follow without hesitation. Even if you chose to stay in the same phase for a long time you still have to change up the program and cycle though different exercises and keep the children guessing. I would play with trying conditioning at different times of the training. Throw in a conditioning session first thing and make them train on wabbly legs once in a while. Doing conditioning before trampoline may be not the best idea all the time for a few reasons.  If you condition then train your muscles are tighter and most likely not as mobile as before the conditioning. If you try to then stretch before jumping on the trampoline the brain and body relax and essentially the athlete has to re-warm up again and this time the muscles are too loose. Muscles are like Goldilock’s porridge; it can’t be too cold or to warm, it has to be just right.  Once in a while however it will give the athletes a small shock and forces them to work a bit harder that day. Remember the most important thing in these early conditioning programs is to demonstrate the proper intensity and training attitude. Technique will come but attitude has to be instilled right from day one or the athlete will become lazy and have an idea that he or she can do whatever they want.

A coach may choose to try and shuffle the phases interchangeably throughout the weeks. This is not the best idea because the athlete will not get any adaptation, or at least not very much. The phases are a certain length to enable the body to adapt. I do not know about you but my genetics do not allow me to adapt after a few trainings. A form of this training is called Variable Periodization. This is where the athlete tells the coach how he or she feels the day of training and based on a few turns the coach prescribes a plan based on the mental alertness and readiness of the athlete on that particular day. Do not do this for younger athletes. I would argue you should not do this for ANY athlete. For a younger athlete he or she will learn very quickly to “ACT” tired or upset so that you always let them do minimal work. As well, not many athletes come into training 4 days a week in provincial and feel perfect every day. I can count on my fingers that amount of “feeling Perfect” days I have had in the last 17 years of gymnastics and trampoline.  You are almost always going to be slightly sore, upset about a failed test, mad at your parents, friends etc. This is no reason to relax on conditioning. Leave all mental problems at home along with the small physical ones that you can tough through. It helps to develop character and durability as an athlete by fighting through the trainings. No training should feel like it can be accomplished, then it was too easy.  If the athlete believes he or she can accomplish something then obviously the body does not need to adapt because it can already do the desired program. Make that program everyday a program that he or she feels is too hard and if he or she fails then that just means the body has to adapt more. Do not be scared to push younger athletes, they will learn to handle it. Build into it however but after a few months of training the athlete should eb sweating buckets and going to fatigue on the majority of exercises.

This would probably be the best time to discuss a deload session.  This is a training where the conditioning is decreased and the intensity is not as high as a regular training. Undoubtedly for a older Senior athlete this is a must once a week. For a younger athlete however the deload session is not so necessary. First of all the athlete is not training so hard that he or she needs a deload session. I trained 24 hours a week of gymnastics moving up to junior national and we never got a deload session. The odd occasional session would be more relaxed and more fun with jokes and less volume and more chit chat but that would be once a month maybe.  I would argue that it would help an athlete just to take a breather once a week but only if the athlete is doing intense amounts of conditioning a week. A body builder or a power lifter would need a deload training.  This is because a Olympic level weight lifter is in the gym conditioning 20-24 hours a week. In trampoline the conditioning is usually limited to about 4 or five sessions a week usually about an hour long of actual lifts, not including stretching. When you are only doing conditioning 5 hours a week then a deload session is not very use full.

Let’s talk about the Seniors now. Seniors are different from the younger athletes we have been talking about. Their program needs to be amore standardized and by the book so to speak. Senior athletes need to spend less time in the “Basic Strength” phase because they have already been accustom to conditioning so after Worlds they are ready to go and only take a bit of time to get right back into the swing of things. For a senior I would be juggling through “Max Strength” and “Power” with some “Hypertrophy” added in to these trainings. At this point the athlete should be solid as a rock and be able to withstand almost any landing that they may take. Injury should not be an issue at this point because the muscles have been developed so well that there is no rolling of the ankles, wabbles in the knees, looseness in the back etc. With this said, no one is perfect and injuries will still occur but the seniors should be getting less injured then the younger athletes.

With senior level athletes in any sport is when a lot of school education goes out the window. Based on my schooling I have been told to never allow any athlete, ever, to perform a deep knee squat. Have you ever watched Olympic weight lifting? I have been told to always perform a Functional Movement Screen (FMS). Does every athlete need to be standardized to the same model of performance? I have been taught to always have a deload training. Does every athlete condition or train hard enough to need one? The list goes on and on. For the senior athletes I am about to discuss, a lot of it is going to come from my own personal experience in the sports. Here is a few points I would like to mention about seniors.

1)      Use all the phases simutaniously or pick 2 and shuffle back and forth- At this point in the career for a trampolinist the only area of imporvement should be rotation speed, twist speed and height. As the hieght increases the athlete must get stronger so that injury does not occur. The trainings of a senior athlete should be very narrow and focused on these specific areas.  Do not waste your time with a month long “Basic Strength “ phase after worlds. Give the athletes a week of active recovery and then a week of “Basic Strength”, a week of hypertrophy” and then right back into the “Max Strength” and “Power” phases. Remember competition is basiccally all year round so the athlete has to be in tip top shape most of the time. You may say that “ Well a week is not enough for adaptations”. I know but we are not looking for adaptations here. A senior level athlete is not going to get “Basic Strength” gains that are even noticable normally. Remember these are the top athletes and many of them are close to their genetic ceilings if not already. “Basic Strength” for seniors is a welcome package. The imporvements will lie on the trampoline or in the “Max Strength” and “Power” phases.

2)      Some ask “ what about “Muscle Endurance”. Your muscle endurance can be trained simutaniously with any phase by decreasing the rest time. I would not couple this phase with a “Power” phase becasue this contradicts it’s self. Power needs rest in order to keep the neuron firing quickly. Muscle endurance entailes cutting rest to make muscle perform for longer. “Basic Strength”, “Hypertrophy” and “Max Strength” are the phases where “Muscle Endurance” can be focused on.

3)      Seniors should be doing Olympic Lifts atleast 5 times a week if not 6 leaving a rest day. Many come to me and get all upset that I prescribe such high volumes but remember this is Senior not provincial. If you were in Romania training gymnastics then you are doing 7 hours a day, every day with no rest. Your rest is the day that instead of a double training you simply do a morning training and a small afternoon training. If you are in china you are jumping 33 hours a week nevermind the conditioning they do off the trampoline. If you are in the NHL you are condiitoning daily and practicing daily, some times twice a day along with games a few times a week.  The Olympic Lifts will be the main way of increaseing jump height. The more you do the heigher you will jump.

4)      Bounding should be part of the program 5 times a week atleast. As soon as the ankles get time to relax they will and an injury will be the first sign that you relaxed too much.

5)      Do not forget about Aerobic Conditioning. This will increase the amount of work you can do in a training.

6)      Coaches: Do not allow your  Senior athletes to undergo variable periodization. Coaches need to push athletes at any level. The introverted personality is not enough. Every athlete needs that coach to give them a push when they are having a bad day or are tired. No matter how much an athlete wants something internally a push always helps if done the right way. You do not have to yell or scream. The coach talks to the athlete every day before training and they discuss a plan of action for that day. This is not a negotiation!!! This is a “ I expect this, is there anything you would like to focus on ontop of what I have already said?”. The athlete gives his or her two cents and goes on their way. The point of this is that the trainings are similar every day and the athlete gets so good at doing routines that it is second nature even when it is a bad day. Who is to say you are going to have a great day at the olympics. If you train like someone who can not work under bad conditions then you are taking a big gamble the day it really matters. Who is to say you wont twist your ankle in the hall way before march in. If you twist your ankle on the biggest competition of your life are you really going to stop? Most people would fight through no matter what. If you are already use to fighting through because the coach made you do it even when you thought it was impossible then you just have to remember what you did at home.

Take Home Messages:

11)      Instill proper training protocols from day 1

22)      Explain every single piece of information you know to your athlete

33)      Change up the program every few weeks

44)      For seniors focus on a few aspects and train those all at the same time.

55)      All athletes should be pushed everyday but make it fun and have them push them selves

66)      Introverted is not enough to take someone to the Olympics unless naturally they are gifted to extreme levels

77)      Prevent injury by teaching the athlete to take load on their body in different ways such as bounding

88)      Do not let athlete walk away from all injuries. Have them try a few reps on the trampoline and off the 9)trampoline to teach them that they are strong enough to fight through in a worst case scenario

910)      If the progression is too quick injury will most likely occur or minimal gains will be experienced

111)   Coaches need to act the way they want their athletes to act

   This concludes the Trampoline Periodization Series. I hope this has given people some idea for exercises as well as  a general idea of how to prescribe it. As I have said before please feel free to leave comments or questions of any kind. Thanks:)