The Physiological Comfort Zone: Play the Way You Practice

By Jack Blatherwick

The word "conditioning" is almost universally misunderstood in sports - - especially team sports like football, hockey, basketball, and soccer.  Invariably, when we come to the part of practice where the coach pushes the team through some conditioning drills, the net result will be to practice slowness, because the coach does not understand that conditioning has several meanings.

We might recall that Pavlov's dogs were "conditioned" to respond (physiologically) to the sound of a bell that accompanied a tasty reward.  The "practice sessions" were repeated often enough, so that eventually the reward was unnecessary.  At the sound of the bell, the dogs would salivate, even though there was no food.

Habits - - neuromuscular habits are formed when we repeat - - or practice - - any movement. This could be thought of as neuromuscular conditioning.  When we practice a skating skill many times - - or a golf swing, or a throwing motion in baseball - - we expect the movement to become habit, so we don't have to think about how to execute the skill.

Sprinting or riding a bike - - walking or chewing gum - - are examples of movements that have become neuromuscular habits.  We certainly don't think through each detail of the motion.

All repetitions result in permanent habits.  Practice only improves the skill we want to achieve if our repetitions are quality ones.

So, when a basketball or football coach lines the players up to do conditioning drills, if the wind-sprints are planned with inadequate rest, players are practicing slowness.  They may be gaining some cardiovascular and respiratory fitness, but they are training habits of slow feet - - just the opposite result of what the coach is trying to achieve.

The purpose of "conditioning" is to prepare the team to perform faster for the entire game.  So practice must be fast, not slow.  But the word "conditioning" is simplistically equated with cardiovascular fitness (respiratory and metabolic effects are part of this as well).  But, for every conditioning drill done for this purpose there is a neuromuscular consequence.  Habits are being formed - - like it or not.

The essential base is not endurance, it is speed!!!  Execute football plays at the fastest possible speed.  Practice basketball or soccer at high tempo - - for short intervals.  Then, to gain the endurance needed to maintain this tempo for an entire game, extend the speed work for longer and longer sessions.

Start with short intervals of overspeed basketball (or soccer) and gradually extend them.  Working at it from the other direction does not work. That is, if you go out jogging or if you run sluggish conditioning sprints, you will never increase speed. In fact, the neuromuscular habits of running slowly are permanently recorded.

Practicing correctly to maintain high tempo (intermittently) for an entire game could be called neuromuscular conditioning.  We are practicing habits of high speed execution, using interval training wisely, and gradually extending the length of the practice session to match the length of a game.

"Cardio" training - - as fitness instructors like to call it - - does not need to be long, slow distance work.  In fact, for most young athletes it should be interval training for speed, for speed-endurance, and for quality execution of skills.  If this is planned correctly, cardiovascular fitness is achieved - - perhaps to a greater extent than could ever be achieved from distance workouts.

A note of caution to older, fatter, weekend "athletes:"  Stick with your long, slow aerobic workouts!!!

Skating skill is obviously not as permanently committed to a habit as walking, running, or chewing gum.  Therefore, the correct approach to conditioning is much more important in hockey than in running sports.  It is critical to avoid even one drill in practice that forces players to skate with incorrect form, with slow feet, stiff knees, and weak extension.

Every hockey practice should improve habits of skating speed and efficiency.

…but most practices do not.  If we video-taped a player for an entire hour, we would see, first a lot of standing.  Then, because the puck skills and competition would (and should) distract the player from thinking about how he/she is skating, the technique and speed will not be optimal, especially if the player came into practice with some bad habits.

… and every player enters every practice with skating habits that can use some improvement.

Having just worked with professional players recently, I can attest that each of them is vitally interested in skating improvement - - even the very best skaters.  So, this certainly must be one of our highest priorities at the youth level: skating improvement; skating speed; skating agility, the ability to change directions quickly, in balance, and under control - - all done at a high tempo.

These are difficult skills for professionals and beginners.

Therefore, we must provide opportunities for quality repetitions in structured practices, on outside ponds, and - - something we rarely do - - in rental sessions without pucks, where the objective is to become better skaters.

Finally, when we come to the part of practice where the coach announces, "All right, we're going to skate," let's hope the intervals are planned in a way that every drill offers an opportunity for improvement. T he split-screen shows results of a skating-endurance test in which the player skated six lengths (130 feet each), stopping and starting on each end.
 

The photo on the left shows the player on the second length, and on the right, his sixth length.  The difference in skill is obvious.  The difference in speed is at least 20%.

The difference in what the neuromuscular system remembers is critical for coaches.  Plan your skating intervals so that correct habits are being formed as often in practice as possible.

To practice slow skating with incorrect technique is always wrong - - even if the drill is intended to improve endurance.

"Conditioning" for hockey means to practice in a way that eventually prepares players to perform for an entire game at the highest possible tempo with the greatest possible skill.

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