Insufficient Load, Insufficient Performance

It’s December and the fixtures are piling up, even here in Indonesia we are playing 4 games in 2 weeks.

Games in Surabaya, Bali, Maluku and Jakarta.

Although I won’t add too much context, we do not need to be squeezing in any strength sessions in these busy periods. Actually, I really enjoy these periods because it allows me to evaluate the 5 months of physical conditioning I have put in place prior to this schedule.

If you’re squeezing strength sessions in now, can I ask you, what have you been doing prior to this? You must prioritise the games and respect the stresses you’re about to go through. Not to mention - flights, hotel rooms, being away from family, inconvenient food disruptions (Its actually very hard here for hotels to cook a decent chicken breast) just to name a few.

On a personal note, lads have been hitting personal bests in high speed running, max velocity % and sprint distance, 3 games into our busy schedule with 1 man down.

The solution? If you’re squeezing in gym sessions to be a better footballer - now is not the time. Game day is where you get fitter faster and stronger when you apply yourself and push through barriers. Sleep, eat well, spend time with family. Go again. Energy placed on external stressors such as strength and power work whilst already fatigued will only result in negative transfer and reduced output (insufficient load, insufficient performance.

5-3 day turnaround are not for increasing intensity of training but for recovering and tactical prep. Even if you have a 7 day turnaround but you’ve come into the week after 2-3 games in a week you should still prioritise recovery and choose exercises that are less stressful and prioritise special strength.

Rob.