The Cold War marked a new era in the realm of sports science. During the timespan of 1952 to 1988 the world of sport was dominated by the countries of the Eastern Bloc.
Was this 46 year reign of dominance caused by genetically superior athletes? Possibly. But more than likely the cause for the dominance of the Soviet Union in sport was due to their advancements in physiology, biomechanics and the pedagogy of sport. While western countries devoted their financial assets to causes outside of the sporting realm, the countries of the Eastern Bloc devoted their financial assets towards sport science. As a result, some of the most effective resistance training modalities ever made, were created. The systematic approach to training that the countries of the Eastern Bloc employed revolutionized sport science and created professions devoted to furthering our knowledge of exercise.
So what methods and training methodologies did the Soviets invent? For the Soviet Union Coaches, it all started with a systematic approach to planning training, known as periodization.
Periodization
Periodization is the systematic division of training over a certain amount of time. The goals of periodization are quite simple:
- Maximize sport-specific performance for major competitions.
- Maximize sport-specific fitness levels.
- Plan recovery to avoid central fatigue.
- Maintain the training effect.
These goals are accomplished by alternating high volume/low intensity training phases with low volume/high intensity training phases. The modern theory of periodization was developed by Soviet Sport Scientist Matveyev in 1962. Matveyev developed his periodization model based off of the General Adaptation Syndrome.
General Adaptation Syndrome
Austrian endocrinologist Hans Selye observed that the body responded to forms of biological stress in a similar manner.
Alarm Stage:
- Biological stress occurs.
- Sympathetic nervous system is activated.
- Cortisol, norepinephrine and epinephrine are released to provide instant energy.
Resistance Stage:
- Source of stress is resolved.
- Stress hormone levels return to homeostasis.
- Depletion of energy stores.
Exhaustion Stage:
- Adaptation to the biological stress is completed.
- Adaptation energy supply depleted.
- Known as maladaptation.
Timing of the Training Stimulus
What Soviet Sport Scientists theorized was that the timing of the training stimulus had an impact on the training effect. If the stimulus is placed too soon after the previous stimulus, supercompensation is not yet reached. If this occurs in a chronic manner central fatigue progresses and may lead to overtraining syndrome. However if the training stimulus was placed too far away from the previous stimulus, supercompensation fades and the training effect was still not optimal. For adaptation to occur training has to take place at, or near the peak of supercompensation. There are many factors which influence the degree of supercompensation:
- Quantity of Training Stress
- Quality of Training Stress
- Quality of Rest
- Biological Potential – genetic factors, training status, age, health status
Introduction to Plyometrics
Plyometrics, also known as shock training, are a power training methodology that was invented by Soviet Sport Scientist Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky. Plyometric training is an advanced training method used to enhance performance in explosive, speed based sport. In order to benefit from plyometrics the athlete must have adequate flexibility, strength levels and proprioception. Other factors include age, training status, past injuries, biological factors.
Phases of Plyometrics
Plyometric training involves quick, powerful movements that utilize a countermovement that involves the stretch-shortening cycle. The benefit of plyometrics training is retrieved from the elastic properties of the musculotendinous component of each muscle. There are three phases in a plyometric movement.
- Pre-load (eccentric) – an eccentric muscle action occurs when a muscle is lengthening. In sport, eccentric muscle actions play an integral role in performance as they help with deceleration. In relation to the stretch shortening cycle, eccentric muscle actions also store elastic tension for the next phase of the movement.
- Amortization – the amortization phase of the stretch shortening cycle is the time between the end of the eccentric phase and the start of the concentric phase. This is phase must be extremely short otherwise all elastic energy stored from the eccentric phase will be lost. Research shows that the amortization phase should last no longer than 300 milliseconds. The shorter the amortization phase, the more powerful the subsequent muscle contraction will be.
- Concentric – the concentric phase is where the muscle contracts forcefully to perform the desired movement (jump, throw, change direction etc). The concentric phase uses the elastic energy created from the eccentric phase and stored during amortization to enhance the power of the movement.
Plyometrics training has been proven to be a highly effective and efficient training methodology in increasing upper and lower body power. Plyometric exercises completed 1-3 times per week for 6-12 weeks have been shown to significantly improve motor performance. Furthermore, positive training adaptations can occur with minimal amounts of volume.
Olympic Weightlifting and Doping
The list of great Weightlifters that the Soviet Union produced is unmatched by any other country. As sport science development progressed in the USSR, training loads began to increase instrumentally. The progression of sport science and training load amongst the Bulgarian National Weightlifting Team can be seen below.
Notice the gap of training load between 1976 and 1980? While the Soviet Union came out with many important training concepts, doping played an undeniably huge role in the dominance of Eastern Bloc countries in weightlifting. From 1976 to 1980 the Bulgarian Weightlifting Team was banned from competition for testing positive for anabolic steroids. Although the IOC implemented drug-testing protocols for the 1968 games, anabolic steroids were not on the testing list until 1976. When both the Bulgarian Gold and Silver medalists had their medals stripped. Although the countries of the Eastern Bloc made incredible strides in sport science development, it is important to point out the role doping played in their sporting dominance.
Author: Jason Tremblay
References
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- Souster, M (2011) Periodization. Retrieved July 27th 2012 from Mount Royal University Blackboard Website
- World Anti Doping Agency (2012) A Brief History of Anti-Doping. Retrieved July 27th 2012 from: http://www.wada-ama.org/en/About-WADA/History/A-Brief-History-of-Anti-Doping/
