XC Endurance Training Theory – Norwegian Style

XC Endurance Training Theory – Norwegian Style
By Stephen Sieler
From MAPP http://home.hia.no/~stephens/.
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Borrowing from theoretical physics lingo, I am going to try to present a "Unified Field Theory" if you will of Cross Country ski training, from the standpoint of endurance capacity development. Unified because it represents a conceptual blend of my own experience, understanding of the physiology, translations from the Norwegian training literature, and numerous conversations with a national class coach here whose insights I value and trust. Field fits too, because I am going to try to talk in terms that make sense out in the field, not just in a lab. Unfortunately, a lot of sport scientists can't think beyond the lab and the "8 week study." Theory is also appropriate, because no scientist worth his bodyweight in salt would propose to have the all complexities of physiology and training adaptations nailed down.



I should also point out that this framework does not assume limitations on training time, it is based on the long term development of elite athletes. This is an important point. Much of the research based on untrained or moderately trained individuals doesn't apply to the elite. However, although this material is built up from elite training experience, the basic principles have relevance to us all.



The Big Picture
Below is a training intensity chart, similar perhaps to many you have seen before. It is a closely patterned after the basic intensity classifications for endurance training used by XC skiers and trainers in Norway. When they denote training intensity, this is the language used. I have added another column, lactate concentration. These values are based on several sources including long term studies of elite rowers in Germany. I think rowing and XC are very similar because they are both quadripedal exercise modes.



* Heart rate is based on the average value at the end of an interval bout or on the top of hills in other training forms.
** Explaining the Two Thresholds I need to write another separate article on this issue of blood lactate and exercise intensity. The basic lactate threshold (also called anaerobic threshold) concept is a useful tool but also over-simplistic. The traditional way of viewing the lactate threshold is that it is the exercise intensity at which the working muscle becomes "anaerobic" and lactic acid production commences. This is wrong, but the idea persists in the popular literature because it is an easy concept to get across.

The reality is this. Even at rest we are producing lactic acid in small quantities. Blood concentrations stay low because this lactic acid that is being produced one place can be taken up and used by another tissue. At low exercise intensities, no or only a very small increase in blood lactate concentration occurs. In fact, we sometimes see blood lactate drop a little from resting values at low exercise intensities, depending on what the athlete just ate. However, if we increase the exercise intensity enough, but not too much, we see blood lactate concentration increase to a new stable concentration. Now we are crossing the Low Intensity Threshold (LIT). At this intensity(s), the blood lactate is not out of control. Lactate removal or clearance can also increase so that a new steady state is achieved. The highest blood lactate concentration that can be maintained during a 30 minute exercise bout corresponds to what we call the Maximal Lactate Steady State or MLSS. This lactate concentration varies with the sport. It is higher in activities that have a smaller active muscle mass like speed skating and cycling (4-6 mM). It is lower in rowing and XC which employ more active muscle mass simultaneosly (3-4 mM). There are also inter-athlete differences, of course. The intensity at which it occurs varies with training status. When the intensity climbs above the MLSS workload, then we have exceeded the High Intensity Threshold (HIT) on the chart. At these intensities, lactic acid concentration would continue to climb over time until the concentration becomes high enough to inhibit muscle contraction and causes fatigue. The rate of accumulation will depend on how high above this threshold the intensity is and how effective the body is at clearing blood lactate. We have growing evidence to indicate that the best endurance athletes have higher lactate clearance rates. They get rid of lactic acid faster. So LIT represents an intensity at which blood lactate begins to rise. Between LIT and FIT we are working in a range where the increased production is accomodated for by increased clearance by non-working muscles, the heart (a lactic acid lover), the liver etc. HIT is the traditional red line, the exercise intensity above which fatigue is just a matter of minutes! How much time can be the difference between winning and losing.

The Basic Recipe
Here are the basic philosophies of the Norwegian system with some explanation and comments along the way:

1. Build the program around weekly high intensity training/intervals!
XC country skiing races are won by athletes with VERY high maximal aerobic capacity. This capacity requires both genetics and hard training. The athlete should build the program around TWO hard/interval sessions per week. In general, the emphasis is on long intervals in the 3 to 8 minute range. This 2 hard session/week rule of thumb is a consistent feature from the junior level all the way up to the international class. For example, here is some actual training data for three elite Norwegian skiers when they were juniors (18-19 years old), during the competitive season.
Vegard Ulvang: 1.9 interval/hard training sessions pr week (including competitions)
Anders Eide: 1.6 " "
Anita Moen: 1.9 " "

All three were averaging 8.5 hours/week volume during the racing season at that age (a volume which is significantly reduced from what they do during the preparation period). Interval/hard sessions are part of the training program beginning in August and through the competitive season, which concludes in early April. The only period where we see a deemphasis on high intensity work is during May, June, and July. So, when I get asked the question, "when should I start doing intervals?," I usually reply "two months ago." Hard training bouts at high physiological intensity are an important part of the training program most of the time. What will change is the absolute intensity (and duration in some cases) of these bouts as the athlete approaches competitive form.

Similarly, international medal winning athletes like Marit Mikkelsplass and Kristen Skjeldal, who are 10 years older or more and competing at the international level, are still averaging 2 hard sessions per week, according to their coach. So, the number of high intensity sessions/week does not increase over the development of the athlete. However, with the improved basic endurance that they develop over years of increasing training volume, the quality of these hard training sessions does improve. This is a fundamental concept of the preparation of XC skiers. High volume, low-intensity work builds the basis for extending the athlete's performance capacity with the hard sessions. The two are complementary. At the elite levels, both are necessary for success.

The interval/hard sessions have the primary effect of stressing the cardiovascular system. We think this is very important for increasing/maintaining a high maximal oxygen consumption. These sessions also are important for stressing the lactate clearance and buffering systems which are stressed during competitions. High intensity interval training IS NOT an ideal method for inducing muscular adaptations such as mitochondrial proliferation and increased capillary density. The adaptations induced by high intensity sessions occur relatively quickly, but are also more quickly lost with inadequate volume of high intensity training.

2. Do (most of) the remainder of the endurance training volume each week at LOW (below the LIT) intensities.
The volume of this work does change and can be quite high, depending on where the skier is in their development. At the extreme, these sessions can be 4-5 hours long in elite athletes who are accumulating 25 hours a week of training volume. The key concept is that the long distance training is also critical but should not diminish the quality of the interval sessions. If something has to be reduced, it is the low intensity volume, not the interval volume or quality. The operative Norwegian word here is "overskudd" or overshoot. We want the athlete to feel psychologically ready and be physically rested to perform those hard, high quality sessions. The low intensity training is vital because it builds the muscular endurance foundation necessary to allow the cardiovascular system and lactate removal systems to be stretched to their limits during the intervals without overstressing the recovery capacity of the athlete.

This "hard core" philosophy is a departure from thinking and practice 10-15 years ago, when the training volume was considered the key element.

The primary adaptation acheived with a high volume of low-moderate intensity training is at the muscular level. Mitochondrial density increases, capillary density increases, and cyctosolic enzymes involved in fat metabolism are enhanced. It appears that these adaptations can take years to be fully realized. It is important to point out a few points here. First, despite the fact that the very best junior skiers have VO2 max values that are similar to the best senior skiers, no junior skier has ever won a world title. The increasing training volume that is adapted to over several years of high level training seems to be important, even after VO2 max has plateaued. Second, an alarming trend that has occurred over the last several years is that top skiers are reaching their peaks later in life. And, junior skiers who take the step up to the World cup level are taking longer to achieve good results. In Norway, it has been suggested that one of the problems is that junior skiers do not put in the training volume they used to. Too many cars and busses. This is a distraction that Kenyan children have avoided so far, to the demise of the western distance running establishment who chases them from a widening distance.

The Progressive Overload Principle In Action
Total training volume increases progressively over the developmental cycle of a cross country skier. Here are some guidelines for yearly training volume (hours of actual training), in relation to age. These numbers come from material presented by current Norwegian men's national team coach Eric Røste.
Annual Training Volume in Relation to Age:

Keep in mind that this is a progression based on long term development. The late starting athlete is not going to be able to automatically handle those high training loads, just because they are older! When the training is broken down into percentages of hard and "easy" training, it comes out to around 15 to 20% hard and 75-80% "easy" or "steady." Coach Røste also points out that there is some hidden intensive training that occurs during the long steady state bouts (big terrain changes). I hesitate to use the term "easy" this describe this low intensity form of training. The actual Norwegian term used is "langkjøring" or long running. Distance, not time is of the essence here. A 3 hour trail run in the woods, kayak session, or climbing-intensive hike with back pack in the mountains is not "easy" if have only been doing "60 minutes and out" training!

3. In General, Avoid "Middle of The Chart" Intensities.
This should not be taken too dogmatically. Sometimes the intensity climbs during a steady state workout as a function of the terrain, or getting chased by a dog! And even the top skiers say that sometimes it is a nice variation to pick up the pace just a bit on the long tours. However, the main point is important:

"Train too hard on the easy days, and soon you will be training too easy on the hard days!"
Ok, after reading so far, two questions might be swirling about in your brain:

1. "If interval training is so important, why not do more?"

and

2. "Why not do more of the low intensity distance training at higher intensity, or in other words, what is wrong with the "pretty tough" medium intensity workout?" Whatever happened to "No Pain, No Gain?"

I think answering both requires not only a knowledge of muscle and heart physiology, but an understanding of the "whole athlete". Historically, many people have made the mistake of thinking of training one-dimensionally. By this I mean they only think of training as a means to induce the positive physiological changes that result in better performance. This type of thinking rapidly leads to the "more intensity is better" or, more precisely, "more intervals are better" mentality. In the lab, numerous sport scientists have designed short training studies with untrained subjects and demonstrated that those who train at higher intensity improve more in the short run. I have done it myself, having made rats run hard intervals 5 days a week before! Clearly, intensity is a critical determinant of the training response. BUT, pushing intensity too far, too often leads to big problems when we try to extrapolate to the long term development of the elite endurance athlete.

Training must be thought of "two-dimensionally." The first dimension is training as inducer of positive change. The second dimension is training as a stress that does cellular damage, alters brain chemistry, and disturbs hormone levels, negative consequences all in all. When we realize that the training sword cuts both ways, then the "magic" of ensuring the long term progress of the elite athlete can be understood as an exercise in maximizing the "Benefits to Risk ratio," both from week to week and over the long haul.

The answer to both "why not more interval sessions?" and "why so much low intensity steady state work?" is similar I think. I call it avoiding regression towards the mean. If we try to do hard/interval training (read: high lactate accumulation over many minutes) too frequently, we either break down completely or we end up performing many of the interval sessions at inadequate intensity. It can be either the head or the body that cracks, but the result is the same. If we instead try to turn up the intensity on those "long tour sessions," they become too stressful and too limited by glycogen availability, and we shorten them.

As a related point, one of the best ways to end up overtraining is to have too little variation in training intensity (coined "training monotony" in some nice research on speedskaters and cyclists by Dr. Carl Foster). Athletes can eventually handle high workloads if they successfully avoid letting all the workouts drift towards a middle of the road intensity.

Is this training structure unique to XC skiing?
I would have to say YES and NO right now. In general terms, I would say no. This philosophy of training is generally consistent with observations in rowing, cycling and running (though perhaps less so with running as it relates to the Kenyans). It looks very similar to the current pattern in international rowing. However, some might argue that the high volume of low intensity work is particularly evident in rowing and XC skiing. If that is true, I propose that these sports ARE unique in an important way. They require the simultaneous work of all four limbs. This is an exercise situation that humans have evolved away from. The human cardiovascular system was not designed to support the energy demands of quadrapedal movement. We just don't have the big pumps like sled dogs and race-horses. So, when the upper limbs are added to the mix, the sympathetic stress load is higher at any given absolute work load. This may mean that higher volumes of low intensity work are a better way to train the upper limbs and lower limbs simultaneously while avoiding overtraining. Another approach is to spend more time isolating the upper-body during endurance training. This is an issue I will discuss more in other articles!

A SUMMARY of the "UNIFIED FIELD THEORY" for XC ski endurance training.
1. Build the the typical training week around 2 hard/high intensity training sessions.
2. Increase the total volume of training with primarily low intensity work at not more than 70-75% % or so of HR max. Don't view these long, low intensity sessions as valueless, and don't adopt a "harder must be better" approach!
3. Avoid a training condition in which each session begins to take on the same medium intensity.

Fight Night - Conditioning Methods of World Champion Evander Holyfield

Conditioning Methods of World Champion Evander Holyfield
By Frederick C. Hatfield
From http://www.sportsci.org/news/news9709/Hatfield.html
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Not strictly endurance sport but a really good insight into the specific preparation of an elite athlete
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Training Strategy for Evander Holyfield

The time-honoured -- but unfortunately ill-conceived -- practice of long, slow distance work as a conditioning regimen for boxers is what Evander learned from the training dinosaurs of his youth, and had continued with for years. When I was brought aboard his team, prior to his fight against Buster Douglas in 1990, Evander was in sad physical condition considering the specific demands of his sport. I immediately tested Evander's responses to three minutes of boxing specific total body work (see the 3-minute drill description below), which brought his heart rate above 180 bpm. He needed a full 7 or 8 minutes to recover back to 120 bpm after this single bout, analogous to one hard boxing round. What was worse, after doing five of the 3-minute drills with a one minute rest between, his heart rate remained above 150 between bouts. In short, he did not have the capacity to sustain a high performance level for even half of the duration of a professional fight.

My responsibilities were limited to the physical conditioning component of Evander's training, which had to be integrated into his skills and sparring training. Boxers require not only agility, speed and strength in short, explosive bursts, but also a high level of anaerobic strength endurance in order to perform these bursts over and over for ten rounds or more. I designed Evander's training regimen and nutritional protocol to reflect these all-important elements. The road work ended promptly and completely.

After the 12 week cycle described below, Evander recovered quickly from intense activity, even after a series of ten, 3-minute drills. His agility and limit strength levels increased, and his lean Baudot increased from 208 to 218.

The conditioning program described below was the program I personally supervised Evander through prior to the Buster Douglas fight. He also used the same training cycle in preparation for his most recent fights against Mike Tyson, but I was not there personally to oversee his training. This preparation was supervised by a friend of mine in the strength coaching profession who assures me the Evander followed the prescribed program precisely.

General Points of Conditioning for Boxers

There are several general concepts which helped to shape the specific program that I designed for Evander. First, the work profile of boxing is repeated 3-minute rounds of activity, often with very high intensity bursts within a round. The rounds are separated by one minute rest intervals. Thus, the relative contribution of anaerobic energy release pathways is considered extremely important, with aerobic capacity playing an important role in terms of facilitating rapid recovery. Extreme conditioning is required to fight effectively for ten intense, 3-minute rounds and anaerobic endurance is a key aspect that cannot be overlooked. Short of an early round knockout, boxers cannot afford to win only the early rounds of a fight. They must maintain an intense, but measured pace throughout a long and competitive bout. So conditioning counts almost as much as skill for boxing success. Optimal physical conditioning provides the platform from which the skills can be used. The best way to simulate the demands of boxing is to use conditioning methods which mimic the work/rest ratio and integrated bursts of power that typify boxing.

Boxing is a highly individual sport. Fighters possess unique styles that create specific physical demands. Some rely on explosive strength ("power"), for others it's starting strength ("speed"), and for most a combination of the two ("speed-strength"). True champions alter their style in a way that will make them more able to attack the weaknesses of any given opponent.

Improvements in specific capacities can be made, but they are only helpful if integrated into the fighter's style. For example, extensive footwork exercises may not benefit the power puncher who fights stationary and looks to deliver a blow that starts with the legs and drives right through the opponent (and wins that way). Similarly, a fighter who relies on punching speed and fast footwork should not put all his training hours into heavy bag work and muscle mass development. So, the program designed must not only be specific to boxing, but also specific to the boxer.

Ideally, the boxing punch consists of a synchronization between arm, leg, and trunk actions. The punching movement of a boxer consists of leg extension, trunk rotation, and arm extension, in succession. The more effective the coordination between arm, leg and trunk movements, the greater the impact force of a punch. The leg muscles play a vital role in the power developed in this sequence. Increasing leg force development and coordinating it with trunk and arm action is probably the most effective way to increase punching power.

Because boxing is an explosive sport, ballistic training methods are especially effective during weight training for boxing. This kind of training method requires the athlete to perform each repetition explosively, with maximal intended velocity. Finally, in my view, the best way to weight train for competitive boxing is via a cycled training schedule. This type of training schedule integrates workouts and exercises that will meet all the basic performance demands of boxing, strength, power, speed, agility, and strength endurance.

Evander's Conditioning Plan

The twelve week macro cycle was broken down into four mesocycles of three weeks duration. Each 3-week period had specific goals, and each subsequent 3-week period built upon what was established in the preceding periods. The conditioning goals for each mesocycle were as follows:

Weeks One, Two and Three

1. Maximize muscle mass -- Evander needed to increase his body mass from under 210 to 220 pounds.

2. Minimize fat accumulation during hypertrophy phase (dietary strategies including "zig-zag" diet were employed).

3. Improve general strength and fitness foundation, including moderate aerobic threshold intensity training.

4. Begin training to increase anaerobic threshold.

5. Introduce light plyometrics.

Weeks Four, Five and Six

1. Maximize limit strength of muscles/movement used in boxing (emphasis on legs).

2. Increase anaerobic strength endurance (maximum force output time after time).

3. Begin training specific skills (weaknesses) in earnest.

4. Concentrate on between-workout recovery.

5. Introduce explosive strength and starting strength with moderate plyometrics.

Weeks Seven, Eight and Nine

1. Maximize explosive strength.

2. Specific event skills must predominate all skills training sessions.
3. Continue anaerobic threshold training.

4. Maximize between-workout recovery.

5. Incorporate weighted plyometrics and hill/stairs running.

Weeks Ten, Eleven and Twelve

1. Maximize ballistic strength (starting strength) using "shock" plyometrics (built on a 9-week base of plyometrics progression).

2. Heavy emphasis on anaerobic threshold.

3. Maximize between-workout recovery ability.

4. Heavy emphasis on skills.

5. Emphasize speed, agility, ballistic movements.

6. "Overspend" drills in final preparatory period.

7. Begin "complex training" (description below) as a replacement for normal weight training.

Evander's Training Techniques and Sequences

(abbreviated terms are described after the table)

Explanation of Training Terms and Details

Boxing Skills & Sparring: Evander's personal boxing skills regimen is up to him and his coach. However, Evander's coach and I communicated to establish precisely what physical and mental capabilities this form of periodized conditioning would provide Evander. In this way, Evander's boxing skills were in perfect sync with his fight strategy and his conditioning efforts right up to the fight. Use of the heavy bag early in the 12 week macro cycle was carefully monitored due to the severe ballistic nature of this training medium.

IE Impulse/Inertial Machine: This machine is used to develop starting strength in jabs, uppercuts, hooks. It is tough and requires total body coordination. Evander's problem was that he did not use good total body coordinations in his punches. He tended to be an "arm-puncher." This training apparatus was employed to help Evander develop this motor sequence and use his legs more when punching.

UBE Cybex Upper Body Exerciser (upper body exercycle)

VersaBall: This is a more comfortable variation of the old medicine ball. Upper body plyometrics teaches explosive and starting strength in all punches and requires total body coordination. VersaBall throws were made from the following positions.
-right and left jab positions (single arm)
-between legs (double arm, for back)
-overhead (double arm, for midsection)
-chest pass (double arm)

Weight Training: Initially (during mesocycle one), Evander followed a modified bodybuilding and basic strengthening program using a "variable split" format. A, B and C specify whether the workout is to be a very easy one (A), a moderately difficult one (B), or a high intensity one (C). This part of Evander's program was monitored by Lee Haney, multiple "Mr. Olympia" bodybuilding champion, and a former student of mine.Evander's Variable Split Exercise Listing
The precise schedule of when to do an A, B or C workout was matched to Evander's recuperative abilities.

In mesocycle two, Evander switched to a sports-specific weight training program.In mesocycle three Evander switched to "complex training." This form of training targets limit strength, explosive strength and starting strength/amortization in one "set" of exercises. The exercises are performed back to back and include jumps, bar exercises, and depth jumps--in that order. The function of the complex method is to peak the athlete. My experience has been that it is a better peaking program than simple bar exercises or plyometric exercises alone.

3-Minute Drill: 3-minutes of combinations of forward and backward sprints, skipping, hopping, jumping and "carioca" (football) drills for both upper and lower body.Start out with only three, 3-minute drills with one minute rest between each gradually (over the first mesocycle) work up to six 3-minute drills with one minute rest between Take pulse after each drill (target: 180 bpm), and again after one minute rest (target: 110 bpm). Below are the instructions given to the trainer responsible for monitoring Evander's 3-minute drill training and plyometrics sequences.Bear in mind that this drill is NONSTOP -- pushing him to the absolute limits of his anaerobic tolerance. Keep pounding it into him "CHECKMARK! CHECKMARK!" on all of his movements, including every step he takes, every jump, hop, skip and start/stop. "Checkmark" is a phrase known to all of the athletes I work with. It reminds them to keep the amortization phase (transition from down to up or backward to forward) of each movement pinpoint sharp, the way a "checkmark" looks.The 3-Minute Drill Sequence:
-Jog or step-ups to warm up, then
-sprint 40 yards
-stop and sprint backwards
-stop and sprint backwards
-jump in place high ten times
-get in a pushup position and give me your legs
-run forward on your hands
-run backward on your hands
-run left
-run right
-jump up and down on your hands 10 times
-stop... get up... carioca left 40 yards
-carioca right back to me
-skip 40 yards
-skip backwards back to me

Each 3-minute drill is performed on verbal commands from the trainer. Evander must go for a solid 3 minutes at a heart rate of 180 beats per minute (minimum). After a one minute rest (getting his heart rate back to 110-120) repeat, rest, and repeat again.

Notice that jumps, hops and skips should be performed with "checkmark" intensity, as should every single move Evander makes -- POUND that thought into his head every minute of these drills. Always tape Evander's wrists and wear gloves (protection from debris and potholes)!Plyometrics This is a way of improving starting strength, explosive strength and amortization (the "checkmark") through total concentrated force output in every move Evander makes. On days where the midday workout is limited to plyometrics, they should be relaxed, with much rest between bouts, with each bout only lasting 10-20 seconds.

The Plyometrics Sequence
1. jog or do stepups to warm up
2. easy (not "all-out") jumps, hops, skips, and then
3. do 20 yards of skips
4. again
5. hops like a kangaroo
6. again
7. repeat 3, 4, 5, and 6 backwards
8. one-legged hops 30 yards (both feet)
9. hops on hands 10 yards
10. repeat 9 backwards
11. repeat 9 left and right

In second mesocycle, do all of the above with a weighted vest.In third mesocycle, incorporate bench hops, 10 reps.In third mesocycle, incorporate twisting skips 40 yards, and twisting the other way back 40 yards.

Jake White

Interview with Jake White: World Cup winning Rugby Coach

From http://www.carteblanche.co.za/

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Date : 11 November 2007

Producer : Victoria Cullinan

Presenter : Derek Watts

Researcher : Quereshini Naidoo



It was the match that millions gathered to watch, it was the match that every player in the Springbok squad had played their hearts out to be in, and it was the match that Coach Jake White had dreamed about for 17 years.



Jake White (Springbok Coach): “We wanted to play on the Tuesday. We were so ready to play. That whole week dragged and dragged and then the 78 minutes flew by. I realised that is it. They can’t score twice. They had to score nine points and I realised that physically they couldn’t run the length of the field and back again in two minutes. I realised that we had won the World Cup. The amazing thing was that in those two minutes I thanked the coaches, I thanked the reserves, thanked the non-paying reserves, thanked the security guards, I had time to walk down the stands and get to the field. It was almost like that went in slow motion.”



Jake and the team came back with the most coveted trophy in rugby.



Euphoric South Africans hailed the sporting heroes. Eleven days later while everyone in country was still basking in the glory, Jake held a press conference to tell the world that he was quitting.



[Press Conference] Jake: “I walk away with no regrets but with plenty of sadness.”



A visibly upset Jake told the world that he had not been given the option of renewing his contract as Bok coach.



[Press Conference] Jake: “I’m not surprised because there is no history of loyalty and trust in South African Rugby.”



South African Rugby accused him of playing the victim, claiming he had missed the deadline. His job was advertised while Jake was at the World Cup. The deadline was the 19 October – the day before the Final.



Jake: “One of the things that I always realised in this job is that you are going to get fired, that’s inevitable.”



Jake has had a roller coaster ride as the Springbok Coach and now he has written a book about his rocky relationship with the SA Rugby Union.


Jake: “When I heard BA 643 to London and then to Paris, and I got on that plane and I was on my way to the World Cup, it was probably the first time I realised that I had survived. I never knew what to expect, Derek.”



He has faced accusations of racism, been threatened with dismissal a number of times, his coaching decisions questioned and he even faced attempted blackmail. It all started at the end of 2003 when Rudolph Straeuli was fired.



Derek Watts (Carte Blanche presenter): “The call asking Jake to apply for one of the most demanding and controversial coaching jobs in the world came out of the blue and strangely enough while he was at the Canberra home of a South African star who headed down under, Clyde Rathbone.”



Jake: “And it was quite ironic because I was literally on my way there to see what other opportunities there were abroad. I finished two years with the under-21s. I got the feeling that I probably wasn’t going to go any higher. So I was looking at going to get some knowledge in Australia and then maybe going to go coach in Europe.”



He had a tough task. The once mighty team was ranked sixth in the world. They had suffered a long string of defeats, been subjected to the humiliations of Kamp Staaldraad and had collapsed in the quarterfinals of 2003 World Cup. Jake had to reintroduce a culture of winning into the demoralised team.



Derek: “Jake, you couldn’t have asked for a better start, I mean, winning the Tri-Nations in 2004.”



Jake: “There’s no doubt winning the Tri-Nations and getting South Africa behind you again because we had come off the disaster of the 2003 campaign.”



Then they made a clean sweep at the International Rugby Awards, winning coach, player and team of the year. Jake was rewarded with an extension of his contract up until the 2007 World Cup. But the honeymoon was soon over. Jake had constant rows over attempts to meddle in his team selections. In June 2005, during the French Tour of South Africa he was ordered to substitute Schalk Burger with Solly Tyibilika. He refused.



Jake: “There was a bit of sentiment that Solly should play because he comes form that area. I said, ‘You can’t be making emotional decisions like that. We play for the South African public ... you can’t leave out the player that has been voted the world’s best rugby player because you are playing in PE.’”



Derek: “So there was a crisis meeting with Bryan van Rooyen?”Jake: “I didn’t go to that meeting. But I was told that on Sunday I was going to get fired. We played on Saturday, in fact, some of the guys got text messages from journos saying win or lose he’s gone.”



The Boks won the match and Jake stayed. The confrontations and threats would set the tone for the next two years.



Derek: “2006, you call the year from hell?”



Jake: “That was close to it Derek, let me tell you. We lost seven test matches. We lost disastrously in Brisbane. I had never experienced that Derek. Even as a school teacher I had never lost a game by 49 points to nil.”



Derek: “You were booed?”



Jake: “That was probably the least that happened to me, being booed.”



It was the worst ever defeat for the Boks against Australia. Jakes relationship the board had deteriorated so badly that he was being publicly criticised.



Jake: “I remember reading an article saying that the coach is in a 49 metre hole and it was written by a South African Rugby employee.”



It was in November that things hit rock bottom. After losing seven tests in a row, The Blue Bulls Rugby Union declared a vote of no confidence in Jake. In middle of the tour Jake had to fly back from England to defend himself. He was made to wait for five hours like a naughty schoolboy outside the headmaster’s office before he faced a grilling from the presidents’ council.



Jake: “I literally flew all the way back for a 45 minute meeting. I will never forget the one president said that he goes to a lot of bars and restaurants and he just knows that the people he speaks to there don’t think John is a good captain ... what do I think? I thought it was incredible that I got asked that question.”



Derek: “Jake it is funny now but at the time you must have thought that this could be the end of the road?”



Jake: “I always knew that they wanted to. But I never thought they would fire. I was always fortunate to have the players’ backing and to have the sponsors’ backing. Those were the two groups of people I had to keep happy because those are the two groups that know if you are doing your job or not.”



Derek: “And your management team?”



Jake: “There is no doubt about that. I never had to look over my shoulder to see if there were people trying to take my job or sabotage something within us.”



Derek: “What do you say to critics who say that you made all the right noises about transformation but that you didn’t deliver?”



Jake: “Well, I would say that they are living in a dream world, Derek. I picked a player of colour for every position in my four years, except flyhalf. The reality is that I have done more than any other coach has ever done in terms of being representative at test level.”



Jake was ordered to use more black players but he never had a strong pool to draw on.



Jake: “It’s very difficult at national level to make it more representative if you are not going to get people in the provinces playing there.”



Jake suspected that President Mbeki’s name was often used to pressurise him into making certain decisions.



Jake: “The reality is if our government wanted to instil quota systems, and if they wanted to make sure there was x-amount of players, it would be law. People who say that the government interferes or this person interferes, you know it is nonsense. The reality is that there are certain people that are involved in the decision making in rugby and they use the powers that they have to put pressure. They continually say that the government says or they say but nobody knows who ‘they’ are.”



He got so fed up that he made an appointment to have tea with the President to discuss his problems. But Oregan Hoskins accused him of bringing the game into disrepute. Jake was forced to cancel.



Derek: “With all the niggles and the full blown confrontations of the selection of black players, it was ironic that one of the biggest dust ups, of his four year coaching career, was over a white boy.”



In May, team manager Zola Yeye and President Oregan Hoskins announced the 46 man World Cup training squad. The only problem was that Jake had selected only 45 players. Luke Watson had been added in just before the announcement.



Derek: “How did you feel?”



Jake: “I was flipping disgusted. I was livid to be honest with you. I thought it is unbelievable how this happens in this country you know.”



Derek: “What is the history between you and Luke?”



Jake: “It’s quite simple. I don’t think he is a good rugby player. I think he is the most overrated rugby player I have seen at this level and that’s it, full-stop.”



Derek: “Jake, who were the officials putting you under this pressure?”



Jake: “Pumelela Tshume, who is the chairman of the board. Oregan Hoskins, who is the president. Mike Stofile, who is the vice president. I think there is no doubt about it looking back there was an agenda on their side because of the connections they had with his father. They felt that they had to push him to get him into a team.”



Luke’s father, Cheeky Watson, was an anti-apartheid activist in the 70s who refused to play rugby for whites’ only teams. He joined a black team and played with Zola Yeye. Today Cheeky is a business consultant with friends in high places.



Derek: “And your own team manager Zola Yeye attacked you and the two other selectors.”



Jake: “Ja, I mean he did. Zola knows the family very well. I think there is a story that he actually held the little guy when he was born. So there is a deep rooted connection there as well.”



This intervention was tame in comparison to an offer Jake apparently received a couple of months earlier from the Watson family themselves. He got called to a meeting with their lawyer.



Derek: “There were all sorts of conditions laid down. Luke will be selected for the squad. He will play in a test. He will go to the World Cup. And the bonus for you was that you would keep your job after 2007?”



Jake: “The bonus wasn’t that I would keep my job because there were no guarantees about that. The bonus was that I would go the World Cup. The bottom line was that if this doesn’t happen you might not go to the World Cup yourself. So it was a hell of a thing to hear. I thought, Where is this coming from now?’ Then as I walked away I thought, ‘What way do I go now, is it worth throwing away three-and-a-half years of work literally before a World Cup?’”



The lawyer also allegedly warned Jake that he was being watched, his phones tapped and that he was going to be linked to a ‘third force’ that supposedly ran SA Rugby.



Derek: “The biggest surprise for me was that you were prepared to accept it.”



Jake: “That was the tough thing. I went with my lawyer and afterwards at lunch I sat with him and I said, ‘Listen, what do we do now because this is big hey?’”But the next day they withdrew the deal. Two months later Luke’s name was added to the list. He made his debut in a test against Samoa in Bloemfontein. Fifty minutes into the match Luke was injured and had to leave the field. The matter of Luke Watson was never brought up again.



Derek: “How did the players treat him?”



Jake: “There’s one thing you can’t do and that is bullshit a rugby player. They know if they rate a guy or not. They also found it awkward because they knew under what circumstances he had come into the team. I remember Derek some of the senior players came into my room during the week and said they have got a problem because they are not going to initiate him. I said, ‘What do you mean?’ and they just said they don’t think he is worthy of getting initiated because he wasn’t picked and he got forced in and all that sort of thing.”



Derek: “What is the Springbok initiation?”



Jake: “It is not something we talk about obviously. It is an induction into the Springbok family.”



Derek: “You can’t tell us what they do?”



Jake: “No, I can’t tell you what they do. It is something that is unique to South Africa. It is basically a passing down of traditions from Doc Craven and his dog.”



Derek: “You don’t get smacked on the butt?”



Jake: “There is a little bit of that but it is nothing like playing a test match, so it’s okay.”



For once Jake’s selection of the World Cup squad in July was accepted without a murmur.



Jake: “I got the feeling that they sort of said, ‘Let him go to the World Cup and when he gets back it is finished. We are going to move. We don’t really need to be fighting with this guy too much more. We don’t really get on with him all that much. He doesn’t get on with us. So let him go to the World Cup and if he loses in the quarter-finals or the semi-finals then we are all happy. Then we move.’ They didn’t think that maybe South Africa could win the World Cup. I think that is what has happened ... we came back winners. But I did say that I don’t have energy to continue on fighting with you guys for another four years.”



Rumours are flying about what Jakes next career move will be. Australia, England, Wales have all been mentioned.



Derek: “So where to now for Jake White?”



Jake: “I don’t want to go. I really would like to add to the brand over the next few years. There are some great times ahead for these players if they stick together. For the next coach I say stick to the same principle I did in my four years. You are going to get fired. If you get fired make sure you do because of the way you want to do and not the way everybody else wants you to do it. What happens is if you listen to all the other voices and it goes wrong they fire you anyway. So you might as well go to bed at night knowing you are going to get fired but it was because of what you wanted to do.”

Swimming with Randy

On The Pool Deck – Swimming with Randy
By Jeff Grace
From http://www.swimmingcoach.org
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It was a morning after a night rain fell cooling the normally hot and humid Austin air that I arrived at the Circle C Ranch Community Pool. I walked on deck at 5:45 am to find a man staring intensely down that pool. This is exactly how I pictured Randy Reese from the descriptions I had read in previous years and from his past swimmers and friends, a man extremely confident and extremely focused. I introduced myself to him, he said a quick “Hi,” and continued to stare down the pool completely concentrated on how he was going to orchestrate the morning’s events.

The swimmers began to come into the pool, walking out in the dark morning gathering their equipment and their practice on single sheets of paper which they soaked and placed on the deck behind their respective lanes. As soon as Randy began to describe the first set the focus of the athletes turned directly to their coach for they knew the displeasure that they would experience if they didn’t. Randy gave his instructions and quickly shouted “We are going on the 45 minutes,” which was 2 minutes from the time on the clock. Each swimmer entered the water on time for once again it was an obvious expectation that no one was going to challenge.

This was my introduction to the Circle C Swim Club, which has grown from a seven member team to a team of 175 and one of the premier clubs in the world coached by one of the premier coaches in the world. I spent the next week with Randy on deck for 8 hours each day (Randy stayed on deck 9¼ hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays) in the hot Austin sun.

At the end of the week I spent with Randy, we traveled to a meet at SMU in Dallas where we watched a great deal of swimming and a prize fight on TV that Saturday evening, Gatti vs Ward III. Watching the fight with Randy can sum up the time and what I learned about his views on swimming and life.

As we were watching one of the warm-up bouts between two heavy weights, Randy articulated how he felt about boxers and boxing in general, “I’ll tell ya something, this is the toughest sport there is. No sport tougher. These guys are the toughest SOBs in sport. Don’t ya think?”

“No argument from me, Randy.”

“Head to head, they have to kick the crap out of each other. It’s not like swimming if they let up they will hurt more. If a swimmer backs down they will only hurt less, there is no sport tougher, these guys are big time.”

This would sum up how Randy feels people need to approach things in their life and swimming if they are to be successful: plain and simple they need to be “tough SOBs.”
“Matt Cetlinski, now there was one tough swimmer, he left his heart in the lane after every set, gave you everything off of every wall; he was big time.” Randy has a simple philosophy when it comes to swimming fast and achieving athletic potential: you have to learn how to be tough.

The practices and the way that Randy plans, are based on the premise that you can teach people to be tough. One of the most consistent pieces of equipment that Randy uses in his training is kicking and swimming with shoes. His philosophy of perseverance and toughness comes out when he describes why he does this training, “The shoes just kicks the crap out of them, you really have to bust your butt, get the feet kicking large and fast to get going. Everyone can make one minute per fifty that is about perseverance and toughness; they just need to learn to get it out of themselves.”

He not only sells this philosophy to the athletes but he is up front with the parents in the club that this is something that each athlete needs if they are going to reach their potential in the sport. Randy is extremely upfront with the parents and they respect that. As his brother Eddie expresses, “When you get old you can say what you want to parents as long as you say it nicely. Randy is at a point where he can say what he wants however he wants.” In a discussion with one of the parents of an athlete whose attitude he described to the boy in the morning as “Your attitude is as bad as I think I have ever seen anyone’s,” he expressed. “He just needs to bust his butt for three weeks, go through a lot of pain and once he gets through it he will feel the same paces that he thought were hard as easy; he just needs to be tougher.”

Back to the main event now where ESPN is showing highlights from Gatti vs Ward I and II. “These little guys have skill. This is the toughest sport in the world. You have to be an athlete to do this. “Absolutely these guys need to be quick and are so skilled. I love watching the little guys fight (maybe because I’m little),” I responded. “I’ll tell you something - these guys are big time.”

Skill and technical efficiency are two things that are at the core of Randy’s philosophy of swimming. He believes that the best performers will most often be the best technically as well. Through his personal experience he has seen that the best pick up on technique the quickest, which is a huge sign of their potential. “Tracy Caulkins was just amazing with it. You would tell her to put her hand in this way or that way and it would be done the first time. She would stay with the change consistently until we figured out if it worked.”

The major aspect of Circle Cs’ technical training is the use of stroke drills. Randy believes that you must change technique through drills and that there must be a large focus put on specific drills. “To truly teach technique you must use drills a lot and consistently.” Randy will most often use a variation of drills in all of his workouts. The most common way that he uses these drills is to mix them with swims so that the athletes take the time to implement the changes that he is trying to make through each drill.
As Gatti and Ward were battling in the first half of the fight using creativity and skill, my mind switched to some of the creative thoughts on teaching technique Randy shared with me through the time I had spent with him. “Do you think if you were able to turn the lights off in the pool and use glow sticks so the swimmers could see the wall but nothing else, that their feel for the water would improve?” When it comes to teaching technique this is only one example of how Randy has a large tendency to think outside the box and do what ever it will take to make sure that the swimmers are going to learn how to do things right.

It is now in the seventh round of the fight. Gatti is continuing to dominate, despite hitting Ward in the hip with a right hook during the third round re-breaking his hand. Randy inquires, “What do you think, is it age or fitness that is not allowing this guy to take advantage of Gatti’s broken hand and win the fight?”

“Hard to say, Randy. To me it looks like the fitness is the major factor, but his age might have something to do with it.”

“Yeah, probably fitness. These guys are the toughest athletes out there. You have to be fit to be in this sport, a real athlete.”

One of the things you realize when spending any amount of time with the group of Circle C athletes during their training is that they are one fit group. Randy believes in working hard and being fit, including endurance, speed and strength.

When you ask him how he plans practices, his response is “I usually write out a whole bunch of stuff and than realize how hard it is and tone it down. It usually comes out to a point where they still think it is really hard.” It is incredible to see the intensity that the athletes train with day in and out. Randy judges the training by its’ intensity, since he feels volume can be looked at in many different ways, dependent on what components a coach feels important (kick, drill, swim etc...). Since he feels that the amount of rest in a practice is a better indicator of volume, intensity is what he uses to determine the training overload each day. Randy uses this sustained intensity to build the endurance base which he believes is required in all swimming events.

To develop strength and speed Randy uses a lot of creativity in his planning. One example of this is how he uses pulleys and shoes. Power workouts using this equipment are done two to three times a week in a short course yards pool set up. He uses both shoes and pulleys to develop both strength endurance and raw power by covering distances from 25s to 200s.

Dryland training at Circle C is limited by their lack of facilities such as a weight room and storage for equipment. For this reason the dryland is based on simple muscular endurance that has a mix of weights, abs, medicine balls and jumps. By having his dryland set up this way Randy also avoids one of the problems he sees with lifting heavy more than once a week. “When you lift heavy more than once a week, they start getting too big and too sore to swim properly.” These endurance based dryland workouts take between 40-45 minutes and are performed before each afternoon practice.

Once the fight concluded, Gatti had beaten Ward by a unanimous decision in a fight that the announcers felt would go down as another great showdown in the history books.
“What did you think of the fight?” I asked Randy.

“I didn’t think it was that good. I don’t know what the announcers are talking about. It wasn’t that good, but man this is the toughest sport there is.”

Expectations are always high when you are around Randy. From doing sets correctly and taking pride in one’s work to expecting himself to get off his butt and get in better shape, Randy expects the highest level of effort from everyone around him day in and day out. Communicating these expectations in a formal way through team meetings is the best way that Randy feels you can get your point across, “I need to get back to having meetings again to explain my expectations and let them know where we are going. We need to do this at least once every two weeks so that the team can create an environment where everyone is buying in.”

One of the things that many great coaches have been able to do is to convey high expectations on a daily basis and be extremely hard on their athletes, while at the same time letting the athletes know how much they care. “Once a swimmer swims with Randy for 6 months they will lay on the railroad tracks for him. They will complain about him and his ways, but they will understand how much he cares and go to the wall for him. ”This is how his brother Eddie describes the relationships Randy forms with his athletes. He does not smile much and very rarely, if ever, is he satisfied with performance, but it is evident in his interactions with the athletes that they know how much he cares.

Upon leaving Austin, I came to the pool once again at 5:45 am to thank Randy for taking the time to share his thoughts and experiences with me. Once we said our good-byes he went back to the same spot where I had first seen him at the end of the deck on a dark and hot Austin morning, staring down the pool, contemplating how to make the group of swimmers in the water the most fit, most skilled and toughest athletes in the world.

Randy’s Favorite Stroke Drills:
Fly - Three kicks to each pull
Back - Double arm
- One arm
- Spin Drill
Breast - No breathing
- Two up one down
- Br pull with free kick
Free - One arm
- Catch up with stick


Power Workout Example:
a) Pulleys
6 x (4 x 50 @ 1:10 #4 max weight)
1) Kick
2) Kick with fins
3) Swim
4) Swim with paddles
5) Swim with fins
6) Swim with fins + paddles
b) Shoes
3 x 4 x 25 Kick Fly or Back @ 40
2 x 50 Kick @ 1:00 Free)
4 x 100 @ 2:00 as fast as possible

Recent Developments in Sports Science

Recent Developments in Sport Science
By Dr. Valery Kleshnev, 2001
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Video Analysis

Video Analysis of Technique – Schleswig-Holstein Rowing Federation Video Evaluation
Original PDF's available from http://www.rudertechnik.de/checklisten/sprachen.html
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