SPECIFICITY OF ADAPTATION TO

ALACTIC-ANAEROBIC DIRECTION
TRAINING LOADS
By S. Vovk

A study revealing that a continuous use of specific loads in the development of

“explosi ve”spr i
nti
ngpowersoonr eachesapl ateauandt hepr ogr am shoul dbe
changed to secure further training effects. The article is a slightly abbreviated
translation from Nauchny Atletichesky Vestnik, Russia, No. 1, January 1999. Re-
printed with permission from Modern Athlete and Coach.

INTRODUCTION

Training theory today refers to the need to link the duration of the separate
phasesandmesocycl esandt hei
ralternativedi rect i
onsdur ingayear ’s
preparation to the specific adaptation requirements of different direction training
loads. It is known that a long-term use of specific loads, which are directed to the
development of certain movement capacities, have definite limits. These loads
fail to have a developmental effect when the limits are exceeded, leading to
useless waste of time and energy. It is therefore necessary in effective planning
of training processes to take note of an optimal duration of specifically directed
loads, as well as the improvement rate of corresponding performance indicators.

Speci ali
st sbelievet hatwhent hespec i
fi
cdev el
opmentobj ectivei s“ ex
plos
ive
strength” ,there is a definite tendency that improvements slow down after
continuous application of specific loads. Further, the faster the initial
improvements, the sooner is a plateau reached. In the employment of intensive
traini
ngmeanst oi mpr ove“ ex pl
osivest r
engt h”thepl ateaui sreachedi naround
three to four months. The dynamics of the development of single endurance
components show that the development of speed at the anaerobic threshold level
to the next plane can be achieved within three to four weeks of training. To
maintain this new plane requires a further week or two before the training
program must be changed.

It should be taken into consideration that speed capacities improve three to four
times slower than strength and endurance capacities and become more
complicated to develop as the athl ete’sper for
mancesr eachhi gher levels. This
brings up the question of how fast are speed capacities improved and how early
begins adaptation in a continuous use of alactic-anaerobic training loads.
 STUDY METHOD

In order to study the specificity of adaptation to alactic-anaerobic training loads in

a realistic situation we conducted a practical experiment with 13 qualified
sprinters during their preparation period. Each alactic-anaerobic direction
mesocycle in the experiment was made up from five microcycles, in which a
weekly microcycle consisted of five training units.

The first day of a microcycle was made up from a small volume of complex loads.
The remaining days were devoted to the development of maximal running sped
and the acceleration capacity. Training runs were performed in sets up to three
or four repetitions. Recoveries between the sets took 8 to 10 minutes. Training
runs were performed over distances of 30 to 60m with a 96 to 100% intensity.
The total load in a training unit was 400 to 480m.

Speed capacities of the athletes were evaluated by their 30m sprint times from
flying and standing starts, using a photo-electronic timing device with a 0.01 sec
accuracy. The conditional state of the subjects was controlled by using lactate
and urine samples. Lactate from finger tips was taken prior to the start of training
exercises and again in the third minute during the recovery after the final run.
Urine samples were evaluated using a semi-automatic biochemical analyzer,
lactate levels were determined by a micro-analyzer.

The speed strength indicators were recorded for each athlete prior to the
experiment following a pre-determined program. It was made up from a test
battery of a standing long jump, standing triple jump, standing 10 jumps, 30m
sprint from a standing start, 30m sprint from a flying start and a 150m run. The
tests remained unchanged during the experiment. All the included tests had a
close correlation with sprinting results.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The dynamics of speed and acceleration development over the five week long
experimental program showed wavey characteristics (Fig. 1). There was a drop
in the specific work capacity during the first three or four single direction load
training units. This was reflected in a drop of speed and acceleration indicators.
The results of the whole training group began to improve in the fifth training unit
when slightly better indicators appeared in comparison to the previous training
units.

The results dropped again during the following two training units in the sprints
from flying and standing starts. This was followed by an intensive improvement of
results with distinctly superior development of maximal running speed taking
place between the eighth and tenth training units.
Results in the 30m sprint from flying and standing starts had at this stage
improved on an average for the group by 0.1 sec in comparison to the initial
times, representing an improvement between 2.2 to 2.9%. Also, the running time
over 150m had at this stage been on an average reduced by 0.41 sec. The
results in the jumping tests, which indicate the level of speed strength, showed
clear improvements in the standing 10 jumps with no significant changes in the
standing long and triple jumps. This appears to indicate the value of the standing
10 jumps as a test to predict sprint performances.

The following training program failed to produce essential and reliable

improvements in sprint specific performance capacities. The results stabilized
with only a slight tendency to improve. A comparison of the initial tests with the
results obtained after 8 to 10 training units showed significantly better speed and
specific preparation indicators, but there were no reliable improvements recorded
in the final tests (see Table 1).

Attention must be drawn to the fact that there were no essential changes in the
results of the jumping tests during the experiment with the exception of the 10
jumps test. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there was a slight drop in the
results of most tests towards the end of the training period.

The above outlined experimental results are confirmed by the biochemical control
that took place at the end of the five-week training cycle which showed a
tendency of increased blood acidity. This indicated a drop in the recovery
reactions towards the end of the training cycle and a deficit of energy releasing
substrates, established from urine indicators. The last increased from one
training unit to the next and reached 40 to 51 mg% in the final training week (Fig.
2).
It therefore appears that the use of single directions alactate-anaerobic training
loads leads to an improvement of speed capacities only within a limited number
of training units. It is here interesting to note that similar conclusions were
reached by Russnikov in his study looking at the development of specific work
capacities of sprinters during a prolonged preparation period. The study
discovered three significant phases:

1. Phase 1 — Fluctuating results within the limits of the initial performance

level.

2. Phase 2 — Rapidly increased performance level.

3. Phase 3 — Slight increases, or stabilisation of the new performance level.

Simi larc onc l

us i
onswer eal r
eadyr eachedi nlabor at
or ystudiesi nt he1970’ s.A
study by Stadnikov, for example, established specific adaptation characteristics
in the training of sprinters who employed continuously standard exercises to
develop movement speed. Their performance level improved only after a limited
number of training sessions before stabilization and even a drop in movement
speed occurred. The improvements in this study had a linear characteristic, but
this can be explained by the fact that the experiment took place in laboratory
conditions and recorded only movement speed. On the other hand, movement
speed is only one component in the structure of the speed capacity and does not
necessarily indicate maximal running speed.

PRACTICAL RECOMENDATIONS

An effective construction of training processes must take into consideration

specific adaptation terms to certain loads and their optimal duration. It must be
taken into consideration that adaptations to the system of speed capacities are
reasonably fast, reflected in such indicators as maximal speed and acceleration,
before stabilization takes place.

According to Petrovsky, four sprint trainings a week over 60m repetitions with a
96 to 100% intensity and a volume of 400 to 480m leads to a wave-like
performance improvement in maximal running speed and acceleration. The
highest results are reached between the eighth and tenth training session. A
continuous use of the same program fails to produce further improvements in
speed capacities and leads to stabilization, or even a slight deterioration of
performances.

The above makes it obvious that the required training effect in the use of alactic-
anaerobic loads is achieved around the eighth to tenth training unit. After this the
training program must definitely be changed before it is again resumed after
some time period.