Who is a strength and conditioning coach?
A strength and conditioning coach is a person who realizes professional monitoring, professional guidance, implementation and support in achieving the goals of raising the level of health, fitness and sports form, whether it is professional athletes or recreational exercisers of different sex, age or competition category. He is a sports professional specializing in the design and implementation of conditioning programs for individual athletes or sports teams.
What qualifications should a strength and conditioning coach have?
Given the seriousness of the issue, the necessity of multidisciplinary knowledge of all anthropological subsystems of man and the methodology of training, a serious strength and conditioning coach should have at least a diploma from the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education. Any other (usually shortened) form of education, obtaining a diploma or license to work as a fitness coach (fitness instructor), represents a serious lack of decisive and important information that is obtained during continuous education, and sometimes a serious risk for the damage to the health of the person who uses these services.
What are the characteristics of a top strength and conditioning coach?
What separates the top and best strength and conditioning coaches from the average is:
- continuous dedication and professional development in this field (up to obtaining the highest academic title – Doctor of Science in the field of Sports and Physical Education)
- knowledge of human health
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- basics of sports medicine
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- physical procedures
- methods of rehabilitation of injuries and return to competition
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- providing basic nutritional advice
- education on the application of health patterns in everyday life
- physical preparation and functionality in the later years of life
- training of a person with:
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- special medical conditions or injuries (pregnant women, disabilities…)
- compromising effects on the body, determined specifics of the workplace resulting in a decline in work capacity and high productivity at work
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- hypokinesia (lack of movement in e.g. IT professionals)
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- obesity, pain and reduced mobility in most joints, muscle atrophy….
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- hyperkinesia (excess of stereotyped movements, e.g. in a particular workplace)
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- imbalances, disorders of statics and asymmetry of the body due to the redistribution of muscle tone, injuries of the locomotor apparatus, various deformities of the spine and pain in the back, arms and legs, exhaustion…
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- experience working with individual clients or sports teams
- knowledge of training methodology (different techniques, methods, distribution of training loads in training, etc.)
- monitoring ability – application of modern sophisticated and innovative systems
- growth and development
- diagnostics and prognosis of motor skills and physical readiness
- progress of clients and adaptation of the program to their needs
- creative ability to create and design individual and group training programs
- gender, age, health status, competition category, preparation period…
- ability to implement appropriate programs
- ability to implement effective training programs
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- continuous monitoring of the exercise
- ensuring the safety of the client during the training
- educating students on the correct technique of performing exercises and
- prevention of injuries
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- psychosocial compatibility to work with people of different profiles and ages
- a general culture
- a high level of knowledge and expertise
- communication skills
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- eloquence, oratory
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- ability to use motivational techniques
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- suggestiveness, inspiration, personal example
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- social intelligence
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- empathy
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- ability to recognize other people’s feelings, needs, and desires
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- tolerance and social adaptability
- ability
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- easy to establish interpersonal relationships
- leadership and successful management
- understanding the nature of social situations
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- personal characteristics
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- self-confidence, self-control, tolerance, patience…
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- maintaining professional ethics and standards
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- personal hygiene, standards and culture of communication
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What knowledge should a strength and conditioning coach have?
A top strength and conditioning coach knows:
- What to do? – in the plan and program
- How to work? – in the choice of training methods of work
- How much to do? – in dosing, distribution and load control
- When to work? – in the rhythm of daily activities
- Why work? – in feedback on the effects of training in gym
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In order for conditioning training to make sense and fulfill everything that is expected of it, a strength and conditioning coach would at least have to be educated and trained to understand current motor skills (hereinafter, on the example of strength training).
So, he/she knows completely
- discrepancy of current motor skills from the aspect of its latent-manifest character, e.g.
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- power – jump
- power – start
- speed – sprint….
- nature
- What’s the power? How is it realized?
- forms (varieties of manifestations)
- starting, accelerating, decelerating, reactive ..
- ways of expressing
- from the aspect of intensity and capacity of involvement of the neuromuscular, functional (cardiovascular, metabolic-energy, etc. system
- variability of the conditions of expression from the point of view
- regime of work
- isometric, myometric, plyometric, reverse mode..
- types of muscle action
- concentric, eccentric, isometric ..
- regime of work
- compatibility with other motor skills
- relationships with speed, endurance, precision, coordination…
- the effects of the performance
- on the athlete, the game, the result…
A strength and conditioning coach knows how to recognize an athlete’s weaknesses and improve them so that they become his/her adventage. As a result, a strength and conditioning coach is able to develop the required ability.
In other words, it can be operationalized
- competitive strategies in the development of all forms of strength
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- achieving different strength training goals by using different protocols and algorithms for applying methods, means and load determinants
- individual or group algorithm for the application of means, methods and load determinants
- only for each individual separately or only for a specific group – can lead to optimal preparation
- principles and methods of development
- general principles, algorithms and strategies
- a model of periodization of its development
- block, repetitive schemes, daily wavy periodization, priority rises… the super-compensatory…
- training
- traditional (linear)…comparative, mixed, complex, contrasting…
- means of work
- exercises, procedures, treatments, props..
- methods
- analytical, situational, functional, structural…
- load determinants when dosing the load
- Intensity, volume, pause, character of exercises…
- training dynamics in the periodization of training and competitions
- when, how much, what kind of power…. (maintenance, development)…
A strength and conditioning coach recognizes the nature, intensity, and capacity of ability in the structure of the motor requirements of the game or discipline the athlete is engaged in (e.g., a soccer game).
So he/she, understands
- the shape and degree of its saturation and specificity in the game
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- general, focused, specific, competitive…
- the type of general motor demand and need (for it) in the game
- repetitive, functional, structural …..
- the type of specific motor demand and need (for it) in the game
- explosive, fast, endurance in strength…
- the type of competition required by position in the team
- strength activities (e.g. number of rebounds for full-backs, midfielders, forwards…..)
- the individual needs and needs of each athlete
- surpluses, deficits (muscle imbalances, body asymmetries, tone redistribution, etc.)
A strenght and conditioning coach knows and can realize the transfer of abilities from training exercises to the competitive situation in the game!
So he/she, achieves
- high level of ACHIEVEMENT – EFFICIENCY – EFFECTIVENESS in training
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- reaching the highest level of motor coordination in which the processes of temporal, spatial, intensity and complex sequence of activation and inactivation of the muscles involved are brought to the highest level
- OPTIMAL ROUTE (only possible)
- with the smallest deficit of skills and work – achieving the best results
- ombining motor and strength and conditioning preparation with technical elements, i.e.
- the highest level of utilization of motor skills in the realization of the required
- high positive TRANSFER of each ability (from latent to manifest)
- the realization of exercises that bring them closer to the game at all times, i.e. when the greatest possible capacity of latent ability is converted into manifest (speed into sprinting, power into jumping…)
- initiation of elementary transfer factors
- factor 1: (bio)mechanical specificity
- kinetic and kinematic congruence (similarity)
- factor 2: specifics of the work regime
- congruence of the work regime
- factor 3: Specifics of muscle adaptation
- congruence of musculature (intermuscular coordination)
- factor 4: Metabolic specificity
- congruence with the energy needs of the chosen sport (intensity and capacity of aerobic and anaerobic energy transformations)
- factor 1: (bio)mechanical specificity
In addition to training and competition, a strength and conditioning coach must realize the determinants of athlete recovery (factors) in the training process, because recovery is an integral and indispensable part of the strategy of progression.
Thus, he/she distinguishes
- determinants of recovery
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- somatic, muscular, training, nutritional, physical, psycho-pedagogical, environmental, lifestyle… and others
- rationally combining their influences effectively (in the shortest time) ensures the competitiveness of the athlete in relation to new challenges and demands of training and competition.
Injuries are an integral part of training and competition. In such a situation, the role of the strength and conditioning coach is crucial because he knows how to rehabilitate the athlete in the training process in relation to his/her injury.
So, he/she respects and knows
- the morphological aspect of the injury
- e.g. the occurrence of atrophy – hypertrophy, adequate/inadequate tension, etc. (structural methods)
- the neuromuscular aspect of the injury
- e.g. loss of force and strength – intra-muscular coordination (functional methods and sensorimotor training)
- the functional aspect of the injury
- e.g. compromised kinetics and kinematics of movement – inter-muscular coordination (functional and sports-specific methods)
- the psychological and mental aspects of the injury
- e.g. the athlete’s attitude towards the injury (cognitive-conative-affective approach)
- the importance and effects of physician intervention and physical procedures
- with the aim of selecting an algorithm for the influence of applied methods and means
- the dynamics of rest and the end of the exercise
- with the aim of bringing the athlete to the competition
- monitor the progress of the rehabilitation process
- moments of transition from one phase of rehabilitation to another
- symmetry indices, asymmetry coefficients…
How does strength and conditioning coach operationalize training?
A strength and conditioning coach must have an individual approach to each athlete and tailor training to use the best combination of methodical principles of conditioning training.
So, methodically think and combine the principles:
- individuality:
- Each athlete has individual characteristics that should be determined by appropriate tests and should not be forgotten by the coach. Factors that affect the application of the principle of individuality can be: hereditary (hereditary factor), lifestyle (regime), current level of conditioning, past illnesses, injuries, etc.
- specifics:
- Directed strength and conditioning training must be organized according to the specific temporal, spatial, intensity, kinesthetic and complexity requirements of the sport. For example, it is necessary to work in those modes of operation, using those muscle contractions, kinetic-kinematic and metabolic conditions, which will allow the efficient and effective execution of movements in the sport being trained.
- adaptations:
- One of the tasks of strength and conditioning training is to enable the athlete to adapt, and then to endure, all the loads to which he is exposed during a match or competition.
- overloads:
- From training to training, the work must be more intense than what the athlete is used to. Overload can be achieved by increasing the frequency, intensity, or volume of physical activity. The principle of overlapping the capacity of the activities that take place in the competition is also used.
- progressions:
- Changes in the intensity and scope of training must be gradual in order for the athlete’s body to adapt in a timely manner and to prevent possible injuries. This may include an increase in weight, frequency of training, complexity, and quality of exercise.
- supercompensation:
- The time it takes to recover immediately after training is related to the intensity and duration of the previous activity. During the subsequent adaptation to the stress caused by exercise, during the recovery period, the process of replenishing energy resources reaches a higher level, and is called supercompensation.
- reversibility:
- It is a feedback loop, i.e. The relationship between strength and conditioning training and motor skills, that is, the positive or negative impact that conditioning can have on athletes’ abilities. Insufficient use of training can lead to reversible effects, loss of physical abilities.
- recovery:
- Rest is an important training operator. The effect of work in training depends on the quality of rest. Only with an optimal combination of effort (work) and rest, both between exercises in one training and between trainings, it is possible to achieve the desired effects, that is, to enable the athlete to create a certain tolerance of the body to load.
- periodization:
- The different phases of training (macrocycles, mesocycles, microcycles) should be alternated periodically in order to achieve the most efficient and effective progress.
- variability:
- Monotonous and monotonous workouts often have a negative impact on the effect of training and adaptation. In order to avoid such situations, the strength and conditioning coach is obliged to combine different conditions, methods, as well as to change the training routine, intensity and duration of exercises.
Dimitrije Levajac 2
Why is all this important?
It is important because human health is not a space for ignorance, improvisation and exhibitions, where trial and error are allowed, because such activities are very expensive!
If you are a strength and conditioning coach, look for yourself in the text you just read!
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