Mladen Jovanovic about Velocity Based Training, using GymAware
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Mladen is the brains behind Complementary Training, Athlete Software Solutions and the Strength Training Manuals (Volumes 1&2)
He has been using GymAware since 2012 and we recently interviewed him.
He graduated at Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Belgrade, Serbia in 2007 with a Masters degree in physical preparation. In 2007 he started his first professional job as physical preparation coach for FK RAD, soccer club from Belgrade. Since then he has been involved in preparation of tennis players, volleyball players (Fenerbahce Volleyball Club, Istanbul, Turkey), fighters and basketball players. In 2010 he interned at the Mike Boyle facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA before starting with Hammarby.
What challenges did you face before using GymAware?
I was not able to estimate movement velocities in strength related movements, and/or ballistic movements without the use of very expensive devices. Even with their use there would have been a lot of paperwork and complex assembly.
What made you decide to use GymAware?
Did you try out any other solutions? I got great feedback on GymAware from Carl Valle. We needed a simple device back then to estimate neuro-muscular fatigue using jump tests.
“Being able to quickly set up the testing station, not deal with paperwork and create instant feedback are very important to us.”
My key uses of GymAware are:
- Create a competitive environment in the weights room
- Provide real-time feedback
- Long-term tracking of performance
- Individualization of training
- Using velocity-based approach to strength training
- Assessment of neuromuscular fatigue
- Estimation of daily 1RMs without the need to actually test it
- Establishing quality thresholds
- Assessment of limb differences
- Paperless documentation
The use of GymAware opened a lot of doors in assessment and evaluation of training. With its use certain great ideas have emerged and I have finally been able to implement them in daily practices without the need for other expensive devices like force plates. The unit is so easy to carry around and assemble it (in less than 30sec). I was pretty amazed by its usability.
The software behind it is also great – all the data that is collected get synced automatically with the cloud and one is able to extract, analyze and create various reports for anything. Sometime we need to export the data to Excel format for further analysis or to import it in another database and that is very easy to do.
The customer service was always available for any type of help and/or consultation and developing team is always looking forward to improve the overall experience. The recent video integration is one such addition. They listen to the users and try to adapt the system for even easier use.
“The export of the data is fantastic.”
How has the GymAware helped yourself or your business?
I was able to document and track changes lot easier, that allowed me the give immediate feedback and detailed analysis for athletes. Being able to reliably estimate 1RMs from warm-up sets using simple linear regression provided a great feedback on how are strength levels changing during the duration of certain blocks. In short, GymAware helped to individualize training and provide instant feedback.
You can read more about Mladen’s work on his blog here.
