Maximise the performance aspect.
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Tom Turner is the Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach at Leinster Rugby, Ireland. This article was first published on Strength of Science
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“The use of VBT methods ultimately minimises the fatigue effect of the strength training stimulus, while maximising the performance aspect, which in a holistic rugby training programme where the strength training is but one component, is undoubtedly a substantial benefit of utilising VBT.”
Interest in Velocity Based Training (VBT) methods in the strength and conditioning community has exploded in recent times. This has undoubtedly been driven by the increased availability of products that measure the velocity of gym based movements, such as GymAware, Tendo FitroDyne, Bar Sensei and the PUSH Band. Another reason has been the work of individuals like Bryan Mann, Eamonn Flanagan and Mladen Jovanovic who have popularised and shed much light on the topic.
I don’t want to repeat much of what has been previously written but will instead attempt to provide you with some practical, real-world examples from a highly trained group of athletes, showing how measuring velocity could be applied to your training programme.
After three years of trial and error with a large squad of professional rugby players, the majority of whom are performing at the highest level of the game, I can present to you, some of the methods that have worked for us and the data that supports it. In order to do this we need to briefly revisit some theoretical context, however, for a much more intelligent and detailed background on the topic, I urge you to read the work of the previously mentioned coaches.
