I hope all is well and Happy New Year!
This is a the first post of 2020 and
the first guest article of the year!
We welcome Sophy Stonehouse, an elite
hockey player and student physiotherapist to run us through the training and
literature of this sport.
Hope all my readers you find this
useful :)
Enjoy!
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Training for a Female
Hockey Athlete
Field based team sports are characterised by the small periods of
high-intensity physical exertion interspersed by lower-intensity recovery
periods. Therefore, in such sports an athlete’s physical capability isn’t
limited by their VO2Max, aspects of physical performance such as muscular
power, change of direction speed, straight line running and repeated phases of
supramaximal exercise (Stolen et al, 2005; Buchheit, 2008; Rampinini et al,
2007).
Studies surrounding women’s field hockey have shown that roughly 20% of
the game included such high intensity performances (Limminck and Visscher,
2006); these efforts alone require a combination of endurance, strength, speed,
agility and skill. Depending on the athlete and level of competition, training
sessions may range from one session per week to two sessions each day, in which
stick and ball skills, weight training, endurance running and sprint training
may be involved. Playing at such standard is both physically and
psychologically demanding, in terms of the student athlete balancing both
academics and social interaction with training and match performances daily can
cause a further decline psychologically and physically.
Physiology
A game which involves semistochastic intermittent activity, maximal or
close to maximal anaerobic efforts, interspersed with submaximal aerobic phases
involving low to moderate intensity activity, with and without a ball over a
period of 70 minutes (Reilly & Borrie, 1992). Thus, field hockey is a
demanding sport that expects an individual to have the capability to combine
both aerobic and anaerobic ability while executing technical skill, such as
sprints, dribbling, passing, tackling and shooting, under pressure while being
fatigued mentally and physically (Spencer et al, 2005; Limmink & Visscher,
2006). Gabbett (2010) investigated the physiological demands of fourteen elite
Australian field hockey players during 32 league competitions and 19 training sessions
using GPS technology. During performance the average distance covered by a
performer is 6.6km, of which 97.3% was at low intensity (0-1m.s-1)
in comparison to physical exertion of sub maximal and maximal intensity (1-3
m.s-1 – 3-5m.s-1) although this data relates to the
demands of the sport, the research by GPS highlights inconsistency’s. Lidor and
Zav (2015) criticised GPS data analysis as it doesn’t represent the work rate
of athletes appropriately in relation to their individual capacity. Nevertheless,
from global positioning data it is identified that the proportion of high
intensity is small within competitive performance, repeated sprint ability
(RSA) is a key component of field hockey fitness (Spencer et al, 2004). RSA is
paramount for athlete success, being associated with key moments of play, such
as gaining advantage over an opposition player or generating a scoring
opportunity.
Benito et al (2016) expressed that the energy expenditure of the sport
is like that of Soccer and Lacrosse in the fact that performers are expected to
endure a combination of aerobic and anaerobic fitness measured at 30% and 70%
respectively. The speed at which hockey is performed leaves the potential that
a larger percentage of the game is more anaerobically demanding on the
performer, making speed an important characteristic and outlining that hockey
can be considered as an intermittent intensity sport producing fatigue (Gabbet,
2010). The duration of competitive match play puts a large amount of aerobic
strain on players and requires them to have a high level of energy expenditure
during competitive play. 17.5-30% of competition time is made up of high
intensity actives, such as sprinting, which are performed when the athlete has
direct involvement with the ball (Boyle et al, 1994; Reilly & Borrie,
1992). These periods of match play are also considered as critical to the
outcome of the game. Therefore, due to the multidirectional nature of this high
intensity sport, it is imperative for successful performance a field hockey
player should have the ability to change direction swiftly whilst maintaining
balance to assure there is no loss of speed. Highlighting that agility is an
essential physical component necessary for successful performance. (Lemmink,
Elferink-Gemser & Visscher, 2004)
The rapid and radical changes that field hockey has undergone within the
last decade, had a direct influence on the athlete competing, demanding a
highly developed aerobic and anaerobic energy system (Reilly and Borrie, 1992).
Within Elite field hockey female athletes, average heart rate has been measured
at 170 bpm (MacLeod et al, 2007), Lothian and Farrally (1992) found that female
players reportedly exercise during competitive game play with an energy
expenditure of 55.3 KJ.min-1. Whilst the sport may have a view of
being largely aerobic, the recovery periods at sub maximal intensities are
particularly brief. Various studies have investigated the contribution of
energy systems within field hockey, specifically during maximal sprint durations.
Typically, they have examined the metabolic responses from a player to maximal
efforts that range from 3-30s. When dissecting a sprint that has a 2-3s
duration, it is expressed that 55% of the energy is provided by PCr (Phospho
Creatine) , 32% for anaerobic glycolysis and 10% from ATP store (Spencer et al,
2005). A muscles concentration is measured to be large enough to sustain the
maximal intensity for a duration of around 6 seconds (Newsholme, 1986).
Psychology
Research that concerns psychology within team sports, shows there is a
greater focus on changes within athlete’s feelings and interpersonal relations
following winning, loosing and facing adversities such as injury (Podgórski,
2011). Physical activity can be affected by psychological factors but they may
also manifest and cause changes in biochemical parameters within the athlete’s
bloods through hormonal changes. Williams (1998) expressed that the development
of ‘psychological skill’ is a necessary component in the attainment of athletic
performance. Psychological demand is greater the higher the level of
performance the athlete attains due to successful psychological ability being
able to optimise performance as well as provide opportunity to develop the
athlete. (Abdullah et al, 2016). Bandura (1997) states the outside judgement of
a person’s capabilities to function at various performance levels affect the
individual’s choice of effort expenditures, persistence within tasks and choice
of activities. Field hockey players are exposed to many mental and emotional
challenges during 70 minuets of game play (Anders et al, 2008). The role of
psychological factors and skills in achieving optimal performance cannot be
underestimated (Van den Heever, 2006), identifying skills such as anxiety
management, motivation, mental preparation and self-confidence are paramount to
successful competition (Mahoney and Gabrie, 1987). O’Sullivan, Zuckerman and
Kraft (1997) present that basic optimistic self-confidence is advantageous and
an athlete being over-sensitive to criticism can often result in a decline in
performance. As a practitioner developing an understanding of your athlete will
allow you to develop an answer to the question of what sport psychological
skills discriminate better between successful and less successful performance
for your athlete (Kruger, 2010).
Training
Now you are fully equipped with the knowledge and understanding of the
demands of field hockey, when discussing how to train a female hockey field
hockey athlete, a topic that A. Richardson has already covered within the blog,
this is the foundation of what you build the program on (or any program for
success). This can be found within ‘Periodisation: A definitive guide by Andrew
Richardson’, specifically looking at the subheadings ‘3 Main Elements in a
Programme (regardless of sport) and ‘3 Phases of Any Programme for Long Term
Success’. Therefore, I would direct you to these articles to start. What I am
going onto express within this article is the key aspects of training for a
female, in conjunction with being a field hockey performer.
Training needs to be considered initially in relation to the
individual’s macrocycle. This is with the idea that, the performer needs to be
able to produce optimal performance for certain international periods. This can
be used to be further influence their micro cycle to assure optimal performance
is accessible for competing in club level hockey. This is due to the match
being typically scheduled at the end of a training week. Therefore, pre-season
usually focuses on the rebuilding of fitness in players following the off season.
With the aim to be that a maintenance of the specific capacities that has been
developed within preseason is focused on ‘in-season’.
1. The start of the journey, the
hypertrophy phase. The main aim of this phase is to increase the cross sectional
area of muscle and an increase in the storage capacity of high energy
substrates and enzymes, the length of this phase should be around 3-4 weeks,
but as you move through these phases volume should be increased as a the weeks
progress. Due to the nature of the sport we are training for and the fact that
we are not simply building muscle but generating an athletic performance
approach, we are focusing on changing the traditional bodybuilding method of
‘isolation exercises’ into ‘functional exercises’. Alongside this we will
accompany this phase of training with ‘aerobic capacity’
work, Hockey doesn’t require you to build size of your muscle but
this can be imperative for protection during the season as majority of injury
is the result of muscle imbalance. The focus will be lower body muscle dominant
due to the nature of the sport, as stated above the heavy reliance on power
output over short distances, however the incorporation of upper body shouldn’t
be ignored for endurance and skill reasons more so for those who are involved
in drag flicks or aerials as a distinctive skill.
Combining functional hypertrophy with aerobic capacity, will allow the
player to generate a bank of fitness, allowing the athlete to increase the
amount of work at a moderate pace for extended periods. During these work out
periods you will be aiming to develop a fuel efficiency (burning fat) and a
better endurance capacity, in relation to hockey think of this as the phases of
play when the balls been turned over and you’re doing defensive work to get
behind to regain possession.
Training Examples
(Functional Hypertrophy & Aerobic Capacity)
Functional
Hypertrophy (3-4 x per week)
- 1A. Back Squat 4 x 10-12
- 1B. CMJ 3 x 5
(2-3 mins rest between sets)
- 2 A. Banded Hip Flexor 4 x 15 (Each Leg)
- 2 B. Dumbbell Split Squat 4 x 10
(2-3 mins rest between sets)
- 3. Dumbbell Curl to press or Z-Bar 3 x 12
- 4. Hamstring Curls 3x12
- 5. Circuit of – dead bugs, banded rows and Russian twists
3x20
Aerobic Capacity (2-3
x per week)
This can be completed by running or biking.
- Long Distance moderate work 25-30 minutes @ 70% HR
OR
- 5 minuets at 70% HR, rest actively for 1 minute. X6
Once you’ve completed you functional hypertrophy session add your
aerobic session onto the end, be aware you may have an onset of delayed muscle
soreness (DOMS) the next day, do not be fearful this is your body telling you
its listening to the training. The hypertrophy sessions start with your
compound exercises, this is due to the correlative relationship to growth
hormone, getting the hormones released and circulating early. Remember to start
light and increase the weight how and when you feel stronger, when training I
like to note down my starting weight and increase by 2.5kg or 5kg depending on
the exercise. As a rule if you feel you could have completed 3-4 reps more of
an exercise, look at putting the weight up if your form lets you.
2 The strength and power phase, this is the training
related to converting what you’ve worked on within the first phase of
pre-season into your strength and power phase. It is a highly discussed topic
within field sports and can be alone important in gaining the correct physiological
make up for optimal performance. The phase aims to develop the fast twitch
nature of muscles. This looks at shifting training from volume to intensity.
Here we are going to split a 6 week period into 3 separate weeks to focus in on
what we are wanting to get out of training and to allow a progressive shift
from volume to intensity. This phase will also shift nicely into your in season
aspects.
This phase of training will be accompanied with anaerobic training, here
it’s time to tap into challenging your anaerobic system after the phase of
banking your aerobic capacity. This area of fitness is the athlete’s ability to
tolerate and remove lactic acid. Working within your anaerobic capacity will
make your body more efficient when oxygen uptake and conversion is at its
minimum. In relation to hockey, here we are focusing on that RSA aspect of the
sport, how you can still beat that defender when you have nothing left in your
tank.
The first 3 weeks will focus on strength, this is the maximum amount of
weight you can lift in a single repetition. As an athlete we are not here to
increase our strength base like a bodybuilder, we are lifting to increase force
production and power output (Power = Force x Distance over time) as increased
force production yields a larger power output when the time and distance are
directly proportional. The second 3 weeks is about maximising the athletes’
ability to use strength quickly, if you’re a high level athlete this will tend
to be your Olympic-style weight training as it requires you to move heavy
weights, quickly in a controlled manner.
Training Examples
(Strength, Power and Anaerobic Capacity)
Strength (3 weeks 3-4
x per week (60-70% IRM intermediate | 80%-100% 1RM Advanced))
- 1. Back Squat (or Olympic lift complex) 4 x 5-6
- 2. Dead Lift 4 x 5-6
- 3. Lat pull down – 4x 5-6
- 4. a jammer press – kneeling 4 x 5-6 each arm
- 4. b SA dumbbell row 4 x 5-6 each arm
- 5. Med ball throw rotation against wall 3 x 4-6
Recovery of 2-3 minuets in-between sets.
Power (3 weeks 3-4 x
per week (0-60% IRM lower body | 30-60% IRM Upper Body))
- 1a. Front Squat (power snatch) 6 x 3
- 1b. Box Jumps 6 x 3
(3 mins rest)
- 2 a. kneeling shoulder press SA DB 4 x5 each arm
- 2b. Face Pull cable 4x 10
- 3. Chest Press DB neutral grip 3 x 6
- 4. Adductor bench dips 3 x 8
- 5. Pallof Press 3 x 10 es
Anaerobic Capacity
2-3 x per week)
- Focus on power output 85% + HR: 6s on 60s off x 20 (5 mins rest after
10)
OR
- RSA stamina 80%+ HR : 60s on 60s off x 20 (5 mins rest after 10)
3. The hard work during these 2 phases
have paid off and it’s time to move into the peaking phase, this prepare the
athlete for international competition or to go into season performance. Within
the section we reduce the volume load again and increase the intensity within
the gym. The athlete will gain an obvious amount of volume through the on pitch
sessions, so we are just going to focus on the gym work, the aim of these
sessions is to reduce the negative impact that training has, maintaining the
physiological adaptions they have just created within preseason, creating an
optimal performance potential. This is not to suggest that the training gains
will just become non-existent as it’s highly recorded that performance gains
can be seen even during this phase of training. It is important to provide an
aspect of prehab (pre rehabilitation) within this section, allowing the athlete
to reduce its susceptibility to injury.
The typical load fluctuations during the week should aim for are shown
here in figure 1. From the Inigo Muiika book (Muijka
and Padilla, 2003). This is also discussed well within A. Richardson’s ‘What is
Tapering’ article, which I also sign post you too.
For the athletes time in the gym, it’s time to sit
down and discuss the goals they have within the season, after creating a
brilliant bank of hockey related fitness in preseason during a training week I
would aim training around pre-habiliation and the small margins of improvement
that are specific to the athlete. For the female athlete they are susceptible
to ACL injury at an alarmingly higher rate, the risk factors are anatomical,
environmental, hormonal and biomechanical (Orthop, 2016). At risk situation for
ACL injuries is during non-contact, which can be worked on during these
sessions, appear to be deceleration, cutting or changing direction and landing
(Griffin, 2001). Therefore, simple incorporation of these into a
dynamic warm up, pre gym and field session can drastically reduce your
athlete’s risk of a career threatening injury.
Example
of warm up:
Example of In season gym training:
This is a block of my own in season training, this
is an example and shouldn’t be followed lightly. I complete 2 conditioning
sessions a week during the week that doesn’t affect my weekend performance,
with the idea that through training on pitch 3 x a week I am hitting intensity,
however if I am looking to do extra I focus on the anaerobic sessions that were
stated above in preseason phase 2. My in season goals are power (velocity) and
a maintenance of whole body fitness.
It is important to note that this session takes
myself no longer than an hour, and introducing intensity into each movement
allows this session to leave me feeling worked. It is important to note that
keeping the gym a safe place is paramount when following any training regime
and also allowing adequate recovery time between sessions whether that is
within a double training day or days between sessions is imperative for
success. Alongside this, training before a performance day should also be
monitored. I would highly recommend generating a training load excel sheet,
these are not complicate to generate and can be found on YouTube, feel free to
contact myself if you’re struggling with this.
Conclusion
After being exposed to many variations of training
throughout my years within sport, both hockey and football. My hope is that you
find this article as insightful as I found putting my ideas down on paper. The
findings I have displayed are ones of personal preference which have resulted
in achieving my own goals, further research should be completed into individual
athletes and what works for them, as we are all different. I believe that if
you are looking to improve your or an athletes performance it is key to follow
a blueprint to ensure you are training the fundamental aspects of the sport you
are playing. I would like to thank D. Green for his knowledge and help with
this article and A. Richardson for giving me a platform to write about
something I am extremely passionate about.
Author Details
My name is Sophy Stonehouse, I am an elite level
athlete. Within field hockey I have been part of the English hockey player
system from 14 to 18, competing at county and national level, currently playing
in BUCS south prem B at Kings College University. I also play Football, having
played for England CYP u17s, Teesside centre of excellence, Durham WFC,
Middlesbrough Ladies FC and Sunderland Ladies AFC. I have a 1st Class
BSc in (Applied) Sport Science from Teesside University and I am currently
studying an MSc in Physiotherapy (pre-reg) at Kings College University London.
At both institutions I have been privileged to be on the Elite Athletic Scholar
programs where I have been conditioned by some of the best minds in the field.
Contact Information;
- Sophy Stonehouse BSc, MCSP.
- Email: sophy.stonehouse@kcl.ac.uk
- Contact Number – 07557963734
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Thank you Sophy for a fantastic article all about Female Hockey! I am sure all of the readers will agree, this is a great way to kick off the blog for 2020 with such a detailed piece of work.
Thank you for your contribution
Thank you to all our readers!
Have a great 2020!
Kind regards
Team "Strength is Never a Weakness"
Andrew Richardson, Founder of Strength is Never a Weakness Blog
I have a BSc (Hons) in Applied Sport Science and a Merit in my MSc in Sport and Exercise Science and I passed my PGCE at Teesside University.
Now I will be commencing my PhD into "Investigating Sedentary Lifestyles of the Tees Valley" this October 2019.
I am employed by Teesside University Sport and WellBeing Department as a PT/Fitness Instructor.
My long term goal is to become a Sport Science and/or Sport and Exercise Lecturer. I am also keen to contribute to academia via continued research in a quest for new knowledge.
My most recent publications:
My passion is for Sport Science which has led to additional interests incorporating Sports Psychology, Body Dysmorphia, AAS, Doping and Strength and Conditioning.
Within these respective fields, I have a passion for Strength Training, Fitness Testing, Periodisation and Tapering.
I write for numerous websites across the UK and Ireland including my own blog Strength is Never a Weakness.
I had my own business for providing training plans for teams and athletes.
I was one of the Irish National Coaches for Powerlifting, and have attained two 3rd places at the first World University Championships,
in Belarus in July 2016.Feel free to email me or call me as I am always looking for the next challenge.
Contact details below;
Facebook: Andrew Richardson (search for)
Facebook Page: @StrengthisNeveraWeakness
Twitter: @arichie17
Instagram: @arichiepowerlifting
Snapchat: @andypowerlifter
Email: a.s.richardson@tees.ac.uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-richardson-b0039278
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Andrew_Richardson7
