Training for a Female Hockey Athlete: By Sophy Stonehouse

Hi Everyone

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 1^st 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

References:

1. Abdullah, M. Musa, R. Maliki, A. Musawi, H.Maliki, B.  Kosni, N. & K. Suppiah, Pathmanathan. (2016).‘Original Article Role of psychological factors on the performance of elite soccer players’. Journal of Sport Science, 16. pp.170-176.
2. Anders, E., Myers, S. & Myers, S. (2008). Field Hockey: Steps to Success (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.
3. Bandura, A. (1990). ‘Perceived self-efficacy in the exercise of personal agency’. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2, 128-163. 
4. Butlet, R. & Hardy, L. (1992) ‘The performance profile: Theory and application’. Journal of Sport Psychology. 6, pp.253-264.
5. Dawson, B. Fitzsimons, M. & Ward, D. (1993) ‘The relationship of repeated sprint ability to aerobic power and performance measures of anaerobic capacity and power’. Journal of Science and Medicine in sport, 25, pp88-93.
6. Elferink-Gemser, M. Visscher, C. Van Duijin, M. & Lemmink, K. (2006) ‘Development of the interval endurance capacity in elite and sub-elite youth field hockey players’. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(4), pp.340-345.
7. Gabbett, T. Jenkins, D. & Abernethy, B. (2009) ‘Game-Based training for improving skill and physical fitness in team sport athletes’. International journal of Sport Science & Coaching, 4(2), pp.273-283.
8. Gould, D. Dieffenbach, K. & Moffett, A. (2002) ‘Psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions’. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, pp. 172-204.
9. Griffin, L.Y. ed., 2001. Prevention of noncontact ACL injuries. Amer Academy of Orthopaedic.
10. Kruger, A. (2010). ‘Sport psychological skills that discriminate between successful and less successful female university field hockey players’. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, 16 (2), pp. 240-250. 
11. Leslie, V. 2012. Physiological and match performance characteristics of field hockey players (Doctoral dissertation, Loughborough University).
12. Lidor, R. & Ziv, G. (2015) ‘On-field performances of female and male field hockey players- a review’. Journal of Sport Science, 15, pp. 20-38.
13. Limmink, K. & Visscher, S.  (2006) ‘Role of energy systems in two intermittent field test in women field hockey players’. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 20(3), 682-688.
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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: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1752928X19300216

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1752928X19301076 

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