The principle of variance at first glance may seem counterintuitive when it comes to conditioning athletes. However, team sports athletes encounter wide and varied stimuli within the context of competition in their sport. When you really look at the nature of these sports and the needs of athletes, it makes perfect sense not to implement segmented training strategies.

Conventional training suggests that an athlete performs separate strength, power, speed, and endurance sessions. Usually this is done within the confines of an established program with progression. Makes sense right? Kind of. Athletes need this specific training, however they must apply it in circumstances that they may encounter within their chosen sport. This is more specific to this type of athlete than a program.

So what is the variance?

Variance means continuous variation of the training stimulus from one session to the next. This can be seen in training methodologies like CrossFit and our own Personal Evolution methods. Each and every one of the workouts is different from the previous one. It’s not often that you find the exact same exercise in a short period of time.

Now this type of training may seem like a random and hit-and-miss approach, but not when applied wisely. It would not be limited to having team sports athletes perform random and irrelevant drills and exercises. Training still needs to utilize the energy systems and movement patterns that are applicable to your sport. Soccer players need to run a lot, so the varied training sessions will include strength and conditioning, but will also include lots of running in an endless mix of exercises. A rugby player tackles, jumps, is tackled, drives scrums, etc. This athlete needs a lot of strength, speed, and power training.

So how is variation applied in an athlete conditioning program?

• First, identify the movement patterns they need to develop and the energy systems that are constantly being used in the context of competition.
• Start creating workouts that use these patterns in a consistently varied way. One day you could be doing Olympic lifts for high reps, the next could be a timed workout with four or five different exercises performed continuously at high intensity, the next day could be a deadlift max with individual reps.
• Start with a preparation phase, don’t just jump right in. This type of training can be powerful and can result in injury if the athlete is not prepared.
• Have each athlete record their results in a notebook. This applies to timed workouts, lifted loads, etc. Then they can track their performance over time.

Remember, intensity is the main variable to target here. Intensity is what controls the adaptations that occur, rather than frequency, type, and duration.

Variance is king, apply it wisely, track progress, and train as hard as possible. This will result in athletes being prepared for anything.

For specific information, visit us at http://www.endlesshumanpotential.com