Countermovement Jump Monitoring DURING Fight Camp
INTRODUCTION
When combat athletes are in camp, one of the key objectives is to get them through to the fight so they can compete. During camp, combat athletes are aiming to get to a specific weight by fight week. This means that energy availability will be low and perceived exertion will be higher than usual. Fight camp training sessions may consist of the following: sparring, fight simulation rounds, position-specific training, pad work, bag work, and shadow boxing. These sessions often ramp up in intensity and volume as they get closer to the fight. As strength and conditioning coaches, part of our role can be help to monitor and potentially minimise some of this fatigue. This is where the countermovement jump (CMJ) comes in.
COUNTERMOVEMENT JUMP MONITORING BACKGROUND
When an athlete first walks through the doors, the coaches will usually have a chat with the athlete about how they’re feeling (a chat is essentially a wellness screen). Topics to bring up during these conversations can include stress, sleep, soreness, nutrition, and hydration status.
Once we have a good idea around the athlete’s subjective fatigue status, the CMJ is then used to provide some objective measures on fatigue. The CMJ is the test we use at ETHOS to monitor neuromuscular fatigue for our athletes. Now before we continue with this blog, let’s attempt to better understand what fatigue is.
WHAT IS FATIGUE
Fatigue is quite complex in nature and there is no commonly accepted definition. However, fatigue can be best described as the inability to maintain the same mechanical output that was once achievable within a given time frame. This is associated with increased or altered perceived exertion along with feelings of tiredness or exhaustion. There are also models of fatigue:
CV/anaerobic
This model describes that fatigue occurs when the heart is unable to deliver oxygen effectively and fails to remove byproducts from the working muscles.
Energy supply/energy depletion
This model describes that fatigue occurs due to an inadequate supply of ATP to working muscles.
Neuromuscular fatigue
This model describes fatigue due to a reduction in force/power caused by decreases in voluntary muscle activation.
Muscle trauma
This model describes how damage to muscles can effect the ability to produce force and power.
Biomechanical
This model describes how inefficiency in movement patterns can cause fatigue.
Thermoregulatory
This model suggests that our body has a threshold in core body temperature before exercise capacity is reduced/terminated.
Psychological/motivational
This model describes how psychological alterations in central activity can influence one’s perceived exertion.
Central governor
This model describes how one’s ability to “pace” may affect how fatigue will arise over time.
These physiological and psychological processes can all contribute to fatigue, but the main model we’ll focus on in this blog is neuromuscular fatigue. Neuromuscular fatigue consists of two components – that is peripheral and central fatigue.
Peripheral fatigue is said to be caused by the processes at or distal to the neuromuscular junction that reduces force or power output in response to a given neural input. Central fatigue is said to involve processes in the central nervous system (CNS) that reduce neural signalling to the muscles ultimately resulting in a decrease in voluntary muscle activation and a decline in force and power. Ultimately, these factors are generally going to lead to a decrease in performance.
THE PROTOCOL
The athletes chosen to complete this case study were also athletes who had a regular schedule for their training and were able to come in at around the same times each week (5-8am on a Monday) to promote standardisation. Standardisation is necessary to ensure ability to detect fatigue sensistive changes to performance.
The warm-up protocol involved the athlete’s usual in-gym warm-up followed by 5 submaximal CMJs. This is then followed by 2 sets of 3 maximal CMJs. Each athlete was cued to jump as “fast and as high as possible” for maximal intent after a period of 3 seconds of quiet standing.
The primary KPI we monitored was modified RSI (RSImod) which is calculated by an athlete’s jump height divided by an athlete’s time to take off. This is a good measure to assess an athlete’s “explosiveness,” and overall jump performance.
If an athlete was one standard deviation less than their average RSImod, Eccentric Peak Velocity [m/s] was a secondary measure that was used to confirm whether the athlete had abnormal levels of neuromuscular fatigue. The reason why this measure was used is because this is an indicator of intent in the jump. If their velocity was slower, it meant that the strategy of their jump had changed, and fatigue was going to influence the intent of the jump.
DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Data should never be the sole reason why a decision is made,. What we can do is to use data to support our decisions but always understand the context behind what the data is saying.
A GOOD RESULT
If the athlete had achieved RSImod score that was >1SD above their average combined with good subjective responses, then the decision we made was that the athlete could push harder with training for that particular week.
AN AVERAGE RESULT
If the athlete had an within average RSImod and normal subjective responses, then the decision we made was that the athlete could go about their training as per usual.
A NEGATIVE RESULT
If the athlete had achieved RSImod that was <1SD below their average with poor subjective responses, then this warranted investigation into eccentric peak velocity. If their velocity was slower than usual (>1SD), we decided to prioritise recovery and deload training where appropriate for that week.
“FIGHT FOCUSED” STRATEGIES
“Fight Focused” strategies were advised to athletes that presented with a negative result. These strategies included:
Controlling training load/sessions (<2hours)
This involved talking to the athlete about keeping the sessions short and sharp and not allowing the athlete to do much volume in the lead-up to competition.
Reduce total volume in the sessions (decreased/low sets)
This involved stripping back most of the S&C session whilst still trying to get a minimal effective dose of loading.
Reduced eccentric stress/loading
This involved using more concentric-based lifting/power work. The idea was to limit the amount of potential soreness.
Self-Limiting Exercises (e.g. increased balance demand, isometric tempo work)
This involved using exercises that were still challenging enough to get the athlete “working hard,” without necessarily having to place increased load on the athlete.
CONCLUSION
What tends to happen is that athletes usually present with insignificant changes week to week early on in camp. However, when the athlete gets to around 3-4 weeks out, we see an increase in fatigue as technical training ramps up in intensity and volume.
This is where we need to pay a little more attention to how we approach training in the lead-up to the fight and aim to reduce fatigue where possible. The relentless demands of fight camp can take a toll on an athlete's body and mind, making it essential for coaches and trainers to employ effective tools and strategies for fatigue monitoring and management.
One such tool, the countermovement jump (CMJ) when combined with subjective assessment, provides valuable insights into an athlete's neuromuscular fatigue, helping us to make informed decisions about training intensity and recovery. Athletes can push harder when conditions are favorable, maintain their standard routine when things are average, or prioritize recovery and deload when fatigue levels are concerning.
In the end, the fight camp is about understanding and managing the body's response to the rigors of training in order to get the cage or ring. By incorporating CMJ monitoring and implementing tailored strategies, combat athletes and their coaches can strike the right balance between preparation and recovery, ultimately increasing the chances of a successful performance on fight night.