The subject of deloads and tapering your training is front of mind for me as the Pan Am Jiu Jitsu Championship is happening this weekend in Florida, and I’ve been managing the taper for one athlete in particular to get him in the best position to take home gold.
I often tried to use RPE as a tool with my clients for tracking the fatigue and eventually set a deload.
Most clients find difficult to use the scale 1-10 at the beginning, but when I used with expert clients I find out that they needed a 1-20 scale.
On the warm up weight I have to say that it is a very good advise.
On taper, especially in martial arts, I experienced myself as an athlete the decrease of volume with high intensity was the most used and efficient practise before the competition.
I use RPE on most programs (not Borg's specifically, just a 1-10).
If the clients are here at the gym, we talk a lot about what's going on and their current state when they walk in the gym. I get a really good handle on what their RPE is based on bar speed and overall movement. When it's a more remote-based relationship, I rely on RPE a lot and spend a lot of time dialing that in with people.
One thing I ask people on weeks where the training loads are heavier (or just tiring weeks in general), is to tell me how their standard warm-up weight feels. It's good to have one thing people can say "I know how this should feel."
In the past, and sometimes still, I mess around with VBT, though fatigue tracking isn't the main reason I use it. Sometimes it gives us hints.
I often tried to use RPE as a tool with my clients for tracking the fatigue and eventually set a deload.
Most clients find difficult to use the scale 1-10 at the beginning, but when I used with expert clients I find out that they needed a 1-20 scale.
On the warm up weight I have to say that it is a very good advise.
On taper, especially in martial arts, I experienced myself as an athlete the decrease of volume with high intensity was the most used and efficient practise before the competition.
Do you use any tools to track your athletes’ levels of fatigue in order to program deloads?
Like Borg’s Scale
I use RPE on most programs (not Borg's specifically, just a 1-10).
If the clients are here at the gym, we talk a lot about what's going on and their current state when they walk in the gym. I get a really good handle on what their RPE is based on bar speed and overall movement. When it's a more remote-based relationship, I rely on RPE a lot and spend a lot of time dialing that in with people.
One thing I ask people on weeks where the training loads are heavier (or just tiring weeks in general), is to tell me how their standard warm-up weight feels. It's good to have one thing people can say "I know how this should feel."
In the past, and sometimes still, I mess around with VBT, though fatigue tracking isn't the main reason I use it. Sometimes it gives us hints.