S.T.A.R.S.
‘Training, Overtraining and Recovery’ seminar teaches best practices for performance, safety
by PETER ZAPALO Tis season the S.T.A.R.S. program is being
upgraded in several ways to add value for both returning athletes and those new to the program. Now included as a part of each testing combine is an informational seminar open to all S.T.A.R.S. athletes (and their coaches and parents), which this year is “Training, Overtraining and Recov- ery.” Tis seminar will be presented at each of the 20 S.T.A.R.S. combines that run nationwide from April through August.
Te first seminar kicked off at the Scott-
sdale, Ariz., S.T.A.R.S. held April 11 and was well-attended by athletes and parents. Te sem- inar was presented in an interactive format, and allowed the athletes to participate by explain- ing aspects of training, overtraining and recov- ery and how it applies to training figure skaters. In one example, athletes were asked to come up with a plan to teach an athlete to be able to ac- complish 100 pushups. Why U.S. Figure Skating
chose to feature training, overtraining and recov- ery as a focus this season is the importance of con- sidering all of these areas when planning a skater’s routine. Training is the plan for not only which exercis- es and skills you practice, but the outline for what you hope to accomplish in a given time frame, with consideration for the need to rest and recover in between workouts. To ignore the time compo- nent by being disorganized with your workouts or to try and go too quickly is what typically leads to overtraining. Overtraining is attempting to do too much in
too little time without allowing the body to prop- erly recover. Overtraining can lead to decreased performance, overuse injuries and chronic fatigue, amongst other negative effects. When an athlete becomes physiologically or even psychologically significantly overtrained, it may take a substantial amount of time to come out of the overtrained
state compared to what would be expected with a regular recovery routine. Recovery is the process by which the athlete’s
body is permitted to rest and repair to not just re- turn to baseline, but to surpass the challenges put on the athlete. Recovery can include rest, unload- ing and stabilizing exercises and body therapy, and nutrition. Regardless of its form, recovery should be planned and time allotted in the training cal- endar.
Training, overtraining and recovery are all tightly tied to the ability to master new skills, maintain a rigorous training schedule (and build momentum throughout the season without miss- ing time for injury), and protect young bodies from the rigors of hours on the ice and in the gym. If you want to learn more about these concepts and how you can personalize your own routine, sign up for S.T.A.R.S. at
www.STARScombine.org.
Putting training, overtraining and recovery into practice: learning the double Axel Here is just one example of how a skating
coach, working with the athlete and the train- er, might organize training, overtraining, and recovery routines into learning a difficult jump like a double Axel. Always consult your coach before changing any part of your training rou- tine.
Training would include a plan designed
by the primary coach and perhaps the on-ice trainer that would train not only on-ice tech- nique for the double Axel, but also prepare the athlete’s body to do a double Axel by building a base of strength, power and stability to be able to execute this difficult jump. Te coach might also want to include a formal or informal men- tal plan to learning the jump. Te coach and off-ice trainer would balance their workouts so the athlete’s body would be able to handle the training load. To keep the athlete from overtraining, the coach and trainer would first have a good plan, and then monitor the athlete for overuse injuries. Besides assessing the physical fatigue of the athlete, it’s also important to monitor the athlete’s boots, where stiffness or break- down could cause impact injuries. Te coach might also choose to limit the amount of jump attempts, particularly if the athlete has been
Matthew Rounis, Emily Gabriele, Alexis Przybylski, Karen Gesell
(coach), Camden Pulkinen, Elena Pulkinen and Alexandra Lipinski (middle) helped to kick off the 2013 S.T.A.R.S. campaign in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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injured in the past, to guard against overtrain- ing. Finally, the athlete would have a scheduled recovery program. Te recovery aspect of training would en-
compass things like fueling after each workout/ skating session, muscle recovery like foam roll- ing or ice baths, doing some unloading exercis- es and getting enough sleep!
PHOTO BY PETER ZAPALO
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