KEY COMPONENTS

OF PERFORMANCE
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INTRODUCTION
When it comes to Physical Performance,
there are three things that we need to
consider:

1. What physical actions are required to

complete an activity?

2. What movement and performance

qualities are required to complete
these actions?

3. How can we improve these movement

and performance qualities?
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S&C 22: 11 MOVEMENT QUALITIES

Primary Strength Qualities Athletic Qualities

Brace Rotate
Contracting your muscles to stabilize the body and resist and transfer Rotating/twisting the body – Band Rotations / Russian Twists
forces – Plank / Pallof Press

Hinge Gait
Bending at the hips – Deadlift / Good Morning / RDL Walking, running and loaded carries (acceleration, deceleration)

Squat COD
Bending at the hips and knees – Goblet Squat / Back Squat / Front Squat Change of Direction (acceleration, deceleration and multidirectional
speed)

Lunge Jump
Single-leg movements – Lunges / Split Squats Jumps (two footed take off), bounds (one footed take off – land on
opposite foot) and hops (one footed take off – land on same foot)

Push Throw
Pushing with the upper body – Push-Up / Bench Press / Strict Press Throws and strikes

Pull
Pulling with the upper body – Bent-Over Row / Single-Arm Row
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S&C 22: 11 PERFORMANCE QUALITIES

Health-Related Qualities Skill-Related Qualities

Muscular Strength Agility

The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert maximal force The ability to move, change direction and body position quickly and
efficiently while maintaining control – often in reaction to a stimulus
Muscular Endurance Balance (Static & Dynamic)
The ability of a muscle or group of muscles to sustain repeated Static balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium when stationary.
contractions Dynamic balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium when moving.
(Equilibrium – a state in which opposing forces are balanced)

Cardio-Respiratory Endurance Coordination

The ability of the heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to the The ability to move two or more body parts under control, smoothly and
tissues efficiently

Mobility / Flexibility Speed

Flexibility is the passive length a muscle can achieve. The ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly
Mobility is the range of motion a joint can achieve (includes flexibility)
Body Composition Power
The percentage of muscle, fat, bone and water in the human body The ability to exert high force in minimal time

Reaction Time / Quickness

The ability to respond quickly to a stimulus
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THE NEEDS ANALYSIS

A strength and conditioning coach must
decide what movement and performance
qualities are the priority, and this is decided
with a Needs Analysis.

The needs analysis is a two-stage process

where we use various means to assess
firstly the sport and secondly the athlete.

I will often use a Performance Triangle to

illustrate the requirements of the sport and
the current ability of the athlete.
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THE PERFORMANCE TRIANGLE

We can consider the performance needs of
an activity or sport by placing a mark within
the Performance Triangle.

Following performance testing, we can

also mark where the athlete would lie
within the triangle with their current
strengths and weaknesses.

The 3 Axis of the Performance Triangle:

• Force-Velocity (F-V) Axis.

• Force-Endurance (F-E) Axis.

• Velocity-Endurance (V-E) Axis.

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SPORTING EXAMPLES
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SPORTING EXAMPLES
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TESTING, PROFILING, PLANNING

Once the needs analysis is done, we create a
battery of appropriate fitness tests that help us to
profile the athlete, set goals, and inform the training
plan, i.e., What are their strengths and weaknesses,
and how are they going to improve?

The final step in the initial process is taking all the

collected data and formulating a plan. This plan is
usually in the form of an annual (year-long) plan
which we refer to as a macrocycle.

The plan is then split down into blocks called

mesocycles (usually 3-8 weeks), and microcycles
which refer to one week of training – we refer to this
process as Periodization.
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PROGRAMMING
We also split the plan down into a preparatory phase, pre-competition phase, competition
phase, and transition period. These help us formulate a plan that takes an intelligent,
systematic approach to the athlete’s physical development.

It is key to remember that the annual plan is an overview. It acts as a calendar of all the
events the athlete will be competing at and describes their overall progression leading up to
each event. However, as with all things in life, plans are subject to change. Therefore,
throughout the entire process, the strength and conditioning coach is making evaluations and
modifications, collecting data throughout on how the athlete is performing and feeling, both
subjectively (ask them) and objectively (fitness tests).

Most of the modifications will be at the session plan level (individual training
sessions/workouts). Session plans should stick to the training strategy agreed in the annual
plan. However, these are a little more dynamic and may change in accordance with how any
training week is panning out. We refer to the development of these training sessions as
Programming.
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THE SUPER 6
At the programming level, we need to consider what methods we are going to use to enhance the
movement and performance qualities: I call them The Super 6

Training Method (Mode) Description

Sprint work and agility drills (change of direction and

Speed and Agility Training multidirectional speed)
Jumps, bounds and hops – emphasis on the stretch-shortening
Plyometric Training cycle
Loaded Jumps, throws and strikes – emphasis on the continued
Ballistic Training acceleration through the entire concentric phase
The Olympic snatch and the clean & jerk, and their many
Olympic Weightlifting breakdowns and variations
Progressively loading movements to build muscular strength
Strength Training and endurance – squat, bench press, deadlift, etc
Training the energy systems with steady-state work and
Metabolic Conditioning intervals, etc
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CONCLUSION
The fundamental questions all strength and
conditioning coaches should be asking themselves are:

1. “What does the athlete need?”

2. “What is optimal in the given time and environment?”

There is only so much an athlete can achieve in any given

week and unfortunately, the time allotted for strength and
conditioning can be limited. Therefore, it is up to the
strength and conditioning coach to decide on what is the
best plan of action.

A plan will never be perfect, but with years of education

(read and listen) and practical experience, you can create
programs that maximize results and produce the highest
levels of performance.
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