Training for Athlete Durability

The capacity of the nervous system to output optimal force when it is in a physical state where it isn’t inclined to do so.

Olin Kreutz, a former NFL player, demonstrated remarkable durability by playing for 14 years in the physically demanding and violent ecosystem of the NFL. Throughout his career, Kreutz consistently prioritized durability training to enhance his ability to withstand the rigors of the NFL season.

Athlete Durability: A Trainable Capacity

A trainable ability (i.e., capacity) that is not appropriately discussed in the science of training for high performance is durability of the athlete. We defined the ability of the athlete to continually resist any factor that would create an impairment to the performance of that athlete both in time and over time as athlete durability.

Athlete Durability: A Nervous System-Based Capacity

Durability is primarily a nervous system-based capacity that enables the athlete to repeatedly output optimal impulses of force at points in time when their nervous system is in a state where it isn’t inclined to output. Durability is not a tissue-based capacity like reactive strength or a joint workspace capacity. However, it is critical to recognize that joint function (i.e., joint workspace) and reactive strength play essential roles as prerequisites, enabling the nervous system to effectively and efficiently generate and output force impulses (i.e., strength).

Athete Durability: the (trainable) ability of the athlete to continually resist any factor that would create an impairment to the performance (i.e., force output) of that athlete both in time and over time.

Athlete Durability + Point B = Matthew-Like Effects

At Absolute, it is our belief that: when this trainable capacity (i.e., athlete durability) is possessed by an athlete who is at Point B, that athlete is in a physical state to repeatedly generate high-level (i.e., optimal) performance solutions which enable them to succeed at the Level of Competition - this will no doubt stimulate the compounding Matthew-like effects which is the prerequisite to attaining high sporting mastery (see image below).

Athlete durability + Point B is what leads to elite performance outcomes, and elite performance solutions generated at the level of competition over time are what leads to Matthew-like effects which are responsible for high sporting mastery.

Point B: The Prerequisite for Training Athlete Durability

Only athletes who have trained to acquire Point B are eligible to undergo the training aimed at developing durability in our programming practice at Absolute. In other words, Point B serves as the requirement for training athlete durability. This non-negotiable prerequisite is necessary for optimal training work (i.e., propagating training work) that elicits increased durability because Point B represents the information that enables the programmer to have the durability training parameters that are specific to that athlete - as you will see in the training templates.

Training for Capacity, Not Compensation

The sole aim of training is to acquire and then sustain the capacities of Point B. We, as strength practitioners, never want to set the training parameters where the athlete is forced to compensate because they do not possess the physical requisites to match the physical training demands - as that mismatch builds compensation, not capacity, a fundamental concept we must understand and avoid. When durability training work is performed, and the athlete is not at Point B, due to the mismatch of capacity to demands, that work is eliciting compensation and not eliciting the stimulating training effect required to acquire the capacity of durability.

For example, the real-life athlete example we used to illustrate a lack of durability was Patrick Kane. His lack of hip joint function (i.e., dysfunction) prevents him from being in a physical state to train to acquire durability, even though durability is a capacity he lacks and needs to develop via training. If Kane were to prioritize durability training before addressing his hip joint issue, the "durability training work" would primarily enhance his ability to compensate for the lack of hip joint function. In other words, it would lead to non-propagating training work for durability, while propagating training work that further compensates for the hip joint issue - exactly what we do not want! There are many examples we could give, but this example illustrates why Point B is a non-negotiable to train for durability.

Absolute Strength: Athlete Durability Training Formula

Durability is a nervous system-based capacity - specifically: the capacity of the nervous system to output optimal force when it is in a physical state where it isn’t inclined to do so. As strength practitioners, this understanding enables us to know that training for durability will be training at the levels of absolute strength and speed strength - as those are the nervous system-based capacities at Point B that are responsible for generating and outputting optimal impulses of force.

Absolute Strength: Margin of Safety

A concept we discussed at this founder’s meeting, is how, in our programming practice at Absolute that we build a margin of safety into the absolute strength of Point B. A margin of safety is a risk management principle that involves leaving room for error or unexpected events - two things that occur in the ecosystem (i.e., level of competition) that the athlete must optimally function in. When viewing the athlete as a complex system, a margin of safety is a critical element in ensuring that a system can effectively cope with stressors and unpredictable circumstances - more specifically: unpredictable force output circumstances.

Programming Durability Training Work

In the context of programming durability training for the athletes managed by Absolute, we will provide an example of an NHL athlete in his 4th season. On his max effort lower day, specifically training for absolute strength with trap bar deadlifts, his current one-rep maximum is 460lbs, and his playing weight is 180lbs. To determine his Point B for lower extremity absolute strength, we calculated double his playing body weight, which is 360lbs, and add a 20% margin of safety, which amounts to 72lbs, resulting in a Point B of 432lbs for the bar weight. Over the course of the 4 years, we have built in a margin of safety of 28lbs. The total margin of safety, combining the 72lbs from the Point B calculation and the additional 28lbs, equals 100lbs. This entire margin of safety will be subtracted from his training loading to prioritize durability.

Absolute Training Formula for Durability

In our programming practice, when training lower extremity durability, the loading parameters are as follows:

1. Subtract the entire margin of safety, resulting in double body weight.

2. For repeated efforts and multiple sets in a training session, the loading parameters will be 70-80% of double body weight.

Applying this to our NHL training example, the athlete will utilize a bar weight of 252-288lbs on the trap bar for repeated efforts until reaching near failure or achieving a heart rate within zone 5. This set will be performed multiple times in a single training session and sequenced in a specific manner that elicits the best stimulus for the individual athlete.

72 Hours Rest

Durability training is physically and psychologically demanding, which is another reason why we only recommend subjecting athletes who are at Point B to this type of training. Considering its grueling nature, we advise a minimum of 72 hours of "rest," where rest is defined as refraining from work at a stimulating intensity for absolute strength or speed strength. However, athletes can engage in other forms of training that target their aerobic base, reactive strength, or joint workspace, as we program for Point B using the conjugate method. It's important to note that rest, in this context, does not mean complete inactivity but rather avoiding stimulating training intensity for absolute strength or speed strength during the 72-hour period.

NHL Athlete Durability Training Template (Downloadable PDF)