Tournament Play

John wrote the following in response to my post on Tournament play: my principal sport is Ultimate Frisbee. The sport is played entirely in a tournament format where it is common to play 4-5 90 minute games on Saturday and then 1-4 games on Sunday. The conditioning needs for an individual game (very high intensity, short duration sprinting and jumping) are at odds with the endurance requirements of tournament play. For an athlete to be successful they need to be able to perform on the last game of Sunday (Finals). Obviously having a bigger team and the ideas you provide in this post can do a great deal to help. Do you have thoughts on general ways you'd modify conditioning for adult athletes if all competition took place in the context of tournaments? John, the good news is that you do not have to compete week after week in an extended competitive season. My advice in preparation for this format is to set up training in revolving three week cycles. Cycle #1 would have a speed and power emphasis. Cycle #2 would have a speed endurance emphasis and cycle #3 would have an aerobic emphasis. Repeat this pattern for nine weeks total leading into the tournament. The last three weeks (10^th, 11^th & 12^th weeks) into the tournament should be more specific with week #1 of that cycle emphasizing skill and game simulation. Week #2 should be the highest intensity week of the whole cycle and week # 3 should taper down and rest up for the tournament. In the last week be sure to do a good warm-up the day before the tournament. Take Thursday off completely and make Wednesday very light. Tuesday of that week should be a speed endurance day with Monday a short sharp aerobic day.