This week’s guest is Derek Evely, Canadian track and field coach, and renowned expert on training organization.  Derek has coached all of the track and field events, but is particularly experienced in the throws.  Our talk today centers around the Bondarchuk training method, and its implications for other track events, such as sprints and jumps, as well as physical preparation concepts.

Talk about the Bondarchuk system (responsible for an absurd number of Olympic Gold medalists in the throws) is very popular these days, even amongst non-track and field coaches, such as those coaches involved in the physical preparation of team sport athletes.  The thing with Bondarchuk style training is that it is so different than every other training style, and applying even its principles to team sport situations can be difficult, due to the chaotic workloads of field/court sport practice and play.

Even for those of us in track and field, using a non-wave loading, do the same workout (or 2, maybe 3 workouts) every time you hit the track, seems like a difficult proposition to dive in on.  In order to get the most out of this system’s ideals, as well as the direction it is headed, I can’t think of too many people better to talk to than Derek Evely.  Nick Garcia, our guest for Episode #6 (it seems so long ago) is also a coach who has great experience with Bondarchuk and traditional methods.

Today, Derek shares with us knowledge of the Bondarchuk system, and a myriad of applicable ideas on long term development, short and long term improvement, individualization and athlete reactions, differences between throwers and sprinters in the context of the Bondarchuk system, velocity-based training applications, and much more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by SimpliFaster, supplier of high-end athletic development tools, such as the Freelap timing system, kBox, Sprint 1080, and more.

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Key Points:

Derek’s background in coaching A  general take on how principles from the Bondarchuk model can spill over into traditional cycles of training Ramifications of switching from traditional training to the Bondarchuk style in a long term training format Tackling exercise diversity, and the number of exercises in a program How single workout models in the complex method differ from having two or three types of workouts in the complex model Applying Bondarchuk ideals to sprinting and speed training What entails “peak condition” in Bondarchuk modeling: neural and motor learning-based, or physiological/hormonal? The process of learning how to adapt a program to an athlete based on their history and how training unfolds How to utilize Bondarchuk principles as a supplementary/strength and conditioning coach Utilizing velocity based training and bar speed to give more insight into the reaction of the athlete in the developmental cycle

Quotes: “Coach the athlete, not the event.  You will be far more successful if you try not to take every athlete that comes to you and fit them into your event group, but coach them at what they are going to be good at”

“I think all these coaches are going to evolve the way of doing (Bondarchuk programming) and it’s going to be a good thing”

“The non-waveloading element of the Bondarchuk system is the hardest to get your head around if you are not used to it”

“Even the smallest changes in the program will change the results of the program for better or for worse”  “Change is powerful, and you want to use it to your advantage”

“There are some limitations of this system (Bondarchuk), particularly maximal strength, which isn’t really part of the system”

“I’ve seen athletes respond very very well to the Bondarchuk system after they’ve come from a non-Bondarchuk approach”

“Bondarchuk has told me himself, every 5 years, and athlete needs to change his approach with an athlete”