Like most Europeans, Artur Pacek began enjoying soccer concerning the time he may stroll. His athletic journey took a distinct path in elementary faculty when he fell in love with basketball. Pacek continued capturing hoops by way of school, and he prolonged his ardour for sports activities by turning into a power coach.
Right now, Pacek is the top power and conditioning coach for BM Stal Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland’s finest elite-level basketball group. He has additionally skilled athletes from Australia, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Pacek holds a graduate diploma in bodily training from the Academy for Bodily Schooling in Gorzów, Wielkopolski. In 2011, he continued his training by accepting a six-month internship with Tim Grover on the ATTACK Athletics Middle in Chicago, Illinois. Grover was the private coach of NBA legends Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade. Pacek hopes to work within the NBA finally.
Freelap USA: What are the key variations between basketball performed in Europe and the U.S., and what’s your normal strategy to coaching these athletes?
Artur Pacek: The tempo of the sport within the U.S. is quicker and extra intense. In Europe, groups play fewer video games per week. The typical variety of video games per week within the NBA is 3.3. The typical within the EuroLeague is 2.4, and in Poland, 1.6.
U.S. gamers are extra athletic than most European gamers, however lots of our gamers, reminiscent of Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić, are technically well-trained. These expertise give them a aggressive benefit.
Basketball is a recreation of particular joint angles that trigger the event and underdevelopment of particular person muscle teams. These structural imbalances result in overload and accidents. Due to this fact, my fundamental job with these athletes is to keep up their power, muscle mass, and structural steadiness to maintain them acting at a excessive stage.
A power coach wants the largest coaching toolbox potential and should use the suitable coaching methodology on the proper place, on the proper time, and with the suitable particular person. It’s all about adaptation and progressive overloading of the physique in order that we are able to use many instruments. My strategy with a brand new device is to study it, strive it on myself, seek the advice of with different trainers, and solely then will I add it to my toolbox. If I don’t research an train or coaching methodology intimately or perceive it, I don’t use it.
Basketball exercises are sometimes lengthy and monotonous however hardly ever at a excessive depth, so I attempt to present the physique with high-quality stimuli. As Coach Bob Alejo says, “By no means sacrifice depth!”
Freelap USA: How do you strategy periodization?
Artur Pacek: The periodization mannequin I take advantage of is determined by how lengthy the interval lasts and who I’m working with. These fashions embody linear, undulating, conjugate utilizing the basic power coaching mannequin, and the quad-current programming utilizing three forms of muscle contractions that Ben Prentiss promotes. I imagine 80% of basketball gamers are undertrained in eccentric and isometric muscle contractions, negatively affecting acceleration, deceleration, and course modifications throughout a recreation.
I believe 80% of basketball players are undertrained in eccentric and isometric muscle contractions, negatively affecting acceleration, deceleration, and direction changes during a game. Click To Tweet
I divide the low season into normal and particular bodily preparation phases, alternately specializing in quantity and depth.
When coaching for quantity, I emphasize the next:
- Longer vary of movement workout routines (pressure in stretched/deep positions).
- Low influence on joints.
- Low complexity.
- Strengthen weak areas.
When coaching for depth, my focus modifications as follows:
- Shortened vary of movement.
- Greater influence of joints/tissue acceptable.
- Extra complexity.
- Externally stabilized hundreds.
- Advantageous positions primarily based on physique kind.
- Make the most of the stretch reflex.
Freelap USA: What’s your annual strategy to coaching?
Artur Pacek: I divide the annual plan into 4 fundamental blocks: post-season, low season, pre-season, and in-season.
The post-season is a reconditioning part that focuses on tissue re-education. It’s not a efficiency mannequin however a preparation part to organize the tissues for extra superior coaching strategies.
After 8–9 months of enjoying basketball, the main target needs to be on bettering weak hyperlinks to revive homeostasis, muscle steadiness, and fascial strains. Throughout this part, I take advantage of yielding isometric components in prolonged and shortened positions. I additionally like utilizing prolonged eccentric contractions throughout this part.
As a power and conditioning coach, the low season is very vital. The power coaching frequency is greater than the in-season, so the physique has extra time to adapt, and it permits me to make use of extra demanding strategies to ship a stronger sign to the physique.
The pre-season is probably the most intense coaching interval. Frequency, quantity, and depth are at very excessive ranges. It’s a transition part the place we attempt to convert what we’ve developed in earlier durations. As a result of mixture of a really massive variety of basketball practices and power coaching exercises, my strategy is individualized.
The in-season is the longest block within the annual cycle, lasting 8–9 months. Within the NBA, most coaches concentrate on sustaining their outcomes from the low season and pre-season phases. A lot of them use the quadrant system, popularized by Daniel Bove. My strategy is individualized and influenced by how they appear and their enjoying time, however we power practice no less than twice every week. My aim is to not lower a power stage by greater than 10%–15% as a result of a lower in power and muscle mass will increase the chance of damage.
My goal is not to decrease strength level by more than 10%–15% because a decrease in strength and muscle mass increases injury risk. Despite what most people think, you can build during the season. Click To Tweet
Regardless of what most individuals suppose, you’ll be able to construct throughout the season. One athlete joined my group weighing 119 kilos at 207 cm tall (262 kilos, 6 ft 9 inches), with 19% physique fats. He couldn’t do a single body weight chin-up. After six months, his weight dropped to 112 kilos (246 kilos) and his physique fats to 10%, and he may carry out three chin-ups with a further 25 kilos (55 kilos).
Freelap USA: When had been you launched to flywheel coaching, and what are its benefits?
Artur Pacek: In 2009. My first mentor on flywheel coaching was Ben Prentiss on the Prentiss Hockey Efficiency Middle in Stamford, Connecticut.
I’m engaged on my doctorate with Mariusz Naczk, one of many world leaders in scientific publications associated to isoinertial coaching. Professor Naczk believes that by way of larger antagonist exercise, flywheel improves inter-muscular coordination higher than classical resistance coaching.
Flywheel coaching is exclusive in that it strengthens the limbs by way of your entire vary of movement and matches the power curves of the muscle. Additional, it has a larger switch to sports activities as a result of sports activities encompass rhythmic motions. The flywheel teaches us to maintain a rhythm, which doesn’t happen throughout classical power coaching. Additionally, the extent of soreness is decrease than within the classical strategy, which is a profit in-season.
From an athletic efficiency perspective, flywheel coaching bridges the hole between classical and quick eccentric coaching. There’s an inverse relationship between power and velocity in eccentric contraction in comparison with concentric work. This implies the slower the eccentric contraction, the decrease the power you produce; the quicker the eccentric contraction, the larger the power you produce.
Basketball entails numerous deceleration, acceleration, and modifications of course. Throughout deceleration, which research have proven can produce a power reaching 5.9 instances physique weight, athletes’ quadriceps want sufficient eccentric power to regulate their posture. If not, it can take longer to decelerate, and so they can pressure their muscle tissue. Flywheel coaching improves eccentric fee power improvement by way of quick eccentric overload. Workout routines I take advantage of with the flywheel to strengthen the quadriceps and enhance deceleration embody the squat, break up squat, and Poliquin step-up.
Freelap USA: How do you incorporate flywheel coaching in your exercises?
Artur Pacek: Flywheel coaching methodology nonetheless must be clarified, and it’s tough to match it with repetitions utilizing the basic coaching strategy. The massive wheel lets you develop extra power however at a decrease velocity, whereas the small wheel does the alternative. I take advantage of each of them year-round. Listed here are a couple of examples of my exercises:
- Section 1 – Again squat, prolonged eccentric
- 4 units x 5 reps, tempo 60×0, 120 seconds relaxation
- Section 2 – Again squat, overload eccentric, eccentric hooks
- 4 units x 1+1+1, tempo 40×0, 180 seconds relaxation
100/70
100% = bar + hooks
70% = bar
- Section 3 – flywheel squat, quick eccentric
- 3–4 units x 6 reps, / – / tempo, 120 seconds relaxation
- Section 4 – drop jumps from a field
- 3–4 units x 5 reps, / – / tempo, 120 seconds relaxation
For the flywheel squat, I’ve the athletes assist themselves by holding onto a bar within the concentric part to extend power improvement. I additionally use the flywheel on recreation day as a terrific potentiating device, reminiscent of 1–2 units of 4–6 repetitions of quick, dynamic actions. There are numerous prospects. Do not forget that the flywheel is a closed circuit, so the extra energy you generate within the concentric part, the extra energy you’re going to get within the eccentric part.
Remember that the flywheel is a closed circuit, so the more power you generate in the concentric phase, the more power you will get in the eccentric phase, says @ArturGetBetter. Click To Tweet
I take advantage of the model Exxentric kBox, however contemplate that every firm has totally different designations for the scale of the load measured in inertia in models of kgm2. I’ve three sizes: M–Medium, L–Massive, and XL–Additional Massive. Once I wish to develop extra power, I take advantage of the bigger wheels. Once I wish to develop larger velocity, reminiscent of on recreation days, I take advantage of the smallest wheel.
I wish to conclude by saying that I really like my job, significantly working with athletic groups. I need my gamers to be wholesome and carry out on the highest potential stage. This strategy helps us win!
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