Dynamic Energy Control
Dynamic energy control is a term coined by veteran conditioning coach Joel Jamison and refers to an athlete's ability to control energy production and expenditure.
Conditioning is more than just developing energy systems and improving fitness markers. It involves learning pacing strategies to allow the athlete to ramp up the intensity when needed within a fight, take the foot off the accelerator in between, recover, and conserve energy.
Dynamic energy control and managing the stress response are learned skills that will ultimately dictate your level of conditioning on fight night. You can have all the fitness in the world, but if you can't control your pace and power output during the fight and avoid gassing out, handle the stress of the competitive environment, or perform under pressure, you will come unstuck.
One of the critical factors determining an athlete's level of conditioning, which the concept of dynamic energy control is built around, is the stress response. The stress response significantly influences an athlete's energy production. The higher the level of stress, the more energy the body produces and expends to handle it. If this isn't something the athlete has learned to manage, it can significantly impact how they perform in a competitive environment.
As conditioning coaches, we want to look at the areas that affect the stress response as these are aspects we can positively influence and help the athlete have control over.
These factors are:
Environment. Becoming familiar with different settings reduces stress as the brain becomes accustomed to what to expect. Whether this is sparring in front of your peers, travelling to other gyms to do live sparring in front of unfamiliar faces, or spending more time building competition experience.
Stress tolerance. The ability to perform under pressure. Working to improve your mental performance is critical here. Developing clarity around your goals, improving your self-talk, reflecting in a journal, and building self-control and discipline via daily habits are all excellent places to start.
Fitness levels. Improved aerobic base, HRV, movement efficiency, and breathing techniques help reduce energy expenditure and stress.
Energy management. The most important skill to develop is to ensure the athlete can control the pace and power output where they can. This can be achieved via heart rate training and building awareness and control of the athlete's heart rate (energy expenditure and recovery.
So if you are tired of putting in a solid fight camp, feeling fit, and then under-performing on the night, it is time to start developing the four components of stress response management as part of your yearly conditioning programming.
For more information on how you can best utilise these strategies, email Dave at admin@cronullastrengthmovement.com.au
References:
8 weeks out, Joel Jamieson
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