Familiarisation

Force

Upon administering an athlete’s first test, the athlete is required to familiarise themselves with the testing and training procedures.

Ensure the load cells are plugged into the laptop and the “Force” software configuration is running.

Adjust the bar so that it is in the correct horizontal position (default 8) and lift the bar height to its highest position for the athlete’s ease in entering the HEB.

Place a foam pad on the floor of the HEB for the athlete to sit on.

Request for the athlete to sit in the HEB on the foam pad with their ankles dorsiflexed and heels in the desired position on the foot plate.

Adjust the bar height to the correct vertical position.

Place the laptop on the rest with the software open for the athlete to see.

Click “reset” whilst nobody is touching the bar or load cells to “zero” the force.

*Metrics leave the decision of familiarising athletes to bilateral or unilateral contractions to the users discretion. However, we would typically advise to familiarise the athlete with a bilateral contraction first, and follow this with unilateral contractions once the athlete is comfortable.

Provide the following guidance to the athlete:

• You will be performing a hip thrust style movement, except you will be pushing against an immovable bar at the front of your hips.
• When performing a maximum test, you will push as hard and as fast as you can for a designated timeframe whilst being encouraged by me with “push push push” remarks for the duration of the contraction.
• As a practice, please lift your hips up to the bar and have your fingers rest on top of the bar pad.
• Squeeze slightly against the bar providing a “pre-tense” sensation in the body, and watch how the force trace moves vertically up.
• Prior to pushing harder, squeeze your abs, your glutes, keep your shoulders back, and pull your toes up to your shins.
• Your cue will be to push your hips upwards through the bar as hard as you can whilst maintaining good posture.
• As a warm up, I want you to build up to a 50% maximum effort contraction for 10 seconds.
• After 20 seconds of rest, I want you to build up to a 75% maximum effort contraction for 5 seconds.
• After another 20 seconds of rest, I want you to build up to a 90% maximum effort contraction for 3 seconds.
• After a final 20 seconds of rest, I want you to produce a near maximal effort getting to your maximum force reading almost as quickly as you can.

Once the warmup is complete, ask the athlete for their feedback on how they feel and provide them with insights into what a “good” and a “bad” score might look like for someone of their demographic.

• After 60 seconds of rest, the athlete is required to produce a minimum of three maximum force repetitions for a duration of 2 to 3 seconds, with 30 seconds rest in between each attempt. After three attempts, if the athlete’s maximum force reading is still increasing complete further repetitions (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, etc.) with 30 seconds rest between each until a plateau is reached. Once a plateau is reached, it is believed for the athlete to be familiarised.

RFD

Ensure the laptop is plugged in and the “RFD” software configuration is running.

Complete all of the procedures outlined in “athlete familiarisation (Force)” with the absence of the penultimate bullet point and addition of the below:

• Your final two practices will involve a pre-tense within a specific force window (±150 N) in order to obtain a stable “active force trace” prior to maximum force and RFD contractions.
• At this point, set the pre-tense number to 400 (bilateral) or 300 (unilateral) N, and click the body mass dropdown and select the athlete's appropriate body mass.
• Please lift your hips to the bar and squeeze as hard as necessary to have the force trace stabilise in between the red horizontal lines (pre-tense window).
• Once you have done so for 2 s, the grey circle will turn purple. This is a trigger to say that the test is ready for you to contract at maximum force and speed.
• The purple light is a signal that the system is ready to receive a repetition. At any time after the circle turns purple, and not as a reaction to the circle turning purple, you may complete a maximum push as hard and quick as you can for 2 s.
• A valid score will appear on the cells of the screen if the test was completed correctly. If the force trace dipped above or below the window prior to your maximal push, or if the pushing motion was too slow, the interface will void the attempt (false reading) and not present any data.

*For a recap of the software navigation and associated widgets please click here.

Guide your athlete to view the peak force and peak RFD scores on the right hand side of the window in white. These are the simplest variables for athletes to familiarise themselves with as numbers to try and improve on (both as high as possible). Whilst the athlete rests, provide them with normative values for an athlete of their demographic (normative data here).

• After 60 seconds of rest, the athlete is required to produce a minimum of three maximum repetitions for a duration of 2 to 3 seconds, with 30 seconds rest in between each attempt. After three attempts, if the athlete’s maximum force and peak RFD reading is still increasing complete further repetitions (4^th, 5^th, 6^th, etc.) with 30 seconds rest between each until a plateau is reached. Once a plateau is reached, it is believed for the athlete to be familiarised.

• If your environment allows (albeit not essential), it may be suitable to revisit the familiarisation between 1 and 2 weeks later to give total confidence of a familiarised state.