Classification of the Means

This Article has been reproduced with the permission of James Smith

In regards to strength training for sport; many comparisons and arguments have been
initiated in reference to the Olympic weight lifts and their derivatives and the power lifts
and their derivatives. Such debates are futile and often commenced by individuals who
lack a fundamental understanding of the transference of various types of exercise to
sports form.

First, all means (exercises) must be classified as general, general specific, or specific.
General means qualify as those which do not directly assist in perfecting or developing
sport skill; but rather, serve to develop general physical qualities such as general work
capacity, muscle cross-section, increased bone density, connective tissue strength,
flexibility/mobility, etc.

General Specific means qualify as those which match the energy system demands (speed
of muscle contraction, duration of effort, etc) of the sport skill and some or all of the
active musculature yet do not match the amplitude and direction of the sport skill.
Specific means qualify as those which exactly match the amplitude and direction of the
sport skill and, correspondingly, develop the special work capacity and have a direct
effect on the development of sport skill.

Following are some examples of various means and their classification relative to
different sporting disciplines:

American Football (Linemen)

• General- Olympic lifts, power lifts, any other lift performed with barbells,
dumbbells, kettlebells , etc
• General Specific- pushing a weighted implement (e.g. sled, tire, special training
apparatus, etc), performing intermittent contact/hitting drills, game simulation
wearing a weighted vest, etc for 4-10 second repetitions
• Specific- one on one contests against an opponent for 4-10 second repetitions

Track and Field (100m)

• General- Olympic lifts, power lifts, any other lift performed with barbells,
dumbbells, kettle bells, etc
• General Specific- double/single leg bounds, jumps, landings, depth jumps,
alternating bounds, sprints wearing a weighted belt or vest, sprints up a mild
grade, etc
• Specific- variable intensity sprints over different distances

Track and Field (Shot, Disc, Hammer)

 • General- Power lifts, rows with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, presses/swings
with dumbbells, kettlebells, GHR, pull ups, back raises, step ups, lunges, jumps
onto a box, bounds, landings, depth jumps, etc
• General Specific- Olympic lifts, powerlifts performed explosively with
submaximal weight, weighted throws heavier or lighter then the competition
implement, medicine ball throws, kettle bell throws, etc
• Specific- variable intensity throws (Range Throwing RE A.P. Bondarchuk) with
the competition implement

Track and Field (High Jump)

• General- Power lifts, Olympic lifts, any other lift performed with barbells,
dumbbells, kettle bells, etc
• General Specific- any bounds, jumps, weighted jumps, depth jumps, etc other
then the competition exercise
• Specific- high jumps over various heights

Olympic Weightlifting

• General- rows with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, presses/swings with

dumbbells, kettlebells, GHR, pull ups, back raises, step ups, lunges, jumps onto a
box, bounds, landings, depth jumps, etc
• General Specific- front squat, back squat, overhead squat, box squat, SS Bar
squat, cambered bar squat, squatting a barbell suspended in chains, squatting a
barbell resting on pins, GM’s, GM out of chains, GM off of pins, bench press
with different grips, incline/decline bench press, push press, military press,
overhead press off of pins/out of chains, jerk from stands, power jerk (if split jerk
is used in competition), split jerk (if power jerk is used in competition), clean
from blocks, clean from hang, power clean, snatch from blocks, deadlift with
snatch/clean grip off of blocks, floor, suspended in chains, pulls with snatch/clean
grip from hang/floor/off boxes/out of chains, snatch from hang, power snatch,
accommodating resistance with bands and/or chains, lightened method with
bands, contrast method with weight releasers, etc
• Specific- Snatch and C&J with varied intensities

Powerlifting

• General- rows with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, presses/swings with

dumbbells, kettlebells, GHR, pull ups, back raises, step ups, lunges, jumps onto a
box, bounds, landings, depth jumps, etc
• General Specific- bench presses with different grips, board presses, floor presses,
incline presses, decline presses, overhead presses, pressing a barbell suspended in
chains, box squats, front squats, full squats, SS Bar squats, cambered bar squats,
squatting a barbell suspended in chains, squatting a barbell resting on pins, GM’s,
GM out of chains, GM off of pins, GM with specialty barbells, deadlift off of
boxes, pins, chains, bench pressing/squatting/deadlifting with gear that is stronger
 or weaker then the competition gear, accommodating resistance with bands and/or
chains, lightened method with bands, contrast method with weight releasers, etc
• Specific- competition squat, bench press, deadlift with competition gear and
varied intensities

In reference to the material listed above, one may conclude that the sport skill must
determine the classification of the means. Consequently, a general means for one sport
discipline may qualify as a general specific or specific means for another sport discipline.
Any arguments initiated over general means must, correspondingly, be initiated solely by
those individuals who have a grossly insufficient understanding of the training process; as
general means have little effect on the perfection of sport skill.

This fact is demonstrated in the physical preparation of American football players in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Various Division 1 teams which have
a history of winning/competing in national championships (for their respective divisions)
all utilize widely varying means and methods of strength training in their weight rooms.
These same organizations; however, all have excellent recruiting capabilities and top
level coaching. Consequently, the process of deduction allows any intelligent individual
to realize that what is done in the weight room, no matter how optimal, orthopedically
sound, or absurd, has very little correlation with the success of the football teams who
have the luxury of being populated by the most gifted athletes and coaches. Here we see
the glaring lack of impact which General means have on the highly qualified athlete’s
perfection of sport skill.

A careful analysis of the physiology, biomechanics, etc of sport skill allows the coach to
understand what classifications of training means to employ at what volume/intensity
throughout the training year. Former Soviet and Eastern Bloc scientists, coaches, and
athletes have, for years, (at the Olympic level) demonstrated the significance of
programming various means and methods, ranging in transference to sports form,
throughout the yearly cycle.

Conjugate Sequencing (illustrated in Table 1 and modeled towards collegiate American

Football) allows one to observe a visual representation of the percentage of the training
load comprised of General (G), General Specific (GS), and Specific (S) methodics
throughout the year cycle.

Loading Sequence of Training Blocks

Concentrated G G GS GS S S
Distributed G GS GS/G S S S
Distributed GS S S GS/G GS S
Distributed S G G G G GS/G
→ → → → → Comp
In reference to Table 1 we may conclude that G means are emphasized early in the
prepatory period with GS and S means trained at an ancillary capacity. GS is the next
regime of means to become emphasized as the competitive season approaches with S
moving up the chain of priority and G dropping down to ancillary capacity. During pre-
comp and comp S comprises the greatest concentration of the training load with GS and
G retaining ancillary training load/intensity until the comp season where S and G
comprise the majority of the training load.

Important to note is that spring ball is not accounted for in the loading of Table 1. If
spring ball were to be accounted for one would observe a spike in S means, up to
concentrated loading, midway through the sequence of training blocks followed by a
decay back down to an ancillary status until pre-comp.

To put this into a more meaningful context with respect to the sport (American Football);
we see that weight training initiates the off-season training at a concentrated capacity and
sequentially comprises less of the volume/intensity of the training load as the comp
season approaches. During the actual comp season the weight work does not comprise
any significant volume (relatively speaking) of the training load intensity; as the primary
function of the weight training during comp phase is to maintain the contractile strength
of muscle tissue developed in the prior training blocks. During the comp phase weight
training will also play a key role in prehabilitation and rehabilitation protocols. The GS
means serve a vital function for bridging the gap between G and S and are extremely
effective for developing the motor functions inherent to sport form. The ‘general’ aspect
of the GS means, however, introduce motor patterns distant enough from sport form so as
to avoid overuse injury which would be likely to occur as a result of cumulative/repetitive
stress effect if S was emphasized year round. As comp phase enters; however, the
training load volume of GS means are reduced, along with G means, as the S means
comprise the vast majority of the training load intensity.

In order to provide any useful insights we must introduce meaningful and specific
context. Accordingly, it is important to note that the Table 1 merely outlines one
particular plan for the acyclic sport discipline of American Football and that the planning
for one sport discipline must not be considered a universal template for other sport
disciplines; specifically when considering acyclic and cyclic activities.

The classification of means is absolutely fundamental for the successful programming of

the training load for any sport discipline. Consequently, any coach whose responsibility
lies in developing the physical abilities of any sportsman must exercise the programming
skill to integrate various methodics at varying degrees of the training load intensity
throughout the yearly cycle. Here we see the value of not only physical but tactical
(planning/strategy) and technical (regulation of GS and S means) preparation. The
development of these qualities, along with psychological preparedness, is inherent to the
multi-faceted PASM.

The classification of the means is inherent to optimal programming and the regulation of
the intensive components of the training load. Debating over General means, this lift or
that lift is an elementary undertaking which serves no useful purpose in the training of
any athlete.

The training process is an organic whole. General, General Specific, and Specific means
must be accounted for in the overall plan regardless of which coaches regulate which
regimes of work. As a result, the athletes will be optimally primed for, and throughout,
the competitive phase.

About the Author

James Smith’s Professional Endeavors are listed below:

• Assistant Coach of Physical Preparation (Football) University of Pittsburgh

• Training Consultant to U.S. and foreign military special operations
commandos
• Writer and Q&A staff member at Elite Fitness Systems (www.elitefts.com)
• Published Author
• Editor for selected publications authored by Dr. Yuri Verkhoshansky
• Professional lecturer and consultant in the field of sports training

You can find out more about James at his website

www.powerdevelopmentinc.com