Soviet training book - programing
 

So the book (see Other for original thread) talks about multidirectional and unidirectional training. They used multidirectional training for non-elite athletes and unidirectional for elite. If I understood it correctly, multidirectional is like Gant's hybrid where you train strength, speed, and endurance so that one builds on the other with a training day and through the week.

Unidirectional is where you do strength for say 6 weeks, then speed for six weeks, endurance...or sport specific exercises. They found that the strength volume can be lowered over the long run.

The other cool thing about the book is that it talks about how they chose and trained kids for sports.

So anyone come up with some other interesting programing nuggets?

interesting. Recently I have been thinking about scheduling my training on a 3week schedule so that for instance

week 1 - strength 3-4 sessions
week 2 - gymnastic/bodyweight 3-4 sessions
week 3 - Kettlebell/metcon 3-4 sessions

the back to week 1 again. This would certainly help me in my constant battle to schedule workouts that fit around job and family but I dont know if it is regular enough to see sustained improvements or whether the volume in any one week would be too much.

Soviet Multi-directional (Gpp) and Unidirectional(Spp)
 

*******I knew personally both Ben Tabachnick and Rick Brunner and have read their book "100x". Multidirectional training is known collectively as Gpp. Gpp is not what Westside has described but closer to what Michael Yessis( Trends in Soviet strength and conditioning:The role of all round,general physical preparation in the multiyear and yearly training program) and Thomas Kurz( early sports specialization,stadion news,spring 2000, volume 7,number 2) talk about. Soviet and GDR athletes in their youth participated and were competent in up to 10 different sports later reduced to 3. Typically these sports were close to the physiological characteristics of their competitive sport,more so as time went on.
At the end of their careers their training was intense,short term over trained and specific.
Unidirectional training for six week blocks was a primitive example of block training as described by Yuri Verkhoshansky with a switching of primary emphasis such as jumps to barbells to depth jumps.
Brandon Green