Run forest run….

Hockey at an level and any age requires a vast reservoir of aerobic fitness for running. We investigate Maximal Aerobic Speed - what it is and how to improve it.

Modern hockey requires a great deal of running, at various speeds repeatedly, and often laterally. The cardio-respiratory preparation and playing loads are substantial and multi-faceted. They require you to condition more than one aspect of the energy systems that keep you ticking over.  To get started there must first be a recognition of:

• Which running-based conditioning outcomes to target and why.

• A need for some standardized testing so you can set appropriate goals and gauge the efficacy of any training program and adjust as needed.

• The potential benefits of using accurate wearables and apps to monitor loads and performance.

We will zero in on the running pillars of your running conditioning over these next few posts. For now, we will kick off with Maximal Aerobic Speed or MAS.

This is simply the lowest running speed at which maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) occurs, and is typically referred to as the velocity at VO2 max (vVO2 max). MAS was developed for the purpose of increasing the specificity of training and to enable coaches to monitor training loads more accurately. MAS forms part of the process for developing aerobic capacity. It is expressed as metres per second (m/sec). To improve VO2max MAS training sessions should accumulate as much time at, or as close to, VO2max as possible.

It is the foundation stone of optimising running fitness and performance in hockey. An increase in aerobic fitness can improve recovery time between high intensity bursts within a soccer match, thus having a positive effect on repeated sprint ability, da Silva, Guglielmo & Bishop (2010). The benefits to hockey performance are similar. MAS lends itself to a structured, self and coach monitored approach and slots nicely into standard periodised training plans for any age group.Obviously, with masters players, total volume and the tweaking of recovery adjusts as individuals age up. As it is speed-centred it is ready-made for monitoring, particularly if players have half decent wearables.

Baselining

Before undertaking any prescriptive training, it is essential you assess your current aerobic power using standardized testing, ensuring of course you have an all-clear from your primary healthcare provider beforehand.

There are a handful of validated field testing methods used to assess MAS. It has been shown that set distance time trials have a strong correlation achieving MAS scores within field sport athletes, Bellenger et.al (2015). For a majority of field sports such a time trial is run for 5 or 6 minutes, this is linear and continuous. 

Speed calculations are straightforward. If we opt for shuttle-based testing  we subject our players to a testing performance that includes constant deceleration, change of direction and acceleration; these “high-intensity” actions add an anaerobic element to the test which is typically not present during continuous, linear running tests.

This makes MAS calc a little more complex as explained by Walker (2016) 

To account for the aforementioned issues when using shuttle-based tests to calculate MAS, “corrective” equations have been developed for certain tests. Tests without their own specific corrective equation can use a simple generic formula.

Multistage Fitness Test – Corrective Equation (1)

MAS (km/h) = Final Shuttle Speed (km/h) * 1.34 – 2.86

We recommend when working with masters athletes or as a masters player self assessing, you opt for the straight out run for 5 minutes.

To familiarize and prepare themselves appropriately any individual should practise the time trial beforehand, preferably supervised. Baseline and follow up testing should be done at the same venue in as close as possible to similar conditions for valid comparisons.

Training MAS

Steady state running, taking off for a 10km run or similar won’t push the necessary aerobic boundary far enough for long enough to elicit the targeted training effects.. To really increment MAS capability a structured interval training approach is the most effective. 

Grids

These are the go-to standard prescriptive models for MAS training in team sports.They enable a coach to dispense tailored workouts to players of different MAS levels in the one session.

MAS does give your STAC coach the flexibility and fidelity to prescribe sessions that are not one-paced, one dimensional and overly intense. There are, if you like, shades of gray to ensure stimulus matches physiological state and seasonal demand.

Nathan Heaney in his excellent article comparing and contrasting MAS-based vs Tempo training emphasizing that

When used correctly as an intensity measure, MAS allows you to prescribe training to elicit “easy,” “moderate” or “hard”.

MAS is an intensity measure for conditioning prescription. It is not a HIIT session.

Grids are involved in the sense they do require a reasonable amount of setup and ideally in managing a squad sized session will have the coach with an assistant to manage the end to end process.

Grid-based MAS workouts are based on short intervals of 15-30 seconds at 100-110% MAS interspersed with 15-30 seconds of active recovery at 50-70% MAS, continuing on for 5-10 or more minutes.

Setup for MAS training with grids means organising rectangular concentric grids of differing dimensions that equal ~15-s at 100% MAS along the long side of the rectangle and 15-s at 70% MAS along the short side. The fastest groups are on the outside grid and the slowest group using the inside grid.

Example of a MAS Grid Layout

Load Principles

Conventionally, athletes will build up to 6, through to 8-minutes and repeat for 2-4 sets, else build up to 10 minutes and complete 1-2 sets. It is a more practical approach than attempting to increase the length of the 100% rep sides as players get fitter.  

In AFL training, load increases around 3-4 weeks and each group advances to the next grid typically around 102-105% of their original or previous MAS. 

The EURO-fit variation

Driven again by professional football requirements and finding its feet in the academy systems in the sport, this variation is very simple to implement and set up is a breeze. For masters hockey, it is a no-brainer given the time and resource constraints coaches face with these age groups. I have a strong preference for it with older masters age groups ( 55+) as it incorporates passive rest. Given the load bearing inherent in a constant contact activity like running and in the interests of minimizing joint damage in older athletes I am an advocate of passive rest in a lot of interval-based work. In the same vein, I encourage masters players to  incorporate gentle water-based recovery workouts in any periodised plan and mandate it at tournaments.

With Eurofit, we begin with baseline testing to determine a player’s 100% MAS score and increment this by 20%  and refer to it as 120% MAS. The athletes assemble along a line and then run to the marker cone that represents their 120% MAS distance in 15 seconds. They rest there for 15 seconds and then run back to the start line. This process is repeated for 5-minutes initially, building up to 8- or 10-minutes, with only 1-2 sets being performed. Intensity can be increased up to 125 or 130% MAS after 3-4 weeks ( 6-8 weeks for older masters players).

Example Basic Euro fit MAS session layout

It is reasonable to mix and match the EuroFIT and Grid methods with, say, a variant of the TABATHA HIIT-style in a periodised plan for masters players. I will write more extensively on programming MAS in a later piece.

References

Baker, Daniel, and Nathan Heaney. 2015. “Review of the Literature - Normative Data for Maximal Aerobic Speed for Field Sport Athletes,” December. http://dx.doi.org/.

Bellenger, Clint R., Joel T. Fuller, Maximillian J. Nelson, Micheal Hartland, Jonathan D. Buckley, and Thomas A. Debenedictis. 2015. “Predicting Maximal Aerobic Speed through Set Distance Time-Trials.” European Journal of Applied Physiology 115 (12): 2593–98.

“Conditioning Using Maximal Aerobic Speed.” n.d. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://passport.world.rugby/conditioning-for-rugby/advanced-conditioning-for-rugby-pre-level-2/game-based-conditioning/methods-for-conditioning/maximal-aerobic-speed/conditioning-using-maximal-aerobic-speed/.

Da Silva, Juliano F. da, Luiz G. A. Guglielmo, and David Bishop. 2010. “Relationship between Different Measures of Aerobic Fitness and Repeated-Sprint Ability in Elite Soccer Players.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research / National Strength & Conditioning Association 24 (8): 2115–21.

“Maximal Aerobic Speed vs. Tempo: Which Is Optimal?” 2022. Sportsmith. September 27, 2022. https://www.sportsmith.co/articles/maximal-aerobic-speed-vs-tempo-running/.