Chad,
Your concern over back to back high intensity training is absolutely valid. However, consider that most coaches in the UK (Christie, Arnold and MK) are ALTERNATING high intensity training components. Additionally they are performing more sessions, more volume AND more exercises in the gym! On my template track sessions always follow a days tempo… Not perfect, but certainly a big improvement!
Muscle soreness from my program will be minimal because volume is so low and the exercises remain consistent. My weightlifters require more recovery because they perform the full versions of the lifts; more volume (attempts at maximum, flushing sets etc) and at a higher absolute intensity (since they are fresh for each workout).
During the peak competition period I recommend the athlete stops one set before maximum. This is usually sufficient to maintain 95% of strength without overly fatiguing the organism. During other training phases I don’t advocate formalised deloading weeks but intuitively allow lifters to ‘take the foot of the gas’ for one or two sessions if they are feeling jaded.
I’ve answered the question regarding women earlier in this thread..
DW
I am glad you answered, and while I will never whole-heartedly agree with a program like this, I think it has some points of interest.
My questions were put out solely because I wanted to know how an athlete would handle something like this in the long-term. I reference women a lot because I have burn out some women in past by doing more than 2 HI days a week over the course of one season. By the middle of outdoor, they were fried, felt dead all the time, and ran like shizzle.
Personally, in the middle of the season, I hold the athletes back everywhere except meets. I find that as the performances approach maximum, ala PR level, the athlete doesn’t need the stimulus of practice to be as intense, only the meets because the overall intensity of the week is higher than any previous training done.
Training back to back HI days is risky and it like UT had said earlier in the thread, it is very easy to over-train, even when you plan very carefully.