FAQs

If you have not received an email from TeamBuildr, be sure to check your junk. If you have just sent your information to me, please wait 24-48 hours for the email. It may arrive sooner, but within that time frame. If you still haven’t seen anything, please email
info@speedmechanics.ca.

Please see the intro to the TeamBuildr app on my YouTube channel. For quick reference, once you have clicked into the workout or clicked on a specific exercise, find the yellow button in the bottom right corner of your phone (highlighted by the bright blue box in this picture). Click that and enter your notes. You can save and edit them in that window.

Find your notes section for the specific exercise. Click in the bottom left corner of the notes page. You can upload a video from your phone or chose to create a live video on the spot. You can choose to make this video visible to the coach or not if you would like to keep it for your own records only, then choose to not make it visible to the coach.

It depends on what your injury is. There are some injuries in which you will need to take time off. Listen to your doctors, physiotherapist, or any other medical practitioner you are working with. There is usually some component that you can do though. If you have sprained your ankle you have 3 other limbs that work. Do the upper body work and work the non-affected lower limb. Same if you broke your wrist, for example, work the non-affected side and find a way to load your legs without hurting your arm. There will be an article to come on this further. Keep your eyes posted for it.

It’s been asked, what do I do if the weather sucks or the field is mush and I have to do tempo runs or sprints. If you have the option to go indoors for the sprints, that would be your best option. If you can’t, I will be posting some options for indoor versions but in the meantime, you can switch the day or do the effort on a bike and double the time of the sprint and keep the rest the same. For tempo runs, here are some options below for indoor options. One is do it on a treadmill. Run at a speed that feels like a 6-7/10 (where 10 is your max speed. Your legs don’t go faster. For some, that may mean an incline is needed). Focus on your stride on the treadmill, with no heel contacts and think springy off the balls of the feet. If treadmills are taken up and you want to do pool running (A-runs in the pool), use a bike, a rower, or an elliptical (last choice), then follow the conversions for times on the picture below. Your rest between intervals should be about 3x as long as your work interval and about 3 minutes between sets. For example, if your work time is 20 seconds for one rep, then you would rest 60 seconds between reps. Remember, the last rep should feel as hard as the first rep for an effective tempo pace. So make sure you’re going fast, but you should never be dying. Every rep should be equally as hard; even during tempo’s on grass (which is where they should be done). Turf is #2, chip trail in your initial month or 2 is #3 and track is #4 until a few months in. If you’re in-season, then something with less impact is better like grass, turf or a flat chip trail. 

Yes you can post them in the notes section of any exercise in the TeamBuildr app. You can also post a link in the feed section to a YouTube video for anyone to see or you could post a video in the Facebook group. I encourage you to post any successes in training or competition that you want to share with everything in the Facebook group and on the feed in TeamBuildr. We’re all working towards our own goals, but we also want to support everyone on their journey and celebrate those successes.

If your gym doesn’t have a piece of equipment, think about the movement you are trying to do and how can you modify it to do something as similar as possible to that particular exercise. Maybe you have to do it with 1 limb rather than 2 or vice versa. Maybe you have to do it off a bench rather than a machine, or maybe you have to use a machine instead of free weights. Whatever the case, try to make it look as close to what was prescribed as possible. If you can’t and it’s pulling exercise, for example, then replace it with another pulling exercise. If it’s a sprinting exercise and you don’t have a partner to hold a band around your waist, then use a hill. If you don’t have a hill around, find one. If you’re stumped and you’ve thought about it, but nothing’s coming to you, then ask.

No. Your body has a finite amount of resources within the body and each day is planned around developing certain attributes and to make sure you can recover for the next session. If you miss one session and put it in the next days session, then you have doubled the volume. You’ll probably be fine initially, but subsequent sessions will be worse and your chance of injury will increase because of your lack of recovery. Not to mention, that double-up day will suffer by the end because you ran out of gas, weren’t able to hit the intensities required, and will have poor technique. So, if you miss a day, rest up, and go at the next session with full vigour, knowing you have a little extra energy. Don’t make missing a regular habit either or you won’t get the full benefit of the program.

If you have some extra energy and want to hit some extra abs or arms work, knock yourself out. You have to get the meat and potatoes done first, though, then dessert. If you don’t want to do that, I would work on some form of recovery for your next session. Things like mobility work while focusing on your breathing, some light aerobic work for 5-10 mins, hitting up a sauna if you have access, get some food in you, or go take a nap. 

If I wanted you dead after the first training session, what was the point of writing the next 4-5 sessions this week? Some will be harder than others and some will be easier. They are planned in such a manner to facilitate recovery and adaptation. Focus on doing the work to the best of your ability, answer the questionnaires truthfully, and communicate your thoughts and feelings. Together you’ll adapt and understand the process better.

Start with today’s session but ease yourself into the programming. If you have been training and sprinting regularly over the past month then start closer to the prescribed percentages, but still ease yourself in. In all cases, it’s better to err on the side of caution and make continued progress over the coming weeks then dive into the deep end. Your body needs time to adapt, so give it time and listen to it. If you need to reduce the volume, do so. 

It’s best to live to train another day and accumulate adaptation then to blow yourself up in the first week and must recover over the next 2-3 weeks. Be smart, err on conservative.

If you are brand new to training and sprinting the On-Ramp program is for you. Learn the skills needed over 12 weeks to run faster and get stronger. Aim for perfection of movements and pay attention to the details now so you have a solid foundation to build from. 

If you have a scheduled lift today, try to put it as far away from practice as possible. If you practice in the morning, lift in the evening and vice versa. If you have a speed session, try to put it before practice and then you’re warmed up and ready to go. Let your coach know your plan so you don’t do double sprinting. If you have a conditioning session planned, then put it after practice and use it to supplement your work on pitch. If your coach made you run excessively then cut the volume down 40-60% on that day. 

The games are your priority. So, if you have a lift or conditioning scheduled, and you don’t play much, you can do them after the game. If you play the full match or 80%+ then focus on recovery. The conditioning could be done post match but reduce the intensity by running a little slower. If you have speed scheduled, then you can follow then same principles as the conditioning. Either do it immediately, post-match, or put 4+ hours in between. If you do it immediately post-match, then reduce the volume by 50%. If it was an intense match or your minutes were high, then do a 30-50% of the volume and some easy tempo runs to cool down and loosen up the legs.

For in-person sessions, we require 24 hours notice to cancel without forfeiting full fees. For online programming, we require 2 weeks notice to cancel services. At any point in time you can email us to put a hold on your account if needed.