What actually is massed practice?

What does it look like practically:

Massed practice sessions can be used for activities such as marathons. This can be two 2 hour practice sessions a week. As massed practice sessions are relatively continuous, this will work well for marathon preparation. The two hours provide adequate time for the athlete to finish a running course.

Theoretical basis:

Massed practice includes fewer but longer sessions. The amount of rest between intervals is very short making the practice relatively continuous (Spittle, 2013). This means in a massed practice schedule, there is more work time than rest for the individuals. A massed practice schedule is beneficial to practitioners without a lot of time (Spittle, 2013). However, massed practice is considered to suppress performance as opposed to learning (Panchuk, Spittle, Johnston, & Spittle, 2013). As massed practice schedules involve more work than rest, this schedule negatively affects performance during practice sessions (Panchuk et al., 2013).

For additional reading check out;

Our full depth piece)

- https://joshgosch.wixsite.com/practiceschedules/single-post/2017/03/14/The-Base-Theoretical-basis-for-practice-schedules

Or our references from the articles) -Chapter 15 of Motor Learning and Skill Acquisition by Spittle, M.

-'Effect of practice distribution and experience on the performance and retention of a discrete sport skill.' Perceptual and Motor Skills, 116(3), 750-760 by Panchuk, D., Spittle, M., Johnston, N., & Spittle, S. (2013).