Article CategoriesAFM Magazine
|
Speed Report: Combining In-Season Conditioning with In-Season Speed Trainingby: Dale BaskettFootball Speed Specialist © More from this issue The answer is usually not well-received. My reply is that we need to understand how the game is played physiologically. If you run athletes hard and often with short recovery time between efforts, your athletes are being exposed to overtraining. Consequently, you’re training the wrong metabolic system and will not be tapping the proper system that is required. Limited recovery with constant brutal sprinting is going to keep the heart rate at maximum levels. The heart rate should have a chance to recover to learn how to drop sufficiently on any given break. Volume and low recovery constitutes quantity, not quality.
When doing workshops throughout America, I constantly find that coaches use conditioning in the off-season and in-season in a manner that limits production returns. Speed must be an important part of your package each year. The terms anaerobic and aerobic represent two different systems to the physiological side of conditioning and speed training. Aerobic activity is having enough oxygen uptake to supply energy mechanisms in the body to function a long time at low-level contraction activities. The balance between uptake and physical demand is capable of sustaining movement at a given rate for a longer period.
Conquering the Dilemma of Contraction Dissipation As we train, we must always strive to design speed work that keeps contraction rate at a high frequency level. The same is true for conditioning. Conditioning needs to be anaerobic for a couple of reasons. One, the game is an anaerobic sport. Two, the design for attainment must parallel the specific physical demands necessary. In simple terms, the system records what it receives and becomes tuned to that level of performance. In the case of contraction intensity without rest recovery, the system is being slammed into an aerobic state of function because of glycogen depletion and high heart rate while continuously forcing movement. The training presented must match what’s required. Football is high-intensity for a specific number of seconds but then the intensity shuts down. If you’re not aware of this, then you’re equipping your players to perform in a non-specific training mode.
Be Specific with Specific Training - Gain the Edge Most football programs are not getting near the mileage out of their speed and conditioning as is possible. Football programs can squeeze the grape if they learn and focus on the potential dividends available. I have teams that actually get faster during the season. That’s hard to believe because football is brutal and rugged and doesn’t lend itself to feeling fresh every day. However, there are things that can be done and should be done if you are truly concerned about being the best with what you’re given. - Training for speed should always be short and electric during the season. - High recovery with lower reps should be a priority. - Be consistent with your training and it will work for you over time. - Any physical training takes four-six weeks to be effective. - Less is more and more is less. - You can’t work hard everyday and not address anaerobic concerns. - Always do your speed work and conditioning at the beginning of practice, not the end. You want fresh, fast and 100% intensity with both, which is the way the game is played. - Specificity of training is your edge over others. - Keep in mind that every practice is also conditioning. Each day adds a little more to the goal. - You should train a maximum of two days a week for conditioning in-season, if you even condition at all. I have some clients who never condition during the season. They are always fresher in the fourth quarter than everyone else. - Conditioning doesn’t have to be long periods of time. - Think outside the box and mix speed and movement similar to the game for unique gains in conditioning. Keep the action at eight-ten seconds some days and 10 to 16 others. - Add change-of-pace sprint activities to your conditioning. Remember, the game is not all at one speed or one direction. Be creative and think of ways to parallel what is done on game-day. Train smarter, and don’t be afraid of changes that can make a difference. |
|
HOME |
MAGAZINE |
SUBSCRIBE | ONLINE COLUMNISTS | COACHING VIDEOS |
Copyright 2024, AmericanFootballMonthly.com
All Rights Reserved