Winter Conditioning
I am excited about coaching the Imperials and am looking forward to a successful season. The path to success will be challenging. It will require hard work, but if each of us gives it our absolute best effort we will be rewarded accordingly.
The path to success begins now. It begins with pre-camp conditioning. It is extremely important to start your conditioning now if you have not already. We can not afford to get off to a slow start in April. Hitting and running will be intense starting the first day of training camp. If you are not in shape it will not be a good experience.
Winter Conditioning Expectations:
Weight Training (3 days per week)
Football players that do not light weights are dinosaurs. Football requires strength and explosiveness. None of us have jobs anymore that provide that type of exercises. There are three key weight lifting exercises that you should focus on for football:
- bench press
- squats
- clean and jerk
After your warm up set in each exercise you should be lifting the maximum weight with 3 sets of 4 - 6 reps. You are going for bulk and power. You will need a partner to spot you. If you want to incorporate other exercises in your routine, that is fine so long as you focus on these essential ones.
Running (3 days per week)
A football play averages about 7 seconds. Football players need to run short distances at full speed.
Each of you should be running (10) 40 yard sprints 3X per week. Sprints should be run at full bore with a 20 - 30 second rest between sprints. If the ground is not suitable for running, find a gym. If a tread mill is your only option then you should go full bore for 10 seconds and then walk for 20 - 30 seconds and repeat 10X. Make sure you stretch and warm up before sprinting.
Jump rope (3 days per week - after running)
Football players need quick feet and balance. Jump rope for 30 seconds, then rest for 30, repeat 10X. Build up to 1-2 minute periods.
You will be take to the limit during camp. If you follow this winter conditioning plan, you will be ready. If you don not, it will be a grueling experience. Starting with the month of January we will schedule monthly conditioning evaluations to assess your progress.
Are you all wondering if there is a method to this madness? Actually, there is. If there is one thing a coach wants to know about a player, it's that when the game is on the line and is so exhausted he can't breath, will he keep fighting? We need to know exactly who can be depended on when we go into a game.
That's all for now guys,
Coach Allen.