Improve Your Football Endurance With Two 1,000-Yard Conditioning Workouts
Succumbing to fatigue when your teammates need you the most can be devastating for a football player. That’s why conditioning is such an important component of football training. Football players need to be fast, strong and agile to make a difference on the field, but if they can’t go 100 percent deep into each game, those skills are worthless. Follow the guidelines below to get the most out of your football conditioning program.
Understand the Demands
Football is a fast-paced game characterized by bouts of extreme effort followed by short rest periods. To prepare for the constant stop and start, perform interval training for cardio. The sprinting distances and rest periods can vary and be adjusted for your position.
Track Your Results
The only way to get the most out of your workout is to give your best effort. Time your sprints as a way to measure your effort and to give yourself an incentive to try harder. Times are to sprints as pounds are to lifting weights. Record all your sprints as well as your rest intervals, and always strive to beat your record during each sprint.
Use Appropriate Rest Times
The object of a conditioning program is to cause a physiological response—a change within the body, to make it more resistant to fatigue. Since football requires extreme effort followed by short rest periods, players use their anaerobic energy systems—burning stored energy without oxygen—to fuel their bodies during games. The best way to develop this system is to sprint for short distances and allow your body to recover between sprints. But the amount of time you spend recovering is important. The general guideline is to rest for three to four times the length of your work interval. So, if you sprinted for 10 seconds, you should rest for 30 to 40 seconds. Scale it up depending on how long you can sprint.
Stay Consistent
It’s best to perform the same workout for five or six weeks. This allows your body to adapt to the routine and make the desired physiological changes. Also, if you are keeping accurate records, you will see how your times improve, especially in the later sprints. If they do, take it as a sign that what you are doing is working.
Once you have an understanding of what it takes to condition for football, you can begin to incorporate conditioning into your workouts. Below, you’ll find two 1,000-Yard Running Workouts that are excellent ways to improve your football endurance.
Perform Workout 1 two or three times per week for four to six weeks. Then perform Workout 2 two or three times per week for another four to six weeks. You can also alternate Workouts 1 and 2 for a period of eight to ten weeks. Perform them toward the end of your speed workout, and do not do them on consecutive days to allow for recovery.
1,000-Yard Running Workouts
Workout 1: Full Field
Equipment required: 100-yard football field, stop watch, notebook
Workout: Sprint 100 yards (goal line to goal line)
Repetitions: 10 sprints (time each sprint)
Recovery: 30 seconds
Total Volume: 1,000 yards
Workout 2: Half Field
Equipment required: 100-yard football field, stop watch, notebook
Workout: Sprint 50 yards (goal line to 50 yard line)
Repetitions: 20 sprints (time each sprint)
Recovery: 15 seconds
Total Volume: 1,000 yards
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Improve Your Football Endurance With Two 1,000-Yard Conditioning Workouts
Succumbing to fatigue when your teammates need you the most can be devastating for a football player. That’s why conditioning is such an important component of football training. Football players need to be fast, strong and agile to make a difference on the field, but if they can’t go 100 percent deep into each game, those skills are worthless. Follow the guidelines below to get the most out of your football conditioning program.
Understand the Demands
Football is a fast-paced game characterized by bouts of extreme effort followed by short rest periods. To prepare for the constant stop and start, perform interval training for cardio. The sprinting distances and rest periods can vary and be adjusted for your position.
Track Your Results
The only way to get the most out of your workout is to give your best effort. Time your sprints as a way to measure your effort and to give yourself an incentive to try harder. Times are to sprints as pounds are to lifting weights. Record all your sprints as well as your rest intervals, and always strive to beat your record during each sprint.
Use Appropriate Rest Times
The object of a conditioning program is to cause a physiological response—a change within the body, to make it more resistant to fatigue. Since football requires extreme effort followed by short rest periods, players use their anaerobic energy systems—burning stored energy without oxygen—to fuel their bodies during games. The best way to develop this system is to sprint for short distances and allow your body to recover between sprints. But the amount of time you spend recovering is important. The general guideline is to rest for three to four times the length of your work interval. So, if you sprinted for 10 seconds, you should rest for 30 to 40 seconds. Scale it up depending on how long you can sprint.
Stay Consistent
It’s best to perform the same workout for five or six weeks. This allows your body to adapt to the routine and make the desired physiological changes. Also, if you are keeping accurate records, you will see how your times improve, especially in the later sprints. If they do, take it as a sign that what you are doing is working.
Once you have an understanding of what it takes to condition for football, you can begin to incorporate conditioning into your workouts. Below, you’ll find two 1,000-Yard Running Workouts that are excellent ways to improve your football endurance.
Perform Workout 1 two or three times per week for four to six weeks. Then perform Workout 2 two or three times per week for another four to six weeks. You can also alternate Workouts 1 and 2 for a period of eight to ten weeks. Perform them toward the end of your speed workout, and do not do them on consecutive days to allow for recovery.
1,000-Yard Running Workouts
Workout 1: Full Field
Equipment required: 100-yard football field, stop watch, notebook
Workout: Sprint 100 yards (goal line to goal line)
Repetitions: 10 sprints (time each sprint)
Recovery: 30 seconds
Total Volume: 1,000 yards
Workout 2: Half Field
Equipment required: 100-yard football field, stop watch, notebook
Workout: Sprint 50 yards (goal line to 50 yard line)
Repetitions: 20 sprints (time each sprint)
Recovery: 15 seconds
Total Volume: 1,000 yards