The Ten Commandments of Conditioning

By Jon Conneely

For www.EliteFTS.com

No matter what sport you compete in, you’ll probably agree that
conditioning plays a huge factor in how an athlete performs. If athletes
aren’t conditioned properly, they’ll never achieve peak performance in
their sport.

As a collegiate strength coach, I’m amazed at the conditioning that
is performed just for the hell of it either by a sports coach or a
strength coach. Maybe it’s the age we live in or maybe it’s a lack of
knowledge. I don’t know. But to educate those not in the know, I’ve
created the ten commandments of conditioning. For all you coaches who
already follow these commandments, go ahead and place a copy of this
article on that particular coach’s desk who thinks his way is the only
way!

I. Thou shall always warm up:

Yes, that 7-year-old girl at the playground performing jumping jacks
and high knees prior to hitting the monkey bars is my daughter. Do you
think
Martin Rooney’s daughter doesn’t warm up prior to knocking out a
set of pull-ups? Sure she does! Every great workout begins with a great
warm-up!

When training athletes, it’s important to prepare them prior to the
training session. It seems like so many know the benefits of warming up
but overlook it as an important piece of their program. There are many
great benefits to warming up with the most important being to increase
muscle elasticity so that the chance of injury is reduced. If an athlete
is injured, he or she can’t perform. If nothing else, this should be why
you warm up.

We also warm up to raise the core body temperature; excite the
central nervous system; increase blood flow to the muscles, tendons,
ligaments, and nervous system; and increase the rate of cellular
metabolism. Warming up will help prepare the athlete mentally for the
training session.

First, we like to get the muscles warm by using a general exercise
like jumping jacks or a light jog. Then we like to increase the range of
motion by using a stretch, which is usually a dynamic flexibility
movement along with some mobility work. We then prepare the athletes for
the session by using movement preparation/coordination drills and sport
specific movements.  

There are many great ways to get the body ready for a conditioning
session. How you do it isn’t as important as making sure that you do it!
To take your warm up to the next level, pick up a copy of Martin
Rooney’s
warm up DVD here at EliteFTS.com.

II. Thou shall know who you’re training:

Have you ever seen a basketball team using a three-mile run for
conditioning or a soccer coach jogging five miles with the team as
conditioning twice a week or a football player on the elliptical? What
the hell are they doing? What a waste of time. And the athletes think
they’re getting better.

There are always exceptions, and there is a time and a place for
everything. I realize that. However, let’s make sure that our priority
is getting the athlete ready for his or her sport. Training the proper
energy system is vital when conditioning an athlete. This won’t be an
exercise physiology lesson because that isn’t what this article is
about. If that’s what you’re looking for, post a question to “The
Thinker” because he’s the man when it comes to the science behind it. Or
pick up
Super Training here at EliteFTS.com.

Back to the point—always remember that the intensity and duration at
which you train should closely match that of the sport. The adaptations
that occur with training are specific to the training performed. This is
why initially we conduct a needs analysis of the sport. We examine the
attributes of the movements that make up the sport (e.g. strength,
power, speed, or endurance) and the muscles involved in these movements.
For example, if the sport involves multiple short duration sprints, then
to benefit performance we must train lower body power and perform short
duration sprints.

Depending on where you are in your training cycle (e.g. in-season,
off-season), you should condition specific to your sport. For example,
our basketball players will condition mostly through a variety of
running and jumping drills with lateral and multi-directional movements.
Once again, there are always exceptions, but for the most part, you’ll
want to train close to the conditions of your sport. Perform a needs
analysis of your sport and run with it.

III. Thou shall monitor volume and intensity:

This goes hand in hand with commandment II. Ask yourself, what are my
goals of the conditioning session? What am I looking to accomplish? What
season are we in? The answers to these questions will determine the
intensity and volume that you will use for that conditioning session.

Your goal isn’t to just get your athletes fit but to have them in the
best condition possible for their sport. Everyone has heard of the
principle of overload, which states that we must vary the training,
specificity, frequency, duration, intensity, and load to progressively
overload and see gains. We do this by carefully periodizing the training
to accomplish our goals while ensuring that we don’t overtrain the
athlete. Pay attention to your volume and intensity to maximize your
conditioning sessions.

IV. Thou must set goals:

Goal setting is vital! Give your athletes a mental visual of where
they need to be and what the timeframe is to get there. Then work toward
it. Make sure your goals are realistic ones. If it’s the first week of
pre-season, don’t set your timeframe for accomplishment for week six of
pre-season. Know where your athletes are currently and where they need
to be.

In each conditioning session, take steps to get closer to the
ultimate goal. We always strive to be the best in all we do so I like to
find out what the times are that the best teams in the nation are doing
the drills in. That will be the standard or our ultimate goal. It may
take us all of pre-season to accomplish those times, but that’s our goal
and everyone knows it. Remember that short-term goals will lead you to
your long-term goals. You must know where you’re going to be able to get
there.

V. Thou must realize that more isn’t always better:

How many times have you seen a coach just drill his players into the
ground by pushing them to the limit every practice? Now, don’t get me
wrong. Sometimes things just need to be done. This commandment goes hand
in hand with commandment III. More isn’t always better. Know why you do
what you do.

Recovery in sports has a purpose. Utilize the sport’s work to rest
ratio, which I feel is extremely important in conditioning if you want
to get the most out of your athletes. Like I previously mentioned, the
proper metabolic system must be targeted to improve athletic performance
by identifying which energy system is used the most in your sport. Then
you must consider what range of intensity best suits your activity.
Also, don’t forget to determine the length of the activity and the
recovery periods. If you apply these basic principles, you’re on the way
to producing a sound conditioning program.

Always ask yourself, how much is needed to get the job done? Just
practicing won’t make perfect. Practicing the right way makes perfect.
Perfect your conditioning sessions by realizing that more isn’t always
better!

VI. Thou shall increase work capacity:

Everyone loves to watch the team that out works their opponent, that
guy who gets to every loose ball first, the girl who hits the glass hard
for every rebound, or that lineman who gets after that quarterback every
possession. Like I mentioned earlier, through a systematic use of
progressive overload, athletes can build upon their work capacity and
conditioning level. You must constantly be progressively placing greater
than normal demands on the athlete to increase work capacity. This is a
must for true gains to take place. Without this overload, there isn’t
any adaptation by the body, which will limit the increase of work
capacity. Give that athlete an edge. Make them work so they can perform
to the best of their ability by out working the opposition!

VII. Thou must develop mental toughness:

I have no tolerance for the mentally weak. Make sure that in your
conditioning sessions you’re pushing the athletes physically to make
them stronger mentally. If it’s established now, then it won’t be an
issue in the fourth quarter or up at the plate with a 3–2 count. An
athlete who has all the talent in the world but is held back because he
or she is soft mentally is a wasted talent. An athlete isn’t born
mentally tough. Mental toughness is taught and developed.

VIII. Thou shall present a challenge:

Athletics are about competing, and it’s our job to create that
competitive environment. If athletes don’t compete in a training
session, how will they compete during competition? Conditioning sessions
should always be challenging. You’re developing athletes, and their job
is to compete. This doesn’t mean that it can’t be fun. If you have
athletes who want to be great, every time a challenge is presented it
should get even more fun. Everything we do inside and outside of the
weight room is competitive. Some athletes come to you already
competitive while others need to be taught competitiveness. Gain that
edge by producing competitors!

IX. Thou must think outside the box:

When some think conditioning, they automatically think running. You
don’t always have to run to condition.

Be creative! Make it fun and think outside the box. Use all the
different modalities available to you. Strongman events can be a great
tool for conditioning. There are endless drills that can be used for
conditioning. Purchase a
Prowler here at Elite and see if that works on
conditioning.

X.  Thou shall use the
high/low approach:

Don’t fry the athlete’s central nervous system! Yes, James Smith,
this is for you! This could be a whole article in itself or even a
manual. Oh wait, it is thanks to James Smith. You can purchase it right
here at EliteFTS.com.

Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the
strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength
training products and services while providing the highest level of
customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment,
information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.

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