A few weeks ago I
posted some information on my blog in regards to in season training. You can
view them at these links:
The main point of these
posts is to underline the importance of a structured in-season training program
both on the track and in the gym with both being as important as the other.
I’m a personal trainer
by trade so I often work the hours that footy training is on. I still hit the
gym as hard as I do in the off season, especially if I know I won’t be making
training (I’m not a big runner outside of footy training!!).
I have done this since
my 2009 comeback except for last year but
have still managed to avoid any injury of any sort and played every game
in that time. I don’t know of many 34 year olds that can say that so it really
does highlight how important a gym program can be, especially as you get older.
Here are the 5 most
important reasons why a properly structured in-season training program is
essential to you and your team’s success.
1 – The Maintenance of Your Off / Pre
Season Endurance/Speed/Strength Improvements
As discussed above,
your aim for in-season training should simply be, at a minimum, to maintain the
improvements you made in the off and pre season. Once you reach a relatively
high level of fitness, strength or speed, then it takes only about 50% of the
volume to maintain it then what it took to actually get it. This can occur if
intensity is high enough, frequently enough. Intensity rules in sport and
you’re much better deserved doing a very intensive 40 – 50min session then a
long drawn out 70 – 90min session.
2 – To Decrease the Risk of Injury
By Balancing Out the Muscles/Actions Used in Footy
Soft tissues injuries,
especially at top levels of football, should not happen. They can be predicted
through restricted movement, injury history and many other factors. I am
obviously aware that 90% of local football teams simply don’t have the
resources for this kind of stuff but that is exactly why I have this site and
why I release my manuals.
When you look at footy
there is a lot of 1 action repeatedly. When you run you raise your knee towards
your hips with each step which is called hip flexion. Hip flexion uses the hip
flexor muscle complex and the quadriceps to perform the action. The opposite
action is hip extension and that is performed primarily (or it should be) by
the glutes with some help from the hamstrings. When you overload one set of
muscles, it will eventually lead to an overuse of this action and thus the
muscles involved in the action. This is why there are so many anterior hip,
groin and quad injuries in footy. How often do you read of a torn glute muscle?
NEVER!! This is because it’s so string it’s indestructible, it’s because it
simply doesn’t do enough work because with a very quadriceps dominant pattern,
it can actually turn off the glutes leaving all the running work to the muscles
on the front of the leg when most of it should be done by the muscles on the
back of the leg.
3 – Increase Your In-Season Work
Capacity
Taking into account a
game and 2 x 60 – 90 minute training sessions, your running volume should be
easily covered and then some so to avoid the aforementioned overuse injuries,
to improve your work capacity even further, increasing your running volume is
not the best option.
By doing a few days in
the gym you throw a different stimulus at the body but a stimulus that is
actually required in footy – max strength. Max strength is the base of all
other fitness qualities. Sprinting speed is directly correlated to how much
force you can put into the ground and then reverse back out through the feet , which
is best improved by increasing your strength levels. Now if because of my
strength levels I can 100m in 12 seconds and your lack of leg strength results
in a 15 second 100m sprint time, who is going to be quicker in the 4th
quarter when it’s the game is on the line. Even if we fatigue at the exact same
level during the game, I’ll always be 3 seconds faster than him.
Speed is king!!
4
– To Maintain Lean Bodyweight
I played with a ruckman
last year who lost 5 – 6kgs from the start of the season to the last game. He
did 90% of the rucking duties on his own (he has a pretty good tank) but by the
last few rounds of the year the long season had taken its toll. Ruckman of the
same quality but with bigger bodies were out bodying and out jumping him.
When you neglect
strength training during the in-season you’ll suffer a decrease in muscle mass
and a smaller muscle does not have the potential for strength as a bigger
muscle.
You can offset weight
loss by eating but I’ve seen a lot of local football player’s diets and they
ain’t pretty which will possibly result in fat gain and muscle loss – not a
good combo.
5
– To Not Finish Like Essendon in 2012!!
We are all aware of
what’s going on, or what supposedly went on at Essendon last year. They were
2nd on the ladder before the “supplements’ they were taking were shelved by the
club and resulted in a finishing position of 11th.
The lesson to be learnt
from this is that finishing strong is just as important, if not more important
than starting strong. Each year the Sydney Swans seem to have it going at the
right end of the year. In the NBA the Miami Heat have won 19 games in a row
with 3 weeks left before the playoffs when they seem to be ‘struggling” in the
middle of the year.
Today I release the Aussie Rules In-Season Training Manual to provide you with all the answers of the above and more!! You can order it via the Paypal link to the right of screen.
Once notification of payment hits my email then I'll email it through - too easy!!
