Practice games are right around the corner which means training time is decreased, recovery resources decrease and you need to find a way to train the same amount of stuff you do now, but in less time.
This less training time usually results in you skipping the small but still important rocks, and just banging out the big rocks but that simply means that every session is balls to the wall which is not really applicable for us L/A footballers who work all day then have to add training on top of that.
Your footy week should be prioritised in this order:
Be 100% for game day
Recover enough from Saturday to give 100% on Tuesday
Recover enough from Tuesday to give 100% on Thursday
Any extra training you do on your own
Recovery isn't just rest and sleep, although that is a big part of it, where your thoughts are simply on muscle tissue regeneration.
What you also need to think of is getting your body back to a parasympathetic state because it is only then that it can rest and regenerate.
Having 20 beers and then sleeping for 18hrs isn't really tissue regenerating stuff, even though you've been in bed for almost a day. The alcohol will put your body in a highly sympathetic state while it processes the food and drink from last night, especially the alcohol in your blood. Only once that is complete can your body actually get to the resting stage which may be Sunday or even Monday.
Between training session you only have 46 or so hours to regenerate for Thursday training and for this I propose you use an aerobic capacity corrective exercise type session session.
This is where all the little rocks you skip during the week get a look in, you develop some extra aerobic capacity which is what you need to recover from bouts of top speed sprinting come game day, you get to train all the muscles that support your prime movers and if you do all of this at a RPE of 4 - 5/10, you'll feel a lot better and your body will have greater readiness to hit Thursday training then if you sit at home watching Swanny on Celebrity Get Me Outta Here.
My schedule right now is:
Monday - High Intensity Day
Tuesday - Medium Intensity Day
Wednesday - Low Intensity Day
Thursday - High Intensity Day
Friday - Medium Intensity Day
Saturday - Low Intensity Day
Sunday - Off
Wednesday is my training hump day which is when I perform this recovery session.
So I'll do 3 - 4 circuits that look like this:
Boxing x 60secs, Corrective Exercise x 10 - 20 reps, Corrective Exercise x 10- 20 reps
I'll have 3 - 4 different mini-circuits of these and I do than all in a row which will take me 35 - 40mins on average.
I keep my pace in check (a 4 - 5/10 isd slow, a lot slower then you would normally do this I guarantee) which is crucial to hit the aerobic pathways - I don't want to even know that anaerobic (in complete rest sprinting etc) exists during these sessions or I won't get what I want out of it.
The boxing looks like this:
Very, very easy.
Here are some exercises I've used as the corrective/isolation exercises.
Whatever exercise you use, just use one that focuses on either stability of mobility, do it for medium to high reps but as you can see from my facial expressions, I'm not going near failure.
Through my years as a personal trainer I've probably had more female than male clients. This has provided me with the opportunity to train many different types of women, many different types of ways and I feel I can deliver the type of session that is fun, challenging and different to other trainers.
This also holds true for when I train my football players.
Women have a different skill set when it comes to physical qualities with some being very specific to footy, many of which I outlined in this blog.
Most women are trained with high reps, low weight and little to no rest periods which is great if you're training for body composition or whatever but footy is a completely different game.
You can't train Crossfit and play footy.
You can't train train marathons and play footy.
You can't train powerlifting and play footy.
All 3 of these modes have parts that cross over into footy at various points, but that's purely where the similarities end.
Whether I am training male or female footballers my theory is always the same.
Step 1 - Increase Your Top Speed
Every contest for the footy is essentially a race which makes your speed to get to, and away from the contest, critical to you and your teams success.
Step 2 - Increase Your Aerobic Capacity
Most people think of aerobic capacity as time trials and such but as easy as these tests are to administer, they really provide little data that can dictate on-field performance.
I like to class aerobic capacity by your resting heart rate, heart rate recovery and anaerobic threshold.
If you can improve 1, 2 or all of these, then you're aerobic capacity and on-field performance will go through the roof.
So you've got speed and you've got great aerobic capacity but what does that mean exactly?
If you have great speed then to actually be able to use it as an advantage over other players, you need to able to display that top speed, or close to, as often as you can during the course of a game.
Being able to do it once counts for nothing, unless you only go on for the last minute of the game, burst out of a pack and kick the winning goal on the siren.
What high levels of aerobic capacity will do is to allow you to recover from these bouts of top end sprints faster, so you'll be able to display them more often.
Have a look at Cat Phillips from the Demons/Pies game on Saturday night, especially the 2nd goal:
Without speed she probably doesn't get to that position when she needed to, she probably doesn't get there without any other Collingwood players being in the vicinity and she doesn't burn off that poor Collingwood player either.
Without speed she's "just another footballer", except I know she comes from Ultimate Frisbee, I play footy with her boyfriend, and all the "Frisbee's" as we call them, have super endurance and pretty good speed but she has X-factor speed at women's level.
At the Olympic level it is genetics that get you to the medal races but they are top .0001% in the world, but at local/amateur women's football level, which AFLW still is, correct training can produce astounding speed increases in women.
Using my female footballers for example, by using simple training sessions, at maximum intensity/speed with adequate rest periods, along with using near maximum loads in the gym for low to moderate reps, we have managed to decrease speed times for up to 4 sessions in a row before we start to stabilise them.
An improvement as small as .001 of second is still great progress in sprinting terms, especially if these gains are made consistently.
When it comes to high intensity training, or what might be better referred to as nervous system training, women are a blank canvas and this is why I love training women footballers.
The brain might decide what you'll do but the nervous system dictates to what level you do it at.
Women have rarely, if ever, been subjected to such a huge stimulus which in turn can have a huge effect on your performance output once you start to train like that.
Just note that high intensity is not to be confused with high fatigue.
Intensity is the level at which you are training at according to your maximum output.
So for running, top end or max velocity speed over 10 - 20m is your 100% output.
So for Moz her personal best flying 20m sprint is 2.75secs which equals 7.27 meters per second.
To train true aerobic capacity which we want to do so at about 60% intensity means she should drop her speed to just 4.362 meters per second.
So a 15sec tempo run for her would cover: 4.362 x 15 = 65.43m.
This would ensure that she is training only the aerobic pathways during this specific drill but most football players, men and women, will read 15secs and go all out for that time.
This results in you by-passing the aerobic pathways as it's too fast to rely on oxygen for fuel for, but also too slow to train the alactic power pathways (speed) so you end up training "in the middle".
AVOID TRAINING IN THE MIDDLE!
Yep, that's right.
The way you probably train most of time is not optimal.
It does have it's place in footy training don't get me wrong but this type of training can only be performed for 4 - 6 weeks before performance starts to drop off.
Unfortunately most footy clubs start off with this and continue it for weeks on end over the summer, essentially breaking down their players as it's very hard to recovery from, that type of training.
That being said your team training will be predominantly "in the middle" which is fine but you need to start training at the "slow and fast' ends of the spectrum in your own time.
Enter this very, very limited offer to women footballers only.
I will make available a 2 week trial period of a program that focuses exclusively on speed and aerobic capacity that fits in and around your current team training nights.
I have a template that I'll be using but I can modify it to fit your needs if needed.
There will be specific requirements you'll need to fulfill while doing the program as well as after it but you'll be instructed how to all these simple and quick tasks.
I can only limit this 2 week trial to 10 women footballers so simply fill in this application form, and I'll be in contact with any follow up questions I have.
With a Facebook page of over 1000 and a Twitter of over 400 plus the boom of women's football right now, you're best to apply for this immediately to give yourself the best chance of getting a spot.
L/A FOOTY CLUB'S BIGGEST ISSUE IS PROBABLY TRAINING COMPLIANCE, ESPECIALLY WHEN SOME BLOKES WANT TO START PRE-SEASON, SO IF YOU WERE IN CHARGE AND YOU HAD MOST BLOKES ROCKING UP FOR THEIR 1ST TRAINING SESSION IN JANUARY THEN HOW WOULD YOU SCHEDULE THEIR TRAINING WITH ONLY 10 WEEKS OR SO BEFORE PRACTICE GAMES COMMENCE?
BURGO
I would some game based drills straight away.
Forget the running because that will turn players off.
WOULD THE HIGH DEMANDS OF CHANGE OF DIRECTION LOADING AS WELL AS POOR AEROBIC SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT (ASSUMED) HINDER SMALL SIDED GAMES AND COMPETITION SKILL DRILLS OR NOT?
Yes it would but that's why you do them.
The games will be compromised but it's certainty more "game like' than doing laps!
MATTY
I think 10 weeks is fine but there's a difference between presenting in some sort of basic condition and clearly rocking up deconditioned.
Hopefully the club culture is strong enough that most of your list is in the first category.
I'm fine with busting your arse through November and December, at L/A level there are different priorities such as spending more time with family, playing Cricket, going fishing or whatever...but be accountable and respectful enough to your club and your teammates to present appropriately.
I'm a fan of Max Aerobic Speed Running which many aren't but I find it easier to condition large groups of varied fitness levels.
I would start slow and let them get a few sessions under the belt and build some momentum and confidence before really pulling the trigger on them.
If you whack them straight up then you'll fond some of them will opt out quickly and only appear the Thursday training before round 1 to just slide into the 2's.
My Summary
As a personal trainer my work hours are 6 - 9am then I'm back from 5:30 - 8pm, so I am not even a January Flyer!
I simply cannot train with my team unless somehow I have a bunch of re-schedules on a Tuesday or Thursday that will allow me to get down to training which will happen maybe once or twice a year.
If we're making finals then I will try my best to get 1 of the training nights off in the lead up and during them for a bit of team harmony and bonding.
That being said my off-season training starts 1 - 2 weeks after the last game of the previous season so even though I don't train with my team, I've trained more then any of them as far as sessions completed is concerned.
Since September 5th I've completed 125 of my own training sessions.
I do this for the same reasons mentioned above by Matty (club/teammates respect) but also because I'm still chasing a premiership before I head off into the Master's footy sunset.
I'm the oldest player at the club by a pretty long way so I need to maintain my body and attributes to keep up with every younger players coming through from my team and the opposition.
Most importantly to hold my spot without training then game days are ultra important because if I perform each Saturday then there's no reason to drop me for "not training", knowing that I'm doing more then enough on my own, and far more then any reserves footballer has ever done!
Coaches need to train blokes who start training a bit different to the main group, maybe pulling them out of drills a bit early when they seem to be blowing up badly as it will increase injury risk for them, and decrease the drill quality for thew rest of the team.
But instead of pulling them out to watch, get them to do something else so they don't feel like they are letting the team down - just some stationary skill work and use it as "active recovery".
So for the last 2 weeks I've been training a young AFLW hopeful Anna Morrow, who this year is lining up for the Darebin Falcons after moving up to whole divisions, to further her football.
In week 1 she reaped some excellent results that you can read about here.
In week 2 the results got even better!
4 Point (Sprinter) Start
5m x 1.31secs / 1.24secs = .07secs / 5% improvement
10m x 2.25secs / 2.12secs = .13secs / 6% improvement
15m x 3.00secs / 2.77secs = .23secs / 8% improvement
20m x 3.66secs / 3.59 = .07secs / 2% improvement
2 Point (Standing) Start
5m x 1.29secs / 1.31secs = stabilised last week's best time
10m x 2.16secs / 2.14secs = .02secs / 1% improvement
15m x 2.84secs / 287secs = stabilised last week's best time
20m x 3.55secs / 3.52secs = .03secs / 1% improvement
Flying Sprints
5m x .63secs / .54secs = .09secs / 14% improvement
10m x 1.28secs / 1.30secs = stabilised last week's best time
15m x 2.06secs / 1.31secs = .75secs / 64% improvement
20m x 2.80secs / 2.75 = .05secs / 2% improvement
You'll noticed that for some sprints I listed her status as "stabilised last week's best time' which means she was able to hold onto your personal best time and as she can now repeat it, she now has it "permanently" which should be the minimum aim each session.
Unfortunately you might not put it all together in a single run and run a 20m personal best which is why I take splits as it can show where you broke down and what we need to focus on.
Over the weekend I;l list her improvements from her very first day with me to the what we're currently up to.
If you feel that possessing more speed would enhance your game (i.e. it will every single time!) then fill out this 10sec application form and I'll be in touch very soon.
My Twitter account is 100% football where I follow footy clubs, leagues and players from all over the world.
Right now Aussie teams are in the thick of pre-season training where overseas there is a lot of initial prep work for the International Cup in August this year.
So it's fair to say I've a lot of videos and posts in regards to testing days that various teams have had so far.
My question is, is all this testing necessary?
Are the tests relevant?
How could they be improved?
AGILITY TEST
Agility is a reactionary occurrence to changes in play that is not pre-determined. With a combination of being able to read the play, reaction time and change of direction mechanics, a test of running around pre-determined cones is about as far away from agility as you can get.
OK, i might have gone to far on the last point but it's missing 2 very important aspects that probably have a far greater carryover into actual on field change of direction performance.
Running around a set of cones can be improved by simply running around the same set of cones repeatedly, increasing your proficiency of that particular course which is great, you'll have improved times which is what we're after.
Except it will not transfer to a game as you do not know any time where the play will go.
So without going too deep into this my suggestion is to use an agility course that has a coach call out what direction to move to on command. You might have 3 - 5 changes of direction you want in a test and the coach can call them out in a different order each time.
For consistency each test will reach a specific distance so it might be 30m total distance covered in the 5 turns or whatever.
I'd have to sit down and think about that harder but the pre-determined principle of the test most do now needs to go away.
Training wise small sided games in confined spaces will work change of direction in a reactionary format and also don't forget that change of direction is a display of rate of force development which is the ability to plant and move the opposite direction so it has a very high strength component that you'll need to hit the gym to improve.
VERTICAL LEAP
Does the height of a 2 foot jump even matter in a sport that predominantly involves running 1 leg jumps? I would not have thought so.
Testing the 1 leg running jump is probably only required for a certain player style or position too - do you see Josh Kennedy from the Swans relying on his vertical leap? Of course not, his game style and
position don't really need it to be a beats at your position.
And apart from jump height, I think it's AS important how you you did that jump in regards to eccentric speed and contact time but that obviously takes a lot of technology at great cost to measure those types of things.
I wouldn't spend too much time on vertical leap testing personally as being able to judge the ball in flight is also a huge attribute to have which can make someone with an average jump, a far better marking then a high jumper who can't get near the ball!
BEEP TEST
The beep test isn't the worst test around but it takes a long time, especially for your top end players which can almost wipe out an entire training session - remember you might only have 20 training sessions between Christmas and your 1st practice game and you want to waste 5% of that on one test?
I think a far better method is to:
Step 1 - Have players take their resting heart rate on a Tuesday morning as soon as their eyes open and text it to the coach
Step 2 - Perform a repeatable 6min run at the same time or in 2 groups
Step 3 - Have players record their heart rates as soon as they complete the run plus every minute thereafter for 3 minutes.
Why do I prefer this?
Resting heart rate is a fine indicator of aerobic fitness, parasympathetic tone and daily readiness.
The longer the test, the more players will save themselves for the end of it but in a game it's 100 miles an hour from the first contest onwards so a shorter test will replicate this a bit better.
Recovery heart rate is also an aerobic fitness indicator as it can show how quick players can recover between bouts of play. Think Dane Swan at his peak would essentially do this 6 minute test on the ground, come off for 2 - 3 mins and repeat.
The Collingwood conditioning staff determined his rotations specifically to his strengths.
On the flip side players like Buckley and Lucuria would stay on for longer but not cover as many meters per minute.
20 METER SPRINT
Acceleration is vital for football so I''m down with keeping this in but I also think they should add a flying 10m sprint for max velocity speed.
GPS readings always tell us there is more acceleration then anything in football but with the way football is played these days with fast breaks requiring sprints from the backline to the forward line, near-linear max velocity speed is also crucial to possess.
MOST IMPORTANT POINT
Whatever you do decide to test then each test must posses the following:
- Ease of Implementation
- Must be able to be repeated in the same conditions, or close to.
- There must be a training plan in place to allow your players stimulation to improve on that test. You can't test agility, do zero agility training, then expect improvements next time you test it again.
- You must re-rest it!
The last one seems simple but I've done plenty of pre-season where we tested something once and that was the end of it. We didn't train it and we didn't re-test it so it was a waste of time and effort that could have been directed elsewhere.
WHAT'S THE BEST TEST RESULT?
Your on-field performance.
If you can't run faster, or for longer or your continue to make the same skill mistakes as always, then something has gone wrong with your training.
Maybe you aced your re-testing but you still can't seem to replicate it during a game? Look at some psychological training.
Just don't try and test everything all the time as you end up undertraining what you're training for - FOOTBALL!
I had booked going to this game from late last year so nothing was topping me an I'd teed my brother to go with me an my 6 year old son Archie who might remember from the Collingwood/Bulldogs practice game from Australia Day.
Anytime we go to anything footy it's his full Swans gear on regardless of who's there!
I decided to take the tam thinking the 72 tram went all the way through to the ground but upon a second look it it didn't seem to go as close as I wanted it to and with a potential sub-tired 6 year old who just had his first week back at school, I wanted to minimise energy output for the game (parenting - nailed it).
So my next plan was to get the 72 tram to Flinders then walk down to Elizabeth St for the 19 which will take right to the front door of the ground - can't fail.
Earlier in the day I was talking to a PT client and I mentioned that they will get over 12,000 people to the game as it seemed to picking up a fair bit of stream on all things media but still that will leave plenty of seats and ease of congestion getting there and such.
As I jump on the tram a few stops later about 3 other people decked out in Carlton/Collingwood came aboard.
OK so I won't be the only one there.
As the 72 made it's way down St Kilda Rd, more an more footy fans were jumping on and I thought I'll check Twitter to see what's happening.
We get off the 72 tram and make our way towards the 19.
We make it to the very busy Elisabeth and Flinders St corner and come to 5 person wide, 100 person long line up from the very front of the tram barrier all the way to the intersection pretty much.
We're not making that tram so lets go to the next stop.
Come on brain If I can't get the tram at that stop then how can I get it at the 2nd stop?
Work harder and work faster because it's 30mins until game time!
OK I got it, let's wait for the 19 tram on the way back down to Elisabeth/Flinders corner, get a seat before everyone else does and win life!
So on we jump to an almost empty tram pretty happy with my brain wave.
We get to the corner and the tram literally fills up in 1 stop!
Off we go up Elisabeth St stopping only because of traffic lights and traffic, we do not even open the doors at even the 2nd stop as no-one else can literally get in.
The tram rolls up and the entire stop has "WTF" expressions on their faces because 1, we can't get on and 2; how else am I gonna make the footy?
One bloke tries to out run the tram to a number of stops which was an exercise in futility as people weren't getting off to go the footy 3kms away.
He trailed off pretty quickly.
We get up to just where the city ends and now the traffic and walking traffic is building but the game is only 15mins away.
Are we gonna make it?
We get to tram stop 16 right at the front of agate 6 where my brother has said he's already inside on the grass.
I thought shit hot, we can lye on the grass and casually watch this history making game with maybe room to do some snow angles or something.
Wrong again.
We pile in and make it around the corner to where the National Anthem has just started,
This place is full.
I'm texting one of the females I;m training and apparently they aid on the TV that it is a lockout. Archie must have almost been the very last let in!
The crowd all goes up just like the Grand Final at the completion of the anthem.
I quickly get a panoramic shot of the ground:
In the frst 5 - 7mins there were a few behinds kicked and the crowd were pleading for that first goal and it was Collingwood's Jasmine Garner who will be a trivia question answer for years to come who slotted through the first sausage:
It was all down hill from there for the Pies who were just outworked by the Blues from what I could see.
The Blues always had spares back in Collingwood's forward line giving Moana no Hope (see what I did there?) but up attack they'd make it through the middle and often somehow have a spare up forward!
I'm sure the Collingwood coaching staff will be hitting that on the head at training this week.
Brianna Davey was best on for mine, she was a beast all over the ground. Darcy Vescio did kick a bag but she could have kicked 2 goals and the Blues still win, but if Davey doesn't do what she did, then they might not.
At one point Brianna was playing in the back line and worked up field to mick a goal which epitomised the game really.
I'm still buzzing from last night basking in all the social media glory that's doing the rounds today an Archie and myself are off to watch the Bulldogs/Freo game tonight which is potentially a Grand Final preview in 8 weeks time.
Texting my footballers I'm training today they were simply blown away from what happened last night an even more keen now to train the house down an see how far they can go.
Wanna join them? Fill out this application form and I'll be in touch!
Over the next 3 days, 8 teams consisting of 176 of the best AFL Female Footballers from not only Australia, but from around the world, will take part in the inaugural round of the AFLW season.
You are one of these unique ladies.
The story of how each player got to this stage is unbelievable.
YOUR story is unbelievable.
Last week I was chatting to my brother about the AFLW and how we ware attending tonight's game, and we sort of stopped mid conversation and said how cool is it that we are talking about this, just as we do with the men's game, using names like Hope, Brennan and Pearce.
Just yesterday I was training one of my future AFLW hopefuls and marveling at the fact that just 6 months ago they were just like us . Playing every Saturday on sub-par grounds, just having a kick every weekend in the winter and now, they are in a position where they are able to call themselves professional footballers.
I would love to hear some of the stories from the overseas players - I'd love to hear what some of them were doing at this time last year!
I've been pumped for women's football for a while now, but I suppose my catalyst for it really was the introduction of the a netball team at my local football club at South Yarra.
In our footy league at the South Yarra Lions, we have teams for the seniors, reserves and third, all of which play on a Saturday as well as over 35's and over 47's that play on Sunday.
We have a lot of players that fill all these sides. You could say we are a "big small" club for a lack of better term.
So a couple of seasons ago, after talking about it for a few seasons before that, we finally bit the bullet, and with the huge assistance of some of our players "WAGS" we put together a team and registered them in the netball comp in our area and the dynamic of the entire club was changed forever.
I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but somehow the addition of the women, not just as the partners of players but as members of the club itself, create a far better dynamic at the club and at functions.
Now with the introduction of the AFLW, I can't wait until we can get a women's football team up and running, which I believe is on the cards as an area for development within the club in the near future.
As an active member of the club and the parent on a 6 year old boy, I'm also involved in a bit of the Auskick program at South Yarra. Our Auskick kids include a bunch of girls that go every week and are just as competitive as the boys in every way. One of these players, Caitlin (not sure of the correct spelling!) is already a star and I'm calling it right now - she will play AFLW if she wants to.
She has "it".
And you have "it" right now.
You have the chance to make your mark; to leave your stamp and your impression and your dynamic on our great game. To create a legacy.
The way that little boys have looked up to Juddy, Ablett, Selwood and Hodge over the years with the goal to being in their place in the future, is now where the women of the AFLW stand. Creating an image for the young girls around the world to aspire to.
Similar to the conversation between my brother and I, little girls, and boys, with AFLW jumpers on, sporting player numbers, swapping AFLW footy cards (I heard they were coming?) and AFLW players promoting the game with public visits will do so much for kids like Caitlin.
I come from a single parent family of 5 kids.
We grew up in commission housing and could have gone off the rails at any time, but football kept us in check.
This can do the same for girls suffering from bullying and low self esteem to find their comfort on the football field, where every one is equal once the whistle blows.
AFLW will do wonders for Aussie Rules Football, but I think it will do far more for communities and society in general.
So with your place in history comes some responsibility.
A responsibility to play this very first game like it will be your last.
The responsibility to make this very first impression stick in people's minds forever.
I hope, hope, hope that a player does something so unbelievable this round that it sits right up there with footage of Jesaulenko "You Beauty", Micheal Long taking 5 bounces down the wing and kicking the goal, Gary Ablett taking the ball out of the ruck and kicking a goal in the same action.
Footage that will be seen around the world and used in every promo for AFLW for years to come.
I know a lot of you have played a lot of footy, and have been waiting, even just wishing for a chance like this, and now it's here.
I'm already well on-board the AFLW bit I want you, I want all of you, to make those sitting on the fence to stand up and go "holy shit, what did she just do?"
And it all starts tonight.
I'm 38 and playing metro footy so my dream AFL will never be a reality, but I'll relish in the idea that yours is, and that I will be there to witness 44 women's dreams being realised tonight.
So go out there and play with a chip on your shoulder, play with flair and play harder then we know you can.
Let us all dream a little as we watch you take to the field.
Small group personal training done the right way. Train in a group - do YOUR OWN program. PT studio located in the heart of South Yarra on Surrey Road North, just off Toorak Road. 1on1 personal training also available. Don't do everyone else's program, get personal with your training.
