Summer Training for Speed - Part IIConditioning
Some of our conditioning work focuses on recovery. Thereare so many programs that are just hammering athletes with sprints, speed and agility training, plyos, weights, etc. These modalities should be worked on but there needs to be a structured recovery program in place. You can't overload the central nervous system day in and day out, recovery is essential. As they say, you don't get stronger and faster from theworkouts, you get stronger and faster from recovering from the workouts. What types of conditioning should you do? I continually stress the importance of general strength circuits. You can work on multiple facets while performing GS circuits. You are working on strengthening, balance, coordination, and aerobic capacity. We use this as a recovery day type of workout. These workouts are especially great when training younger athletes. General strength circuits help build a greater work capacity, something today's youth athletes are badly in need of.
Example of a General Strength workout: Split squats - 10 each leg
The benefit of using extensive tempo runs are they can be used to help flush out the system. If your athletes are feeling tiredfrom previous workouts or even sore, extensive tempo workouts are great for recovery. We do use them at the beginning of training
sometimes tobuild a little base before jumping
into intensive tempo workouts.Also this type
of workout helps to enhance oxidative mechanisms. Examples of an Extensive Tempo Workout: 1) 2 x 10 x 100m (75% intensity)30' rest between
reps and 2' between sets Remember, as a speed training coach, your athletes should be able to hit their times and be within their target heart rate. If they aren't, give them more rest between reps, reduce the volume of the workout or shut the workout down because you are missing the training benefit/goal. Intensive Tempo Because intensive tempo borders on speed and special endurance due to the high intensity, lactate levels can become very high. The athletes body must adapt to handle, buffer and remove the lactate so training in this state is extremely helpful for sports that meet the same demands. Since all energy systems more or less turn on at the same time, intensive tempo is highly stressful on both the aerobic and anaerobic systems. It is a great conditioning tool used for most field and court sports. Examples of an Intensive Tempo Workout: 1) 6 x 200m (82% intensity) 3.5' recovery
between reps Progress the intensity of your tempo runs based on your conditioning goals. The ability of athletes to buffer lactate accumulation will determine their success as fatigue levelsrise throughout the course of their game or competition.
For example, football consists of short bursts of acceleration followed by low intensity movements so our speed endurance workouts would be of smaller distances with shorter recoveries then a track sprinter that would require longer distances and greater recovery times. So, for a greater chance of success, we must train our athletes to maintain high levels of speed and intensity, even when tired. These workouts are mentally challenging (since the presence of fatigue), so maintaining proper running mechanics, form and technique must be stressed. Training at high levels while fatigued will help to improve performance, both mentally and physically at the end of the game/competition when the game could be on the line. Examples of a Speed Endurance Workout: 1) 2 sets of 7 x 30 yards 25 seconds rest between reps and 3 minutes between sets 2) 2 x 80y 95-100% intensity) 7 minutes rest
Monday: Maximum Velocity
Monday: Maximum Velocity (w/ Acceleration)
What I provided is a general guideline since I can't provide exact workouts for each sport. Some sports like soccer, gaelic soccer, rugby, field hockey, etc. are going to require more aerobic work and longer tempo intervals then sports like football, baseball and track sprinters.
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Related Articles: Speed Training | 4 Most Important Words that Improve Speed | Linear Speed Development | Summer Training for Speed | Summer Training for Speed - Part II | Speed Coach | Speed Coach of the Year | Top Speed Training | Acceleration Speed Development | Goal Setting for Speed Athletes | Speed Training Practice | New Breed of Speed Coach | Acceleration Speed Training | MOST Important part of speed training | Strength Training for Speed and Power Athletes | Conditioning Workouts for Speed Athletes | Speed Training Conditioning
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