Conditioning Program

Conditioning Program

Conditioning for the athlete depends upon the sport that the athlete is training for. While it is good to train the cardiorespiratory system in the off-season, it is also important to remember that you don’t train for a speed-based sport by training in a SLOW manner! With that in mind, the following are some general recommendations for training for cardiorespiratory endurance (the ability of the heart and longs to work at an elevated rate for an extended period of time).

Each week, you will complete a cardiorespiratory workout on two separate days. This workout can consist of either a two-mile run or a 16-minute run on Day One, and a circuit training workout on Day Two.

Also, twice a week on days opposite the cardiorespiratory workouts, you will perform a sprint workout and an interval workout. The sprint and interval workouts will begin with dynamic movement exercises and form running drills. You can also include agility training and plyometrics on the sprint training day.

Below is a schedule for the conditioning program and info or links to each component of the program.

Cardiorespiratory Endurance Training

DAY ONE

• Light jog

• Dynamic Warm-up - Please see “Warm-Up Routine” below.

• Timed 2 mile run (try to decrease the time) OR 16 minute run (try to extend the distance each time)

DAY TWO

• Light jog

• Dynamic Warm-up - Please see “Warm-Up Routine” below.

• Circuit training workout - Please see “Circuit Training Workout” beelow

Sprint Workout/Interval Workout/Form Running Drills

DAY ONE

• Light jog

• Stretch

• Dynamic Warm-up - Please see “Warm-Up Routine” below.

• Form running skills - Please see “Form-Running Skills” below.

• Sprints - Please see “Sprint Routine” below.

• Agility Drills/Plyometrics - This is a good day to also do your Agility Training and Plyometrics.

Click below to see exercises for these types of training:

Agility Training

Plyometrics

DAY TWO

• Light jog

• Dynamic Warm-up - Please see “Warm-Up Routine” below.

• Intervals - Please click this link for the Interval Training Programs

**Please give your body 48 hours to recover following the sprint training and the interval training programs!

Dynamic Warm-Up Routine

1/2 mile light jog
Stretching - static stretch held for 3-5 seconds, release, and then repeat again for 3-5 seconds.
DYNAMIC MOVEMENTS: Pick approximately 8-10 of the following to incorporate into your warm-up. Perform each of the following for 30 yards (90 feet).

Saxon Side Bends
Torso Twists
Lean Backs
High Knees
Butt kicks
Walking Lunges
Walking Leg kick/Toe touch
Carioca - emphasis on leg swing/hip turn
Explosive skips for height
Long striders
Donkey kicks
Windmill twists
Push-ups
Mountain climbers
Mountain jumpers
Burpees
Elbow/knee touches
Lunge with knee raise
Body weight squats
Body weight squat jumps
Hip crossover

Scorpion

Backward lunge twist

Jumping jacks

Form-Running Skills

The following workout should be completed over a distance of 30 yards (90 feet). Each time you run, concentrate on a particular component of your skills as a runner. All of the skills are to be performed at half-speed unless otherwise indicated. Do the form-running skills portion before you work on the sprinting phase of the conditioning program and after you complete the warm-up and stretching portions.

Focus and Fix – 2 x 30 yards

Keep eyes focused on the horizontal plane downfield. Avoid an upward or downward head tilt. Fix elbows at 90 degrees. As the arm angle opens (the arm straightens) near the bottom, the arm should slow up. As the arm angle closes at the top, the fist should point high to the sky.

Rotate and Pull – 2 x 30 yards

Swing your arm through the shoulder girdle area, remembering to keep the elbows fixed at 90 degrees. To incorporate the strength of the shoulders, you must rotate at the shoulder girdle. Use the shoulder to swing the arm. Pull the fist through the hip pocket. The hard downward and backward action of the arm from chest height, through the pocket below the hip and past the butt, is critical to maximal leg drive. The further the arm is pulled past the butt area, the greater the extension of the leg on the other side.

Hammer and Squeeze – 2 x 30 yards

Imagine your back is to a wall with a nail sticking out of it, just below the waist. Now imagine you have a hammer in your hand, and using a downward and backward motion, you hammer the nail with all of your strength, trying to drive it in with one smooth, but forceful, stroke. Snap your wrist so that the knuckles of the hand point down to the ground rather than straight ahead to the finish line. Squeeze the elbows tight to your body.

Drive and Hang – 2 x 30 yards

Drive the knee out toward the finish line and then to the sky. Carry the leg forward without an upward pulling action. Knee drive allows hip rotation for greater stride length. Create and maintain a 90-degree angle at the knee in the recovery phase of knee drive. Lead with the knee. Hang your foot and lower leg down and under your knee. The idea is to have your foot land directly under your hip so that the force goes through the body on a horizontal, rather than vertical plane.

Snap and Extend – 2 x 30 yards

When the knee is at its highest point in the recovery phase, snap your foot back and under the hip. Any time the foot hits ahead of the hip, you are in a “pulling” rather than “driving” position. As you drive off the down foot, extend the leg. The back leg should achieve full extension before it enters the recovery phase.

Three-fourths Stride – 2 x 30 yards

Put all of the skills together.

Sprint Routine

Complete one of the following routines using proper form:

SPRINT WORKOUT #1

Distance Rest Time

10 yard sprint 1 minute

20 yard sprint 1 minute

40 yard sprint 1.5 minutes

60 yard sprint 2 minutes

80 yard sprint 2 minutes

100 yard sprint

SPRINT WORKOUT #2

Distance Rest Time

40 yard sprint 2 minutes

30 yard sprint 1.5 minutes

20 yard sprint 1.5 minutes

10 yard sprint 1 minute

5 yard sprint 1 minute

5 yard sprint

Example of a General Circuit Training workout:
Split squats - 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Rotational push-ups - 8 each
Jog 50 yards
Bicycles - 1x30
Jog 50 yards
Burpees - 1x10
Jog 50 yards
Staggered push-ups - 10 each
Jog 50 yards
Russian twists - 1x25
Jog 50 yards
Backwards lunges - 10-each leg
Jog 50 yards
Lateral lunges - 10 each leg
Jog 50 yards
Reverse crunches - 1x20
Jog 50 yards
1 Leg squats - 10 each leg
Rest 3 minutes and repeat circuit.