APEX PERFORMANCE CENTER

Football Conditioning 101: "The Problem"

Conditioning for football is really dictated by the head coach, pretty much at every level. Even though in the collegiate and professional levels you have a specific coach that is responsible for the strength and conditioning, the head man is the one calling the shots ultimately. At each level I have had the chance to play at, the conditioning has been different at least to some extent, each coach and program have their own philosophy. In this post I am going to point out that running and training are great, but when you are training for a specific purpose, all of your runing and training must meet the needs of that particular purpose. 

• In high school, it was gassers. Running 212 total yards or 4x the width of a football field for 1 rep, for skill guys roughly around 38-40 seconds if I remember correctly.
• In college, I was introduced to the 300 yard shuttle.....ouchy. Booty Lock to say the least. This would be set up to be 6x 50 yards in a continuous ladder fashion and as a conditioning test we had to run two of them with a specific rest length in between and make a dictated time for each shuttle. Which again was in the 45-55 second region I believe.
• My ladder years in college it was the "oh so awesome" 110 conditioning test. Where we were asked to run 110 yards 24 times with roughly 30-45 seconds between each bout. While skill guys had to make each one in around 16-18 seconds. (I still Love you coach Mac)

The majority of you reading this have most likely been reliving some of your "conditioning" experiences at some point in your career and found that you probably did most of the same stuff I just mentioned......why? Because most football coaches are just that, football coaches. And while they are great at coaching football, when it comes to strength and conditioning they typically do with their players what they did when they played! (Tradition:not always the best thing)

THE PROBLEM

So how long is a typical football play anyways?5 to 6 seconds

How long is the rest? (Depends on what kind of offense you play in to be specific, I hope your conditioning also reflects this but....) Typical rest is 30-35 seconds.

Typical rest between series?? 6-9 minutes (unless your a real stud and play both ways)

Typical Half time length? Something just shy of 20 minutes (unless they are doing something lame to elongate it, like homecomming)

(The last thing I want my big boys thinking about is how fast they need to run 212 yards, or 110m. sprint. I need them to have 5-6 second mentality of, "I can and will track and kill anything that moves in a 12 yard radius, rest 30 seconds, then do it again......until we score" so I want their conditioning to reflect that as well as it can) 

So....with these facts, do you see much relationship between the type of conditioning that is typically taking place for these athletes and what it should be preparing them for? Because I see no relationship at all. Football is a sport that demands the athlete to exert 100% of potential energy each play, depending on their particular task. Every single one of the these drills listed above is asking the athlete to find a partiuclar pace or speed that is sustainable for entirely too long! To save you the hastle of reading about partuiclar energy systems and their type and what sets them a part, it is easy just to realize that if you are training for a sport where the plays last 5 seconds, then why would your sprints last 55 seconds? Do you think you can move at the same speed at 55 seconds that you can for 5 seconds? Why are all of the conditioning drills typicall done in a straight line, with a turn every 25 or 50 yards? Football is a non linear based sport (as are most). 

Any football players out there ever wonder why you did all the off season work and felt like you were in great shape? Then the first day of practice hits and you feel like death was just layed upon your legs? Well it says more about your off season program and no so much about your work ethic. All off season you pretty much trained at 60-80% of your full speed effort in order to make those run times for your conditioning test, so when you went out to practice and started moving in ALL different directions at a full speed pace it was foreign to you. It was training you to move slow. (You can prepare as hard as you want to, if you aren't being led in the right direction by your program....your most likely training for the 100 m. sprint by running 2 miles every day.)

This post was really made just to create some perspective and awareness hopefully for parents, athletes and also coaches. The post to follow will be the way I approach conditioning for my athletes, and ways and tips that may be beneficial to high school and even collegiate coaches out there training atheletes in high volume that want to make it more "game" or "sport specific". If you need an absolute answer now, or an immediate fix.

Then you can always come down to Apex and sign up for a program today or try a free training session. 

Our athletes will be prepared for the fall, the right way.

 

Want to gain 14 lbs. in 5 weeks?? May Athlete Profile: Colby Martin

 

5 Weeks ago a young man walked into our facility not really knowing what to expect. He had a few things in mind though, he wanted to get stronger, gain weight, and gain a step or two in his speed and agility. I think that we can safely say we are on our way to achieving those goals just after a short time, with him gaining 14 lb. in 5 weeks! Colby Martin 9th grader at Centennial Junior High school,  pursues basketball and football as his sports of choice. 

What is his training schedule like?

Colby Is at Apex 4 days per week!! Nope not a typo he is in it to get better. He signed up for our 3 day per week strength and conditioning class at 4:30 Pm M,W,F and he also comes in on Saturday mornings for a dose of speed and agility. 

Attitude and Attention to detail are two things that come to mind when I think about working with this young man. After just a few weeks he has gained new technique and skill work in his strength training. He has almost mastered the movements behind the Snatch and Clean and Jerk, gained great strength in his front and back squat, and is beginning to be able to rep out pull ups. None of these things would be possible if everyday he entered Apex, he didn't enter with the proper mind set. There is no exercise I have ever prescribed or weight I have ever asked him to lift that he has ever questioned, other than to ask how many reps.

Nutrition

With Colby having the natural body type of what we would call a "hard gainer" longer leaner frame, high metabolism, my advice to him in regards to nutrition is to eat everything in sight!! And of course, drink about a half gallon of whole milk per day. He has followed these instructions to the best of his ability, and well he ought to be.....I ask him every day if he drank his milk and as he leaves I'm continually yelling to get those calories in!!

Colby is the mold for the athlete we want to work with here at Apex, one never satisfied and willing to do whatever it takes to continue to get better. I'm excited to continue to see the gains this young man has over the next few months and hopefully years. But until then, he better keep drinking his milk and coming to do work!!

NFL players, Nike Sparq Rating, One Football camp...immeasurable opportunity!

(Ryan Torrain, RB Washington Redskins)

Next Month we will be teaming up with a few different organizations to be a part of a 1 day football camp that will include a few different NFL players as well as former ones. The camp will take place on June 23rd, which is a Saturday. It will be an all day event of getting to learn from some of the best, and seeing how you can directly apply it to your game. Not only will every participating athlete get a chance to interact with these players in a small group atmosphere, but at the end of the day we will also be putting on a Nike SPARQ rating combine. The athletes will be able to get times in their 40 yard dash, 20 yard shuttle, find out their vertical jump and also be tested in the Kneeling Medicine Ball power toss ( a measure of upper body power output.) When all of the testing is finished, we will then calculate the athletes overall athletic rating according the Nike SPARQ system, the athlete will then be able to see how they stand amongst some of the top football prospects in the nation or in their particular class. All that being said, June 23rd will be a big day, and a great opportunity that does not come up in this area very often, if you are a young football player, high school football player, or even know of someone who may be interested or could benefit from this opportunity I suggest you click the link below and work on getting signed up!! How do young and growing athletes get better than their peers? THEY WATCH, LEARN, AND IMMITATE THE ATHLETES AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THEIR CHOSEN SPORT, AND APPLY THOSE SKILLS TO THEIR GAME THE BEST THAT THEY CAN.   GET SIGNED UP TODAY! Camp Website!   http://www.actsportsfootballcamp.com   Adrian Conway Apex Performance Center Head Performance Trainer

 

What is the most overlooked element in proper training? Rest.

The human body is a very complex thing. It is kind of ironic to me that in order to make it bigger, stronger, faster you must introduce it to different kinds of stimuli that force it to break down and tear muscle fibers. Even when training to increase our aerobic or anearobic conditioning we must allow ourselves to temporarily submit to some kind of pain of muscle fatigue, lactate production, immense amounts of blood flushing in a particular region of our legs or arms (swelling or pump)......so hence the term "no pain, no gain". A lot of young athletes that I get the opporunity to train here at Apex understand that it takes hard, uncomfortable work to get better, but very few of them understand how important rest is in the equation. 

When we train, like I hit on above, we are actually breaking the body down aka beating it up! The only way we actually get better or accel at what we are training for, is to take the appropriate amounts of rest! I tell all the athletes I train that if they want to get taller they better be getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night! Period! The body only heals and grows at rest/sleep. If everyday we beat up our bodies by training non stop improvements will never happen and if your lucky enough to still see some improvement you're still severely blunting your potential to the real gains. The main problem with a training athlete is seeing the importance of sleep. If you don't get enough sleep your body doesn't have the opportunity to heal, and your next training session will be lacking the proper intensity due to your energy level. Lack of sleep can also affect your appetite, forcing it to crave more sugar than necessary, and can blunt your bodies ability to metabolize fat. So instead of staying up all night watching reality TV or browsing(stocking) people on facebook....GO TO BED. 

How long should I rest?

Well it depends what and how you are training.

Strength Training?

Depending on the kind of strength training you are involved in, you should take roughly 48 hours off between high intensity sessions with a particular body part.

My athletes typically strength train every other day here at Apex and follow a total body routine with functional total body movements. 

Speed and agility Training?

This kind of work can potentially be done everyday. Because so much of what we do is technique development and muscle patterns, some sort of speed and agility training can be done each day. There are specific days (Linear speed explosive sessions) where we do a lot of plyometric or jump training and with the intensity, we would not want an athlete doing that on back to back days but would rather them have a rest period similar to strength training. 

What is active rest?

Active rest is something that all athletes can take part in. An example of active recovery is going on a 20 minute run at a slow easy pace. This will not exert the body enough to cause it to break but actually can help stimulate faster recovery for the next days training session, simply due to movement. So something slow and easy, enough to break a sweat can be beneficial on a rest day. And as always should be followed by a nice long intense stretching session!!

Why would the high speed treadmill help me??

When showing a family our facility it is rare that they don't see our treadmill and gasp at its enormity and appearance. However every now and again I get a few comments from Dad's such as, "sports aren't played on a treadmill, my kid needs to move faster", (which I obviously am a firm believer in, read my post about reaction agility below on the page). But I counter that statement with explaining the different angles as a trainer that the treadmill provides me with. Not only do I get to view the athlete from the side as they move, but with our treadmill we can literally have them operating at full speed to break down their mechanics appropriately. Without the treadmill trying to break down an athletes arm pump, torso angle, foot strike, hip alignment, head posture...etc. can be a very difficult thing.  So, needless to say after having our treadmill up and running for the last 2 weeks, I have already noticed significant differences in form and technique in our athletes! As a coach the primary advantage is to actually be able to communicate with the athlete as they run! There is a tremendous difference when I can correct an athlete amidst a training movement as opposed to once one is over. So when I have athletes doing 50 or 60 yard bursts on a field, I can only really correct their form after they've run. As opposed to on the treadmill in the middle of a 10-15 second sprint I can correct them as they run, they can truly feel the differences made with small corrections of their form and they are not just guessing at what it is I am talking about and hoping they are doing it right, the treadmill gives us direct feedback!

Other advantages of our treadmill is the fact that we can actually get an athlete operating in over speed. They would be sprinting at speeds greater than they are capable of, increasing their rate of turnover (how often their foot strikes the ground) without forcing them to run down hill! Many coaches and athletes simulate this by having athletes run on a down grade which actually absolutely has no correlation to sprinting because it is necessary for their mechanics to change so much. We also do quite a bit of incline training, where we set the treadmill at a series of different hieghts throughout a workout which require the athletes to work on hip flexion, driving the knee upwards, which in turn helps elongate their stride. 

 

How do you make an athlete faster??= Increase their stride frequency and their stride length.

 

Summer is fast approaching. Get signed up so when fall rolls around you are prepared and better then you've ever been.

 

Slow kids don't get scholarships.

Strength Training: When do I start my son or daughter?

Many times I receive questions from parents with concern on when their son or daughter should start lifting weights. Now, be mindful that many people have different opinions on this particular subject. I however think that a child can start lifting weights, pretty much when they start to stink. Yeah, I said stink. Here is the rationale behind the statement: It is obvious that when children mature and get to the point where cologne and deodorant are no longer ways to pretend they are adults but are necessary, that is when their body is beginning to mature to the point where it will respond to strength training the proper way. So now that you know where I stand it is obvious to see that I don't believe there is a "golden" age where it is best because many young men and women hit this point at different periods of their lives. 

So remember the kid on your son's football team that ran for 300 yards when they were in 7th grade pretty much every game because he was not only bigger(5'10 195lb.) but also faster and stronger than all the other kids? Well don't worry, as athlete's mature they will close the gap on what seems to be that young freak of nature (and he will probably be devastated from not being able to naturally walk all over his competition anymore). But that kid, he just matured a bit quicker, he was an early bloomer. With that being said he could respond to strength training a bit earlier than his peers. Now, does that give the athlete that matures sooner a better advantage? Absolutely not. If you ask me, he will just hit his athletic ceiling sooner, more often than not getting left behind somewhere by one of the late bloomers who had to outwork the early bloomer while they were younger.

At Apex we have a firm approach and belief in that no matter how young or physically immature an athlete is, they can always be taught proper movement. So even for the athlete that may not be ready to handle a progressive strength training stimulus, we can teach how to squat, press, pull, jump/land, lunge all is ways that will at least advance their neuromuscular system so they become more effecient athletes. Learning these skills will allow to develop more rapidly when they are prepared to strength train in a more formal setting. 

 

Get signed up for our strength training classes!!!

Monday: 4:30 PM

Wednesday: 4:30 PM

Thursday:4:30 PM

 

Slow kids don't get scholarships........and well, weak kids don't run fast. : )

Predicted vs. Reaction agility drills

 

In every athletic sport there is an element of reaction. Even in track and field where most events are linear there are still elements of the sport that call for instant reaction such as the starting gun. At Apex we do a wide variety of agility drills that are based to help the athlete develop neuromuscular patterns that allow them to change direction faster through series of cuts, turns, foot pattern drills and jumps. A common mode of measuring someone’s ability to change direction quickly is the 20 yard shuttle run. (Add link here). This drill is great, but is very predictable and even typically starts when the athlete is ready, hence there is no reaction here necessary. As a performance enhancement coach I think it shows an athletes ability to move fairly well, but has no real direct reflection on how they play. If an athlete comes to train at Apex, I can teach them how to run a shuttle faster in a matter of minutes even taking as much as .5 seconds off an athletes time within an hours time. (All technique)

 

The point of this post is not to bash the shuttle run or “L” drill or any other typically used agility measurement. The point is to help you understand that setting up cones and running agility drills or suicides will not necessarily help you on the field as much as you think. Sports are all based on reaction as I stated above. So in practice or a game type situation where your ability to move is dictated by the speed of the man you are guarding and his movements or by the snap of the football or by the defender in front of you, it is your ability to react quickly and put the steps necessary into application in order to be successful. Through the drills we have athletes participate here at Apex, we have what we call “Reactive Plyo” or “Reactive agility” day where the athletes respond to a coaches cues verbally or visually. The cues could be from a whistle, a ball in the air, hand signals or even based on another athletes movements (mirror drill). The purpose of this approach is to not only train an athletes ability to change direction but to do so under a state of pressure that forces them to react when they may not expect it…….making it actually simulate sport or competition.

You Play, how you train.......

 

Slow kids don't get scholarships.

 

Nike Sparq Combine is here!! And check out our limited time offers. Get them while you can.

You are what you eat!!

Look, most people that read this blog are in high school or Jr. High and unfortunately you young men and women are not responsible for the grocery shopping at your house! What I am about to say may shock some of you, especially those of you whom think you are invincible and nothing can harm you! (I had the same problem in high school, yes it is a problem). What you choose to fuel your body with, has a direct reflection on how you perform!! Yes, sadly it is true. I don’t tell you not to eat McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Hot Pockets, Doritos, Soda, Juice, KFC, Candy Bars, just to help you avoid cleaning up your own vomit……..ok that is the main reason.

Junk: (Will make you Pukey at Apex)

Food that Fuels: (Will make you a beast)

But I also tell you that because those foods are not going to fuel your body for optimal performance or recovery.

It is a very corny slogan, but you are what you eat. The food you ingest today becomes the genetic make up of your cells in a few hours or tomorrow.  Imagine you have the newest top of the line sports car that calls for Premium Gas, but you put unleaded in it because it is easier and more convenient. Wouldn’t filling that car with the cheaper gas damage it over time? ABSOLUTELY. You are actually doing the same thing to your body! Our body needs optimal fuel, especially when we put demands on it of training and competition. We need to fuel it for performance, recovery, durability……everything. This is a basic list of foods that should be eaten regularly for a performance based athlete at any level, very simple. It consists of REAL food, which means it can be hunted or gathered and outside of meat, it can be eaten right as it is, no processing or much preparation needed.

The following info was taken from crossfitfootball.com: 

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The simplicity of the diet blends optimum performance and health. We can’t say it any simpler than this.

Eat with abandon: meat, fowl, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables, roots, tubers, bulbs, herbs and spices as well as animal fats, olives & olive oil, avocados, and coconut (meat, oil, flour) and dairy*.

*Dairy is a gray area, while it is a powerful tool in the strength and weight gain category you have to be smart. Individuals with autoimmune disease should avoid dairy products of any kind. For those without autoimmune diseases, dairy from grass-fed animals is permissible. Dairy from grain-fed animals will not have an ideal omega 3 profile. Heavy cream, butter, and ghee should not be problematic. Occasional consumption of fermented dairy options such as cheese and yogurt is acceptable. Experiment with milk but eliminate it if it is found to be problematic.

**Pasteurized whole milk from grain-fed cows treated with rBGH offers an increased anabolic environment for the consumer.

Limit: nuts, seeds, and fruit.
Better choices in the nut category include macadamias, cashews, and hazelnuts. Almonds aren’t terrible. Seeds are generally rich sources of linoleic acid because they can be eaten in large quantities (the serving sizes are typically in the tablespoon to 1/4 cup range and can be misleading). Sunflower and sesame seeds are a terrible choices in the seed category. Soaking nuts prior to consumption is recommended but not necessary.

Reduce the serving size if you are going to pick a fruit that has a high metabolic fructose content.

Avoid: Cereal grains including: all varieties of wheat (spelt, einkorn, emmer, durum), barley, rye, oats, triticale, corn (maize), rice (including wild rice), sorghum, millet, fonio, and teff and legumes.

Grain-like substances or pseudocereals including: Amaranth, Breadnut, Buckwheat, Cattail, Chia, Cockscomb, Kañiwa, Pitseed Goosefoot, Quinoa, and Wattleseed (aka aacacia seed). Pseudocereals are the seeds of broad leaf plants whereas grains are the seeds of grasses.

The goal is to consume at least 1 gram of protein per lb. of body weight. The way to maximize muscle growth is to provide the body with adequate protein for growth and recovery, hormonal control for better body composition…and improved growth and recovery!

One gallon of whole Milk contains 2400 calories. This is an excellent source of proteins, carbohydrates and fat. Dense calorie sources are a must, like whole milk and meats.

There is growth potential beyond calories by consuming whole milk. Increased IGF, hGH, insulin, testosterone come from drinking whole milk. These are all potent growth promoters. Whey Protein acts similar to milk. It is a fast acting protein and a good supplement when trying to achieve 1 gram of protein per lb. of bodyweight.

For most Football players there is no calorie restriction. 4 to 6 meals per day is the goal.

Post workout or practice meals should contain proteins and carbohydrates. Whole milk and whey protein are ideal and a non-insulin mediated glucose transport takes place. So take advantage of growth and recovery potential post-workout by making sure to eat a protein and carbohydrate meal with 1 hour of working out.

A performance based nutritional approach is critical for success on the field and long-term health. Making progress on the field and in the weight room starts with proper nutrition. The key to gaining muscle, increased strength, and overall health come from paying attention to what you put in your body. The problem most people, athletes included, have is that the popular nutritional culture in this country is far from ideal. We have 16-year-old kids weighing over 300 lbs. because they believe this gives them a chance to attain a scholarship or play on Sundays. This is not a path to the NCAA or NFL; it is a path to obesity and illness. Being overweight is a problem and it doesn't matter if the athlete is a football player or not. Eating everything to put on size is not the answer. Don't power down junk food just to gain size, because the size you will gain isn't good weight. It is fat; it's useless, it will slow you down on the field, and will decrease performance and overall health

Although, absolute size and strength are vital, better body composition means a more powerful athlete.Recovery and muscle gains cannot happen with poor nutrition.

The eating habits we establish remain with us throughout life. It is very hard to eat one way while playing football and expect to change the diet after a football career is over. Good habits are formed while the discipline of training hard develops too.

Remember: what you don't know can hurt you. In this country the American Dietetics Association recommends a high-carb, low fat, grain-based diet. This is a pro-inflammatory diet, counterproductive for muscle growth, recovery and performance.

Grains cause stomach problems for some people and play havoc on your body's chemistry. Removing gluten improves digestion and improves recovery.

We are finding that a Junk Food diet causes even more problems than the ADA Diet.  This is where an athlete consumes garbage calories with no nutritive value. This leads to decreased performance and excess body fat.

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Look it is really simple, shop on the parameter of the grocery store, eat real food.....oh and a big part of this is, being set a part! Your friends are not going to be considering their diet on every meal or even some of the time sadly enough. But as a serious training athlete who wants to see gains and truly max out your genetic potential, you will take this seriously. No excuses, if you read this blog,  now you have the info.....put it into practice. When you look back on pursuit of any athletic achievement the last thing you want to say is "what if" or "only if" or "Man, I worked hard everyday but I did eat like crap sometimes because I was lazy". Step up.

 

Slow kids don't get scholarships. 

 

Foot Striking

 

It is very common for me to see athletes and clients who have developed the habit of running, or thinking they are running, by striking the ground with their heel! This is actually something that occurs very frequently and we can thank our choice of footwear over the years. There are many different books that talk about foot striking and how humans were developed to run for example, “Born to Run”.

In regards to proper sprinting mechanics, unless you are trying to decelerate your body, there should be no point in which your heel meets the ground! When breaking down an athletes mechanics on a treadmill it is evident to see the violence in each collision the foot has with the ground when they first meet it with their heel. Not only does striking with your heel create damage over time to your knees, lower back, and ankles but it also slows you down! Essentially each time we strike with our heel, we are decelerating our body, which……I’m pretty sure if your sprinting, your defeating the purpose of your motive.

 

With all of that being considered,  when we have properly taught an athlete to run they are striking with not the toes, but the front ¾ of the shoe. The goal is that the athlete is never leading the toe pointed at the ground, but pulled up toward the sky (dorsi flexion) and timely striking the ground as it cycles down just in front of the plane of the hips. One cue that we can ensure helps most athletes achieve the proper foot strike is having them emphasize more of a forward lean from their torso. Many times, athletes develop a habit of what we refer to as “sitting in the chair” which creates an absolute erect poster and causes them to pull the ground underneath their body as opposed to pushing it underneath their body when the foot strikes the ground. We always want to push, we are more powerful and explosive from that position. It also will help us avoid over use or pre fatiguing of the hamstring!

Solid Running View