people who i consider knowledgable in terms of speed training always say the same thing when it comes to training for football, “you shouldn’t be sprinting over 50m in training, because football is a game of short accells and decells, and when do you ever run over 40 yards straight in a game?” ah, so true, it all sounds great, i asked myself why in the hell we were always doing gassers. if anyone here plays college ball, they know the type of summer program we receive, its basically all considered to be speed endurance work, if you can even call it that. supposed 100m x 30 reps with 30 sec rest in between, how can you get faster doing that? you can’t! but here is what i have realized, after GPP, i still need to include “longer runs” in my program so i am not dying when i get to camp and have to do their long distance sessions. typically i do 3 high CNS days a week, 2 straight ahead speed, 1 agility session, all with adequate rest and never running over 50m. now i have found playing the first half of a simulated game i am fine, but in the second half i find myself tired and almost out of shape. i feel this close to the season i should be doing a lot of short speed work & specific agility, but i definitely need to gain some edurance back without affecting my speed. any thought or ideas how to incorporate speed endurance into my sessions? i was thinking of 300m runs, but i am lost when it comes to SE.
my current split looks like this:
sun- tempo
mon- off
tues- Straight ahead speed
wed- tempo
thurs- Agility
fri- tempo
sat- straight ahead speed
thanks
E,
I think that you should get more sport specific as you get closer to the season or training camp. I like load´s idea of shorter rests.
How much time between the last down and the next snap? Think about the volume you have in a practice or game, and try to compare that to what you are doing in training. Maybe your training volume overall is too low.
300´s will improve your speed endurance and your aerobic fitness, but are they specific to what you want or need? 3-15 seconds high intensity, maybe 30-60 seconds break, or close, in a game or practice.
Others?
load,
i was thinking of something like that, but i was wondering if say i was running 300’s with complete rest, would that also do the job, then i don’t have to compromise my rest intervals. still waiting to hear from CF again.
espn-
i can totally relate to your situation!
i feel sometimes we (as collegiate footballers) have to physically prepare for two things-1. the demands of the actual game
2. the demands that are expected at camp and practice
example- ill never have to run a gasser in a game, in fact ill never be running for more than a few seconds,but i dont want to drop from exhaustion in a camp conditioning session.
Im going to take some of the previous mentioned advice of starting to shave down my rest intervals-more specifically on my tempo runs and agility drills-im gonna try and keep my speed sessions intact. at about 2-3 weeks out from reporting im going to work in some 200-300m work with low rest a few times a week, but i need to know how to work those in with the rest of my training to keep it all productive.
“living on the line of overtraining and proper preparation,as always”
There’s no role for special endurance in the game. Improve the aerobic fitness and your speed reserve and game fitness should be good.
I’d keep the speed work the same, with the long rest periods. Trying to improve your top speed and speed reserve (quality not quantity).
On the tempo days (quantity not quality) I’d work on gradually cutting the rest down between reps. Maybe do circuit runs starting with 50 yard walks between reps and, over time, dropping the walks down to 20 yards. I’d also try working on dropping the rest between sets. Start at 90 seconds and slowly work towards 45 second rests.
I’d avoid special endurance runs and I’d also avoid working on speed with minimal rest. Speed days are for CNS not conditioning. Save the conditioning drills for the tempo days
Hope this helps
But tempo runs are not football specific.A play is never performed at 65%.That is why I suggested to shorten the rest intervals on his speed day or agility day. I think it is important to duplicate the energy demands of practices and games on atleast one day of training.I understand the importance of max speed days but could’nt you have one of each in your weekly plan?August is coming. Football coaches don’t wait for complete recovery between reps.
Good point
I was just thinking that the tempo stuff with the shorter rests should provide enough fitness to carry one throughout the entire game by enhancing recovery ability.
Maybe devote one day to short sprints with short rest intervals as a specific conditioning day and replace a tempo day or place such a workout on the agility training day? You could also cut the rest times on the agility work as you approach the season to make them more specific. I’d still keep the speed work quality up for the reserve purposes.
Also, although a play is never performed at 65-75%, a football player seldomly reaches 100% top speed. Despite this I’d still focus on developing top speed.
Straight Ahead Speed Days:
warmup
10y x 4, 2:30 rest between reps
5 min rest
20y x 4, 3:00 rest between reps
5 min rest
30y x 3, 3:00 rest between reps
6:30 rest
45y x 2 or 3, 3:30 rest between reps
– walk a lap, stretch
Lateral Speed Days (Agility):
warmup
10y scrambles x 3, 2:30 rest betw reps
5 min rest
pro shuttle (5-10-5) x 4 (2 each way) 3:00 rest in between reps
6 min rest after set
3 cone drill (15 yards total) x 4 (2 each way) 3:00 rest in between reps
6 min rest after set
Star Drill (backpedal 5y, plant, sprint 7y) x 6 (3 each way) 3 min rest between reps
walk a lap, stretch
Tempo:
all 100 yard runs
100 x 4r, 50y walk after first 3 reps
crunches, walk 100y
100 x 4r, 50y walk after first 3 reps
crunches, walk 100y
100 x 4r, 50y walk after first 3 reps
crunches, walk a lap
stretch
–the tempo is done around 70%, i do my runs on a football field, i run down the sidelines, and walk across the goaline to the other side and run that sideline, you get the picture. i am consistent and don’t miss workouts, tempo included. as charlie stated, gassers are not football specific, but we all know every program has their kids doing them. looking forward to hearing some of your opinions. thanks
Have you been consistently doing your tempo? I have found that just doing the tempo runs has been adequate for keeping my CV fitness at a high enough level so that I have the repeat endurance I need in a game (although I haven’t had to do any gassers!)
I would be interested in hearing Charlie’s thoughts on this.
Depend on the Speed work and the tempo yu’re actualy doing. if the volume and intensity are high enough you should be fine. gassers are not specific to football. Spell out your speed and tempo sessions including breaks.
E,
I know the long rest intervals on speed and agility days are needed for complete recovery.However as you consider the enduranse issue that you raise ,would gradually decreasing the rest intervals on these days provide a solution to your problem?As summer camp approaches would working at a five second drill and 45 sec. rest on atleast one of your training days be helpful?This way you are assimilating the specific demands of the game.
yes it is true that top speed is seldom reached during a football game,however max. effort is reached(or should be) on every play.I agree with your revised suggestions. Perhaps E’s week should look like this:
Mon: max speed+weights
Tue: tempo + core
Wed: football specific energy training(will include agilities+ sprints)+ weights
Thur: tempo+ core
fri: max agility+ weights