Football conditioning

Duke winter conditioning at root of improvement ESPN - USA The root of the transformation within Duke's football program began in the weight room this past winter, where over 500 collective pounds were shed for a ... See all stories on this topic

James Logan football players observe Ramadan and stay in the game Contra Costa Times - Walnut Creek,CA,USA They never want to get out of any type of conditioning, which is something we really stress. They just suck it up and go. I have a lot of respect for their ... See all stories on this topic

HList takes a look at weekend of football Gazette Online - Solon,IA,USA Wolverines receiver Greg Mathews: "Their strength-and-conditioning coach was talking about how we were soft and out of shape, and ESPN was talking about how ... See all stories on this topic

Andrews in defence of development squads Herald.ie - Dublin,Ireland My experience is that because of poor physical conditioning techniques (mainly running) players have poor functional movement and core stability. ... See all stories on this topic

Kids learn fundamentals of football by starting early The Newark Advocate - Newark,OH,USA "They also do a little bit of conditioning as well." Ruff said at the start of the season he had to use flash cards to show the players what play they were ... See all stories on this topic

Joey Jones likes South Alabama football program's early progress Press-Register - al.com - Mobile,AL,USA In fact, twice a day he and his coaching staff are directing 111 players, including eight with full scholarships, in conditioning drills. ... See all stories on this topic

Pahokee football teammates remember slain friend Sun-Sentinel.com - Fort Lauderdale,FL,USA Before the team ran its final conditioning sprint, the players stood shoulder to shoulder in the end zone holding hands. As they began to run, ... See all stories on this topic

Long Beach Poly LB commits Honolulu Advertiser - Honolulu,HI,USA Wideout Malcolm Lane and running back Kealoha Pilares both competed in conditioning drills yesterday and expect to play against Fresno State. ... See all stories on this topic

The Latest on football conditioning

The Alphabetical: NCAA Football, Week 5 SportingNews.com - USA Each Sunday during college football season, Spencer Hall offers a letter-by-letter analysis of Saturday's college football games. A is for Anarchy! Anarchy! ... See all stories on this topic

ALABAMA FOOTBALL: Fast start critical to Bama's success against ... Montgomery Advertiser - Montgomery,AL,USA It was, as Tide strength and conditioning coach Scott Cochran predicted on Monday, as if the Bulldogs fans had dressed for a funeral. ... See all stories on this topic

Monday Morning Longsnapper Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA I would even like to see a new strength and conditioning staff. Last week, I talked about the uniforms. Change those. Change the songs being played by the ... See all stories on this topic

Hampton escapes Pleasanton in football York News Times (subscription) - York,NE,USA Great team effort," he said, adding "Our depth and conditioning wore them down physically." Kohtz said he's "happy with our improvements each week. ... See all stories on this topic

Oklahoma No.1 in Legends Poll Los Angeles Times - CA,USA We hear Kush is in charge of the legends' grueling pre-season, poll-conditioning exercises at Camp Tontozona. Anyway, the legends have mostly fallen in line ... See all stories on this topic

Michigan closes strong in biggest comeback at home Chicago Tribune - United States Michigan's strength and conditioning program was revamped by Rich Rodriguez, who hoped the Wolverines would get stronger toward the end of games. ... See all stories on this topic

Legend Rush plans island football academy WalesOnline - United Kingdom The new Cypriot project will consist of 345 two-bedroom apartments with air-conditioning, private verandahs, marble staircases and sound systems on the ... See all stories on this topic

Fall Sports Peak Time for Lower Leg Damage Washington Post - United States ... podiatric medical consultant for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League, said in an APMA news release. "From maintaining proper conditioning ... See all stories on this topic

Start Your Day off Right

Football players are constantly moving, practicing, and playing. It slows you down when you're working so hard on an empty stomach, or even worse, one full of all the wrong foods. Have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. It's a whole grain with soluble fiber, which means it soaks up unwanted fat and cholesterol in your blood, making sure you're not carrying around any extra baggage throughout your workouts. It also contains the GOOD carbohydrates, meaning your energy is increased, more efficient, and longer lasting. It slows the absorption of glucose, so you won't feel too hungry as you work hard, either. Add some milk, fruit, or nuts to give it some more taste, and enjoy your whole day!

Center Your Strength and Put off the Tackle

Aside from your routine workout and strength training, add in some stabilization and core work in order to center the body's balance and power. Instead of doing sit-ups and other ab exercises, try holding some planks. Place your forearms and elbows on the floor (elbows should be close together right underneath the shoulders) and place your toes back as if they were in push-up position. Lift up your body weight and center your hips so your back is not arched or hunched over and hold for 30-90 seconds, pressing the belly button into the spine. This will strengthen the deeper layer of the abdominal muscles and improve balance, so you will be more likely to withstand a hard hit than with sheer superficial musculature.

A Quick Change of Direction

Condition your body to be able to juke and run by practicing a quick change of direction. Find an open field or grassy area, wear your cleats, and designate a starting and stopping line about 50 meters long. Add another line (even a rolled up t shirt works) about 5 meters from your start/stop points as well. Sprint your way through from start to finish and then quickly try and stop yourself from going past the second line, turn around and do the same thing toward the other two marks. Add some side shuffles in with the same change of direction tactic after a forward sprint to practice lateral movement as well.