5 Steps to Training for a Goal (& Football Field Conditioning Day)

Great read on physical fitness: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/opinion/sunday/fitness-crazed.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias:r&_r=1

Summary on the article is that if you want to increase your fitness or your performance then you have to do something and stick with it. Apply progressive overload. Do the same thing regularly but make it harder, or do it faster, or do it for a longer period of time. Hitting plateaus should be welcomed since breaking through a plateau is a sign of true progress. No fitness program or trainer will ever be successful selling incremental gains over a long period of time.

The application of progressive overload is to:

1 - Define your goals. What is it that you actually want to achieve through your fitness program?

2 - Identify the exercises that most effectively help you reach your goals. The less, the better. Simplify.

3 - Put in place a program where you are doing these exercises regularly.

4 - Apply progressive overload. Make it harder every time. Add more weight, do it faster, do it longer, do it further, etc.

5 - Track your progress. Write down what you did. Write down what you are going to do. Do this so that you see the gains that you are making over time. If you don’t the daily grind will burn you out.

This is the difference between exercising and training. Exercising is moving around and doing stuff. There is nothing wrong with that as it is 1000% better than not doing stuff. The drawback is that your body will adjust and gains will stop. This is when people get discouraged and quit. This is why trainers and programs encourage switching things up. People will always perceive that they are gaining. They are not since their new gains are coming at the expense of losses on the things they gave up on.

A training program with progressive overload forces your body to grow and improve after it initially adapts to a new exercise routine. This is the foundation of improvement over time. Improvement that will stick with you.

I understand that I have not been perfect with my training program. I have changed exercises and very recently changed rep ranges. I have also incorporated new workouts since the weather has changed and now I can do more outside. Going forward, as long as I have the same goals, I plan to stick with the same core lifts for strength (squats, deadlift, bench press & push press) and compliment them with conditioning and endurance work. During the winter and “off season” I will concentrate more on building strength and then adjust more toward conditioning closer to “in season”.

All of that said, I did my football field conditioning workout today with an eight pound weight vest instead of a six pound weight vest. I also increased the # of reps from 10 to 12.   

Warm Up:

• 50 Jumping Jacks (http://youtu.be/dmYwZH_BNd0)
• 40 Body Weight Squats (http://youtu.be/QKKZ9AGYTi4)
• 30 Sit Ups
• 20 Pushups (http://youtu.be/Eh00_rniF8E)
• 10 Burpees (http://youtu.be/O7_TBHno0Os)

Workout Circuit all done while wearing 8 pound weight vest:

• Run around the track to make sure legs are warmed up
• 50 yard sprint with 30 pound speed sack
• 12 Sit Ups with 20 pound rip:60
• 12 Box jumps (onto bench on side of field)
• 12 Russian Twists with 20 pound rip:60
• Shuttle Runs: 10 yards & back, 20 yards & back, 10 yards & back
• 20 Straight leg deadlift to push press with 20 pound rip:60
• 50 yard lunges with 30 pound speed sack

Repeated Circuit 5 times

• Finisher: 15 broad jump burpees with weight vest, 10 regular burpees w/o weight vest, 5 broad jump burpees w/o weight vest.

• Time: 80 minutes - but that included walk to and from car.