Summer agility/Conditioning

I don't know what you do, but we start our workouts with 5 min. of dot drills and then we do a jump rope routine for 5 min. and an abdominal routine for 5 min. Then we go to the weight room and after we hit the weight then we do agilities. Bag work and ladder work are our main focus.

annihil8tor did you get the private message I sent you?

Are your tempo runs the same as ins and outs? Or sprint-jog-sprint-jog? Also, have you had a chance to check out Martin Rooney's dynamic warm-up tape? I have not.

annihil8tor,

You spoke of maximum velocity runs. Please explain.

Exclellent! Thanks! There is nothing like life as a coach! Bring on AUGUST!

Coach pfh,

Basically its broken down to something similar to this:

*Mon- Acceleration work/Lift

Acceleration (all sprints done at FULL SPEED):
5 x 10 yd sprints (2 minute rest intervals)
4 x 20 yd sprints (2:30 rest intervals)
3 x 30 yd sprints (3 min rest intervals)
2 x 40 yd sprints (3 min rest intervals)

(TOTAL VOLUME=300 YDS)

Lift: Total Body Emphasis


*Tue: Tempo runs for conditioning and recovery (MUST be run @75% or lower)

skill players: 20 x 100 (30 second walks)
lineman: 20 x 60 (30 second walks)


*Wed- COD work/Lift

COD (All drills run at FULL SPEED):
4 x 5-10-5 shuttle [have a coach or other player dictate direction on the spot] (3 min rest intervals)
2 x box drill (2:30 rest intervals)
2 x zig zag drill (2:30 rest intervals)
10-15 mins of SPORT SPECIFIC drills (i.e. pass patterns, blocking patterns, jump cuts, backpedal/sprint, etc)

NOTE: you have to include some sport specific stuff to get better at football...performing nothing but cone drills, etc. will just get you good at doing that particular drill)

Lift: Lower body emphasis

*Thurs: Tempo runs for conditioning and recovery:
similar to tuesday's session

*Fri-Acceleration/max velocity (all sprints done at FULL SPEED):
4 x 10 (2 min RI)
2 x 20 (2:30 RI)
2 x Flying 20s [buildup acceleration for 30 yds and go full speed for 20] (3-4 min RI)
2 x Flying 30s (3-4 min RI)

(TOTAL VOLUME=300 yds)

Lift: Upper Body Emphasis

*Sat- OPTIONAL tempo runs for conditioning and recovery (75% or less)



Couple of things, all sessions begin with a dynamic warmup consisting of agility drills and LIGHT-MEDIUM plyometrics. Secondly, you must always take note of your total sprinting volume...it makes sense, you wouldn't lift without knowing how much you were going to do, so don't sprint that way. Third, three sprinting days may be too much, so if necessary, drop the sprinting down to 2 days per week. Fourth, as noted above, ALWAYS run your sprints at FULL SPEED. To get faster, you have to practice running fast. That being said, NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER train for speed on fatigued legs. You are doing more harm than good by doing that. Training for conditioning and speed at the same time is a huge no-no because if your legs are tired, you won't be running at full speed, therefore you wont be getting faster, just more tired. Fifth, remember the Charlie Francis phrase, "Quality over Quantity". That means that more is not always better. Too much volume and you have a bunch of overtrained athletes on your hands.

All in all, this is much more an art than it is a science. I could give you all the examples in the world and still you could find your athletes not getting any better. This is where your coaching expertise comes in. For example, if you have 4 x 40 sprints planned, and after 2 of them the athletes sprinting quality decreases, stop then and there and go inside.

Another thing, some coaches believe in running longer at slower speeds to perfect technique and then decreasing distance and running faster as time goes on . I believe the opposite...running short distances at full speed and increasing the distance, still running at full speed as time goes on and sprint quality increases. What you choose to do, however is your call.

As the season draws nearer, pick up more agility/sport specific training. Increase the plyos during the last half of summer.

Lastly, with lineman, they don't really need to be sprinting anything over 20 yds (preferably 10 yds). Work on acceleration and firing off the line with the big uglies.

Hope this helps,

Jimbo Hale