ARROW Movement Academy

Conditioning for team sports

When it comes to conditioning athletes involved in team sport many coaches and athletes are under the perception that to prepare accordingly we must run 5 or 10k’s.

I get it, getting better at an activity that allows you to run more continuously seems like it would be helpful for sport that lasts upwards of 90 minutes. However, it is important to bare in mind that the successes in team sport is not based on who can continuously run at sub maximal speeds but in-fact who can repeat high speed runs frequently. Therefore, our aerobic system must be able to allow us to recover between these efforts.

More on how to do that next week..

Now and again I will have the privilege of going to a commercial gym. I will look around for some 20kg plates (45lbs in dog years) to find there are less than there should be. Suddenly I hear a clambering sound coming from afar. Someone is banging out BB Hip Bridges, with almost all the 20kg plates, and that bar is flying. Good for them. But I can’t help but feel they may doing themselves a disservice. I have known some NOT very strong people that get upwards of 180kg on a BB hip bridge but can barely manage 1x16kg chain doing them with a single leg.

Performing this exercise with a single leg is a brilliant intro to single leg training. Developing those stabilisers around the hip joint and lighting up those hamstrings so that you know they are there.

But you can do whatever you want to do.

But you should probably join the movement.