Offseason Conditioning

[Texas Aggie]

Here's a charge to the masses: improve your conditioning. You'll not only feel better all the time, you'll hurt less during the season and during camps where you have to do a lot of games in a short period of time.

Last year at this time, I started a running program. I've started those before and they didn't last. This time I was determined to be different. It has (pretty much) lasted (winter was tough, but I now have a treadmill) and let me tell you: it paid BIG dividends this past season in both football and basketball, but especially the latter. I've suffered through Achilles tendinitis for years -- even in my early 20s, and I had few problems this year. I wasn't as stiff (you older guys know what I mean) after multiple games and doing games the next day was much easier than it has been in years. And frankly, my conditioning program was missing two important things -- weight training (which I did, but did very sporadically) and proper eating (let's not go there for right now). Over the last 2 years, I have come in and iced down after games. Ice works well and its my new best friend, but this past season, I got out of that habit because I didn't feel the need for it.

Anyway, here's what I did to start (in a nutshell): 4 weeks of walking, and nothing but walking, to prepare your lower body for the running (this includes bones, tendons, and skin -- aka blisters). Yes, I know you guys can run, and yes, I know you run a lot on the court, but trust me: if you aren't in a program, take it slow. We have 5-6 months before next season, and we aren't going anywhere, so take it slow. During the 4 weeks work up to AT LEAST a 45 minute period (hour is better; 1.25 hours is max), then add a running component. 30 seconds of running followed by 2 and a half minutes of walking, repeated for 45 minutes to an hour. Add 30 seconds per week (or 15 if 30 is too much), but walk at least 1 minute per set up until you are running about 9 minutes. At that point, you can decide what you want to do. If you need to repeat a week, no problem. Its all about progress, not perfection. This is what I did, and I know everyone is different, so tell us what you've done.

Conditioning will make you look better, but more importantly, you will feel better and be healthier all around. I'm focusing on strength training this off-season and I'll talk about that later. Please chime in with ideas and motivating thoughts.