In October 2010, the Washington Redskins made a controversial decision during a game vs. the Detroit Lions to bench quarterback Donovan McNabb during the final two minutes. At the Monday press conference, coach Mike Shanahan cited a lack of cardiovascular conditioning, essential to hurrying down the field, on the part of the veteran quarterback. While the real reason for the benching may lie elsewhere, quarterbacks and players at every position indeed need to focus on cardiovascular conditioning as well as pumping iron in the weight room to be ready to close out each half in the hurry-up offense.
Expert Insight
Mike Bellotti, former football coach at Oregon, divides football training into different areas of emphasis. Weight training occupies 25 percent of football training, and plyometrics -- training in explosive movements -- another 15 percent. The remaining 60 percent of training involves facets of conditioning, he indicates in "The Football Coaching Bible." These include specific drills working on movement for each position at 25 percent, speed endurance workouts at 20 percent, and sprinting at 15 percent.
Features
Your conditioning occurs on the practice field, not in the weight room, typically during an hour-long intense session. Begin with a dynamic warm-up, Bellotti recommends, including 10 minutes of walking, lunges, trunk twists and leg swings, followed by static stretching. The next 10 minutes can include skipping, runs and gallops forward, sideways and backward. Twenty-five minutes of plyometrics, sprinting and speed endurance work follow, along with a "mobility period" of drills, games and change-of-direction drills, wrapped up by a five-minute cool-down.
Exercises
Conditioning works itself naturally into drills that teach you how to push off from your initial stance and model actual football moves during games by hopping, shuffling and taking crossing steps. Sprint work involving hills, and pushing or towing a partner, work the heart and lungs to a phenomenal burn. To a lesser extent, so do exercises that address deceleration, such as duck walking, moving over or under hurdles and strolling atop balance beams, "The Football Coaching Bible" notes.
Examples
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady performs 40 to 60 minutes of cardio work six days a week, in season and out of season, to improve his conditioning, notes the Muscle Prodigy website. He runs and uses a stepper machine, and benefits from sliding and jump roping. Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco does high-knee stepping and sprints across five, 15 and 40 yards, as well as 20-yard sprints pushing a weighted sled. Ochocinco and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis both dabble in fighting arts as well to further advance their conditioning. Ochocinco boxes with pro trainers, and Lewis engages in kickboxing and kenpo, a Hawaiian-developed mixed martial arts.
References
- The Washington Post; McNabb's Cardiovascular Endurance; November 2010; Dan Steinberg
- Conditioning for High Performance in "The Football Coaching Bible"; Mike Belotti; 2002
- Muscle Prodigy; Tom Brady Workout; Richard Allen; December 2010
- Muscle Prodigy; Chad Ochocinco Workout;Jaret Grossman; January 2011
- The Baltimore Sun Ravens Insider; Ray Lewis Using Martial Arts to Train; Jamison Hensley; May 2010
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