When players, coaches and fans think of a strength and conditioning coach in sport, the first thing that often comes to their mind is the ‘strength’ component.
However, as the job title suggests, ‘conditioning’ is a huge part of improving physical performance.
But, what exactly is conditioning training?
Joel Jamieson gives the best and simplest definition you’ll find; “Conditioning is most easily described as a measure of your maximum sustainable power output across a given duration”
So, if you can maintain 50% of your maximum power output during each sprint throughout a football match, this is effectively your level of conditioning.
If an opponent or team mate can maintain 70% of their maximum power throughout the match then they have a higher level of conditioning than you.
So, the goal is to Sustain 100% Power Throughout the Game?
Yes, but it may not be realistic. You see, there is two things that affect our ability to sustain our highest power output: Duration of the activity and Work to Rest periods.
Duration
The longer the activity the lower the maximum power output we can sustain.
Compare a 90-minute football match power output to a few seconds lift of an Olympic weightlifter.
The power output of the weightlifter is massive but it’s only relevant to the duration of that sport. There is no need for the lifting athlete to condition himself to repeat that power output every 60-90 seconds for 90 minutes.
A football match is more about being able to sustain repeated efforts of a high-power output throughout the match.
Can you repeat the same run at the same intensity you did in the last minute as you did in the first minute?
Work to Rest Periods
With large power outputs, there is a rest period required for recovery so the body can prepare to repeat that same sprint at a similar power level.
If you run at 90% of your maximum for ten seconds and only have 5 seconds to rest before repeating this effort the chances are your power output is going to decrease to 80%.
However, if you complete the same run and have 30-45 seconds recovery, there is a good chance (depending on your conditioning level) that you can repeat that effort at the same power output.
Of course, it is only a matter of time before your power output drops. This is the level where your conditioning needs to improve. We want to be able to ensure that regardless of what minute of the game it is, we have access to a high power output, ensuring we get to the ball first every time.
For football, you need to be able to repeat 2-8 second high-power output efforts with rest of around 60-90 seconds (usually walking, jogging or side stepping) for up to 90+ minutes.
There are times in the game where you have to repeat sprints with very little rest, however this is usually worst case scenario, which we also need to prepare for.
Is your current conditioning training relevant to football?
Is it structured the right way so you are training the correct energy systems at the most effective part of the season?
Does it fit in with your current strength, technical or tactical program?
KIKOFF Conditioning takes all the guess work out for you during our conditioning sessions by tailoring the training to improve the energy systems relevant to the game.