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Conditioning

the process of preparing the body for optimized

performance

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Rules of Conditioning

1. Safety

2. Motivation

3. Specialization

4. Warm-up/ Cooldown

5. Diet

6. Intensity

7. Capacity

8. Duration

9. Balanced Strength

10. Routine

11. Modification

12. Fun

13. Relaxation

14. Progression

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Basic Principles of Weight Training

• Overload Principle

• Variation Principle

• Specificity Principle

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Safety Guidelines for Weight Training

1. Warm-up/Cooldown

2. Stretching

3. Spotting

4. Collars

5. Muscle Balance

6. Range of Motion

7. Hydration

8. Proper Form

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Flexibility Exercises

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Types of Muscle Contractions

• isometric– a muscle contraction with no motion that

results in no change in the length of the muscle

• isotonic– a muscle contraction produced by a

constant external resistance

• isokinetic– a muscle contraction produced by a

variable external resistance at a constant speed

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Strengthening Exercises

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Cardiorespiratory Exercises

• Power Walking

• Running & Jogging

• Aerobics/Step Classes

• Bicycling

• Rowing Machines

• Ski Machines

• Stair Climbers

• Stair Steppers

• Upper Body Ergometers

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Coach Churchill wanted to get together with his athletic trainer, Terri, to come up with a conditioning program the kids would follow through with. It had been a long football season and most came out uninjured, but the coach wanted to see if they could improve things even more.

Terri suggested first walking through the weight room and checking it out for safety. He should make sure there are enough collars and belts and that the spacing between the stations is adequate. There’s nothing worse than getting injured while trying to prevent injuries.

Second, Terri suggested comparing this season’s injuries to those of previous seasons and national norms. Terri has all the injuries in a computer database, so it is easy to look for any increase in injuries over previous seasons and to compare to national norms. The coach had put a lot of work into the warm-up and cooldown phases of the training program this season, and it seemed to help, but the comparison Terri suggested would help them determine if the new warm-up drills had actually prevented any muscle strains. A reduced injury count is the best indication that a program is working.

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Both the coach and Terri wanted to make sure that time wasn’t wasted in the weight room. So they looked closely at the duration and intensity of the program as well as the specialization and made some modifications, making sure that the duration was no longer than necessary and that the intensity of the exercises worked the muscles to capacity. They also reassessed the focus of the exercises, making sure the specialization was appropriate for each athlete. The ultimate goal was to make the kids stronger for the sports and positions they would be playing.

What else could Coach Churchill and Terri look at in an attempt to improve the training program? How can they make the conditioning program interesting enough to the athletes to get them into the weight room to do their exercises? How can they track the effects of the changes they made to the program?