FOOTBALL

OFFSEASON

CONDITIONING

PROGRAM

”Every morning in Africa, a

gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must run faster than

the fastest lion or it will be

killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the

slowest gazelle or it will starve

to death.

It doesn’t matter whether you

are a lion or a gazelle;

when the sun comes up, you’d

better be running.”

Herb Caen

PREFACE This Conditioning Program is only for the trained athlete!

It requires a solid conditioning foundation!

If in doubt the athlete should see a physician before attempting the program.

Also an indicator is the very first workout: if the athlete cannot master the 1600 m (1 mile) within the

required time AND the heart beat rate 2 minutes into the is way over 17 he should do more long

distance running before attempting the Metabolic Speed Program.

OFFSEASON RUNNING - INTERVAL PROGRAM The Offseason Running program consists of several timed sprints and distances designed to be

performed on a track or similar conditions.

Every run has a required time which the athlete must meet or run under with a required minimum

rest period between sprints.

The time requirement progresses through the 13 week program as to ensure improved performance

and improved conditioning in all three energy systems of the body.

It is extremely important that the athlete begins at the right time with the first weeks program and

follows it faithfully and regularly throughout the whole 13 weeks.

The athlete cannot develop the level of conditioning and performance that he is required to have

when preseason camp starts by conditioning for only 4 weeks.

It takes 13 weeks to develop.

Also, preseason camp will be more tolerable for those who have prepared.

Rest Intervals Between Sprints/Runs:

All rest times between sprints/runs are based on a work:rest ratio.

This means that after running a sprint under the minimum time set, the athlete may only rest the

multiple of that sprint time shown by the ratio.

For example, you are supposed to run four 200 yard sprints.

Each is under 45 seconds as a minimum and the work:rest ratio is 1:2.

The athlete must run the first 200 under 45 seconds and may only rest 90 seconds (2x45=90) before

running his second 200.

He is not allowed to take longer than the permitted rest time.

This also applies as the athlete moves from one set of distances to the next, the last sprint and

work:rest ratio being the only rest between sets.

All work:rest ratios have been set to ensure optimal use of the three energy systems in the body.

They do vary based on the distances that you have to run.

1:1 800 and UP Any run 800 meters or longer the rest may only equal the amount of

time which were required to run it.

2:1 200 to 400 Any run in the 200 to 400 meter range the athlete may only rest

twice (2x) the required run time.

These work:rest ratios remain constant for each distance for the entire offseason program.

You will find the time requirements for the sprints and the work:rest ratios in the Excel-Sheets

for each position.

I recommend that the athlete takes a printout of the page of the current week to practice, so he

can also note his times on it.

After the workout the athlete should then enter his times into his Excel-Sheet to save them for

later analysis.

"The man who can drive

himself further once the effort

gets painful is the man who will

win."

Sir Roger Bannister

INTERVAL PROGRAM EXPLANATION

The interval running program and the metabolic speed program are designed for every day in the

offseason and should be run on opposite ends of the day with regards to lifting weights - preferably

in the morning with the weights program coming late in the day if possible.

The program gives distances with certain time requirements, rest time requirements stated in the

Excel-Sheets.

The interval running program should be run on a track with landmarks designating 100 meter or 110

yard increments for pacing purposes. The athlete or his partner/coach should use a stop watch and

plot the time splits according to the time requirements for each distance to ensure he crosses each

finish line on time.

In the detailed Program I say i.e. “run 1 mile as fast as possible”, but that does not mean that the

athlete should run off like crazy and then drag himself over the last part of the distance... He should

find a constant speed which he can keep over the whole distance, but also if the selected pace

doesn't challenge his cardio-vascular system (heart beat way below the 27 beats for the first 10

second – see below) , he should try to run a bit faster the next time.

Checking the Heart Beat

Immediately upon crossing the finish, clear the watch and time rest for 20 seconds. During this

20 seconds the athlete should find his pulse rate on his neck (carotid artery). At the end of 20

seconds he should count the number of beats for the next 10 seconds until 30 seconds.

The following is a good rule of thumb to see how your conditioning is progressing. For a male

athlete 18 to 23 years of age, 80% of your maximum heart rate should be at 27 beats for the 10

second count following each run.

The rest time before he attempts the next run is based on a ratio described earlier. Again, the

rest time is computed as described, but it also has a maximum value (that's also in the Excel-

Sheets), and the athlete should never rest longer than that maximum value even if the work:rest

ratio would compute to a longer rest!

The athlete should check his heart rate for 10 seconds again at exactly 1/2 way into the rest time

designated for that particular interval. For the 18 to 23 years age level, it should be exactly 17

beats.

These heart beat numbers (timing of the counting and the target numbers) will remain constant

for throughout the whole program.

A heart rate above 27 means poor conditioning or if the athlete ran the distance way below the

required time it simply means he ran too fast and he should adjust his time schedule over the

distance, on the other hand, if the heart beat is way below 27 then the athlete should adjust his

time schedule over the distance and run faster.

The same logic can be used at the heart rate taken at halfway through the assigned rest time. If

it is over 17 beats the recovery phase of the athlete needs improving. The amount under 17

indicates better conditioning. There's no immediate action possible and necessary. In the

unlikely case that the recovery heart beat rate remains constantly over 17 over the weeks of the

program AND the athlete is really following the program diligently, then I recommend that the

athlete should see a doctor!

"Somewhere in the world

someone is training when you

are not. When you race him, he

will win."

Tom Fleming's Boston

Marathon Training Motto

HOW TO RUN THE METABOLIC SPEED PROGRAM The Metabolic Speed Program is designed to simulate the running requirements of an actual

football game.

Prior to starting the Metabolic Speed Program the athlete should warm up by jogging 800 m (½

mile) and go through his regular pre-practice stretching routine.

The goal of this program is for the athlete to be able to complete three to four quarters of the

program prescribed for his position. There are two rest periods per quarter and a rest period at

the end of each quarter. It is imperative that the athlete goes as fast as possible on each sprint,

with maximum effort, treating each sprint the same regardless of distance so as to gain the full

effect of the speed program. It's just like in a game you can't take a play off, loafing...

One of the outstanding features of the program is that the distances suggested can be covered

in any direction. So the player can simulate not only straight ahead speed but also movements

that are characteristic for his position.

EXAMPLES :

1. Receivers can run particular patterns for the distances suggested.

2. Offensive guards and tackles can pull or pass protect.

3. Linebackers & defensive backs can work on drops.

4. Offensive backs can run sweeps, slants, or pass patterns.

Each position is programmed individually to bouts of exercise and rest that simulate playing

requirements. (See the Excel-Sheets for the individual programs). As mentioned, the athlete

should run the distance described as fast as possible and then rest for the time allotted. It is

important to go "all out" for each bout of exercise and only rest as outlined. The program is

divided into Quarters with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th being replications of the 1st quarter. Sometimes

the last Quarter is not a whole Quarter to run, then it's the first series plus either the third series

(6 sprints) or the second series (10 sprints).

During the training the athlete should keep track of his quarter times and the total exercise time.

As he becomes better conditioned, the Quarter times should be less. A comparison of the 1 to 2,

3 and 4 quarters should indicate his degree of "football endurance" and if his 2nd, 3rd or 4th

quarter time is significantly more than his 1st quarter time, he should spend additional effort to

develop more endurance. (I.e. additional distance running).

This program can be run alone but I recommend to have someone to run the watch and mark

the next spot the athlete has to run to. The athlete wants to strive to only rest 15 seconds (not

14 or 16 seconds), and to run every yard of the suggested distance.

Mark off a 50 yard area, or use a football field.

1. The person helping goes to the spot the athlete is to run to, eventually calls out a route if it's not straight ahead and when to start.

2. Once the athlete crosses the line / passes the spot he was running to, the helper starts the fifteen second rest time, while at the same time, he then moves to the next spot the athlete has to run to.

3. Then he will give a 3-2-1 call and the athlete sprints to him once more.

This procedure continues until all 26 runs have been completed. This will then constitute one

Quarter. Some “Quarters” have only 2 sprint series with a total of 16 (10-6) or 20 (10-10) sprints.

These are “half Quarters” to slowly introducing the next full Quarter, so the progression from

running i.e. two Quarters to running three Quarters goes over a longer time span…

Now the athlete rests for exactly 3 minutes and then repeats all 26 runs again (If he's to run a full

second Quarter).

After 2 full Quarters it's half-time and the athlete will rest exactly 5 minutes before going

through the 3rd Quarter.

After each Quarter the athlete should also check his heart rate after 20 seconds into the rest,

this time his heart rate should not be higher than 30 beats, and in the time span from 90 seconds

to 100 seconds into the rest, it should be down to 17/18 again.

But no matter how the heart rate of the athlete is at the beginning of this 13 week workout

program, over time the heart rate and his Quarter times should go down.

In the beginning it might be pretty difficult to complete just one Quarter, but that's why we also

start with just one Quarter and progress to four Quarters before reporting to camp.

"Pain is weakness leaving the

body."

Tom Sobal, World Snowshoe

Racing Champion

How to enter the data into the Excel-Sheets

The Excel-Files only come with the paid full team version. -

You can buy the full team version here:

http://www.footballdrills.com/offseason-conditioning/

Each Excel-File consists of 15 Sheets

The Overview Sheet – here you just enter the Players Name and the date of the program start (first

Monday) – all other data in this sheet will be filled automatically.

The Heartrates Sheet – you cannot/should not enter anything into this sheet directly, all the data in

this sheet will be filled automatically.

The sheets <position>-week1 through <position>-week13 contain the complete workout for the

corresponding week.

Into these sheets you enter in column “E” the actually needed times for each distance in the interval

program (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), and the actually needed times per Quarter in the

Metabolic Speed Program.

Please note that times in Excel and compatible spreadsheet programs always have to be entered in

the format h:mm:ss (hours colon minutes colon seconds) and if you omit one part it is always

assumed that you omitted the seconds. That said, you always have to enter your times according to

the following example:

Say, you ran the your first mile (1600m) of the first Monday in 7 minutes and 32 seconds, then you

have to enter the time in this format: 0:07:32 (actually you could omit the zero in front of the 7

but not the leading zero and colon!) – The Excel sheets are formatted in such a way that you don’t

see the leading 0: anymore, once the data is entered! But you can easily see if you entered the time

accidently in the wrong format: if you entered just 7:32 in the above example, the displayed time

then would be: 452:00 (7 hours and 32 minutes are 452 minutes).

Into column “F” you enter the heart rate for the 10 seconds starting after 20 seconds into the rest.

Finally into column “G” you enter the second measured heart rate for the 10 seconds later into the

rest. For the rests shorter than 90 seconds you don’t need to take a second heart rate…

Only the fields with a yellow background are editable. Well, in the Overview and the Heartrates

Sheets not even these are editable, except Player’s Name and Date of Program Start in the Overview

Sheet.

To prevent unintended changes all Sheets are locked, so that only the intended edit fields are

writeable. However I did not protect them with a password so you can simply unlock them to make

your own changes. But I suggest that if you hand them out to your players you password protect

them, to make sure they cannot - unintended or not – chance any important data.

Offensive Line Running Program for Week 1

Monday: run 1 mile (1600 m) as fast as you can (required time: 9:00)

then rest exactly as long as it took you to run the mile (max: 9:00)

run again 1 mile (1600 m) as fast as you can (required time: 9:00)

Compare the times, the second time shouldn't be much longer than the first, if it is, don't worry, if

you follow the program thoroughly, you'll improve dramatically

Tuesday: Warm up jogging ½ Mile (800 m), then run the sprints of the Metabolic Speed Program.

Remember to rest exactly 15 seconds between the sprints, not 14 or 16, also the 3 Minutes Rests are

exactly 180 seconds, not 179 or 181.

You should also take the time it takes you to run the whole program.

Run Sprints of 5,40,4,2,24,40,7,4,4,50 yards with 15 seconds rest in between

3 Minutes Rest

Run Sprints of 10,5,7,40,8,5,9,18,18,5

3 Minutes Rest

Run Sprints of 8,4,40,2,24,15 yards with 15 seconds rest in between

Done for Today

Wednesday: run 1/2 mile (800 m) as fast as possible (required time: 4:30)

rest exactly as long as it took you to run that 1/2 mile (max: 4:30)

run 1/2 mile (800 m) again as fast as possible (required time: 4:30)

rest exactly as long as it took you to run that 1/2 mile (max: 4:30)

run 1/4 mile (400 m) as fast as possible (required time: 2:20)

rest exactly twice (2x) as long as it took you to run that 1/4 mile (max: 4:40)

run 1/4 mile (400 m) again as fast as possible (required time: 2:20)

rest exactly twice (2x) as long as it took you to run that 1/4 mile (max: 4:40)

run 1/4 mile (400 m) again as fast as possible (required time: 2:20)

rest exactly twice (2x) as long as it took you to run that 1/4 mile (max: 4:40)

run 1/4 mile (400 m) again as fast as possible (required time: 2:20)

Compare your times, the later times shouldn't be much longer than the earlier times

Thursday: Warm up jogging ½ Mile (800 m), then run the sprints of the Metabolic Speed Program.

Remember to rest exactly 15 seconds between the sprints, not 14 or 16, also the 3 Minutes Rests are

exactly 180 seconds, not 179 or 181.

You should also take the time it takes you to run the whole program.

Run Sprints of 5,40,4,2,24,40,7,4,4,50 yards with 15 seconds rest in between

3 Minutes Rest

Run Sprints of 10,5,7,40,8,5,9,18,18,5

3 Minutes Rest

Run Sprints of 8,4,40,2,24,15 yards with 15 seconds rest in between

Done for Today

Friday: run 1 mile (1600 m) as fast as you can (required time: 9:00)

then rest exactly as long as it took you to run the mile (max: 9:00)

run again 1 mile (1600 m) as fast as you can (required time: 9:00)

Compare the times, the second time shouldn't be much longer than the first, if it is, don't worry, if

you follow the program thoroughly, you'll improve dramatically

Saturday: Warm up jogging ½ Mile (800 m), then run the sprints of the Metabolic Speed Program.

Remember to rest exactly 15 seconds between the sprints, not 14 or 16, also the 3 Minutes Rests are

exactly 180 seconds, not 179 or 181.

You should also take the time it takes you to run the whole program.

Run Sprints of 5,40,4,2,24,40,7,4,4,50 yards with 15 seconds rest in between

3 Minutes Rest

Run Sprints of 10,5,7,40,8,5,9,18,18,5

3 Minutes Rest

Run Sprints of 8,4,40,2,24,15 yards with 15 seconds rest in between

Done for Today

Keep the Sunday totally off!

Some recommendations: Do you lower body weight training on Monday,Wednesday and Friday when you run your distance

running, but do it on the opposite end of the day, i.e. running in the morning, then weight training in

the evening or vice versa.

The same goes for the upper body weight training workout and running the metabolic speed

program.

Do the Metabolic Speed Program together with a partner, your partner then should call out the

distance (even better go to the spot) you have to run, and taking the rest time, and give you a

countdown on your rests to make sure your rest times are precise.

This is best run on a football field with yardlines, but if not available take some pylons or towels to

mark off at least all 5 yards. This makes it easier to identify the correct distance to run, even with a

partner.

Yours

Coach Roth

FootballDrills.com