Footy Preseason Training

Remove this Banner Ad

Hey, nearly 17,191cm,72kg(still got a bit of growing to do, i think) Ruck
Looking to:
-Put on weight + mass
-Increase upper-body,core strength + vertical jump

what sort of workout should i be doing?
 
Hey, nearly 17,191cm,72kg(still got a bit of growing to do, i think) Ruck
Looking to:
-Put on weight + mass
-Increase upper-body,core strength + vertical jump

what sort of workout should i be doing
Click to expand...

1 - eat like a pig and lift heavy with compound exercises only

2 - doing 1 will do this

3 - again doing 1 will do this but also pop in some planks, side planks, pallof presses, cable chops form various heights and roll outs

4 - doing point 1 to increase strength will increase vert

all up, i'd say search westside for skinny bastards
 
I'm looking to drop some body fat and massively increase my fitness. I'm not really fussed about gaining size, because even though I've never been to a gym and never done weights, I'm not lacking muscle at all, particularly in the lower half (I've got 18-inch calves and 26-inch thighs). I know weights can help with fat loss, but I really just want to get lean and fit rather than put on size. I'd rather look like Fight Club-era Brad Pitt than Jay Cutler. I'm willing to throw in some body weight basics like push-ups, dips, squats etc as well though, because I enjoy doing those. Currently I'm 195cm and 104kg. I don't even look like I'm carrying that much body fat at all (I don't have 'man boobs', and can see my abs), but the electronic scales tell me that I'm at 25% body fat. I'm looking to get down to 90kg by the time I turn 22 (March next year). My diet and lifestyle isn't bad as far as I can tell - I don't even touch 'junk food' or 'take-away' as it is, and I've never touched alcohol or cigarettes, so there's no issue keeping any of that stuff out. To be honest, I don't really know how/why I carry the body fat that I do, apart from not exercising enough. I used to play basketball 5-6 days a week during high school, but I only play once a week nowdays. I've never really had great endurance (I had asthma as a child as well), but I want to transform myself into a runner.

I'm willing and ready to do the hard yards cardio-wise, and I've devised a bit of a plan for myself, starting next week. It doesn't sound too exciting, but I'm not really worried about any potential monotony. I'm not in it for entertainment or enjoyment, I just want it to be effective. That being said, I find running relaxing in a way anyway. Here's an example of what I'm planning on doing next week:

Sunday
Skipping (warm-up)
Push-ups (3x30)
3.7km run

Monday
Skipping (warm-up)
Push-ups (3x30)
3.7km run

Tuesday
Skipping (warm-up)
Push-ups (3x30)
3.7km run

Wednesday
Skipping (warm-up)
Push-ups (3x30)
1.75km run
Basketball game

Thursday
Rest

Friday
Skipping (warm-up)
Push-ups (3x30)
3.7km run

Saturday
Skipping (warm-up)
Push-ups (3x30)
3.7km run

The running, skipping and push-ups will be at 6:30am, and the basketball at night. I'm planning to continue in that vein for 12 weeks. I've done a week here, a week there of a similar workload in the past few months (so I'm not someone who's just getting off the couch), but I've now got the time (uni holidays) and the motivation to stick to it for an extended period. I've measured out the distances on MapMyRun, and the 1.75km run is one lap around the housing estate where I live, and the 3.7km is two laps (the single lap cuts off a bit of distance, as I live one block back from the road that runs around the edge of the estate).

So then, do people think that'll work for what I want to achieve weight loss/fitness wise?
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Keep things flowing/routinely for the first month or two, definitely.

Once you're up to speed, mix the program up a bit to give your body a surprise and that's when you dramatically improve. :thumbsu:
 
Colin D'Cops said:
Keep things flowing/routinely for the first month or two, definitely.

Once you're up to speed, mix the program up a bit to give your body a surprise and that's when you dramatically improve. :thumbsu:
Click to expand...

Yea just depending on how I'm feeling in terms of my capabilities as I go along, I might slowly increase the workload after a couple of weeks, even if it's just aiming to do the same distances at a faster pace, instead of going longer distances. Like I said, I've done a similar weekly schedule for a random week here and there over the past couple of months, and it hasn't been too taxing, so I'm keen to get into it for an extended period, really test myself and see what results I get :thumbsu:
 
I like to see people enthusiastic about their training. Top work. :thumbsu:

Now put it into action!
 
Damon - nice work, but I will pass on something I learnt last year. There is no point running 3-4km TTs throughout the preseason in that regularity IMO, if you are training for AFL.

Last Preseason I focussed on 2.2km, 3.2km and 3.9km loops (running 5-6 times a week) that I had in my local area. These were great and I was running solid times for all of them. But, when I came into the first practice match of the season, I realised I had done no where near enough. Since this day forward, I have focussed on running with a more fartlek style, repeat sprints, and runs consisting of jogging, walking and sprinting which all reflect the game of AFL much more closely than running 3-4km at a pretty constant pace. I still do the odd 3-4km run/TT (probably once a week), but I focus much more on those fartleks, and the results are much better.

Just something I found to be true, but I understand it is different for everyone and you have to do what works for you best.
 
Lakey91 said:
Damon - nice work, but I will pass on something I learnt last year. There is no point running 3-4km TTs throughout the preseason in that regularity IMO, if you are training for AFL.

Last Preseason I focussed on 2.2km, 3.2km and 3.9km loops (running 5-6 times a week) that I had in my local area. These were great and I was running solid times for all of them. But, when I came into the first practice match of the season, I realised I had done no where near enough. Since this day forward, I have focussed on running with a more fartlek style, repeat sprints, and runs consisting of jogging, walking and sprinting which all reflect the game of AFL much more closely than running 3-4km at a pretty constant pace. I still do the odd 3-4km run/TT (probably once a week), but I focus much more on those fartleks, and the results are much better.

Just something I found to be true, but I understand it is different for everyone and you have to do what works for you best.
Click to expand...

Yea I understand where you're coming from with that, and it definitely sounds good and is something I've read about a number of times before. I'll probably change things up as I go and add in some jog/walk/sprint work at some stage. At the moment, I want to drop weight as well as develop cardio and leg endurance, and I think the program I set out allows me to do that. I'm not certain though, so I'm always open to thoughts from others. I'm still 50/50 whether I want to play footy next year (not sure if I can fit it in with other commitments), but I want to drop weight and get fitter for basketball and also for everyday life, as well as eventually develop enough fitness and running ability to get involved in some longer distance fun runs and that kind of thing by this time next year.
 
pivotal points of fat loss:

diet - you can't out train a bad diet although by the sounds of it you may be ok in this respect but 80% of your wt loss will come from your diet so as your choices are probably alright, you need look at nutrient timing and portioning and also the amount of cal's you are taking in 9too many, not enough etc)

metabolism - 90% of your cal's are burnt through this and it is increased through intense exercise (don't mistake intensity with fatigue), wt training and frequent feedings

levelling out blood sugar - again frequent feedings and nutrient timing

decreasing carb sensitivity - you probably got out of shape by having too much of them so to lose your excess you need to limit them

progression - as with any program, it is only as good as it's progressions

i don't see your program addressing any of these

1 - your cardio choices or lack thereof won't do it for you long term...when you do repetitve cadio (running, biking etc) you become fitter/better at it so you end up using less cal's each time you do it, ecspecially over the same distance like you...unless your going to decrease cal's each week which is a shitty idea at best, you might lose initially but then you stop flat in your tracks

2 - also your 104kgs and all that gravel pounding will not agree with your ankles, knees and hips or your lower back even

3 - you're also going from limited workload to in excess of 20kms a week, too much too soon at your size for mine

if you've never done wts before then you probably are lacking muscle and is also the reason why your bf % is so high

if i was you, which i'm not, i'd do something like this:

mon - bodyweight circuit (e.g. star jumps, split squats, push ups, inverted rows, mt climbers, burpees, prone planks x 3 rounds)
tue - tempo runs (e.g. at a 65 - 85% pace do maybe 5 sets of 70 - 100 meters resting until you're about 80% recovered....the point is to do the same pace for each run for ther whole distance so don't go 100% as you can only do 100% once...try and time them and do them on average quicker each week)
wed - bw circuit (a different circuit)
thu - easy jog (your 3.7km run thing decreasing the time of it each time you do it)
fri - bw circuit (a different circuit)
sat - hard sprint session (5 x 30m every 30secs increasing 1 set each week)
sun - off

i've put 3 runs in here but i wouldn't even do that, i just know you want to run

you can become just as fit by not running
 
As I haven’t contributed too much lately figured I would add some of my random thoughts on training for footy. I got most of these ideas from Francis/Bompa/Russian dudes and probably half assed some of it so if anyone wants to chime in feel free.

Skills requirements for Australian Rules:

Sport specific skills- Fairly obvious
Aerobic Conditioning- Due to low intensity relatively high volume can be done. Develop early in the off season before focusing on other qualities.
Anaerobic Conditioning- Try to keep this closer to the season, only really needed for a short period as adaptations occur pretty fast. In-season maintenance will occur just from playing games.
Strength/Hypertrophy (if required) - Although out of fashion in the AFL to a certain extent, local footy is still played at a relatively slow pace and if you think back to the 80s/90s even amongst the midfielders there were some big strong units.
Speed- Probably one of the most neglected qualities although also one of the most important. This should be proper speed work e.g. full recovery between sprints.

Order Breakdown of the Off/Pre-season
Conditioning- Move focus from Aerobic to Anaerobic to Maintenance
Weights- Move focus from Hypertrophy to Strength to Maintenance
Speed- Try to develop all off/pre season and move to maintenance in season
Skills- Try to train skills in separate sessions when fresh. Increase/decrease volumes where required.

Weekly Breakdown
Try and group CNS intensive qualities on the same day and keep to a High-Low scheme e.g.

M- (Intensive)
Speed
Plyometrics
Weights
T-
Aerobic Work
W- (Intensive)
Anaerobic Work
TH-
Skills Session
F- (Intensive)
Speed
Plyometrics
Weights

This is a pretty crap set up but it gives you an idea of what I am on about.

Order of a session if training multiple qualities (try to limit to 2-3 qualities per session):
1. Skills
2. Speed
3. Jumps/ Plyometrics
4. Strength
(a) Power
(b) Max effort
(c) Hypertrophy
(d) Endurance
5. Conditioning
 
a nice summary

i think the afl will go back to the big bodies soon, the roos are...they seem to have an aversion to speed at the moment...richard tambling broke all sorts of records at the draft testing didn't he?

i have 5 years off before playing agaion this year and the skills do seem to have improved

you'll often find that the best players are the fastest players...all things being equal, the fastest one will often be the better player (think judd vs other mid fielders i suppose) as it can really set you apart
 
cptkirk said:
a nice summary

i think the afl will go back to the big bodies soon, the roos are...they seem to have an aversion to speed at the moment...richard tambling broke all sorts of records at the draft testing didn't he?

i have 5 years off before playing agaion this year and the skills do seem to have improved

you'll often find that the best players are the fastest players...all things being equal, the fastest one will often be the better player (think judd vs other mid fielders i suppose) as it can really set you apart
Click to expand...

Yeah hopefully, the preference to 6'0 skinny teens is a bit overdone imo....anyone would think there is a bunch of Karl Largerfelds running the clubs.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

cptkirk said:
i'm still not sure why none of them don't lift wts and eat something when they know they're gonna be drafted...
Click to expand...

Maybe because they know they'll put it on the right way (muscle) at an AFL club?

Makes sure they do things properly, and in a more correct manner possibly?
 
maybe but it's not too hard too learn basic squats, deads and such

look at jack watts, his body kept him out ofthe team last year and with developing bosies they can do a sub stabdard program and still get big easily
 
cptkirk said:
i'm still not sure why none of them don't lift wts and eat something when they know they're gonna be drafted...
Click to expand...

Clubs at TAC cup level have their own strength and conditioning departments. They do lift weights but really a 17 year old has to balance strength training with aerobic conditioning and skillwork, along with year 12 for most players. They don't have the time to get big.
 
swiftdog said:
Clubs at TAC cup level have their own strength and conditioning departments. They do lift weights but really a 17 year old has to balance strength training with aerobic conditioning and skillwork, along with year 12 for most players. They don't have the time to get big.
Click to expand...
From the guys I knew, they had just as much time as anybody else.

In fact, they all spent more time in the gym than I did. The difference was they were clueless with regards to training frequency/quality and diet.

Not the players' fault; I'd place it on the club.
 
Legendairy said:
afl running and what they do during preseasons
Click to expand...


Skills, running, weights..

Skills - just gotta keep sharp over the off season.

Running - repeat effort sprints mixed with a bit of distance running is generally pretty good. Depends what position you play. Fitness for footy can also be gained from boxing, swimming and cycling. Cycling has been good for me.

Weights - you need to be careful not to put too much mass on otherwise it hinders your fitness and speed (i.e. Tom Hawkins), which is why I choose to do Crossfit (lots of functional movement). As long as you have the strength to win contests and play your role effectively, who cares how big you are.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Footy Preseason Training

Similar threads

Wormkilla
What’s your weekly training schedule look like?
2
Replies
41
Views
3K
burge13
B

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top