It is important to have a running program in accordance with the demands of football, The average football play is 5 seconds of 100 percent intensity and the average rest between plays during a normal drive is about 50 seconds. Therefore a strong conditioning program must meet the following criteria: 1) Speed and agility drills requiring maximum intensity for 3 to 8 seconds. 2) Take approximately 10-second rest periods for every second of work. Thus, if a drill lasts 5 seconds, the rest period should last approximately 50 seconds.
Back in 1984 I began looking into interval training because of a Nebraska playbook I acquired. At that time a lot of their lifting and training methods were relatively new. Since that time Boyd Epley, Nebraska’s long-time conditioning and lifting coach, has become the expert in the field of football preparedness. Many of our workouts and drills will be based on his principals. I know that many of you are involved in summer baseball and various camps. Our main concern is that you return in the fall in the proper condition to be able to do the early-season activities without injury. I have always had the belief that athletes will do what is necessary to get ready for their seasons if they are
There are three running styles used in our summer running program. Form and distance running are emphasized initially to develop technique and endurance. Interval running is incorporated later to develop speed and explosiveness.
Form Running
1. Run in place, bringing your knees high. accelerate slowly and run for 25 yards, emphasizing knee lift.
2. Run for 25 yards and emphasize stride length. Bring your knees high, extend your lower leg, land, and push off with the ball of your foot.
3. Run a 25 yard “goose step,” keeping your weight back in drum-major fashion. You should feel the stretch in your thighs.
4. Run in place as fast as you can for 10 seconds, bringing your thighs parallel to the ground and keeping your toes pointed straight ahead. Pump your arms keeping your elbows in.
Distance Running
Develop an endurance base early in the summer by running distances. A good average is 2 to 3 miles per workout at an 8-minutes-per-mile pace. You will emphasize interval training the closer the season gets, but good interval training can only be beneficial if you have established a good endurance base. On lifting days it is good to end your workout with a long run followed by stretching.
Interval Running
There are approximately 100 to 150 all-out efforts against resistance during a practice session or a game. These explosive efforts last 5 to 15 seconds and require an enormous expenditure of energy. The recovery time between efforts is usually a period of active rest (jogging back the huddle, for example). This is why interval training is so important. Your interval workouts should be at maximum effort if you expect to gain optimum results. The rest:work ratio should be 10 to 1 for distances of 100 yards or less. For, example, if you run a 12.0 hundred, you should rest 120 seconds. The rest interval for distances of 110 to 440 yards is 5:1 and for distances greater than 400 it is 2:1. The rest period should consist of walking or jogging, not just standing or sitting.
Summer Running and Footwork Schedule
Running workouts