Tag Archives: football conditioning drill

Great Football Conditioning Test

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40 testAs was discussed in a previous post on speed (Purple Cow Quality #2-Speed) during my time at the University of Central Missouri we transitioned from using the 1600m run as a conditioning test, to using one much better suited for football conditioning.  The test we used was the 40 yard x 10 test, and was brought to us by Coach Mark Thomas.  The 40 yd x 10 test is designed to test an athletes conditioning and speed combined, which is what is necessary to perform at a high level in the game of football.  It also definitely has the “gut check” factor, which was really the main reason we used the 1600m run previously

The object of the test is to run 10 – 40 yard dashes with a 30 second rest between each 40, with each 40 time falling within .50 seconds of the athletes personal best time.

  • 40 yards x 10 reps – 30 seconds rest between reps.
  • Each 40 within .5 seconds of your personal best
  • Example – Johnny Joe has a 4.49 personal best 40 time.  He must run all 10 40’s in 4.99 seconds or under.

In addition to being one of the best conditioning tests for football that I have seen, it was also a good speed/ conditioning workout.  We asked our athletes to run this test on their own once a month over the summer and send their results back to us on campus so we could monitor their progress.  When they reported for double day practices in the Fall, this test was part of a battery we put our athletes through.

This test was a much better indicator of being in football playing shape, or football conditioning than was the 1600m test.  You can download a pdf of the card we used over the summer at this link : 40 test card

Tomorrow – The Breaking Curve

Any Questions?  Just comment or email – I will respond!

You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Jump Rope Training

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pat jump ropeThis is not your 5th grade, out on the playground during recess, jump roping!  This is a slightly expanded, and better video, version of the jump rope training that I shared in an earlier post –Jump Rope Drills;  We do each pattern for either 20 seconds with a 10 second rest before switching to the next pattern, or 25 seconds on with 5 seconds rest.  These are the patterns in the order we complete them:

  • 2 feet in the same place
  • 2 feet front to back
  • 2 feet side to side
  • 2 feet round the clock- clockwise (12-3-6-9)
  • 2 feet round the clock counter-clockwise (12-9-6-3)
  • Alternate right left
  • Alternate 2 right – 2 left
  • Ali Shuffle
  • Rocker – right foot forward
  • Rocker – left foot forward
  • Rocker – side to side
  • Right foot in the same place
  • Left foot in the same place
  • Right foot front to back
  • Left foot front to back
  • Right foot clockwise
  • Left foot clockwise
  • Right foot counter clockwise
  • Left foot counter clockwise
  • Backwards

The following video demonstrates each of the patterns.  The male athlete in this video is a defensive lineman on our football team.  The female athlete plays volleyball, basketball, and soccer.  We feel these drills can benefit athletes in all sports.

We go through this sequence twice then end with the following:

  • 30 seconds – as many jumps as you can
  • 20 seconds – as many jumps as you can
  • 15 seconds – as many jumps as you can
  • 10 seconds – as many jumps as you can
  • 5 seconds -as many jumps as you can

10 seconds rest in between each “burn out” set

We finish with a 1 minute cool down of slow jumping – their choice, whatever pattern they want, 10 seconds rest, then 40 seconds cool down of slow jumping.  The entire workout takes between 26-30 minutes.

Here is a short video of an entire class (about 60 students) doing some of the drills

As always if you have any questions, just comment or email!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Jump Rope Drills

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patriot jump ropeTypically once a week during the year we do a variety of jump rope drills with our athletes.  In our Strength and Conditioning class  we have students from all sports, both men and women , in-season and out-of-season, and in all shapes and sizes!  Along with a cardio benefit (our heart rates are elevated for 20 minutes or so) we also see benefits in quickness, jumping, agility and coordination with our athletes.  The workout is quick-paced and not monotonous, so it keeps our athletes fairly well engaged.

The workout consists of our athletes completing a series of jump rope patterns, doing each pattern for 25 seconds, with 5 seconds off to reset and communicate the next pattern.  We will go through the following patterns 2-3 times, totaling 25-30 minutes of jump rope time.  You can download a short video that shows two of our athletes demonstrating each of these patterns by clicking on this link:  Jump Rope Demo Video  (or click on the picture above)

  • 2 feet jump in the same place
  • 2 feet front to back
  • 2 feet side to side
  • 2 feet round the clock (12-3-6-9) clockwise
  • 2 feet round the clock (12-9-6-3) counter clockwise
  • Right foot only in the same place
  • Left foot only in the same place
  • Right foot only front to back*
  • Left foot only front to back*
  • Right foot only side to side*
  • Left foot only side to side
  • Right foot only round the clock clockwise
  • Left foot only round the clock clockwise
  • Right foot only round the clock counter clockwise
  • Left foot only round the clock counter clockwise
  • Alternating Right and Left foot jumps
  • Ali Shuffle
  • Backwards

* Not shown on video

After going through these patterns 2-3 times, we conclude with the following jumps, all with a 10-second rest in between

  • 30 seconds – as many jumps as possible
  • 20 seconds – as many jumps as possible
  • 15 seconds – as many jumps as possible
  • 10 seconds – as many jumps as possible
  • 5 seconds – as many jumps as possible
  • 60 second cool down – choice of jump at a comfortable pace
  • 45 second cool down – choice of jump at a comfortable pace

All the patterns are completed using the following guidelines:

  1. 1 jump per turn of the rope
  2. Stress staying on the balls of the feet
  3. If jumping on 2 feet, stress landing on both feet and jumping off both feet at the same time.
  4. If they miss (and they will at some point during the 30 minutes!) then they must get right back to spinning the rope

If you have any questions, please comment or email.

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Two Birds With One Stone

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All football coaches know and believe in the importance of conditioning.  Vince Lomardi’s classic axiom, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all” is just as true today as it was 50 years ago when he coined the phrase.  At the same time, coaches (and athletes) are always strapped for practice time, both in-season and off-season. Just “straight running ” for football conditioning (such as “wind sprints“) might be good, but probably is lacking in the area of creativity and efficiency.  Today I am sharing my favorite sport specific (football) conditioning drill called “Pattern Runs” that allow you to “kill two birds with one stone”  combining football drills and conditioning.

This “Pattern Run” conditioning workout is designed to help you improve your conditioning for football by performing different movements specific to the position you play. The Pattern Run workout was developed by strength coaches in the NFL, primarily Russ Ball (then of the Kansas City Chiefs now with the Green Bay Packers). While at the University of Central Missouri, our staff received permission from Coach Ball to use it with our players (Coach Ball is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri) and when members of our staff moved to William Jewell College, we used this workout, and had excellent results, with our players there, too.

RB patternsThere are different patterns for each football position group.  A description of the workout, as well as diagrams (including target times and distances) for each position can be downloaded at this link:  Pattern Run Workout

Keep in mind that the target times are for college athletes, and the pattern terminology is what we used at the University of Central Missouri and William Jewell College.  This workout could easily be adapted using your terminology and a adjusting the times to the targeted fitness level of your players.

If you have any questions about this workout, or anything else I have shared, leave a comment or email.

Remember – You Can Do More… your brain is lying to you…. Don’t Believe It!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com