Conditioning - It has to be sport-specific

Hello Everyone!

As a Speed, Strength, and Conditioning coach, AKA a Sports Performance Coach, nothing gets my blood going like hearing one of our athletes talk about some brutal conditioning session at their school that is both dangerous AND going to destroy some of their hard-earned speed and strength progress!

Sport-specific refers to the speeds, distances, and movements of a specific sport.

Conditioning refers to being in-shape enough to play the sport.

Sport-specific Conditioning refers to being in-shape to compete at your highest level in the speeds, distances, and movements of your specific sport.

 Sport-Specific Conditioning does not mean having your baseball/softball athletes run 2 miles. They will only get more in-shape at 2 mile running! Not in-shape to explosively round 3rd as they are running at maximum speed to score the game winning run.

Take a step back from your conditioning program. Is it really going to get you in-shape for the rigors of your sport? Or is it just some cardio program that will wear your joints down, slow your muscles down, and will only get you in better shape at something that does not make you better at your specific sport?

Examples of beneficial sport-specific conditioning:
Baseball/Softball: 10 reps of 30 yard sprints with 30 seconds of rest in-between
Basketball: 20 seconds of squat jumps with 10 seconds of rest for 4-8 sets
Soccer: 45 seconds of sprinting with 45 seconds of walking for 4-8 sets

Keep Training!
Coach Amanda Kephart and Akron General Sports Performance