Six-week off-season aerobic conditioning programme

Devising a programme

It’s important that you devise a simple programme that de-loads the players, with the use of cross-trainers, spin bikes and a swimming pool being of real benefit until such a time as the players return to full fitness.

Aim to keep your programme simplistic, whilst still being flexible and specific to the needs of your players.

Exercise plan

For aerobic conditioning exercises, 6x60 secs at moderate resistance on cross trainer or spin bike, with 2 mins recovery between each phase.

For a simple strength programme, 3x8 reps of squats, single leg squats, bench presses and chin ups.

Gradually increase the intensity of the session (by lengthening the exercise time and reps, and increasing the resistance) with each passing week.

Aerobic conditioning

Aerobic conditioning involves training the heart to pump blood more efficiently, allowing more oxygen to get to muscles and organs. 

Although exercising at lower intensities will improve aerobic conditioning, the most rapid gains are made when exercising close to an individual’s anaerobic threshold. This is the intensity at which the heart and lungs can no longer support the demands of the working muscles and an oxygen debt begins to accrue, or when the exercise moves from being aerobic to anaerobic. Anaerobic training intensity for most individuals will be between 85-92% of maximum heart rate.

In order for us to improve players’ aerobic conditioning, we must increase their prolonged oxygen intake and metabolism. Aerobic Conditioning leans on a player’s ability to take in, use and deliver oxygen to all parts of the body. Aerobic conditioning will then stimulate the body in order to increase the intensity of the workout. 

Once improvement in aerobic conditioning is apparent – for example in metabolism and oxygen uptake – the body will progressively adapt to further training.

Range of equipment

Swimming pool

A pool of any size is sufficient.

Cross-trainer

An elliptical trainer or cross-trainer is a stationary exercise machine used to simulate physical activity without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries. 

As well as using one for off-season training, players with injuries will also use a cross-trainer to stay fit, as the low impact affects them little. Cross-trainers offer a non-impact cardiovascular workout that can vary from light to high intensity based on the speed of the exercise and the resistance preference set.

Spin bike

Using a spin bike (also known as ‘spinning’) has its focus on endurance, strength, intervals, high intensity and recovery. It involves using a special stationary exercise bike with a weighted flywheel, typically in a gym setting.

There are five core movements in the Spinning programme:

• Seated flat, with hands at the centre part of the handlebars. This is the position for warm-up and cool down, with a cadence between 80 and 110 RPM.
• Standing flat (also known as running), with hands wide on the back 12-14” part of the handlebars that crosses the rider’s body. This requires the body to be more upright and the back of the legs touching or enveloping the point of the saddle, with the centre of gravity directly over the crank. The pressure of body weight should never rest excessively on the handlebars. Cadence is between 80 and 110 RPM
• Jumps (also known as lifts) are combinations of sitting and standing with riders’ hands in the same position as Standing flat, for durations of between two and eight seconds. Cadence between 80 and 110 RPM.
• Seated climbs have hands in the same position again, with increased resistance and a lower cadence of 60-80 RPM.
• Standing climbs are performed with hands wide and forward so the thumb tips are touching the far end of the handlebars. The rider is canted slightly forward so that maximum force can be exerted onto the pedals with heavy resistance and a cadence of 60-80 RPM.