The Offseason

[FisherSaints]

Guys asked in an other thread but this is just a few questions; How to stay fit/increase fitness, stamina/endurnce and work on skills. Playing in the midfield full time so need to get fitter. Any answers appreciated

[pyronerd]

run lots :P

[Ziplock]

run lots :P

^+1

getting fit isn't rocket science :P

what you need to be careful about is not over doing it- for instance, if you go for a 10km run one day, take the next day off, until you're a beast :P

try doing things like shuttle runs, should help you with your burst speed and fitness :P

as for skills, try to mimic in game situations, so you want to set up cones (or rocks, balls, whatever), and use them to run around, while bouncing the ball, and set up a target to shoot at. Just shower like that :P

[Mailman the 2nd]

More important is keeping your ball skills up. Fitness can be done within like a month or 2 if necessary but skills will take longer.

Play around with your friends or dad/mum/however you can play around with.

[Holz]

interval running. I go to the park and find a soccer pitch. I sprint the full length of the field and than walk back and repeat that 10 times. A easier version is sprint half the pitch walk half or sprint half and walk the full pitch.


takes only 10 minutes but really helps.

[Grazz]

Find some decent size sand dunes and go up and down em as often as you can in 15 minutes.
Then your challenge is to beat that number.

[Mailman the 2nd]

Find some decent size sand dunes and go up and down em as often as you can in 15 minutes.
Then your challenge is to beat that number.

Man I wish I lived near sand dunes :(

[Justin Bieber]

It is pretty easy.

Keep a good diet.

Do something most days. At least 5 times a week.

Hit the gym, but because you are like 13 or 14 then don't do that.

Runs heaps, yeah that sort of works, really depends on your tank at the moment. If you are starting from stratch then I would start little and then try and increase every run.

They say interval training is good, but I never do that shower haha. Just either weights or running at the moment. I do some kick-boxing occassionally and normal boxing, but have slacked off that as of recent. Also if you want to build fitness fast, run in the sun. If you live in Brisbane in Summer then run at 12:00pm and you will die. I went for a run today at like 8am and was like 25+ degrees and I was dead after it.

So to sum up, do something everyday. Or most days, just push yourself. If you are coming home from the run, make sure you push that last 100-200m.

[Capper]

Find some decent size sand dunes and go up and down em as often as you can in 15 minutes.
Then your challenge is to beat that number.

Man I wish I lived near sand dunes :(

Dunes are good but sand running is also good.

[Ziplock]

dont hit the gym until you're fully grown :P

As for sand running... don't blow your knee on it :P

[Dudge]

Play darts and drink heaps of ..... Nah only joking, something as simple as taking the dog for a run helps. It's mainly being active, which i know absolutly nothing about ;D. yeah as most have said running  ( with-in ur means ) ain't a bad way to go.

[Dudge]

Find some decent size sand dunes and go up and down em as often as you can in 15 minutes.
Then your challenge is to beat that number.

Man I wish I lived near sand dunes :(

Dunes are good but sand running is also good.

I always thought dunes were made of sand :)

[tbagrocks]

Summer Basketball mate!

[Grazz]

Find some decent size sand dunes and go up and down em as often as you can in 15 minutes.
Then your challenge is to beat that number.

Man I wish I lived near sand dunes :(

Yeh depending on where you live this can be difficult to do. Running in sand is alot easier on the body than most would realise
but also a hell of alot harder in a cardio sense.

[quinny88]

Guys asked in an other thread but this is just a few questions; How to stay fit/increase fitness, stamina/endurnce and work on skills. Playing in the midfield full time so need to get fitter. Any answers appreciated

What age/level do you play at?
Mostly all you need to do is keep active in the off season. Play another sport, go for a jog every night just to keep a decent fitness level before you start pre season at your club.
A lot of people (even AFL players) choose to do absolutely nothing in the off season which is fine but the main thing is being ready to go day one of pre season. If you keep active then you will hit the ground running when pre season starts and wont find yourself sore, getting injured or needing to waste time easing into it.
I dont play footy anymore but when I did I just went for a jog every other night and played indoor footy once a week (great fitness) and that kept me in good nick and above the average come pre season time.

If you want to really ramp it up then the best midfield specific excercise is interval training.
The gruelling but effective ones is going from One end of the field to the other (Sprint 30m, Jog 30m, Walk 15m, Sprint 20m... etc keep your body guessing and keep moving) Do it with a footy in hand and have a shot at goal when you get to the end to keep it interesting.

As far as skills go just keep a footy in ya hands. Most people dont pick up a footy during the summer and then it takes them a little while to dust off the cobwebs when they get back into it. Keep heading out for a kick with your mates.
If your not happy with your technique then ask someone who you think is a good kick to give you pointers, then its just a matter of doing it over and over again. Theres a rule in sports science that you have to practice something for 10,000 hours to master a skill, get started!
And a really important one with developing skill is practising when your fatigued. Its all good and well hitting a 30 meter pass over and over again standing still when your fresh but have a run around first and get some lactic acid into your legs and see if your as accurate. 

Good luck with the pre season!