need help with cardio workouts

[tobyrupert]

Which is better for a football player...
Sprints? Or long distance running?
Ive heard that sprints and distance running is training 2 different types of cardio.

But ive also heard its the same either way.


And also... will distance running help my 40 yard dash time.. or hurt it?

[tobyrupert]

*bump*

[IAVA31]

Sprints! Football is a fast twitch, explosive sport. Therefore, fast twitch explosive sprints will help. Sprinting also helps elevate hormone levels that will help you.

Running five or 10 miles at a time will not directly improve sprint speed. What it will do is enable a sprinter to recover more quickly from short sprint workouts and to endure more sprint repetitions and harder workouts, which will improve sprint speed. It helps a sprinter to do repeated workouts at a consistently fast speed because the heart and lungs are accustomed to such exertion from the distance running.

[RollTideNation]

Football is heavily alactic which means it is bouts of short intense activity for less than 10sec. To condition, I'd recommend doing alactic work (get creative like do a tire flip into 15yd sprint) with short rest periods (like 30-45sec). Distance jogging is an aerobic energy system which means it requires a steady supply of oxygen for an extended period of time. It has no carryover to football games. It's like buying gasoline for a diesel truck... It's fuel but you can't use it.

For speed, the main thing is to improve your strength and rate of force development. That is the biggest help you can get. Also do some sprints lol. 10-20yd for acceleration, 30-70 for pure speed. I like working with 10, 20, and 40yd sprints. Unilateral leg exercises help as well. Perform some agility drills and also work on hip mobility and overall flexibility. Speed work and conditioning are two different things. Speed work requires long rest periods to ensure you are fully recovered, which aids you in performing at maximum output (vital for increasing speed). Conditioning is preparing your a task, so short rest periods are needed to get you into game shape.

Highly doubt distance jogging will improve your speed.

Hope this helps

[Cpfeiffer12]

Instead of using running to improve a running sport try to use the gym. Undoubtedly sprints will help when incorporated in a workout, but using "to much" running to improve overall sprint is like using the same math problem over and over to improve on algebra. It won't work, use weighted interval training. Explosive ,squats, kettlebell movements for hip power. Basically any type of ballistic exercise movement and you should see huge improvement. I know I have, hope this helps out.

[HamburgerTrain]

Sprints. Long slow cardio will make you fat, slow, and weak.

x2 on improving power in the weightroom.