General Team Conditioning by Nancy Buck, R.N. D.C., C.C.S.P., C.S.C.S. Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician August, 2003 If you have any questions or would like me to address a specific issue, feel free to e-mail or call me (916-326-4466) me any time. The off-season is for strength training. Now is the time to build the foundation so you can utilize speed, agility and plyometric training in the upcoming months. Workouts should be 4 times a week, 2 for upper body and 2 for lower body. One is a heavy workout and one is a light work out. Your core work should be done 5-6 times a week. If your core is not functioning at it’s maximum potential you will not be able to translate the strength you have gained into game time power. Basics: Maintain cardio. For a gym warm-up 15-20 minutes of jogging, riding, swimming, etc should be enough to get your muscles prepared to work. When it gets too easy or boring, increase your resistance. Stretch: Before and after, at least a little, especially your problem areas. Form: Maintaining proper form while exercising is critical to preventing injury and maximizing the muscle work. If you can’t keep proper form your weight is too heavy! These work-outs are all similar but somewhat specific to position. Since I am not with you on a 1-1 basis you will have to monitor how heavy of weight you are working with as I am giving you percentages of weight to lift, not amounts, Your work out is not limited to these exercises but the weight percentages and reps are calculated specifically for strength development. Please say within these guidelines. Position Workouts:    Line    Backs Back