The Ultimate AFL Off-Season Training Guide: Part 2 - Running & Off-leg Cardio Program
Updated: Oct 17
In part 2 of this Ultimate AFL Off-Season Training Guide series I will be simplifying an important fitness principle to help you with your AFL off-season running program.
In this post you will learn:
What is High Intensity Interval Training for AFL
How to perform it both off-legs and on-legs
How to make it specific to you
As a former GWS Giant player, and now High Performance Coach, my goal is to make elite-level coaching accessible and affordable to all - not just the professionals.
I want to help you become a well-rounded footballer, not just more confident with your kicking, so continue reading to learn how to improve your fitness this off-season.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for the AFL Off-season
An essential form of training (on or off-legs) to prepare for an AFL season is high intensity interval training (HIIT).
There a different forms of HIIT that target specific physiological responses to create physical adaptations.
The most important to be aware of are:
Short Interval - working periods typically lasting less than 45s
Long Interval - working periods typically lasting 1-4 minutes
AFL Off Season Running
Similar to kicking, it's important to give your body a rest from running following the season.
Unless you thoroughly enjoy running, I suggest giving yourself 2-3 weeks off. Stick to off-leg cardio to avoid impact through your lower body while maintaining some cardiovascular fitness during these 2-3 weeks.
When starting back up it is important to begin at a lower intensity with longer rest periods and build from there. Focus on long intervals in the early stages to build volume in the legs before running at higher intensities. This is to avoid injury from running at high speeds when your body isn't prepared for it.
Begin with a 1:2 work to rest ratio (eg. 1 minute run, 2 minutes recovery) and adjust the ratio to 1:1 (eg. 2 minute run, 2 minutes recovery) then 1.5-2:1 (eg. 2 minutes run, 1 minute recovery) as you advance your aerobic fitness.
With these long rest periods it is tempting to run at very high speeds, but aim to run at an intensity of 5-6 out of 10 (50-60%) or less than 100% MAS to get good quality of running without risking injury from running at a speed your body is not prepared for. Not sure what MAS is? You can read this article I wrote to learn more - it's different to intensity
Your rest/recovery period can be passive (walking or standing still) or active (slow jog/adding light skills) like the one below:
There are many ways to adjust running sessions such as the work to rest ratios, intensity, duration and mode of exercise to challenge your body. Making these manipulations allows you to develop different adaptations in your cardiovascular system across the off-season.
Incorporating off-leg cardio is a way to change the mode of HIIT, why still being an effective way to get similar cardiovascular adaptations without putting load/impact through the lower body.
AFL Off Season Off-leg Cardio Training
You can change the mode of HIIT by performing on a cardio machine such as a stationary bike, ski-erg, assault bike, a rower or even through swimming and boxing.
Performing cardio exercise that isn't running is commonly referred to as off-leg cardio or off-leg conditioning. It is a great way to get cardiovascular adaptations without putting excessive load through the lower body that can lead to hip, knee or shin pain (aka the dreaded shin splints).
A simple and effective way to measure your intensity for an off-leg conditioning session can be through heart rate (if using a heart rate monitor), rating of perceived effort (RPE), or MAS.
An example of a short and long HIIT session can be seen in the video below where intensity was prescribed using a percentage of effort:
500 metres @ 75% effort
250 metres @ <50% effort
x3
10 strokes @ 100% effort
10 strokes @ <50% effort
x10
30 seconds @ 90% effort
15 seconds @ <50% effort
x10
1 minute stretch between blocks
Following a rating of effort allows you to make it specific to you and means you can measure the rate at which you work to better plan and track your off season running or cardio sessions.
What next?
Do you want a comprehensive Off-Season Training Program that incorporates HIIT & MAS running? Click the button below
Want to learn how to structure your gym training during the off-season?
The Kicking Consultant aka Josh Growden is a High Performance Manager & expert kicking coach, making elite-level coaching accessible and affordable to all - not just the professionals. He played for the GWS Giants when they first entered the AFL and then became a punter for American Football where he played in front of 100,000 people weekly! He holds a Masters degree in High Performance Sport from the University of Technology Sydney, and a Bachelors degree in Sports Science from Louisiana State University.
Sources:
Coutts, A. J., Hocking, J., & Bilsborough, J. 2019. Australian Football. In M. Buchheit & P. Laursen (Eds.), Science and Application of High-Intensity Interval Training. Human Kinetics. Champaign, Illinois 21; pp. 393-410
Comments