demon_dog Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 So the boys are back from piling on the pounds during their Summer Holiday. Now comes the task of getiing them fit for the first match of the season. Now not being an expert in these matters (fat slob that I am ) How do we know when they are match fit? Failing any injuries, does one have to be able to run a certain distance, does this run have to be in a certain time? Does it mean how high you can jump? Is it a mixture of simply just running and sprinting? Basically how can you tell? (I'm sure Thracian will enlighten me) Time after time a club can get a new manager (does this ring a bell?) and the first thing that seems to be said, "The players aren't fit enough". Typical managerial excuse for poor performances. Sorry to go back in time but, MON teams always seemed to be extremely fit. Let's hope that NP and his team get the boys fit and ready for the new season.
Asha Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 So the boys are back from piling on the pounds during their Summer Holiday.Now comes the task of getiing them fit for the first match of the season. Now not being an expert in these matters (fat slob that I am ) How do we know when they are match fit? Failing any injuries, does one have to be able to run a certain distance, does this run have to be in a certain time? Does it mean how high you can jump? Is it a mixture of simply just running and sprinting? Basically how can you tell? (I'm sure Thracian will enlighten me) Time after time a club can get a new manager (does this ring a bell?) and the first thing that seems to be said, "The players aren't fit enough". Typical managerial excuse for poor performances. Sorry to go back in time but, MON teams always seemed to be extremely fit. Let's hope that NP and his team get the boys fit and ready for the new season. I doubt there's a measure used for fitness. It's just how sharp they look I guess. Again, I wouldn't have a clue though tbh.
Bert Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 So the boys are back from piling on the pounds during their Summer Holiday.Now comes the task of getiing them fit for the first match of the season. Now not being an expert in these matters (fat slob that I am ) How do we know when they are match fit? Failing any injuries, does one have to be able to run a certain distance, does this run have to be in a certain time? Does it mean how high you can jump? Is it a mixture of simply just running and sprinting? Basically how can you tell? (I'm sure Thracian will enlighten me) Time after time a club can get a new manager (does this ring a bell?) and the first thing that seems to be said, "The players aren't fit enough". Typical managerial excuse for poor performances. Sorry to go back in time but, MON teams always seemed to be extremely fit. Let's hope that NP and his team get the boys fit and ready for the new season. Well the people who manage the team will have the sufficient badges to put on a good pre-season. How good that they will be, is a different thing. I think the key to having a good pre-season is not all, just about fitness, but also, getting a good team morale and a united squad that will fight for each other. Its the way the team is prepared for the season on a whole. The only way to get Match fit, is by playing matches, and that's why we have friendlies. They players build everything up during the week, on the training ground, doing vigorous runs, all sorts of strength and conditioing, ball work, and toward the start of the season, tactics, and then put it into to use during games, so their body can re-aclimatise back to a fit playing condition.
Raj Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 If they can run up Old John and round the perimeter of Braggie Park without breaking sweat,they are fit!
ozleicester Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 I am confident that as in all professional sport, the club would have actual "measures" in place to check on where each player is. For example they would have skin fold tests for fat, heart rates, muscle levels...an assortment of test and standards to be achieved.
Bert Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 Bleep tests are also very good for seeing where people's fitness levels are and where they have improved to.
Asha Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 Bleep tests are also very good for seeing where people's fitness levels are and where they have improved to. Haha, we've done these in PE at school. I absolutely mullered everyone, despite being asthmatic.
Thracian Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 So the boys are back from piling on the pounds during their Summer Holiday.Now comes the task of getiing them fit for the first match of the season. Now not being an expert in these matters (fat slob that I am ) How do we know when they are match fit? Failing any injuries, does one have to be able to run a certain distance, does this run have to be in a certain time? Does it mean how high you can jump? Is it a mixture of simply just running and sprinting? Basically how can you tell? (I'm sure Thracian will enlighten me) Time after time a club can get a new manager (does this ring a bell?) and the first thing that seems to be said, "The players aren't fit enough". Typical managerial excuse for poor performances. Sorry to go back in time but, MON teams always seemed to be extremely fit. Let's hope that NP and his team get the boys fit and ready for the new season. As I'm currently weighing in at 14.5 stones compared with 11 stones in my sporting days I'm not at all sure I'm the one you should be asking about fitness any more. And times/methods have changed. There's a lot more science to it now with players being weighed, tested and their performances measured in all sorts of ways. But pre-season used to start with some basic stamina work. City have long used the testing contours of Bradgate Park and when I did pre-season at Peterborough United the initial torture was centred on a quarry site. Cross country style running, Lots of steep hill running with a gradual decrease in recovery times. Sometimes clubs have even based themselves at military camps for the stamina work, anywhere that provides the level of intensive training required within a varied situation to alleviate boredom. The climbing of rope ladders, negotiating of water hazards and having to crawl beneath some ground-based obstacle gets the heart pumping but actually provides a strangely macho fun/torture environment that provides challenge, helps bond a group and offers the relief of amusement and a bit of light-hearted banter. Then it was onto the speed and strength-building with lots of sprinting involving different distances and progressively shorter recovery times and lots of repeititon exercises with the weights and other equipment of the gym. Finally we'd get onto ball work exercises, again with a fitness-building emphasis and later some small sided football before finally the first full-side football was played. Today fitness levels are constantly monitored and the staff will know when each undividual has reached his required optimum. In my time you just felt awesome and knew you were ready...really honed to the point that even playing three games in a weekend was no big deal and I remember running 46 miles in a race around Lougborough/Nottingham/Derby as a 17-year-old just to get a newspaper story. Now I'd hurt just running round the perimeter of the newspaper! I conducted lots of fitness training as a coach and was forever searching for different environments and novel exercises to ensure that no two days were the same. Otherwise, players would know what was coming and start taking short cuts of various kinds or contriving little breaks. The key was to gradually increase the workload, constantly improve performance and keep everything fresh, competitive and focused, yet fun. Once fitness was achieved the emphasis turned dramatically towards football itself with lots of conditioned games (2 v 1, one-touch, "wrong" foot only) the focus being on developing different skills to as near perfection as you could manage. All the time you'd be aware of the team-building needs and alert to any malfunctions. By the time the season started the team had to be as one. A small unit that would live and die for each other. A unit capable of responding positively and effectively to any given situation. It wasn't just the body needed to be fit and alert. The mind mattered too.
LCFCUSA Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 If they can run up Old John and round the perimeter of Braggie Park without breaking sweat,they are fit! The training staff should implement that.. good idea! It would make the lads light on their feet too, trying to avoid all the deer shat.. I could barely walk up to Old John let alone run, makes my legs ache thinking about it...
Ric Flair Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 I wonder who was the fittest yesterday? My money is on the young protege.
MikeyT Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 I wonder who was the fittest yesterday? My money is on the young protege. Who would that be then?
DanTheFox07 Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 Bleep tests are also very good for seeing where people's fitness levels are and where they have improved to. We do them for my sunday team, very good way to test a players endurance and general fitness level
Miquel The Work Geordie Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 On the news yesterday all the new boys looked very fit. Good to see Gradel back in some Leicester merch as well.
step Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 A very fit player will run about eight miles during a match. plua all the walking they do. ( Savage probably ran 20 miles in a match) Over the last few seasons most city players would struggle to walk for 90 mins let alone run. Where they match fit? NO
demon_dog Posted 2 July 2008 Author Posted 2 July 2008 By the time the season started the team had to be as one. A small unit that would live and die for each other. A unit capable of responding positively and effectively to any given situation. It wasn't just the body needed to be fit and alert. The mind mattered too. I knew I could rely on Thracian to give us an informed reply. Thought the quote above very relevant though, with all the chopping and changing of players the last few years no wonder we went down.
Thracian Posted 2 July 2008 Posted 2 July 2008 I knew I could rely on Thracian to give us an informed reply. Thought the quote above very relevant though, with all the chopping and changing of players the last few years no wonder we went down. Indeed. You could have made a video at Leicester to illustrate how not to prepare a team properly.
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