Keeping Tabs

It might be simplest to just have a thread at the top of the page that marks people's work in the comments section. So, whenever you workout or do anything to help the team over the summer, just add a new comment to this thread. Let's hear it!

Track Workout

Track workouts are probably the hardest to prescribe in this type of format, given the fact that they depend so much on what kind of base you are working from and how hard you are willing to push yourself. They are also – frankly – not as key over the summer, since you are working to build a pre-pre-season base. That said, track workouts can work to build a base, improve quickness – and sprinting is important to keep in your repetiore, so if you’re not playing regularly, for instance, a track workout can be a nice substitute.

So, what follows are general guidelines, followed by a few examples. Your best bet is to sit down using these guidelines, assess your fitness level and commitment level, do some research, and come up with your own plan. Basic guidelines:
#1 A standard track is 400m around. 4 laps is generally a mile. As you look at a track workout, you want it to fall somewhere in the 1.5-2.5 total mile range (obviously if you are doing longer distances you will be towards the higher end of this).
#2 Within that total distance, you can break it down in infinite numbers of ways. For your summer training purposes, I would always include some 400s, 200s/100s and not go any lower that 70s/50s. Again, you’re building a base, not fine-tuning your sprinting technique.
#3 You must warm up properly before every track workout. Here is a good warm-up:
- 2-3 jogged laps
- Light Stretching Focused on Legs
- Warm-Up Plyos – 2x High Knees and 2x Butt Kicks (20-25m and explosive)
- Light Full-Body Stretch
- 2x60m accelerators (50% for 0-20m, 75% for 20-40m, 100% for 40-60m)
#4 The rest is just as important as the sprinting. You are training yourself to recover from exertion; don’t skimp on the rest, even if it seems long (if you are bored, stretch).
#5 Finding track workout programs is easy to do online. Even googling “ultimate frisbee track workouts” will yield helpful results.

Below are a couple of track workout examples; one focused on longer distances and one a more varied setup.

400/200 WORKOUT [2.2 mi total]
Active Warm Up
2 sets 3 x 400 - 1:30 min rest, 3 minutes between sets
3 x 200 - :55 sec rest
Break - 3 mins
1x400
2:30 rest
Core Workout
Cool Down Lap and STRETCH


LADDER WORKOUT [1.5 miles total]
Active Warm Up
3x 200 – 45 seconds rest
2x100 – 35 seconds rest
3x70 – 30 seconds rest
4x40 – 25 seconds rest
Break – 3:30 mins
4x40 – 25 seconds rest
3x70 – 30 seconds rest
2x100 – 35 seconds rest
3x200 – 45 seconds rest
Break – 3:00 mins
Core Workout
Cool Down Lap and STRETCH

Lifting Workout

Below is a pretty straight-forward, comprehensive lifting program. If you have not lifted regularly in a while, or ever, start slowly, and seek advice. You will notice that this is relatively high-rep and thus you will not be maxing out very much, if ever. Instead, start at a level you are comfortable with and add a bit of weight between sets. Remember, the goal of lifting for ultimate is to improvie explosiveness and prevent injury, not to bulk up.

Many of these lifts are common, so I haven't described them. If you are unsure of how they are done, you can google them or ask someone at the gym. Again, there is a fair amount of room for maneuvering within this program - for instance calves or squats can be done with free weights or a machine; find what works best for you and - most importantly - what you are comfortable with. That said, don't skimp - do all the sets, even if you have to go back down in weight or reps on the later sets. And do it in order - there's a reason that box jumps follow leg curls.

#1 Warm-Up: 100 hits jumprope or 10 mins light bike

#2 Core Workout

#3 Workout Routine:
1) power pull from floor (4x5reps) / superset with dumbbell squat jumps (3x8reps)
2) squat (3x10reps) / superset with leg extensions (2x10)
3) bench press (3x10)
4) pull-ups (3x6)
5) smith shoulder press (3x10)
6) tricep straight bar pulldown (2x12)
7) barbell bicep curl (2x12)
8) leg curls (2x12)
9) box jumps (3x8)
10) wrist rollers (4x up/down)
11) reverse back extension (2x15)
12) calves (3x12 with 30seconds of bouncing after the last rep)

#4 STRETCH!

Road Workout

The simplest one to do.

#1 Core Workout
#2 Run 3-4 miles, try to pick a route with some nice hills!
#3 Over the last half mile, sprint mailboxes/lightposts/hills - basically add some interval sprinting.
#4 Situps-Pushups (50-20-75-20)
#5 Stretch

Playing Workout

Obviously, when you are playing pick-up or summer league, you are getting a workout. But there are a few things you should do in addition:

1. Arrive Early and do the Core Workout Routine
2. When playing, play hard, even if those around you are slacking.
3. Run down on every pull.
4. Run back to the line after every score.
5. Throw 30 forehands and 30 backhands (10 flat/10 IO/10 OI) after the game.
6. Stretch!

And, of course, LEARN from the players you play with. Find the best player on your team and ask questions!

The Core Workout

This Core Workout is stolen almost word for word from a book by Olympic sprinter Donovan Bailey (ignore the doping accusations). You will be doing this short workout at the beginning of every subsequent workout. There's some information below about why these types of exercises are important, but here's the basic idead: what seperates the great athletes from the good athletes is the ability to transfer strength and explosiveness as efficiently as possible. That's what your core does.

Core Training
Core training is the key to building a strong body. Your core is the foundation upon which physical fitness is built. What is core training? Simply put, core training is training the foundational elements of your body: abdomen, lower back, hips, upper back, thighs, hamstrings and joints. If you have a strong and stable body core, you will be able to build a powerful, fit body.

Unfortunately, many people have been brainwashed into believing that to be strong, you need to lift weights and build a big chest. Even some top professional and amateur athletes are not immune to this mindset. But building big muscles without strengthening your core is akin to building a house without laying the foundation: it might look impressive, but eventually, it's going to fall apart. That's why Olympic Athletes spend so much time focusing on core training. In fact, their coaches recommend that they do core training at every workout, as a warm-up, before they do anything else. It's good advice for you, too.

These exercises are challenging, and you may have to build up to doing them for the full number of reps described. That's normal. Make sure you keep your form perfect. It is better to do fewer reps with great form, than more reps with poor form. Do these before your workout, whether it be running, lifting or playing, as that will allow you to focus on form and precision. Make sure that you do them slowly and in a controlled manner, both on the exertion and the release.

Core Training Workout

Prone elbow stand leg lift
Face the floor. Distribute your weight evenly between your elbows and toes. Keep your torso straight and rigid, and keep your bum down so your body is in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight with your toe flexed up, raise one leg for a slow count of 10 repetitions, then raise the other.

Supine elbow stand leg lift
Face up. Distribute your weight evenly between your elbows and heels. Keep your torso straight and rigid, and keep your bum up so your body is in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight with your toe flexed up, raise one leg for a slow count of 10 repetitions, then raise the other.

Prone handstand leg lift
Face the floor. Distribute your weight evenly between your hands and toes. Keep your torso straight and rigid, and keep your bum down so your body is in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight with your toe flexed up, slowly raise one leg. Do 10 repetitions, then switch legs.

Supine handstand leg lift
Face up. Distribute your weight evenly between your hands and heels. Keep your torso straight and rigid, and keep your bum up so your body is in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight with your toe flexed up, slowly raise one leg. Do 10 repetitions, then switch legs.

Lateral elbow stand leg lift
Distribute your weight between your elbow and the side of your foot. Keep your torso straight and rigid, so your body is in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight with your toe, flex and pointing down, slowly raise one leg. Do 10 repetitions, then switch legs.

Lateral handstand leg lift
Distribute your weight between your hand and the side of your foot. Keep your torso straight and rigid, so your body is in a straight line. Keeping your leg straight with your toe, flex and pointing down, slowly raise one leg. Do 10 repetitions, then switch legs.

Crunch
Lie down on your back, with your knees bent. Lift your torso up off of the ground, make sure that your lower back is entirely off the ground, so that someone could stick their hand underneath your back. Touch the tops of your knees. 15 repetitions.

Back Hyper-Extensions
Lie on your stomach. Extend your legs straight, clasp your hands behind your back. Lift your legs and your torso off of the ground as high as you can simultaneously. Make sure you lift your upper torso and your legs entirely off of the ground with each rep. 15 reps.

Now on to your regularly scheduled workout...
-Jody-

The Plan

The summer workout schedule is meant to be as flexible as possible. People have different access to fields, tracks, weight rooms, etc, and some are travelling, so this workout plan aims to accomodate as much as possible. The workout schedule is also relatively light. Remember that the summer is a full two seasons away from the one that counts - no need to burn out early. That said, if you return to NF this fall a better player and better athlete than when you left campus this spring, well, good things will happen.

The main thing to do this summer is to PLAY. Pickup, summer league, tossing with a friend - it's key to play outside of NF and learn from other players/styles as much as possible.

Okay, here's the workout routine. Simply put, you should aim to do three things each week at least. The combination of these things is up to you. Here are the types of workouts - the details of what they entail will be explained in further posts. The only consistent thing among these workouts is that you will be doing a brief "Core Workout" before each. The core workout routine will be explained in a post. Your options:

#1 Playing Workout
#2 Lifting Workout
#3 Road Running Workout
#4 Track Workout

Again, these are diverse enough that they should accomodate your schedule. If possible, mix it up a bit. A good two weeks would look like this:

Monday: Road Workout
Tuesday: Summer League (#1)
Thursday: Lifting
Saturday: League/Pick-Up
Monday: Lifting
Wednesday: Road Workout
Friday: League Game

You get the drift... The workouts are detailed below. Make sure to keep people posted on what you're doing.
-Jody-

How It Works

Welcome to the NF Summer Workout Blog. Below you will find a few posts describing some workout plans for you to take on this summer. The more you workout, the better NF will be come Fall and Spring. The main purpose of this blog is to allow team members to communicate with one another about their workouts.

Everything that you do that will help NF should be posted here. If you play pick-up or toss for an hour, let us know. If you lift or run a track workout, let us know. If you order the small seasoned curlies instead of the large, let us know. Every little thing helps, and there should be a lot of chatter on this blog.

In order to post your workout logs, simply login to blogger as nftrain, password nietzsch. You should be able to post easily from there. Be sure to sign your name at the bottom.

Have a great summer!
-Jody-