I am a collegiate golfer, as some of you may know! I condition every Tuesday and Thursday, and that alone has been a journey within itself. My fellow collegiette athletes, think about the hardest exercises you do in your conditioning. Whether you like going to gym or enjoy napping half the day, think about some of the hardest activities you’ve done. Now, look at your nearest football player. Her Campus is bringing you a taste of a football players’ conditioning lifestyle.
Setting up the conditioning time was easy; starting was a little bit harder. For two weeks, I spent a total of six days pushing myself to my limit and trying to get as close as I could to what the football players can bench (which is at least in the high hundreds). All conditioning is strength training, but the focus is different. Golfers mainly focus on joints and flexibility, while football players focus on endurance and strength building. We do some of the same exercises, but the pace and numbers increase greatly. While I used 15 pounds in some exercises, they’d use 50. I had to take my time, because I wasn’t used to the material.
I went from two to five days conditioning when adding football to the week. I did scary exercises like DB Skull Crusher (I’m not kidding, that’s the name!), Spider-Man Twists and Box Jumps (one of my favorites). There were a group of other athletes, but for the majority, I was alone. I did my best; I pushed myself. I was bone tired after the first day, but I continued my own conditioning on the other days. It was exhausting.
I must admit, I didn’t practice practical conditioning procedures, which is a big no-no. Instead of a break in between the conditionings, I continued on determined. It became too much because of the varying intensity levels. I don’t regret it, and I definitely miss the tired afternoons. My bone aches translated into accomplishment.
It’s tough, but doable for anyone out there who believes they’re interested in intense workouts. I am confident that anybody can manage it with some dedication. And here is one last tip: Do research on everything! Know what you want to do, how to do it. When I say research, I mean hard core research. Doing the exercises wrong, as well as eating the wrong foods, won’t be any help at all!
Happy Conditioning!