Eliminate Conditioning: Focusing on Speed and Power

[@tcsaheadcoach212]

I have said this 1000 times. Love the fact you put it in writing with the rest of the time being used during a game. If your practice should mimic your game then why have you not changed? Love it coach.

[@johndunbar7293]

I’m a kicker and you just changed everything for me. I love to run long distances but now I see I will need to let that go for now as I need to be explosive for about 2.1-2.3 seconds. Thank you.

[@GotSpeedAthletes]

Every Track Coach worth calling themselves a real sprint Coach knows that this “Short to Long” and or Speed and Power philosophy.

[@UncutMike]

Wonderful information 👏

[@MojoMoneyMajor]

in juco our strength & condition coach would have us all run so damn much mostly long distance slow paced runs. even the linemen it made no sense especially during training camp...now we see why dudes on our team stayed getting hurt the first few games of the season we weren't in football shape but like a weird cardio hybrid cross country shape

[@coachtonyholler]

Your experience is not uncommon.

[@MojoMoneyMajor]

My HS baseball coach was on the same type of timing 😂😂 we'd regularly spend a good 50 minutes to an hour just RUNNING.... for BASEBALL 😂😂😂 absolutely ridiculous nobody on our team could hit a curve ball, most the outfield had candy arms and we could barely execute a double play....but we could probably be all conference in jogging against other baseball teams 😂​ great info new sub 💯👍🏾 @coachtonyholler

[@coachtonyholler]

@@MojoMoneyMajor in BASEBALL… crazy.

[@ZakOnTrack]

Good stuff

[@Coach____Cam]

Love this. Couldn’t have said it better myself !!

[@DJRashadHayes]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on allen iverson. The reports were that he HATED those long nba practices, weight lifting and endurance running- yet would be the fastest most explosive player on the court as a 6 ft 165 lb athlete against all those big monsters on the court. I always thought that was incredible. So with your theories- it would appear that iverson was right and all those coaches & biased reporters were wrong. What are your thoughts on iverson’s domination on the court?

[@coachtonyholler]

@@DJRashadHayes Iverson was 100% right. Traditional coaches try to run the “cat” out of athletes in an attempt to make them scrappy try-hard tough guys.

[@KPWork-fr2zm]

As a distance runner/ mid distance I have to do some long distance running since that is my sport. But I always believe in the “never let today ruin tommorow”. Before I would just push and push and always felt fatigued and ran poorly in races. Now I although do run long distances I always stop a little before to recover. And go nearly all out on our intervals. And after our recovered our coach either will do ploys or just straight old school sprints.

[@klaasdeboer8106]

I'm a recreational distance runner, but by working well on my 1000 meter intervalls and working om my muscles and tendons which includes drills ans sprinting, the easy pace of the slow runs becomes so easy that I can go on seemingly forever.

[@alexs591]

wide receivers often have to sprint then jog all over the field to get to the huddle and back to the line for the next play. But with only 5-10 plays per drive, conditioning by specific practice should be more than adequate. It is strange looking back that we train kids to “hustle” and move more, when really they should be moving as little as possible between plays. All the extra jogging around in practice doesn’t help play football.

[@coachtonyholler]

100% true.

[@swastikgrover3414]

I agree, this makes clear sense. Do you know if there are coaches like this on the East Coast? (NJ) I do think that have some kind of max speed work is important for elasticity for football players but they can be flys to stay alactic

[@coachtonyholler]

I know a few. Probably many more I don’t know of.

[@swastikgrover3414]

Can you mention their names, who you know?

[@coachtonyholler]

@@swastikgrover3414 Andre Twine, Deep Creek HS, Chesapeake, VA, state champs last year Erik Becker, Hand HS, Madison, CT, 🏈, presently 9-1 and in playoffs. Several coaches in Charlotte NC area. I will be doing FTC Seminar there Jan 19-20. drive.google.com/file/d/102ZvXGIi7hpTD6dNFQULmMaOkPZ5cOJx/view?usp=drivesdk

[@alanjones5959]

I agree and absolutely believe everything you’re saying and it all makes sense. I got one question I’m from a smaller area and our high school athletes play both ways and some never come off the field does that change anything in your eyes.

[@coachtonyholler]

Counterintuitive but… We must resist simple thinking like “play more, condition more”. 2-way players need to be your HEALTHIEST, FRESHEST players on game night. And, since fatigue increases injury risk… let’s just say you can’t afford to lose a two-way player. Thank you for the thoughtful question.

[@alanjones5959]

@@coachtonyholler thanks sir

[@timharmoni1846]

Is this the same as the A (lactic) + A (erobic) method used in the the Strongfirst kettlebell world.....5 to 8 seconds of intense ballistic exercise (ie heavy snatch) with ample recovery (1 to 2 minutes).....repeat? I always wonder if I am missing out on my "conditioning" by following this method but seems that you are confirming I'm not, which is great to hear. My young daughter is a swimmer and it seems that world still loves to train long and hard.....

[@coachtonyholler]

@@timharmoni1846 “long and hard” leads to MODERATE EXERCISE which does not lead to high performance unless you are in a sport that rewards “long and hard” (distance running). If you are in a sport where the best athletes are fast and powerful, you better than those qualities. Otherwise you are planting beans and expecting to grow corn.

[@timharmoni1846]

@@coachtonyholler Thanks. Seems much of the swimming world might be stuck in the past....

[@coachtonyholler]

@ 100%.

[@justinchan2556]

Hey Holler, love your stuff, I just had a question. What would you do differently if you had a more prolonged track season (indoor and outdoor) around 6-7 months and had multiple weeks in-season where there would be no meets? Will there be more speed days, or two lactate days for the week, if so which lactate sessions in particular?

[@coachtonyholler]

I’d stay with a four day workweek. Some weeks NO LACTATE. Never more than one lactate day. I’d mix up sprint metrics.

[@samuelmeade4873]

Love this. What would you say then for soccer athletes where a majority of our training consists of aerobic work in the form of passing patterns and drills and anaerobic/aerobic work in the form of possession games/small sided games and virtually none on sprinting? The sport and its prevailing tactics are changing to favor fast and explosive players (as compared to slow players who were more technical in the past) teams still rely on the old guard of training which is still a lot of grueling practices without the same breaks we get in games due to throw ins, freekicks, fouls, time wasting etc.. How would you then balance giving players game experience and athletic exposure to fast/powerful movements while still not burning out their CNS? Speaking from experience here as an American playing academy soccer in England and going to University.

[@coachtonyholler]

trackfootballconsortium.com/soccer-ten-ways-to-feed-the-cats/

[@timothydavis2568]

Love this. I'm a frisbee player, and I would love to hear about how to train for frisbee. The typical point is 1-5 minutes, with running about 5s on 5-10s off in the cutter position, with the occasional 15-20s drive. Do you recommend a training program that fits that template? Thanks

[@coachtonyholler]

Stop thinking of a “training template” for a specific sport. Spend your time becoming a better athlete (sprint, lift, jump, bounce). Then play your sport to get into shape.

[@GiantsHunt]

Very strong argument. Jerry Rice would beg to differ though.

[@rileydravet6595]

Saquon Barkley's 2k yards this season would beg to differ

[@hoss6981]

For basketball I’d say the average play is around 20 seconds would that change your speed workouts ? And sometime you could go a couple of minutes before you get a dead ball stoppage.

[@coachtonyholler]

@@hoss6981 No, max outputs are still the key. Train the extreme to train the range. Moderate exercise never produces extreme results.

[@zachlindewirth2625]

How would this change for a continuous sport such as lacrosse or hockey? Average shift in hockey and lacrosse is around a minute with some variability between the sports. How would you train these athletes? Lactate sessions or alactic sessions only?

[@coachtonyholler]

I always say “let the game train the game” and “stop reverse-engineering the game away from the game”. In other words, train pure speed and explosiveness away from the sport. STAY ANAEROBIC ATP-PC. (Continuous sports don’t need lactate work.) Don’t waste time getting in shape to play a game when you have not developed athletic traits required to excel at the sport.

[@MrSpicabooo]

What kind of conditioning for combat sports? Boxing, mma, bjj etc? Theres bouts of explosion, but a full fight could potentiall be up to 25mins, bjj even longer.

[@coachtonyholler]

Combat sports are a little different. In most sports athletes spend too much time DOING THEIR SPORT which interferes with building athleticism. Can’t fight every day! I would still avoid traditional long slow aerobic work and put all my eggs into the athleticism basket. Stack anaerobic work and get aerobic benefits.

[@MrSpicabooo]

@@coachtonyholler thank you for the reply and good info coach.

[@bigproj8084]

As a track sprinter, trying to get faster. Should i eliminate jump roping workouts?

[@benjaminguajardo65]

Also i have a question. I see one of your buddies Brian Kula having Christian McCaffrey running 150 meter sprints in a video. Why if you are against conditioning.

[@coachtonyholler]

Tapping into some lactate stuff (seldom). They do NOTHING aerobic-focused.

[@raleighrecords1]

What about skill work? What does that regimen look like in the context of Feed the Cats?

[@coachtonyholler]

@@raleighrecords1 Fresh, low-volume, high intent.

[@raleighrecords1]

last question - I’ve started boxing in the last couple of years where, more than any sport, grueling conditioning is the norm. Considering that football players actually have 15 minutes worth of play in a game, Combat Sports can have anywhere from 9 minutes (amateur) to 36 minutes (professional) of live action. In the context of a feed the cats practice/skill development, each drill should be done at the 5th gear, beginning with an athlete feeling fresh, enough rest between drills for the athlete to feel like they can sustain the drill at 100%. Would the skill work stop when the athlete doesn’t feel like they have the ability to sustain the short drill at that 5th gear speed and intent? Would it be ok for the skill work sessions to lengthen over time as the athlete builds the capacity to sustain their ability to complete each skill drill at this 5th gear speed and intention? Love your thoughts Coach. Practiced today with this in mind. We typically do 3 minute boxing drills of specific and simple skills, with 1 minute rest in between. Today we flipped it, did the drills for 1 minute and max speed and focus, with 3 minutes of rest in between. Was a refreshing experience. Actually felt fast.

[@coachtonyholler]

@@raleighrecords1 Yes, build capacity by stacking 5th gear work. Increase capacity by increasing volume gradually without sacrificing skills.

[@DM-jt4rh]

I am training a school rugby team where some players can run up to 5miles /8km per game. Would you do any specific speed endurance for rugby Tony apart from playing the game? Any tips on how you would implement a team field pre season sport like rugby while focussing on speed? Would you do one day of repeat 50-100m lactate day with other days speed 10-40m for example? Thanks

[@coachtonyholler]

I would do NO endurance work until 30 days before first game. Then only at end of the week and get full two day recovery. Then, let the season get you into mid-season shape.

[@DM-jt4rh]

@@coachtonyholler interesting….thanks Tony

[@benjaminguajardo65]

I love this but what about defensive players because nowadays they are defending no huddle fast paced spread offenses

[@coachtonyholler]

Same. Let the games and game-like practices get you in shape.

[@TomasGarza-b2k]

Coach, how do you get “basketball fit” since it’s non-stop and plays last longer than football

[@coachtonyholler]

Stop thinking “fit”. Start thinking “athletic” (sprint, lift, jump high/far, bounce). Play 🏀.

[@razikariem]

coach what about mma and wrestling?

[@nathanbyrd7923]

Coach, What would you suggest for high school basketball players in-season?

[@coachtonyholler]

Two Atomic Speed Workouts per week, done fresh.

[@alanlipinski8707]

Coach, what would you suggest for in season basketball players wanting to maintain and build their speed for the upcoming spring track season?

[@coachtonyholler]

Atomic Workout 2x a week only when fresh. Some FTC 🏀 teams do this as a warmup before practice.

[@moorebd1]

When you see one team cramping during the game and the other isn’t, is that due to lack of conditioning or something else?

[@coachtonyholler]

I explained this in the video! It’s usually due to TOO MUCH CONDITIONING… which creates long, slow, practices that are high EFFORT but players are too broken down to practice at performance levels aka GAME SPEED. It’s the lack of exposure to GAME SPEED that causes a shit-ton of first game cramps. As the season progresses players finally get exposed to GAME SPEED by playing games.

[@jameshegeman5660]

“There’s no reason to train for long kick returns.” 😆😆😆👏👏👏

[@bkhstlr]

Can this training be applied the same way for Boxing?

[@coachtonyholler]

@@bkhstlr Yes. Athleticism prioritizing speed makes better athletes. Better athletes are better boxers.

[@benjamintran4892]

Would there any beneficial day from adding a little endurance work with the speed work?

[@coachtonyholler]

No. F*ck endurance. Train athletes every day. Tired is the enemy. Let speed create capacity.

[@ftlty]

Hi coach, For tennis which requires a lot of drills and x factor movements and the points are played in anaerobic state is a good idea to train mostly anaerobic(drills of 20-50 seconds, intervals, conditioning type strength training), with maybe 2-3 times a week sprint training(3-4 sprints of 5-6 seconds and 3 minutes rest between them)?

[@zepintoferreira8431]

Not coach but a racket sports player with an opinion. Tennis is a high-skill game so the main thing to keep the main thing is skill work. Everything else is secondary. Regarding movement, there is plenty of sprinting and changes of direction, but more elastic than powerful. Low intensity plyos and some speed work generally work well I think. You wouldn't think Federer or Djoko would be great sprinters.

[@coachtonyholler]

Tennis is a high skill sport and tennis athletes play a shit ton. Do NOT reverse engineer the sport! Don’t say ________ doesn’t look fast so speed is unnecessary. Build freaky athletes! Sprint fast (Atomic Workout), lift heavy, jump high, jump far, and bounce. Let tennis SPECIFICALLY train tennis.

[@simeon8967]

Are there any coaches you know do feed the cats type training in Virginia?

[@coachtonyholler]

I’m not sure, but odds are there are several.

[@philliptwinejr884]

Yes. Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake Virginia. My brother is the head coach. His boys team won the state championship in Division 4 last year. They were the runner up the year before. Feed the cats works! For sure!

[@simeon8967]

@@philliptwinejr884thank you so much

[@2xwllll]

coach, if I run the 400m dash, what should be my conditioning?

[@coachtonyholler]

None. Get fast and explosive. Then, add lactate work. simplifaster.com/articles/400-sprint-feed-the-cats/

[@ozancanca9740]

So, as a 100 m sprinter, should we not do intervals and hills?

[@coachtonyholler]

No intervals. Only short 5-sec sprints up sprintable hills.

[@stuartgilbert8619]

Coach Holler…I’m guessing that the 4 to 5 second hill sprints that you’ve recommended here probably fall under the “next best thing” category? If so that is good to know…as in winter access to track is sketchy at best, and I’ve absolutely nowhere to go in terms of a big enough indoor facility. With that said…would I be correct in assuming that the 5 second hill sprints would be similar to your Atomic speed workout format? 2 to 3 sprints with about 5 minutes rest between each? This could be my go to session for the winter months…

[@daniellolohea2058]

What would be best for rugby ?

[@coachtonyholler]

Build athletes first. Keep practice volumes at 50-60% game volumes.

[@daniellolohea2058]

Really appreciate it , I’m a rugby coach and would love to adopt what you are teaching

[@nodeout5465]

You can believe it OR you can not believe it! I don’t give two effs! But I’m telling you RIGHT NOW: The benefits of mi… the BENEFITS OF MINDLESS REPEAT CONDITIONING ARE NOT REAL!! ☠️ Haven’t seen this man miss YET 👍

[@coachtonyholler]

⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@Junker_1]

Sprinting isn't everything. You say it yourself because you were beaten at distance. You just love more fast speed. But without an aerobic base you will not get very far in endurance. Let's put Usain Bolt in a marathon or even a 10 km and then tell him to his face that sprinting was enough for this distance. Everyone has different talents. Genetics play a very important role and you can't change this. So yes speed is important but for health endurance is important too. It feels like you are only focused on American sports like Basketball and NFL. I want you see talking marathon and such or do you think those are lesser athletes or so?

[@coachtonyholler]

Yep. I’m a sprint coach. I’m a high speed coach… football, basketball, lacrosse, rugby, etc. I’m not an endurance coach. (But I’ve run 4 marathons.)

[@Junker_1]

@@coachtonyholler Thanks for the comment. I have no problem that you are a sprint coach. I am just saying that sprinting is not better than endurance and vice versa. When I see your videos you seem to look down on endurance while that also is very important if you consider health. If you are a competitor it all starts with what your genetic makeup is. In other words both endurance, speed and strength are important.

[@coachtonyholler]

@@Junker_1 I’m a track coach. 75% of the events are speed events. Go jog a mile.

[@Junker_1]

@@coachtonyholler Yeah I totally understand that. I have full respect for you as a coach. But I got the impression you looked down on endurance sports and that speed is the most important. I admire all explosive sporters and I wish I also had talent for that. I got triggered a bit when you said who is in better shape Dave Finnestad or you while he easily beat you at 3 miles. And you seemed to imply that you were in better shape. No you weren't. And that you don't want guys in fantastic aerobic shape. To me it all depends on what discipline you are best at naturally. Both disciplines are even. But hey maybe I misunderstand you. I like your videos and advice and thank you for that. Maybe the fault lies with me.