footbag.org

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

Conan's Commentary #1: Offseason Conditioning

In an effort to make this forum more interesting and useful for newer players, I am beginning a series of articles on footbag net training and competition. The point of this is to pass on information and generate discussion, so your comments are always welcome, no matter who you are. The first topic of discussion will be offseason conditioning.

Since this is the "offseason" for most net players, it makes sense to start our look at training here. Though there are indoor tournaments to train for, preparing for a tournament will be the focus of later articles. Offseason training basically means improving your strength, endurance, and flexiblity while you are not playing a lot of footbag. It also means not becoming a couch potato in the winter and hurting yourself on the first day of spring practice.

The first phase a serious athlete goes through after the season is rest. If you've really been kicking a lot, you should not play at all for 2-4 weeks at the start of the offseason. This gives your body a chance to heal and will noticeably improve those lingering aches and pains. It’s also extremely healthy to just get away from the game for a while, and come back with a fresh mental perspective.

Next, the work begins. Flexiblity is the single most important aspect of physical fitness for a net player. In the course of one game your body will be contorted in ways that the average person never experiences in a lifetime. Good flexibility reduces your chance for injury and actually improves your play. But, before you begin dropping into the splits you need to make sure that your body is prepared. This is accomplished by warming up before you stretch. There are two ways to warm up for a serious stretching session- active and passive. Active is the preferred manner. Stretch when you are hot and sweaty after running or working out. This is when your muscles and joints will most easily and comfortably reach maximum range of motion. It is also possible to do a passive warm-up. Soaking in a bath, jacuzzi or sauna is a passive but acceptable way to prepare for stretching.

Spend at least 15 minutes for a serious stretching session, at least 2 times a week. Focus on the hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, and midsection. The standard protocol is to hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds, but the goal is to get the muscle to relax and elongate. I start with a slow count to 10, then focus on breathing deeply and feeling the muscle elongate with each exhale. There are many positions to stretch each muscle group - get a book or video, or take a class if you want more ideas. Remember that it helps your spiking to get to the point where you are close to the splits, so keep working at it. Another useful tip: stretch your ankles the way freestylers do. Warm up with 10 circles each way, then invert the ankle like you just rolled it. Ankle flexiblity will help the next time you step in a hole or land awkwardly.

Strength is the next most important aspect of physical fitness for net. It takes a great deal of muscle power to change direction quickly, cover the whole court, and jump high over the net. The single best exercise for developing lower body power is the free-weight squat. Lower slowly to about a 90 degree knee angle - no lower. Never bend forward at the lower back (lumbar spine), and never allow your knees past your toes. Start with low weight - the most common mistake when lifting weights is to hurt yourself lifting too much weight. I have literally seen a guy tear his pectoral muscle bench pressing (it pulled over to the center of his chest and looked like a misplaced man-boob). Think about it this way: most people lift weights to get stronger, but injuries only make you weaker. When getting back into lifting after a break, I start with 8-10 different exercises, mostly machines, 2 sets of 15 repetitions. This is more of a conditioning (endurance) protocol. After a few weeks, I will do 3 sets of 10 repetitions, mostly free weights. This is more of a muscle building protocol.

As a general rule, the more muscle groups that an exercise engages, the better it is for you. Push-ups are better than bench press, bench press is better than butterfly machine. Squats are better than leg press, leg press is better than leg extension. One important exception is the hamstrings: it is very important to do a separate exercise for the hamstrings (the backs of the thighs). Do some sort of leg curl. The reason is that the quadriceps (the front of the thighs) are much stronger than the hamstrings. Too much imbalance can lead to serious knee problems. Freestyle can cause this imbalance, ask Sam Conlon. Also, net spiking is brutal on the hamstrings, so you need them strong to spike all day.

Good cardiovascular endurance (involving the heart, lungs, and large muscle groups) is great for your health and a proven way to burn fat and help reduce the risk for many diseases. Running, biking, rollerblading...any activity that is moderately strenuous and is sustained for at least 20 minutes will give you cardiovascular benefits. However, I have been beaten way too many times by chain-smoking footbag players to tell you that improving your cardiovascular fitness will make you a better net player Also, some activities like running can cause repetitive-stress injuries (e.g. tendinitis, shin splints), so I only run during the off-season.

The off-season is also a great time to reflect on your net game as a whole. What is your goal for next year? Be the world champion? Or maybe just learn a new spike you can make your friends in the park wear? Either way, write down what your goal is. Then write down specific parts of your game that you need to improve to get there. Constant improvement is the key. If you feel that you are stagnating, you need to shake up your footbag world. Maybe more frequent training is the answer, or just more specific training. Plan ways to play with different players, either by travelling for tournaments or just for fun. The great thing about net is that the more you play, the better you get

Next article: consecutive drills.

[Roman Gornitsky (eR-mine)]

great article, i found it very useful... but i got embarrassed by things you said 'bout lifting weight and other bodybuilding stuff.

well, it's quite useful to have big muscles, but i think that really light players get more advantages then bodybuilders =) . mabbe, you standing spikes can become the way harder when you get you muscles bigger, but flying stuff'll get a little bit weakened, as i think. just look at the guys at olympics, who jump hell high - they look really light ones. so do you really consider bodybuilding stuff an obvious part of a world-champion-in-net-training?

ps: and all the guys i've seen playing takraw are not so huge, too...
pps: looking for consecutive drills. it looks to be useful article =) ...

[Jukka Peltola (jukka)]

Great article Conan.

It´s very important to give some basic knowledge for all the players. Many years we (Finns) used to practice just by playing, but nowdays we (some of us) do some real exercising. That´s the only key for success and for healthy physical condition, because wrong training can f**k up your body big time. I know it:(

Take care you all and remember to warm up and stretch enough.

Jukka

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

"well, it's quite useful to have big muscles, but i think that really light players get more advantages then bodybuilders =) . mabbe, you standing spikes can become the way harder when you get you muscles bigger, but flying stuff'll get a little bit weakened, as i think. just look at the guys at olympics, who jump hell high - they look really light ones. so do you really consider bodybuilding stuff an obvious part of a world-champion-in-net-training?

ps: and all the guys i've seen playing takraw are not so huge, too..."

Good points, especially about the takraw players. Strictly from a health and physical fitness standpoint, lifting is one of the best things that you can do for your body. Lifting builds muscle, preserves bone mass, and cranks up your metabolism so that you can eat more and while having less body fat. Strong muscles can work more with less fatigue and injury. This is a huge factor when you play 20 matches in a weekend. Plus, I know from personal experience that if I am not excercising my knees and back hurt a lot more in daily life.

As far as the takraw players go, they are not huge because they are in general not huge people. But I think that you would find all of the big spikers are full of muscles. Also, the average age of the top net players is older than takraw players, so if you want to continue to improve well into your 30s and 40s, start lifting now!

Conan

[Roman Gornitsky (eR-mine)]

yeah, but i think it mostly depends on how much time you spend lifting weights. and not to do too much lifting is the point, too.

so, basing on your experience, how often do you recommend lifting?

and what about training jumping facilities (i think, it should be included in basic training-without-a-ball, too)?

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

[Tina Lewis (tinalewis)]

Thanks Chris, I look forward to more on this topic. I also lift weights but low weight with lots of reps. It's a lot like stretching and gives me an opportunity to work on my upper body. Also don't forget your core, I have found the big exercise inflatable ball works great and I HATE crunches. Wall drills or simple consecutives are a good way to warm up for stretching or lifting weights. Putting your bike on a trainer is also a pretty cheap and easy way to work out through the winter. You can buy them used from the paper or internet but they are less than $200.00 new. Just prop up the front with phone books, get a good book to read and go! As soon as it gets warm I'm back in the pool for laps and water exercises. Still have a few months to go but once you are over 40 its best to find some options that put less stress on your body - no injuries!! Happy New Year! Tina

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

I just wanted to post a few more ideas for cross-training that other footbag players swear by:

Biking is excellent cardiovascular exercise, and works the quadriceps hard(the front of the thighs). If you use toe-clips and try to lift your legs as well as push, you activate more of the hamstrings (the backs of the thighs) and get more of a well-rounded leg workout.

Skiing/snowboarding involves a lot of impact absorption (negative training) and requires good agility. If you do it a lot your legs will stay in great shape.

Freestyle footbag helps your leg quickness and seasoned freestyle players say that it helps your net game, especially digging. (They also say that net does NOT help your freestyle game). Just don't get too used to that soft, flaccid bag

Finally, I have been taking a mat pilates class, and it's great. Pilates is like yoga, but is better exercise and moves faster. It focuses particularly on strengthening the midsection (stomach, sides, and lower back). No matter how badly my lower back aches before going in to this class, it always feels better afterwards!

Hope this helps!
Conan

[Matthew Johns (Elliott)]

since we're on the subject of training. insides and outsides are easy enough to practice, but what about those pesky back kicks? any ideas for those?

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

For backkick training, see my "Commentary #2: Consecutives" article. Look for the drills "Down-the-line/Crosscourt" and "Push/Pull".

Another great backkick drill is called the "Nerd drill" (named for Jason "Nerd" Langis"). Stand on the court with a partner on the other side. Your partner throws a bag to a deep corner. You step over, backkick, and spike. As you land from your spike, your partner throws another bag to the other corner. You run it down, backkick, spike, repeat. This is a very intense drill that will help you cover the court and execute backkicks even when you are tired. It's also a great singles drill.

Keep kickin!
Conan

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

We're heading towards the offseason. Plan your winter training now!

Conan

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

Even if you are playing regularly in the winter, don't ignore your physical conditioning! Use your time away from footbag to get stronger and more flexible.

I'll say it again: if you have any kind of lower back problems, pilates is the best exercise I have done. The whole "group exercise class/watching an exercise video" may be unappealing for some, but I'm telling you pilates is like instant back relief!

[Matthew Johns (Elliott)]

question: what's an offseason?

[Christopher Siebert (conan)]

[Matthew Johns (Elliott)]

in nashville we kick once weekly year round, but when a tournament comes round we begin practicing 2x/week. i don't play footbag because i love to compete, i play because i enjoy it and all of us have become really tight over the past 3 years. i'm not sure if i agree with the offseason break. the takraw clubs here break between nov-march. so when they picked it up again last april, i was whooping everybody on the court for the first couple weeks until they started getting into shape again. i cannot wait to do it again this year.