I received this email last week and thought it would be a good post:
> Hi, Pete-
>
> I saw your email address on your Athletes Acceleration website, and I was
> wondering if you could give me a good wind sprints/conditioning program for
> next year. I’ve played lacrosse before, but that was almost 10 years ago and
> at 29, I’m a little out of shape. I can jog 3 miles non-stop and have just
> begun to add :30 sprints in my jogging. It’s a challenge, but I’m slowly
> improving.
>
> I’m going to play defense, but I would love to be able to keep up with
> speedy attackmen and middies, and be able to change direction when they do.
>
> If you could help me out, that would be much appreciated. I understand
> you’re busy, but any help would be great!
>
> Thanks and have a great day!
Glad to hear you’re going to give it a go again. Your mileage is fine. Like you said, you need to be adding more sprints. The intervals you are doing is a great way to start. Once you are comfortable with that I’d start adding some change of direction type intervals. That would be setting up a 25 yd course. Start with sprints of 100 yards, so 4 reps of your 25 yd course. The change of direction will make it much more difficult than 100 yards straight, but it’s more specific to your activity as well. Try starting with 3 sets and rest 2-3 times as long as it takes to run one set, between sets. As you get better at this, either increase your distance or decrease your rest. Not both, pick one.
Please keep in mind, it takes a long time to get back into shape again. Just stick with it and remember, your body doesn’t recover from workouts like it did when you were 19.
Good Luck and let me know how you are doing.
Pete
If you have any other questions, please email them to me at Pete@lacrossestrength.com or go to www.asklacrossestrength.com.
Filed under conditioning by 
Episode #14 of the Lacrosse Strength Podcast is in the feed and can be downloaded at www.lacrossestrengthpodcast.com or itunes.
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Conditioning doesn’t always have to require running. In our case, at the end of the workout, we can condition by dragging the sled, doing farmer’s walks, suitcase walks, battling ropes, prowler, etc. Tonight, this athlete finished with a paired set that included pull ups and his grip strength was shot. I was planning on doing farmers walk and suitcase walks, but had to change things because I didn’t think his grip would hold up to make the exercise effective. So we went to the waiter’s walk. This exercise doesn’t tax the grip as much, but with the resistance overhead, it can work the trunk and shoulder complex isometrically while conditioning the athlete as well.
Filed under Strength, conditioning by
In an attempt to strengthen the legs, we’ve tried to work in rear foot elevated split squats. The theory is, by going single legged, you can really stress the working leg without loading up the spine with too much weight. Typically the trunk or spine is the weak link in a squat where the resistance is either across the front or back of the shoulders. This way we can load up the leg as best we can and have less concerns about the back being able to handle the weight. We’ll use this exercise for three weeks, then go back to either trap bar deadlift or front squat.
Filed under Strength by
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Episode #13 of the lacrosse strength podcast is in the feed and can be found at www.lacrossestrengthpodcast.com or itunes.
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My high school team is at the end of their season. Now that its over, how much rest should they get before they start training again? I’m sure their thoughts are different than mine! First off, I’m their athletic trainer. So injured athletes must be rehabilitated as soon as possible. No rest. Sorry.
For the rest of the team, I believe in a week or two of active rest. Frisbee, basketball, or just going on a jog is fine. For HS kids, finals is coming up also, so studying is also a priority.
After that, it’s time to hit the gym. I wouldn’t wait any longer than two weeks after the season is finished. The longer they wait, the further they get into the summer, the harder it is to get back into the weight room and make progress.
Spots are filling up for our summer program already. If you’re ready to get in on the action, either email me at pete@lacrossestrength.com or call 201-970-4470 to schedule an interview.
Filed under High School Sports, Strength, Youth Conditioning, conditioning by
Lately, I’ve been lurking on the forums at Inside Lacrosse. More specifically, the training section. Every 10-15 posts, someone says they want to put on size and strength and posts a program for all to evaluate. This program ends up being some sort of split program where the upper body day has three exercises for every body part and the lower body has the same. I remember seeing these programs in the old Muscle & Fitness magazines in the 80’s. (Yes, I’m that old)
What we fail to understand is the body simply cannot handle the volume of work prescribed without some pharmacological help. Some of these programs were designed by those using anabolics for those taking anabolics. You’d need the drugs to recover from a program like this.
If you’re like most lacrosse players, your nutrition is barely on point, so recovery from training is challenged as it is. That being the case, you can get a great training effect from a program with a lower volume of exercise. I believe in whole body training, one exercise per movement. I have friends who subscribe to the Westside, Conjugate, Skinny Bastards method, and even they only do one heavy exercise per workout session.
The take home message is get your nose out of body building magazines and seek out the advice of a professional strength coach who has your best interests at heart.
PS. With summer coming, new camps and strength programs will be announced. Sign up for our newsletter to get the most up to date information.
Filed under College, High School Sports, Strength, conditioning by
For those who have been following this site for a while, you know Luke Armour has been a good friend for many years. He’s trained with me while he was in high school, roomed with me while on the road with the NJ Pride, and has become the kind of kid you can’t help but root for. This weekend he scored his first goal during the Ivy League tournament finals. His career at Princeton is looking up and I’m looking forward to his continued progress.
Filed under College by
Quick Update: My buddy Bill Gilligan and I are putting together a coaches seminar series where we’ll go around and talk to your coaches about anything from youth training, injury prevention, conditioning, etc. Basically whatever you feel is a need for your coaches, we’ll develop a talk for you. Let us know how we can help.
Pete
201-970-4470
Filed under High School Sports, Youth Conditioning by
I don’t consider myself a social networking geek. I have a twitter account (www.twitter.com/petekoeniges), a Facebook account (www.facebook.com/petekoeniges), a You Tube channel (www.youtube.com/pkoeniges), and even a Livestream channel (www.livestream.com/lacrossestrength). I also have my podcasts on iTunes and www.lacrossestrengthpodcast.com.
I take that back. Maybe I am a social networking geek. Not an Uber geek. It’s just, when I have thoughts, I’d like to get them out in multiple channels, so you can see the information how you want, when you want.
I also like to follow others to see what they have to say. I follow the twitter feeds of Kyle Harrison, Joe Cinosky, Rob Scherr, and Matt Danowski because I worked with them in the past and like to keep up on their lives, how they’re doing. I also follow some guys I don’t know, such as Paul Rabil and Joe Walters. They’re doing some exciting stuff in their lives and I like to see what they’re up to.
You can too. Lacrosse All Stars wrote a post titled Pro Lacrosse Players on Twitter. They have a list of select lacrosse stars and their twitter accounts.
Now, what does this all have to do with Lacrosse Strength? Well, sometimes these pro athletes update their accounts saying they “just worked out”, “saw their trainer/strength coach”, etc. That’s just too generic for me. Wouldn’t it be great if they told us what they did? What exercises they did? What athletic abilities they worked on? I don’t need sets, reps, and weight. Just more specifics. It would give all of us followers a better idea about how the best train. Maybe even introduce us to a new exercise we haven’t thought of. I don’t think it’s asking too much, right?
Filed under Major League Lacrosse by
