Broncos conditioning is LACKING!

[animal eater]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I think it is worth discussion. As a trainer of 20 plus years, I can without question state that the Broncos conditioning is lacking. Here are the tale tell signs:

1. Too many players caring more body-fat than they should. Without having to think to hard Thaiday, Reed, Maranta, Glen, Hannant, and even soon to be gone Corey "Overated" Norman come to mind.
2. Their inability to play 80 minutes at full steam. Week in and week out we see this. To many lulls is always a sign of poor conditioning. Yes it is all relative and there conditioning is way better than the average Joe but compare it to other sides and you see what I mean,
3. Injury after injury. It is a tough game no doubt but we seem to have one of the highest casualty rates in the game.

Seeing as now seems to be a period of adjustment and change for the club, I would suggest that management look to improve their strength and conditioning ASAP.

 

[Alec]

Griffin likes his players bulked up, sacrificing speed for power. If he can't get them bulked up with muscle, fat is good enough for him.

 

[rnabokov]

Griffin likes his players bulked up, sacrificing speed for power. If he can't get them bulked up with muscle, fat is good enough for him.

So that's why Macca can't play 80 but Cam Smith can - and I am not talking about skills but fitness

 

[Je$ter]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I think it is worth discussion. As a trainer of 20 plus years, I can without question state that the Broncos conditioning is lacking. Here are the tale tell signs:

1. Too many players caring more body-fat than they should. Without having to think to hard Thaiday, Reed, Maranta, Glen, Hannant, and even soon to be gone Corey "Overated" Norman come to mind.
2. Their inability to play 80 minutes at full steam. Week in and week out we see this. To many lulls is always a sign of poor conditioning. Yes it is all relative and there conditioning is way better than the average Joe but compare it to other sides and you see what I mean,
3. Injury after injury. It is a tough game no doubt but we seem to have one of the highest casualty rates in the game.

Seeing as now seems to be a period of adjustment and change for the club, I would suggest that management look to improve their strength and conditioning ASAP.

1. Unless you have skinfold numbers it's hard to gauge BF of players.
2. Show me a team that can play for 80 minutes at full steam. Impossible.
3. Have you looked at the injury toll of other clubs? No better or worse I'd imagine.

 

[Porthoz]

Most of our injuries are trauma related. Nothing to do with conditioning!
In fact, Hodges is proof that they are doing a very good job on injury prevention conditioning.*

*I have knocked on everything wood I could find, am crossing all fingers and toes, and I'm writhing in pain because I even crossed my balls... :blink:

 

[Culhwch]

Yeah, not too sure about the injuries, doesn't seem like we are any worse off, really.

But a number of players do look unfit, and there is a definite drop-off period in most games, so I would say that conditioning does need to be looked at.

 

[animal eater]

Look with the injuries it could all come down to bad luck but you have to admit we have had no shortage in the Griffin tenure. Also I don't need to look at skinfold readings because the players are often without a shirt before/after games (no homo) and I have done this for so long I can read body fat percentage in my freaking sleep.

 

[Harry Sack]

Most of our injuries are trauma related. Nothing to do with conditioning!
In fact, Hodges is proof that they are doing a very good job on injury prevention conditioning.*

*I have knocked on everything wood I could find, am crossing all fingers and toes, and I'm writhing in pain because I even crossed my balls... :blink:

It gets easier.

 

[coreyh88]

Just going on forwards, we probably have the fittest second row in the comp. Thaiday just plays more minutes than he should that's why he always looks so stuffed. The same with hannant. Moose can comfortably play 80 and none of our bench bar hala ever look tired. This is purely bench usage rather than fitness. Body fat percentage has nothing to do with fitness although is likely to affect speed. There is correlation between body fat percentage and fitness but you need to look at causation. I'd say we are probably top four at least in fitness for forwards but bench usage and depth undoes all the good there.

 

[animal eater]

Just going on forwards, we probably have the fittest second row in the comp. Thaiday just plays more minutes than he should that's why he always looks so stuffed. The same with hannant. Moose can comfortably play 80 and none of our bench bar hala ever look tired. This is purely bench usage rather than fitness. Body fat percentage has nothing to do with fitness although is likely to affect speed. There is correlation between body fat percentage and fitness but you need to look at causation. I'd say we are probably top four at least in fitness for forwards but bench usage and depth undoes all the good there.

I respectfully disagree

 

[Charmamba]

I thought the inability to play the full 80 at full speed was more to do with Hook subbing out spine players at the wrong times. When the guy in the middle feeding the ball is swapped in the middle of the team having all the momentum it's bound to die down.

 

[Broncoman]

Agree completely with this. I closely watch every player in our team and some of them are chubby in the chest and tummy area which is a sign they are not match fit but blame the coach for that as he goes for strength other than speed and that is effecting the teams ability to play a full match at their best.

 

[Bull Shark]

Look with the injuries it could all come down to bad luck but you have to admit we have had no shortage in the Griffin tenure. Also I don't need to look at skinfold readings because the players are often without a shirt before/after games (no homo) and I have done this for so long I can read body fat percentage in my freaking sleep.

to judge a RL player's fitness and effectivenss by his skinfolds is silly imo. An optimal level of leanness for a Sam Thaiday will be different to a Josh Hoffman or an Andrew McCullough ..

For all we know these guys could all be sitting in their bodyfat 'sweet spot' - ie at the weight or level of leanness that enables them to perform at their peak. I'm not saying they are - only they and their strength and conditioning personnel would really know that ... But my point is how 'fat' they appear to be is irrelevant ... they're rugby league players, not bodybuilders.

 

[animal eater]

to judge a RL player's fitness and effectivenss by his skinfolds is silly imo. An optimal level of leanness for a Sam Thaiday will be different to a Josh Hoffman or an Andrew McCullough ..

For all we know these guys could all be sitting in their bodyfat 'sweet spot' - ie at the weight or level of leanness that enables them to perform at their peak. I'm not saying they are - only they and their strength and conditioning personnel would really know that ... But my point is how 'fat' they appear to be is irrelevant ... they're rugby league players, not bodybuilders.

I hear you on they are not competitive BB's who need to get down to 4% BF levels. That said, look at someone like Inglis who when lost a fair bit of puppy fat became more active over the course of a game. More than physical appearance, check out the activity levels deeper into the game. It is a tough game no doubt, but I find more hands on hips on our sides then say a club like the Roosters for example.

 

[pennywisealfie]

 

[rnabokov]

My jumble of ideas.... and I do not profess to be a professional trainer.

How long ago was it when even the intelligentsia (now that's an oxymoron) of the 9 commentary team rated the Broncos the fittest AND strongest side in the competition ... and we looked it too: relatively lean and mean

Was it just when Hook took over?

Strength and speed are not mutually exclusive. (However, if one looks at George Rose, Kasiano, Eastwood it is certainly survival of the fattest). Bulk does not equal strength

Look at NRL injuries excluding trauma and just bad luck: mainly knees, ankles ... joints seem to be the focus, torn muscles, tendons ligaments.

When I trained my footie teams, I focussed on flexibility and strength both symmetric and asymmetric. We had the lowest incidence of knee and ankle and shoulder injuries (excluding trauma and bad luck like Yow Yeh). We used Swiss Ball exercises instead of the STUPID running up sand hills

Look at modern NFL training: New NFL Training Methods - Men's Fitness


1.) BIKRAM YOGA
You wouldn't expect burly guys to love Half Moons and Half Tortoises. But Bikram is no standard yoga. This athletic variation of the practice is 90 minutes of hardcore stretches performed in a 105-degree room with 40% humidity. Bikram forces participants to simultaneously stretch and work on their balance, improving blood flow, and building strength and flexibility while also cleansing the body of toxins. No wonder the Pittsburgh Steelers added hot yoga as optional workouts years ago. And according to Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards, Bikram is "the way to go" to increase the stamina needed for this position. "I couldn't last 20 minutes, at first. You really have to be mentally strong [to do it]." He's since learned how to improve his breathing techniques.

(Wonder if that is why Macca is pulled after 20 minutes?)


2.) KETTLEBELL TRAINING
These Russian cast-iron weights look like cannonballs with handles attached and can weigh between 10 and 106 pounds. Kettlebells improve grip, core, and explosive strength while also increasing flexibility. The Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans have added them to their training rooms in the past few seasons. The biggest benefit? When players swing a kettlebell, the weight distribution changes, unlike with regular dumbbells where weight remains equal. This forces the user to stabilize more parts of his body, hitting his core, and helping to increase grip strength as he adjusts to control the weight.


3.) MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Oakland Raiders fullback Lorenzo Neal and Denver Broncos safety Brian Dawkins and other NFL stars have turned to MMA training techniques to increase balance, body control, and mental toughness. Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo even regularly works out with UFC star Rashad Evans. The NFL is so turned on to MMA that several former pros were cast in the current cycle of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter 10, including Marcus Jones, Matt Mitrione, Brendan Schaub, and Wes Shivers.



So what do the Broncos do for physical conditioning?

 

[Big Pete]

How long ago was it when even the intelligentsia (now that's an oxymoron) of the 9 commentary team rated the Broncos the fittest AND strongest side in the competition ... and we looked it too: relatively lean and mean

Last year

 

[rnabokov]

Last year

Those were the days which could have been so much more but aren't