Australian Football
Move · High-Intensity · Movement, Typed Supps
The running volume belongs to a distance event, but the collisions and the leaping sit on top of it rather than replacing it.
Stage by stage
- Before the first quarter (Two demands at once): Preparation has to cover aerobic readiness and readiness for flat-out sprinting, which can arrive in the opening minutes.
- Across the match (Very large running volume): A large aerobic base carries repeated high-speed and maximal efforts across four quarters.
- During sprints (Hamstrings at long length): Late swing phase loads the hamstrings eccentrically at long length, the mechanism behind most strains in the code.
- At contests (Knee and shoulder exposure): Marking and tackling concentrate ACL and shoulder injuries, which eccentric strength and landing work address directly.
Muscles trained
- Primary: quads, hamstrings, shoulders
- Secondary: glutes, heart, lungs
Intensity
8 METs (Football, competitive).
Time to effect
- Weeks: Reading the flight of the ball for marking contests and repeated-sprint recovery between bursts of play improve within the first few weeks of regular training.
- Months: The aerobic base to sustain elite running volumes across four quarters, along with the leg power and bone density needed for repeated marking contests and tackles, build up over months of consistent conditioning.
Related supplements
Common myth
"AFL is basically just an endurance sport, so strength training doesn't matter." In reality: Running volume is genuinely enormous, but the sport also involves constant one-on-one contests, tackling and high leaping for marks, and players who neglect strength and landing mechanics are far more prone to hamstring strains and knee injuries than those who combine conditioning with a real strength program.
More in High-Intensity
In the glossary
Sources