Lacrosse is a sport that requires an awful lot out of its players. Not only do lacrosse players have to be strong enough to handle the constant contact the game entails, but they have to have a good aerobic capacity and endurance level to handle the large amount of running in the game.
Lacrosse players also need to have a low body fat percentage and a lot of fast twitch muscle fiber to make the explosive movements that lead to success in the game. In order to handle all of these physical challenges in lacrosse, players who wish to be successful need to engage in a lot of training to maintain a high fitness level. This training needs to include a lot of endurance conditioning to increase aerobic capacity, but it also needs to include sprint and strength training. Here are some drills and gear that will help lacrosse players get the most out of their training regimens:
Interval Training
This is one of the very best forms of training for lacrosse players. This is the perfect training to increase both speed and endurance at the same time. Interval training is a very simple concept. The basic idea is that runners alternately sprint and rest. For example, runners could sprint for 200 meters, then rest for 30 seconds. They repeat this 10 times, and all of a sudden they’ve sprinted a mile and a half.
This kind of intense training pays major dividends in a game. Players will build up the fast twitch muscle fiber they need to make a dash at the goal, but they also will have the aerobic capacity to keep their strength late in games.
Strength Training
Lacrosse players need to make their strength training all about explosiveness. This means that they should lift large weights very fast with low numbers of repetitions. The legs in particular should be worked very hard in the weight room. Squats are one of the best lifting exercises for lacrosse players.
Skill Drills
As important as it is to train the body during lacrosse training, it is a game of skill that requires many skill drills. Players should buy all the gear they need to get in some skill training whenever they have free time. This means getting gear from a company like LacrosseMonkey that sells goals, balls, sticks, gloves, helmets, socks, shoes, and pads. Practicing shots on a goal in full gear is the best way to do skill drills.
1 comment
Not to be ‘that guy’, but 12 200’s would equal a mile and a half of sprinting. And can anyone honestly sprint multiple 200’s full speed after only 30 seconds rest? I did it today and I needed a minute in between each. Now I’m a little out of shape, but 30 seconds rest is INSANE!