Fall Conditioning Challenges to Add Variety to Your Workouts

Some of your players may be playing a fall sport — volleyball, football, cross country, soccer, and the like — but it’s likely you still have a few players who are involved in your off-season workouts.

Skillwork, scrimmaging, live action, and the weight room are all important items of any off-season plan, but don’t forget to get your players in top aerobic and anaerobic shape.

Here are 5 Fall Conditioning Challenges that will push their limits and offer them some variety outside of just putting them on the track and running them into the ground:

The Impossible Mile

• Your players will be completing 4 laps around the track for one mile, but with a twist
• LAP 1 = 100% burpees for one lap
• LAP 2 = 100% lunges for one lap
• LAP 3 = 100% bear crawling for one lap
• LAP 4 = run one lap

Murph

• A CrossFit favorite, have your players complete one rep of “Murph”
• They can break it up however they want as long as every rep is completed

Run a 5K

• This is simple — just have them run a 5K!
• Even better, sign up as a team and run a 5K on a weekend!

The Beep Test

• Most athletes hate this, but it’s a good challenge and something you can do to mix things up/add some competitive fire to workout.
• Set up two lines that are 20 meters apart.
• Athletes must reach the the other side before the “beep” goes off.
• After each minute or so, the beeps start to get closer together (meaning they must run harder).
• However many trips they compete is their score.
• Here’s more information on the famous Beep Test.

Sprint Challenge

• Sprint from sideline to sideline on the football field.
• You must complete the sprint in 18 seconds — you have 30 seconds to rest.
• And then repeat for as many rounds as possible.

A few suggestions for days that you do these workouts:

• make this the only thing you do conditioning-wise for the day
• add a competitive element (put up a gift card for the winner, Gatorade for top 3 finishers, extra gear to hand out, etc.)
• as a coach, try to jump in (your players will love beating you)

What other conditioning challenges have you done/seen?