wookie
09-02-2005, 04:51 PM
Paintball Exercise Routine
(http://paintball.about.com/od/strategy/a/exercise_p.htm)
From A. J. Mortara
Paintball Playing Skills
NOTE: Always consult a physician before beginning any exercise routine.
As the competitive aspect of paintball develops, players strive to be faster, stronger and more agile in order to gain an edge over their opponents. Teams such as Aftershock and Russian Legion spend hours in the gym each week, in addition to their regular practices.
Since paintball players do a lot of sprinting, either to a flag or through the woods, speed is absolutely crucial. Furthermore, players need to be able to repeatedly perform these actions, game after game for an entire day or longer. They are also required to dive into bunkers, jump over obstacles and snap out of their bunkers fire quickly and snap back. All of these actions require the high levels of agility, explosive power and endurance.
Below is a workout designed with these goals in mind. If you can already do this much exercise, great. If not, remember to work your way up slowly.
* Monday: 30 min. run, easy pace.
* Tuesday: 30 min. recovery cardio, Plyos, Abs
* Wednesday: Interval run, hard pace (50 yard sprints, 5-10 reps, 1 minute rest in between)
* Thursday: 30 min. recovery cardio, Plyos, Abs
* Friday: 25 min. run, medium pace
* Saturday: 30 min. recovery cardio, Plyos
* Sunday: 60 min. long distance run, easy pace
Cardio
Each run is labeled: easy, medium, hard.
* Easy pace are those where you can easily carry on a conversation with your running buddy (or yourself if you are alone).
* Medium pace are slightly more difficult, but you should still be able to talk, just with more effort.
* Hard pace are exactly what they sound like, hard. If you can talk at all, you are not pushing yourself hard enough.
On days when you do not run, you should do what I call recovery cardio -- cardio work out of your choosing, at easy intensity. Recovery workouts are designed to keep blood flowing (instead of pooling) in your muscles, minimizing soreness. Make it something enjoyable like a game of basketball, or something similar. I swim or kick box on recovery days -- I like the variety and it works different muscle groups than running.
Plyos
Finally, I have included some plyometrics -- simple strength training exercises for the legs and core, which will help improve agility. Some ploys are described below.
* Front/Lateral box jumps: Find a box-- the larger the better, but not so large you cant jump over it. Keeping your knees bent, jump sideways/forward over the box and back again. To make the exercise sport-specific, hold your marker in your hands. Try to concentrate on keeping the gun steady during take off and landing. Once jumping with both feet is too easy, switch to jumping off of one foot, while holding the other in the air. Do 15-20 jumps in each direction.
* Squats: Standing with your feet shoulders width apart, slowly bend at the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Make certain that your knee cap do not move forward past your toes (this is bad for your knees). When you reach parallel, raise yourself back up to the standing position. It is important to keep your back straight throughout this movement. When regular squats become too easy, try snap shooting squats -- explode up and then control your descent into the next squat. You can perform this exercise behind a bunker and practice a series of snaps up over the bunker. Do 3 sets of 10 reps each.
* Straight leg raises: Lying supine (on your back), lift your legs up until they are perpendicular to the floor, then slowly lower them back to the floor.
(http://paintball.about.com/od/strategy/a/exercise_p.htm)
From A. J. Mortara
Paintball Playing Skills
NOTE: Always consult a physician before beginning any exercise routine.
As the competitive aspect of paintball develops, players strive to be faster, stronger and more agile in order to gain an edge over their opponents. Teams such as Aftershock and Russian Legion spend hours in the gym each week, in addition to their regular practices.
Since paintball players do a lot of sprinting, either to a flag or through the woods, speed is absolutely crucial. Furthermore, players need to be able to repeatedly perform these actions, game after game for an entire day or longer. They are also required to dive into bunkers, jump over obstacles and snap out of their bunkers fire quickly and snap back. All of these actions require the high levels of agility, explosive power and endurance.
Below is a workout designed with these goals in mind. If you can already do this much exercise, great. If not, remember to work your way up slowly.
* Monday: 30 min. run, easy pace.
* Tuesday: 30 min. recovery cardio, Plyos, Abs
* Wednesday: Interval run, hard pace (50 yard sprints, 5-10 reps, 1 minute rest in between)
* Thursday: 30 min. recovery cardio, Plyos, Abs
* Friday: 25 min. run, medium pace
* Saturday: 30 min. recovery cardio, Plyos
* Sunday: 60 min. long distance run, easy pace
Cardio
Each run is labeled: easy, medium, hard.
* Easy pace are those where you can easily carry on a conversation with your running buddy (or yourself if you are alone).
* Medium pace are slightly more difficult, but you should still be able to talk, just with more effort.
* Hard pace are exactly what they sound like, hard. If you can talk at all, you are not pushing yourself hard enough.
On days when you do not run, you should do what I call recovery cardio -- cardio work out of your choosing, at easy intensity. Recovery workouts are designed to keep blood flowing (instead of pooling) in your muscles, minimizing soreness. Make it something enjoyable like a game of basketball, or something similar. I swim or kick box on recovery days -- I like the variety and it works different muscle groups than running.
Plyos
Finally, I have included some plyometrics -- simple strength training exercises for the legs and core, which will help improve agility. Some ploys are described below.
* Front/Lateral box jumps: Find a box-- the larger the better, but not so large you cant jump over it. Keeping your knees bent, jump sideways/forward over the box and back again. To make the exercise sport-specific, hold your marker in your hands. Try to concentrate on keeping the gun steady during take off and landing. Once jumping with both feet is too easy, switch to jumping off of one foot, while holding the other in the air. Do 15-20 jumps in each direction.
* Squats: Standing with your feet shoulders width apart, slowly bend at the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Make certain that your knee cap do not move forward past your toes (this is bad for your knees). When you reach parallel, raise yourself back up to the standing position. It is important to keep your back straight throughout this movement. When regular squats become too easy, try snap shooting squats -- explode up and then control your descent into the next squat. You can perform this exercise behind a bunker and practice a series of snaps up over the bunker. Do 3 sets of 10 reps each.
* Straight leg raises: Lying supine (on your back), lift your legs up until they are perpendicular to the floor, then slowly lower them back to the floor.