Conditioning, Strength, & The Two Factor Model of Sports Performance | Mark Rippetoe

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Mark Rippetoe discusses conditioning for sports and clarifies the Two Factor Model of Sports Performance with a caller during a recent live Q&A.

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Interesting that Mark used soccer as an example. I coach the sport and with regard to conditioning, his advice is in line with long-standing best practices, at least in the elite footballing nations.

Here's an excerpt from an old KNVB (Netherlands) coaching manual I have from the 1990s. The chapter on conditioning is actually titled "Conditioning is Soccer Training, Soccer Training is Conditioning". As far as I know, this is still standard practice.

"A definition of a player's conditioning in the context of soccer is: the degree to which the player is capable of making a positive contribution to the result of the game...In practice, therefore, condition has everything to do with soccer. The coach must constantly try to create situations which will stimulate players to perform certain soccer actions better, more frequently in sequence, or faster...Soccer ability is developed with help of these principles, by applying them in practice (in small-sided games, competitive games, etc.)"

So in general, when I've had players do extra sprint training (if that was deemed necessary), it's always done in some game-like context (e.g. pursue a player who is dribbling a ball).