FSU expert available to comment on health management heading into Super Bowl LIX

Always known as “the big game,” Super Bowl LIX is the signature American sporting event. This year’s matchup features the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles squaring off on Sunday at approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

With the Eagles and Chiefs playing in their 21st and 20th games of the year, respectively, the subject of season-long health management comes to the forefront in a sport known for its physicality. Those totals do not include four preseason games each, where starters do not play for the duration.

Florida State University Associate Clinical Professor Jason Williams is an expert in applied strength and conditioning. His focus is on training methods that improve linear and multi-directional speed, velocity based training and post-activation potentiation.

Williams attributes a focused lifestyle and a year-round commitment to one’s health as signature ways for football players to get through a long season. He believes both teams this Sunday have trained to be at their physical peak despite the long course of games.

“All the usual suspects apply here: sleep, nutrition, managing fatigue, maintaining strength and most importantly, speed — getting players to hit top speeds in practice when not attained in games,” Williams said. “Tom Brady was well-known for his disciplined lifestyle, which he attributed to his success. Although injuries happen despite an athlete’s best effort, Brady’s discipline is a good reminder that to remain resilient and injury-free, an athlete must be committed on several fronts.”

With the NFL floating the possibility of an 18-game regular season in the near future, some of the biggest objections are the concern over the “wear and tear” on players’ bodies. Commissioner Roger Goodell has talked about lessening the amount of preseason games (from four to two) to alleviate those concerns. Currently, teams are guaranteed a total of 21 games (four in the preseason, 17 in the regular season) before the playoffs begin.

Williams is available to discuss the issue of season-long health management and player strength and conditioning in the NFL and can be contacted via email at jwilliams16@fsu.edu.

The Philadelphia Eagles prepare for their 21st game of the season, while the Kansas City Chiefs approach their 20th game. What do you feel are the best in-season strength and conditioning methods to handle such a long season?

The best strength and conditioning methods motivate athletes, improve performance with a minimally effective dose and minimize fatigue. Coaches can employ hundreds of methods, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the coaches’ experiences and where they know they can get the most out of their athletes. Strength and conditioning coaches, especially long-tenured coaches, have decades of firsthand experience with large laboratories called weight rooms, tens of thousands of data points and diverse populations to draw from to drive their programming. These programming methods vary widely from coach to coach. 

How different is an off-season training program for a football player compared to the in-season regimen?

Off-season programs focus on challenging athletes’ homeostasis across all motor fitness qualities. This is a time to overreach and bring the athlete to a super-compensated state. To improve performance, athletes spend on average four to five days training in the weight room. 

 The goal of in-season strength and conditioning has historically been to maintain motor fitness qualities or attenuate decline. However, a shift has occurred over the last 10 years. Elite football players now challenge homeostasis and super-compensate in-season while doing considerably less volume (2-3 times a week in the weight room). When the Eagles and Chiefs take the field on Sunday, both teams’ speed and power output will be the highest it has been all year. 

The post FSU expert available to comment on health management heading into Super Bowl LIX appeared first on Florida State University News.