The scene that tackles what Coach Brooks wanted out of his team was a punishment these young studs needed to learn. A few of them played a game and were distracted by a few blondes and brunettes in the stands and the coach took notice. Got them onto the ice after the game, exhausted and ready to sleep off the rest of the night, were told to run wind sprints. This drill was one of the most hated yet effective methods in their arsenal and they learned the hard way of what it's like to be pushed to the absolute limit.
In most cases, conditioning is what defines a person's abilities whether on the court, the ice, the mat or on the field. You can have amazing talent, technique and charisma like Hulk Hogan but if you get winded before anything ends or just after it even starts, everything goes out the window. Lombardi would say "Fatigue makes cowards of us all" and even Karl Gotch would say things like "The most expensive car won't run without gas, oil and water." Being in top condition can be the true testament to how you apply yourself in your sport or even in a fight.
What this quote in particular means is that in order for the strongest wolf packs to survive, they need to be aware, be able to endure long distances and have strength even in the most crucial situations so they can eat and live to fight another day. If the wolf isn't in condition, it will starve and potentially die quicker. What does this mean for us humans? Beyond just sports, we need strong legs and legs that can go the distance for certain types of labor, able to move in our jobs that require a lot of walking and at times endure heavy moving of furniture and climbing.
As we age, one of the first areas of the body to lose it's abilities are the legs. Bad knees, weak ankles, injury prone quads and the joints surrounding the hips and groin. I've always understood the value of having long term strength in my legs since I was in my early 20's and I treasure every moment that i'm able to do things that can be beneficial to others and not get blown up. When you train both the muscles and the joints and ligaments with great intention, you have a recipe for developing powerful legs. In our society when it comes to fitness it's all about muscles, muscles and muscles and not enough focus on strengthening the very things that keep us together. Having a pulled muscle heals much faster than a broken bone or torn ligaments and if you do the research, there are more injuries to the tendons than anything else in the body.
One workout I did recently that would condition the legs to a great degree is taking a deck of cards and doing Hindu Squats & Step Ups. Although I prefer animal movements, this workout not only kicked my ass but made me appreciate and respect more on how the legs are so critical to the human body. Made the red cards Step Ups & the black cards Hindu Squats I managed to get through the entire deck but if I started to feel like I was breathing too hard and take a little break I would skip with my ropeless jump rope until my breath was under control and I can go again. This was such a great workout that I didn't feel sore the next day and my knees felt amazing. This had a combination of going down one movement and moving up with another, working the quads and calves in a different format. The total came out to 225 Hindu Squats & 450 Step Ups.
Having strong muscles is one thing but strong tendons and ligaments will help you reduce injuries and be able to keep going. Some of the most conditioned athletes such as Ed Strangler Lewis, Herschel Walker, Rickey Henderson, Jarmoir Jagr & John Havlicek had legs that made them legendary in their sport and had stamina that stood above the rest in their sport and that helped them go on to hall of fame careers.
Like the Wolf, condition your legs in the best ways possible and as you get older, keep them maintained so you can prevent possible injuries and/or having replacements in your hips and knees. It is a sure fire to live a quality life when you can still go no matter what your age.
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