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Pandemic Challenges Student-Athletes' Fitness Routine

Monmouth, IL (05/11/2020) — The once busy Trotter Fitness Complex now sits eerily silent. The constant ping from the batting cages in the Huff Athletic Center Fieldhouse is just a memory. There is simply no activity at any of the Monmouth College athletic venues, and the student-athletes are left in charge of maintaining their own level of fitness.

Such is the case at most, if not all, institutions of higher learning. COVID-19 threw a wrench into the normal spring routine of games, spring off-season practices and workouts to prepare for the fall season.

Fighting Scots student-athletes have not had the luxury of strength and conditioning coach Brian Woodard preparing a fitness plan and running them through drills. They're like the rest of the population. It's up to them to get motivated to stay in, or get into, game shape.

So, how long does it take to get into some kind of shape? Once athletes stop the workouts, how long before they've lost the fitness they've worked so hard to build? In other words, how does two days on the couch watching TV impact overall fitness?

"On average it takes 14 to 21 days for adaption," explained Woodard. "In other words, if your body trains at the same rate for 14 days, then you will gain some kind of condition. In general, you lose fitness twice as fast as you gain fitness. With each person, the loss of fitness varies depending on how their bodies react to a lack of activity and to the extent of the reduced amount of activity. You would also have to take into consideration what each person is consuming during this time period."

The first step to fighting the urge to "take it easy" for student-athletes who know their seasons won't resume for months - nearly a year for the spring sports - is to actually work out. Like the ad campaign says, "Just do it."

That's where Woodard offers perhaps his most valuable advice to the Fighting Scots student-athletes.

"I think the biggest challenge is to stay in contact with teammates," he said. "It's hard for everyone right now. The mental part of their daily life and continuing to stay in a positive mindset is extremely important. The best way to do that is to text, call, or Facetime with teammates to maintain that connection. If they can do that, while being creative and diligent about getting workouts in, they will be ready when the stay-at-home order ends."

To that end, swim coach Tom Burek hosts weekly "campfire meetings" via Zoom. The video calls are meant to keep the team connected while they're apart and feature a weekly guest, ranging from faculty and coaches to former Scots swimmers.

"These meetings are not mandatory or tracked," stressed Burek. "But I do want to check with them and make sure they're OK and keeping up with their academics. You can tell they absolutely love seeing and hearing from one another."

Freshman Jaidlyn Sellers and sophomore Marissa Logan even posted their own dry land workouts, sparking the team as a whole to plan their own Zoom workouts outside of the regular team "meetings." It's further evidence Scots' student-athletes recognize the importance to motivate one another and prepare for next year today despite the lack of being on campus with their peers.

The motivation to continue to train can combat the urge to not, which in turn can impact the student-athlete's performance once the seasons resume. Assuming the sports world returns to a more normal level this fall, football, volleyball and the rest of the fall sport student-athletes will only have a few weeks to get back into game condition when they return to campus, magnifying their need to continue working out. The preseason schedule will remain nearly intact for the winter and spring season student-athletes who will have months in Trotter, and under Woodard's guidance, to regain that strength and fitness they may have lost with inactivity. It's all about timing.

"The degree of difficulty will depend on when the athletes can get back into weight rooms," predicted Woodard. "Right now, they all have an opportunity to work on general strength, flexibility and conditioning. Ultimately, when they are allowed to get into their local fitness centers will determine where they will be when they start in the fall."

Spring practices for fall sports and workout sessions missed when colleges sent their students home for the remainder of the spring semester is simply time lost. Time that cannot fully be made up, but all is not lost, says Woodard.

"I know missing some offseason practice time and some teams' actual seasons will be challenging," he admitted. "But I'm confident our coaches will have their teams ready for the X's and O's of their specific sport when we come back."

Woodard, himself, has prepared the nearly 500 Fighting Scots' student-athletes for their own self-administered fitness program.

"I feel like as a strength coach I have already given the student-athletes many of the tools they need," said Woodard. "During the season and in the offseason, strength coaches and coaches in general are working on general strength, flexibility, multi-jump, multi-throw and sprint development drills and exercises. All of these tools can be used in terms of strength training and to continue to develop as an overall athlete."

With the knowledge and tools to stay in shape, it becomes of matter of motivation and "how often" for the at-home student-athletes.

"You can work out seven days a week if you want," explained Woodard. "It's a matter of programming the exercises for different days and scheduling less intense days in your program. Strength training programs are designed to train three to four days a week in the off season. Those are typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday for three-days-a-week workouts, and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday set ups for four days a week."

Woodard also stressed the need for self-motivation.

"After taking this lengthy time off and out of a normal routine, they (student-athletes) are going to have to be determined and self-motivated to get themselves ready," warned Woodard. "They're always accountable for their summer training program. However, we normally would have had the spring semester to get them ready. Internal motivation is extremely important until we are able to get back into the gyms."

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