To run stairs o not to run stairs
Don't look now you might not see what you saw in the early season. I don't know perhaps its just me, but in the first 4 or 5 games of the season, and this is a tribute to UL SaC coach, Brad Ohrt, I thought the Cajuns were in far better shape than any of their opponents. Even in the 2 early losses they seemed to be the dominate team at the end, that early season stamina can not and could not be accidental.
In the last couple of games however, -long trips and all deliberated- it seems to me it's the opponents who are the ones coming on strong at the end. I have to ask, is there such a thing as early season stamina and mid-season stamina? From a stamina standpoint; is the workout regimen different when the season is in full swing as opposed to the off season?
I saw this question raised in a VandalVenue.com interview with their SaC coach. "Q: I noticed in the last home game against Louisiana-Lafayette...it seemed...after halftime our conditioning was a definite factor in that (win) because we started manhandling people. " It kind of shocked me because rightly or wrongly, I never really equated tired with being manhandled.
That question/statement caught my eye after I saw an interesting interview on the subject of stamina with dominant Jets running Curtis Martin who was AFC's #1 rusher going into week 6 of the 2004 season with 613 yards, over the past five seasons he leads the NFL with 6,583 yards. Something he said about stairs caught my imagination.
In the interview he attributed his stamina AND leg strength to running stadium stairs some up to 20 times and even a particular set of very steep mountain stairs up to 6 times. In his opinion every single muscle in his lower body was affected in a positive way through stair running.
One thing he said about the value of stair running was it forces you to keep your feet up high with the result being you rarely trip or fall down of your own accord or because of grass tackles.
I believe him, because after the game Saturday vs. ASU I walked a single time from the football field up to the upper deck of the stadium. I only did it to take a picture of traffic leaving Cajun Basin and to get a bird’s eye view of how many tailgaters continued to tailgate after the game. It was more than I thought, although the picture doesn't give you much of a clue.
Anyway when I heard the Curtis Martin interview, read the Vandal slight, and combined this with my own poor shape on the stairs . . . it got me to wondering if the Ragin' Cajuns were tapping the valuable resource of Cajun Field stairs, and whether doing so would or could make a late season impact in stamina and leg strength as the season approaches it's toughest hurdles.
I know exercise regimens are not cookie cutter, and what works for Curtis Martin won’t necessarily work for someone else but still his long lived success has me wondering "To stair or not to stair?"
A view from the top of Cajun Field after the win over ASU
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