It’s a lot like the club’s off-season program, just more intense.
That’s Jeremy McGovern’s assessment of West Coast’s remote training regimen.
The four-time all-Australian defender recently provided westcoasteagles.com.au a more detailed breakdown of what players were looking to achieve while training in isolation.
McGovern said it wasn’t as simple as churning through a few runs and pushing some steel in their backyards.
“We’ve got our programs that we need to get done every week, but they’ll probably be a bit higher level than our off-season stuff because technically we are still in season,” McGovern said.
“The off-season program, it’s given to you and you sort of follow it, whereas this is a bit different. You really need to think about what you are doing and making sure you are getting the best out of all your sessions and looking after yourself.
“A lot of the (training) loads in your off-season are getting a bit of volume in and they’re not as intense, whereas the in-season stuff, they like a lot of speed, high intensity work and change of direction.
“Our weights programs with our legs is a lot higher, so we just need to make sure that we get that in.
“The boys have built up such a good pre-season, so the last thing you want to do is lose it. To keep that level high you need to train pretty highly as well.
“It’s a bit more than ticking a box, getting your runs done and your weights done.
“I think the boys have just got to make sure they’re thinking and that they’ve got a plan in place.”
While the club is undoubtedly expecting McGovern to keep himself in pristine condition, the Albany product said his family would also be holding him to a high standard during the isolation period.
McGovern joked that he would probably have to do more chores to stay in his partner’s good books.
“I’d like to think, and this is my opinion, I’m pretty good at most things,” he jested.
“I’ll obviously have to change a few more nappies than I normally would which doesn’t bother me too much, but I think I’m pretty good. If you can ask my missus it’s probably a different story.
He also intended to show his two dogs a little more love during the AFL suspension.
“I’ve obviously had the two kids of the past couple of years, so the dogs have been right on the back burner,” McGovern said.
“I’ve made it a focus of mine over the last few months to give them a bit more attention. They’ll get plenty of attention and runs. That’s the sort of thing I’m looking forward to.”
