STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does leaving others to decide whether he's working or playing. To him, he's always doing both." Mi- chener was a prolific novelist. Among his works was "The Fires of Spring." It has nothing to do with a college foot- ball team drilling in March and April. Not unless Herbert, Wisconsin's strength and conditioning coach, wants it to.
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James Michener passage hangs from the bulletin board in Ben Herbert's office. "The master and the art of living," it reads, "makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and
Obviously his fire burns within; spring, summer, fall, winter. "From the moment we start to the moment we stop," Her- bert said of the training regimen, "there's a sense of urgency with which our guys approach a two-hour window or just that sense of urgency that they approach whatever you put in front of them."
Whether the workouts are designed for strength, speed and power, flexibility, mobility, conditioning, there's an attention to detail, a consistency. "It's never rushed," Herbert said, "but it's a consistent tempo, crisp and clean, day-in, day-out." But not every day is the same. "Something that could hap- pen today could affect tomorrow," said Herbert. "You always want to have a plan and structure. But I flow like water. "There are going to be things that changed based on a lot of different factors."
24 ยป VARSITY APRIL 5, 2012
