In Which I Pass The Albert Haynesworth Conditioning Test

Albert Haynesworth still hasn't passed the conditioning test presented to him by Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan, meaning he hasn't been able to once practice since the start of Washington's training camp. His first try was a failure because of a much-too-long bathroom break after the first part of it, and his second attempt was too long by a second. Over the weekend, Haynesworth didn't even give the test a try because of a sore knee, and he tried to do it today but quickly stopped after experiencing discomfort in that same knee.

The test that Haynesworth needs to pass is a 300-yard shuttle run. You run in 25-yard intervals (each run there and back is a total of 50 yards) until you get to 300 and have to do it in 70 seconds or less the first time. After the first run, there is a three and a half minute break before part two of the test, which is the same run, except it only needs to be completed in 73 seconds.

Inspired by ESPN's Mike Golic, who successfully attempted the test on NFL Live today, I decided to give it a shot. I measured out the 25 yards, set up a couple cones to mark each end and had my brother time me.

I ended up completing the first 300 yards with a time of 64 seconds, meaning I had six seconds to spare. After taking the three and half minute break, I did the next 300 yards in 66 seconds, leaving me with seven seconds to spare.

Although I did complete the test with time left over, I will admit that it was much harder than I expected. Aside from the physical part, it's tough mentally because I was starting to get tired after about 150 yards. The fact that I was only halfway there was tough to swallow, but then again, it does go by pretty quickly. It's necessary to just suck it up and tough it out in order to complete the full 300 yards each time.

As far as the kind of shape I'm in, I'd say it's pretty good. This summer I've been playing basketball every day, playing tennis every so often and running every other day or so. Still, I'm by no means a workout warrior or anything, and I'm definitely not the 100-pound middle school track star that could run three miles just like that like I used to be. Even so, I managed to pass the test with time to spare.

Now, if you add 200 pounds to me, putting me around where Haynesworth is at weight-wise, I can guarantee you I wouldn't pass the test. Then again, if you make me 6-6 like Haynesworth and morph me into an NFL player who is working out all the time, you can bet I wouldn't fail it.

With so much money invested in a player like Haynesworth, there is no excuse to not be in good enough shape to pass the test. I don't care if he is already rolling in dough and has lost some motivation to work hard; if I were in his shoes, there's no chance I would have showed up and given my new coach a bad first impression like that. Then again, Haynesworth doesn't exactly have much interest in pleasing Mike Shanahan, so it shouldn't be surprising that he has yet to pass this test. Perhaps my attitude would change a bit if I were already loaded too, but if you can't even put enough work in to pass a test like this, then you don't deserve to be an NFL player, let alone a professional athlete.

To my fellow PODers, I say give the test a try and see what your results are. Like I said, it's harder than it looks, but it's definitely doable, even for some average Joes that aren't making millions of dollars to play football.