How does Conte do it?
High-intensity fitness drills, in which extreme work is done in a short but concentrated space of time, are the basis for Conte's fitness philosophy. Sources have described the training as "gruelling" and a look at just one of the regular drills reveals how much is demanded of players:
Run 100 metres within 20 seconds; rest for 20 seconds -- repeat for seven minutes.
Run 75 metres within 15 seconds; rest for 15 seconds -- repeat for seven minutes.
Run 50 metres within 10 seconds; rest for 10 seconds -- repeat for seven minutes.
ESPN FC pundit Don Hutchison is a former professional who is still at a good level of fitness and has been through some testing preseasons.
"I've had altitude training in Salt Lake City with Coventry; that was horrendous," he said. "Army boot camp at Hartlepool; that was even worse. Liverpool's wasn't too bad, but at West Ham we used to do lots of long-distance running and then, as the weeks went on toward the start of the season, it would turn into sprinting work. So, over the years, I've had some brutal ones."
Hutchison went through these Conte drills and it is telling that he considered them as tough as anything he has seen before, in terms of demand on the body.
"Harder than what I thought it would be, to be honest," Hutchison said. "When I set off for the first one, I thought 'not too bad,' then I had 20 seconds' rest, went again and, after four or five, I could feel my chest pumping and all of a sudden I could feel the lactic acid creeping into in my calf muscles and my hamstring and my quads... that was tough."
Conte is not alone when it comes to this approach to fitness: Two of his rivals for the top four -- and possibly for the Premier League title -- have similar principles.
Jurgen Klopp had triple sessions in Liverpool's preseason, an approach that sources say left many of his players so exhausted that they would sleep in hotel rooms rather than go home in between.
Meanwhile, Ben Davies
has revealed that his international teammates are often "stunned" when Tottenham players tell them of Mauricio Pochettino's fitness regime.
As for Chelsea, Conte has set his stall out and those late goals are the early dividends. Defender Gary Cahill
described his most recent preseason as one of the "hardest" he's ever experienced, but in the long run, it could make Chelsea very difficult to outlast as the season goes on.