Getting in shape for football is a demanding enterprise. When a football player enters the offseason, he should give himself one month to recover from the hard knocks suffered during the previous season. However, once that brief rest period ends, it's time to start training for the next season. That training involves building speed, explosiveness, strength, power and endurance. There are exercises and drills a player can do in order to prepare adequately for the upcoming season.
Step 1
Engage in ladder training to build speed and endurance for football. Run consecutive back-and-forth sprints of 50 yards. Then follow with a pair of 40-yard sprints and conclude with two 30-yard sprints. Give yourself a 2-minute break and repeat the set. This will help you get more explosive in your movement and make you more productive on the field.
Step 2
Run the 100-yard dash with a running parachute to get faster and more explosive. A running parachute is worn like a backpack. As you run, it unfurls and creates resistance, forcing your to expend more effort and energy. Resist the urge to stop or turn around when you have a running chute on. Finish the 100-yard dash and then run another one. However, when you get to the 50-yard mark, press the release button and you will feel a surge of speed. This will help you get faster on the field.
Step 3
Build a weightlifting plan that you can follow three days a week during the offseason. Include the bench press, arm curls, lunges, the leg press and leg curls. Also engage in circuit training. You are exercising for functional football strength and not to win a bodybuilding contest. Medicine ball twists and throws will also help you get stronger for football.
Step 4
Run hills to get stronger, faster and have more endurance on the football field. Run 200 feet uphill and take a 30-second break. Run another 200 feet before coming down and repeating the set. This offseason practice was followed by Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Walter Payton in the offseason, and Rice believes his offseason training regimen provided the basis for much of his success. "I always felt like I prepared as well as I could for football season," Rice said. "When I was running the hill it was painful, but I knew it would pay off in games."
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