How you prepare for the football season depends greatly on the position you play. In almost every instance, speed and strength are required in various proportions. If you are an offensive lineman, though, strength and body mass are far more essential than speed, since you only have to move fast enough to pick up blockers and rarely endure long sprints downfield. Wide receivers, on the other hand, need exceptional speed, and too much bulk can slow them down. But most football players can benefit from strength and conditioning drills.
Strength Training
The offseason often places a heavy emphasis on building muscle and strength. This helps acclimate the muscle to intense workloads, building new muscle to improve performance. Most football players need strength throughout their entire body to protect the football, block and break tackles, and run downfield. According to ShapeFit.com, some lifts are paramount to success on the field. Three or four times a week, schedule a lifting session that includes bench press, squats, power shrugs, hammer curls, neck harness and core exercise lifts. For bench press, do four sets of eight repetitions each. Squat should feature six sets of eight; power shrugs, three sets of eight; hammer curls, three sets of 12; neck harness, three sets of 12; and for the core training circuit, complete one rotation to complete a set, aiming for two to three sets per day. Between each set for every lift, allow two to three minutes for your muscles to rest and regroup.
Speed Interval Workouts
USAFootball.com recommends intense interval training twice a week. This will help build speed as well as stamina, allowing you to repeatedly sprint down the field, as is necessary for a sustained offensive or defensive drive. Establish a set number of yards you want to run as a goal -- for example, 560 yards, which breaks down into seven 80-yard intervals. After each sprint, allow yourself the same length of rest as it took you to cover the 80 yards -- for example, if you take 12 seconds to run the distance, allow yourself 12 seconds to rest. On the second day of interval training, reduce the overall yardage to let your muscles rest and regroup. Every week, try to up your total yardage for each workout session to build stamina and speed.
Lateral Speed Drill
If you have ever heard the term "getting to the corner" in football, it is referring to a ball carrier attempting to run toward the sideline and turn upfield before a defender is able to take him down. This type of speed is different than flat-out speed, because your ability to turn, change directions and accelerate is key to performing well. Lateral speed exercises can give you an advantage in this regard, Active.com states. Start in an athletic stance, with feet shoulder-width apart and knees bent. Pinpoint a spot five or 10 yards to the side -- using yard lines on the field makes this easy. Slide laterally to this point as quickly as possible. This involves running to the side while your chest is positioned perpendicular to your angle of approach. In a game, your chest will be directed toward the ball carrier or your desired route. When you reach your target point, stop as quickly as possible and lateral slide back to your starting point. Repeat this as many times as desired, allowing up to 60 seconds for rest between intervals.
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