Football players should use their off-season weight training program to build greater strength, explosive power, muscular bulk, speed and agility. Players should tailor programs to their football position, age, physical development and competitive level. Core muscle development is essential for all athletes, from high school players on up to the pros. Programs should include dynamic stretching and plyometric exercises in addition to resistance training. Weight training should not create muscular imbalances that leave players vulnerable to injuries.
Training Objectives
Off-season football weight training programs should build power and speed for football movements. "You really want to make sure to work the energy system that’s going to be played in the game,” Syracuse assistant athletic director William Hicks told Stack Magazine. Building greater anaerobic capacity is important, too. Plays may last eight seconds, and then players may have 35 to 40 seconds to recover. “You want to train recovery time" to be able to go back and forth between all-out effort and recovery, Hicks said.
Dynamic Warm-ups
Toe touches, single-leg toe touches, sit-ups, butterfly sit-ups, single-leg reach throughs, outside thigh reaches, V crunches and stability holds are good starting points, with one set of 10 to 20 repetitions for each to prepare for lifting. Using 10- to 25-pound weights, players can use one set of isometric squat wood chops, isometric squat rotary plate punches, squat to overhead presses and front squats with the plate extended at shoulder height, with 10 repetitions each. Players should hold a low squat position while performing dynamic movements with the upper body.
Plyometric Exercises
Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney has talked about focusing his off-season training on his triceps, shoulders and chest -- the muscles used in hand-to-hand combat with offensive tackles. Plyo push-ups with claps and chest slaps have been part of his upper-body program, with one set of eight repetitions each. San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has incorporated split squats with a bungee cord attached to a belt around his waist, doing three sets of 12 for each leg, with separate exercises for front and rear resistance. Sideways shuffles with resisted bands and sled drags help offensive linemen, as do medicine ball throws. Resisted backpedals with a sled, harness or bungee help linebackers develop.
Upper Body Strength
Freeney's regimen also has included dumbbell inclines, lateral raises, front raises and delt raises to work his shoulders, with push-down, extension and overhand extensions to work his triceps. Physioball push-ups and one-hand physioball push-ups have allowed him to mimic pass rush actions on the field. Sessions have involved completing two or three sets of eight to 10 repetitions on each exercise. For offensive linemen, explosive bench press throws are good drills.
Lower Body Strength
Freeney's regimen also has included the machine hang shrug to develop explosiveness. This involves firing through the ankle, knee, hip and upper body to contract violently and doing three sets of 20 to 25 repetitions. Split squats, single leg squats and body weight squats are standard lifts for the lower body.
Weight Training Technique
Still-developing players should stress drill precision over high repetitions. "We instruct our athletes to perform perfect reps," strength coach Eric Korem writes on the EliteFTS website. If the athletes can perform only three perfect rounds, the workout is stopped. "You never want to ingrain a dysfunctional motor pattern with an athlete," Korem says. Doing so sets players up for injury.
References
- Stack Magazine; Dwight Freeney’s NFL Off-Season Power and Strength Workout; Kyle Woody; June 2009
- Stack Magazine; Off-Season Conditioning and Rehab With Philip Rivers; Josh Staph; March 2009
- EliteFTS.com; Off-Season Training for High School Football Players; Eric Korem
- Powerful Sports Training; Complete Offseason Football Training Needs
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