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 By: Curtis Schultz In today's ultra-competitive sports arena, those who do not start strength training in high school for the very first time could very well be a step behind many of their peers. Every athlete knows the value of a head start. How to get one is the million-dollar question.
Football is probably the most physically demanding sport on the playing field today. It requires a combination of speed, strength, power, agility, and mental toughness. Let's look at some of the facts of the game, and why it's becoming so demanding.
Today they average over 300 with some topping the scales over 340! The linebackers are also faster than running backs and receivers of years gone by. And running backs and wide receivers are clocking sub 4.3 second 40 times. Now, that's not fast, that's warp speed!
There are even some strength training programs that are available for pre-teen athletes too. How early can a youngster begin a strength program? Well, numerous studies have been done on the subject with no clear and definite answer, but, for the most part, 13 years old is your best bet.
So, what has happened, over the years, that has developed athletes into "super" athletes?
Then Could It Be The Food?
What About All The Different Supplements We Are Able To Take?
Ok, Then What Is It?
Part of what has happened is that scientific knowledge obtained through advanced nutrition, improvement in supplementation, and new training protocols for strength and speed development has made the football player what he is today: A Gridiron Machine.
College Strength and Conditioning provides football specific strength and conditioning programs for each athlete. My strength and conditioning programs are created based on the latest scientific research, books and of course several years of experience in the strength and conditioning field. The goals of any strength & conditioning program are to maximize each player's performance, minimize their chance for injury, and build them into well conditioned machines to compete at the highest level on the field. So, strength and conditioning, in terms of player development, is an integral part of any successful football program. Football training includes both explosive Olympic lifting (cleans, snatches, overhead presses, and jerks (see below)) and power lifting movements like the bench, squat, and deadlift. Each program is completed with supplemental exercises and core exercises; as well as speed, agility and quickness drills. Programs consist of a combination of programs that provide various stages of physical development throughout different periods of the year. Basic periodization programs are sued for year round football strength and conditioning programs. Each phase will maximum gains in a minimum amount of time, which is about every 4 to 6 week period.
There are phases or mini cycles and each will last four to six weeks. These phases will constitute a cycle. At the end of each cycle you should get tested or test yourself to determine your improvement or possible areas you might need more work on.
First and foremost the need to increase the player's size. The Following Are All Standard:
Split Jerk Hang Snatch Power Jerk Straight Leg Deadlift Hyperextensions Hammer Curls Wrist Curls Four Way Neck
   Hang Cleans.  Click To Enlarge.
 
 Lateral Lunges. Click To Enlarge.
When you start talking about speed training, there are several things that come into play, such as running form, building strength, raising work capacity, recuperation, exercise selection, and rotation of those exercises to avoid adaptation, and of course, speed work. So, before you begin developing explosive speed you should first strength train the lower body for at least 3 months specializing in core work then hips, quads, and hamstrings. Here are just some of the exercises you will be doing for strength training the lower body; both front & back squats, standing, side and walking lunges, glute - ham raises (if you have a machine), stiff-leg deadlifts, and Reverse Hyper work (if you have this machine too). Now, most commercial gyms/fitness centers do not have a Glute-Ham or a Reverse Hyper machine so I'll try and show you a couple exercises that will imitate the exact functions of these machines. Let's get started. To build explosiveness you should train for the specifics of football and your position. As you do the strength work, you should also begin doing plyometric work too (jumping & bounding) and you should also be doing changing direction short runs and jumps too. Here are some of the Plyo exercises that you should do: Plyometrics
 
   Double Leg 180 Hops. Click To Enlarge.
 
  Box Jumps. Click To Enlarge.
Arm Explosive Exercises & Medicine Ball Exercises
When I was coming out of high school a 200-pound player was considered pretty big, and 250 pounds was huge. Not anymore, that's small. Most football players are looking more and more like bodybuilders rather then the entrant in a pie-eating contest. Yet, some of the best linemen in College or the NFL tip the scales at over 325 and they do not have to worry about their physique or their belt size as long as they dominate on the field. That's what football strength and speed training has accomplished in the 21st century. No matter what level you play on or want to play on, keep focused because how you train is the number one factor in if you make the cut or not. So, get moving and give me one more rep you rookie!
Coach "C" is the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Das Iron Reich and develops and prepares football teams and individual players for the upcoming season, and combines. Whether you're a pro, collegiate, high school or middle school player, everybody's treated the same, and when I mean that, I mean I'm from an old-school type mentality. You will come to work, and work hard. That's the way I operate.
It involves mental, physical and emotional work. I think that many things that an athlete learns through weight training are transferable to the playing field. Athletes have to develop a mental toughness by enduring hard forms of training. If an athlete is challenged in his training he develops the proper attitude and discipline, which I think definitely transfers to winning. This also helps them to be focused. And for the most part a player has to have a passion for the game and a passion for the program he or she is in, and believe wholeheartedly in their training program and the preparation they are going through for competition.
You could say that the training program is simple and complex. It's simple in that we don't have any magic potions or supplements. We install an old-school mentality by lifting multi-joint using free weight exercises. We're very detailed in teaching technique with supervising.
They will all do the Olympic lifts, benching, and squats including quarterbacks, kickers, snappers, and even if you're a holder. It doesn't matter. We're looking to develop overall power, strength and speed in every athlete.
  Jammer Exercises. Click To Enlarge.Properly performed movements can have a dramatic effect on an athlete's performance. These exercises all carry over to the athlete's ability to produce and transfer power throughout the body. Have a question on getting ready for next season email us at rampages@sbcglobal.net Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
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