TOPIC: What Is The Best Workout For A Football Player?
The Question
Football can require strength, speed, agility, endurance and explosiveness. To achieve all these different qualities one needs a complete workout.
What is the best workout for a football player looking for maximum strength, speed, agility, endurance and explosiveness? Be specific.
Is this workout too intense for the average person?
Who else would benefit from this type of workout?
Bonus Question
How does football training differ from other sports training? Which sport has the most similar training to football?
Show off your knowledge to the world!
The Winners
- Veeshmack View Profile
- EAGLES56
1st Place Veeshmack
Workout
What Is The Best Workout For A Football Player Looking for Maximum Strength, Speed, Agility, Endurance, And Explosiveness? Be Specific.Football players require all around athleticism no matter what position they play. Certain aspects may be more important to one position than another, but still plays a large role in the abilities of a player.
Everyone always say things like linemen are all about size and strength (both defensive and offensive), but when you see a big play by a lineman it's usually because they show what they can do with other talents as opposed to simply using size.
Football is played as an explosive sport; plays often last between 2-and-15 seconds. In most cases all the strength and power is put out in a few shots then you get a chance to rest up and do it again.
For this reason, the best system to use is a 5x5 program allowing the body to exert maximum force in multiple sessions. In addition, I aim toward getting between 20 and 40 seconds of rest between each set. It is important to make sure you work every muscle, when athletes avoid this they often end up seeing injuries and torn muscles.
The following workout is what I used over the past off-season and I also plan to use this year to prepare myself for semi-pro football tryouts. I would not suggest doing this routine during season as it may be too taxing on your body and CNS, which would result in overtraining.
Before beginning, I always suggest doing a proper warm-up consisting of dynamic stretching to get the muscles warmed up and running; and also, always workout with a partner.
The basic set up of this workout is to incorporate 3 days of weight lifting, upper body, lower body and full body/explosiveness, one day of plyometrics and another day for speed and agility work.
Upper Body
- Flat Bench Press
- Incline DB Press
- Rows
- Shrugs
- Military Press
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Upper Body Workout.
Lower Body
- Squats
- Front Squats
- Deadlifts
- Leg Curls
- Calf Raises
- **Every few weeks, alternate front squats with lunges, and deadlifts with stiff-leg deadlifts.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Lower Body Workout.
Full Body/Explosiveness
- Push Press
- Power Cleans
- Snatches
- Abs (You can throw in your own abdominal routine here)
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Full Body Workout.
Speed/Agility/Acceleration
Warm up with a 5-minute jog and dynamic stretching.
**It is important to have proper rest between sets when working on speed and acceleration. Always rest until you can run the sprint again between 90-100% of what you accomplished on the previous run.
We first start with acceleration sprints; these focus on shorter distances focusing to hitting top speed.
Acceleration
- 3x10m Sprints
- 2x25m Sprints
- 2x20m Uphill Sprints
Now we focus more to maintaining that speed and trying to build on it. I don't really suggest using more than 60-meter sprints, because realistically, it's not everyday you will be running the length of the field at full speed.
Speed
- 4x40m Sprints
- 3x60m Sprints
Agility
- 4x20m Shuttle
Never do multiple speed and agility training one day after the other as it will be very taxing on your body. Also, refrain from doing cardio after a speed workout as they are opposite working forms of running, and doing long distance cardio may slow down the progress of your speed training.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Speed/Agility/Acceleration Workout.
Plyometrics
Finally, plyometrics, this can be done on the same day as another workout, just not the same day as the speed training, nor the day before or after. So what can plyometrics do for you? Plyometrics help build elasticity within the muscles; they play a large role in improving strength, explosiveness, speed and jumping ability.
- Depth jumps
- Vertical jumps
- One leg jumps
- Power skips
- Double leg jumps
- Squat jumps
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Plyometrics Workout.
*One thing to note with plyometrics is to not perform them until failure. Also just as in speed training, do not perform cardio after a plyometric session.
The best way to set up this routine is to do upper body on Monday, lower body on Wednesday, full body on Friday and speed training on Sunday.
Intensity
Is This workout Too Intense For The Average Person?
I personally believe there is no workout too intense for the average person. The only situation is, can the average person benefit from this entire workout? Probably not, because the average person is not concerned with speed and agility.
Who Would Benefit
Who Else Would Benefit From This Type Of Workout?
Any athlete can benefit from a workout like this. Almost every sport will require most of these abilities, some may be based more on strength, where others would be for speed, but it definitely offers a variety of core abilities.
Bonus Question
How Does Football Training Differ From Other Sports Training? Which Sport Has The Most Similar Training To Football?
The biggest difference in football training in comparison to others is that most other sports will require more training in the endurance department. Although a football game often can last 3 or more hours, there are not only 20-second breaks between plays, but times when you are on the bench while the opposite part of the team (offense vs. defense) is on the field.
The sport with the most similar training style to football would be rugby. I play both the sports, so I have always looked for a way to train for both sports, and it did not take me long to find that almost everything I did to prepare for rugby prepared me for football and vice-versa.
Vivak P. (AKA Veeshmack)
2nd Place EAGLES56
Football can require strength, speed, agility, endurance, and explosiveness. To achieve all these different qualities one needs a complete workout.
Workout
What Is The Best Workout For A Football Player Looking For Maximum Strength, Speed, Agility, Endurance, And Explosiveness? Be Specific.Football players are athletes which must be at the pinnacle of physical prowess in order to become successful. Amounting to anything requires a long list of physical capabilities.
Important Factors
- Strength
- Size
- Power
- Speed
- Agility
- Explosiveness
- Technique
To improve or achieve the above factors, one must set aside time not only for weight training, but specific workouts which translate to improved performance as well as strength. A successful football player devotes his time toward separate strength, speed, agility, endurance and explosive training sessions.
Basic Workout
Monday [Lower Body Strength]
- Leg Press: 3 x 6-10
- Leg Curl: 3 x 6-10
- Deadlift: 5 x 6-10
- Front / Back / Box Squat: 5 x 6-10
- *Optional High Rep Lunges: 1x15-25/leg
- Full-Body Static Stretching: 5-10 minutes
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday.
Tuesday [Upper Body Strength]
- Flat / Incline Bench Press: 5 x 6-10
- Clean and Press / Seated Military Press and Shrugs: 5 x 6-10
- Bent Barbell Row / Seated Row: 5 x 6-10
- *Optional Weighted Chins: 2 x 4-8
- *Optional Weighted Dips: 2 x 4-8
- Full-body Static Stretch Stretching: 5-10 minutes
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday.
Wednesday [Technique]
- Full Body Dynamic Stretching: 5-10 minutes
- Position-Specific Drills
- Full-Body Static Stretching: 5-10 minutes
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday.
Thursday [Speed, Agility, Plyometrics, Power, Explosiveness]
- Full-Body Dynamic Stretching: 5-10 minutes
- Weighted Sled Sprints: 5 x 20-30 yards
- Improvised Agility Course
- Chest Toss: 5 x 5-10
- Box Jumps: 5 x 10-20
- Jump Squats: 5 x 5-20
- Clap Push-ups: 5x 5-10
Friday [Endurance]
- 30-90 minutes of HIIT, Running, Rowing, Touch Football/Rugby, Swimming, etc.
Too Intense?
Is This Workout Too Intense For The Average Person?
It isn't that this workout is too intense but the workout is grueling and requires commitment. Dedication and tenacity are a must while the average person is looking to lose "that last 10 pounds" and "tone" as fast as possible with the next "miracle pill." The average person lacks the will power and mental drive to stick to this workout regimen and doesn't want to pack on slabs of mass and gain shear power. Speed and agility also mean nothing to the average Joe/Jill who'd rather drive than walk, jog or sprint.
This workout also necessitates a high calorie, high carbohydrate, and high protein diet with sufficient macronutrients and micronutrients in order to recover and perform at optimal levels. A sound diet is a must.
Hydration should also be considered. With the additional physical activity, account for water loss. Drink water throughout the day, aiming for a bare minimum of 1 gallon/day.
Aside from a structured diet foundation, certain supplements may aid in performance / recovery. Examples include:
- Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM
- Vitamin C
- BCAAs
- Electrolyte replenishing drinks
Who Would Benefit?
Who Else Would Benefit From This Type Of Workout
This type of workout would benefit anybody who can commit the time required to improve their athleticism and power. This workout is designed for football players; however, this workout would also suit other explosive athletes such as rugby players. It comes down to a matter of how much time and effort can be dedicated toward self-development.
Bonus Question
How Does Football Training Differ From Other Sports Training? Which Sport Has The Most Similar Training To Football?
Football training differs from other sports training since it is a high-octane, high-impact, collision sport. Football players vary greatly in size and capabilities based upon positions (ex. Linemen and Defensive Backs) and therefore need position-specific plans ??" linemen shouldn't be continually running for pass routes at practice!
The sport with the most similar training protocol to football would have to be rugby. Rugby is essentially football without equipment. I'd like to correct myself ??" football is essentially "kill the carrier" with end zones. Both football and rugby require extensive dedication to training in order to become one of the elite.
I encourage those interested in stepping up their game play to check out the links below for further information regarding football training.
References
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/apis1.htm
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/apis2.htm
- www.nike.com/usnikefootball/
- http://sparqtraining.com/intro.php
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/morgan5.htm
- www.bodybuilding.com/fun/wotw27.htm
EAGLES56