Aug 2, 2018Ready for Football
Though football training often varies by position, there are also exercises that every player can benefit from doing. TheAthleticBuild.com lists these exercises, which will help everyone on the team have a successful season, from quarterbacks to receivers to linemen.
Cleans
Almost any athlete can benefit from doing cleans. This exercise helps build strength, power, and explosiveness, which are all essential for football. Many college football programs incorporate cleans into their training, including some of the variations such as power cleans and hang cleans. When players do cleans, they increase their motor unit activation, meaning that as the intensity of the exercise increases players recruit more motor units, especially the type II fast twitch muscle fibers that generate the greatest amount of speed and force.
Squats
Like most athletes, football players need to have a solid base of lower body strength. One of the best exercises for achieving this is the squat. This will help players explode off the line with power, drive back an opponent, and jump higher. Squats are also effective for improving power output, which is an essential part of athletic performance.
The most common type of squat is called the Back Squat. While this is essential to a football player’s training regimen, it can help to include other types of squats as well, such as the Bulgarian Split Squat. Doing split squats allows athletes to work their legs without putting a heavy load on their spine, which is one of the potential detriments of doing a back squat. Split squats can be effective with bodyweight, but athletes can also add weight by holding dumbbells.
Romanian Deadlift
Having strong glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles is important for all football players, and the Romanian Deadlift targets all of these areas. As opposed to the stiff-legged deadlift, this version is better at working the glutes and hamstrings rather than putting most of the pressure on the lower back. Another benefit of this exercise is that it’s done in the ready position, which can benefit any athlete.
Bench Press
This exercise is a staple for sports training, especially when it comes to football. Incorporating a push/press movement like the bench press is important for increasing strength that will help players push other players off of them, which is an essential skill for both offensive and defensive players. The bench press is also one of the most effective ways to build upper body strength.
Chin Ups
Doing chin ups is a great way for athletes to measure how well they can handle their own bodyweight. This can prove a lot harder for the heavier lineman, who often won’t be able to do a single chin up. But with the right training, everybody on the team should be able to do at least a few. This pull movement also helps build upper body strength while balancing out the other push/press movements.
