Barbell Strength training for American Football

[Habib]

Strength matters more in American Football than other sports that focus on skill more. How would one train for increased performance in American Football? I dont know anything about the sports so if you ask about positions then I'll be stumped. I imagine you may need anti-rotational work to resist being tackled. Maybe a rotational(not anti-rotational) exercise to throw the ball further or maybe its not needed due to being able to throw far enough because of the other exercises.



I imagine it would be push, pull, hinge, squat and maybe anti rotation. With rotation at a push. And the antirotation exercise being a one hand bench press or suitcase deadlift to get a 2 in one.


Maybe a carry, not sure.




Maybe the best approach is push, pull, hinge and squat only for minimalism.

 

[james_1127]

I coach/teach in Texas... We actually use SF Reloaded and use some unilateral movements as the "specialized variety"

Example:
Back squat- reloaded cycle
Bulgarian split squat - specialized variety
Ab wheel

Then finish with some conditioning stuff (usually on the field rotation stuff like battle ropes, farmer carry, TRX rows etc)

 

[Don Fairbanks]

Strength matters more in American Football than other sports that focus on skill more. How would one train for increased performance in American Football? I dont know anything about the sports so if you ask about positions then I'll be stumped. I imagine you may need anti-rotational work to resist being tackled. Maybe a rotational(not anti-rotational) exercise to throw the ball further or maybe its not needed due to being able to throw far enough because of the other exercises.



I imagine it would be push, pull, hinge, squat and maybe anti rotation. With rotation at a push. And the antirotation exercise being a one hand bench press or suitcase deadlift to get a 2 in one.


Maybe a carry, not sure.




Maybe the best approach is push, pull, hinge and squat only for minimalism.

I don't know what the 2023 training programs are like, but back in the day it was 80% main BB lifts plus some weightlifting variations, and hack squat, leg press, and hip sleds plus plyo's. Rotation work was unloaded and covered by various skill and cone drills.

 

[watchnerd]

Strength matters more in American Football than other sports that focus on skill more. How would one train for increased performance in American Football? I dont know anything about the sports so if you ask about positions then I'll be stumped. I imagine you may need anti-rotational work to resist being tackled. Maybe a rotational(not anti-rotational) exercise to throw the ball further or maybe its not needed due to being able to throw far enough because of the other exercises.



I imagine it would be push, pull, hinge, squat and maybe anti rotation. With rotation at a push. And the antirotation exercise being a one hand bench press or suitcase deadlift to get a 2 in one.


Maybe a carry, not sure.




Maybe the best approach is push, pull, hinge and squat only for minimalism.

Entire books have been written on this topic.

Easier to read one than rehash all they have to say here.

Bill Starr's "The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football" is the granddaddy of the genre, although a bit old fashioned now.



It was required reading when I played university football.

 

[james_1127]

There is a book on it called "The System" (goldish tone book which a weightlifter on the front) that uses Russian based principals designed for football (very similar to how plan and built strong do it) it's a solid book

 

[John Grahill]

Entire books have been written on this topic.

Easier to read one than rehash all they have to say here.

Ken Starr's "The Strong Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football" is the granddaddy of the genre, although a bit old fashioned now.



It was required reading when I played university football.

May be old fashioned but still a valid program. I think a trainee could do much worse.

 

[watchnerd]

May be old fashioned but still a valid program. I think a trainee could do much worse.

Absolutely.

It's a great place to start, especially at early stages before position specialization really kicks in.

 

[John Rhodes]

Barbell Squat, Bench Press supersetted with TRX Rows or Face Pulls w a band, Power Clean for strength and power. Weight Sled, and Sprints/Bear Crawls for speed. Any other exercises that time allows would be for the feet and hands since they can get injured easily and are often overlooked.
What’s more important is a good daily warm up for practice, games etc that includes some crawling, sprinting, direction change, and direct neck isometric work with a partner.

Also run 5-8 plays 1000 times on offense so the kids run them correctly and no one gets injured. When they don’t execute things go fubar.
Defense run 2-3 fronts and 2-3 coverages for passing. Have a tackling circuit 1-2 times a week, so they win games and know how to tackle with confidence and do it safely.

 

[Steve W.]

There is a book on it called "The System" (goldish tone book which a weightlifter on the front) that uses Russian based principals designed for football (very similar to how plan and built strong do it) it's a solid book

I look at The System as an advanced guide to programming aimed more at coaches, than a "do this" book of programs that would be accessible for most trainees (and even most football coaches without a lot of background in S&C programming). There are some sample programs, but they're really just that, a few samples of what a program based on the principles in the book might look like.

However, Johnny Parker, the co-author of The System, wrote a previous book that is a much more accessible programming guide and was my introduction to real strength training (planned, progressive, periodized training, using percentages, wave loading, unloading weeks, and so forth, and focusing on big multi-joint lifts, as opposed to random bodybuilding isolation exercises) called Johnny Parker's Ultimate Weight Training Program. It's out of print, but still may be available used.

Johnny Parker was the New York Giants strength coach under Bill Parcells and this book came out right after the Giants won the Super Bowl in 1986 (the technique demonstration photographs featured Giants players like Phil Simms, Joe Morris, and Jim Burt).

It's a great book because it lays out every lift, set, rep, and session. It starts with a generalized novice program, then high school programs for winter, summer, and in-season, and then college and advanced programs for winter, summer, and in-season, further tailored to different football position groups. Even if you don't play football you can choose a level, position group, and training season that is more of a match for your athletic needs and body type. There's a lot of good practical background information and guidance to go along with the programming, but all the programs are laid out in worksheets, session by session, so there's no real thinking involved. You just have to do the work.

A great book that is sadly overlooked.

 

[james_1127]

I look at The System as an advanced guide to programming aimed more at coaches, than a "do this" book of programs that would be accessible for most trainees (and even most football coaches without a lot of background in S&C programming). There are some sample programs, but they're really just that, a few samples of what a program based on the principles in the book might look like.

However, Johnny Parker, the co-author of The System, wrote a previous book that is a much more accessible programming guide and was my introduction to real strength training (planned, progressive, periodized training, using percentages, wave loading, unloading weeks, and so forth, and focusing on big multi-joint lifts, as opposed to random bodybuilding isolation exercises) called Johnny Parker's Ultimate Weight Training Program. It's out of print, but still may be available used.

Johnny Parker was the New York Giants strength coach under Bill Parcells and this book came out right after the Giants won the Super Bowl in 1986 (the technique demonstration photographs featured Giants players like Phil Simms, Joe Morris, and Jim Burt).

It's a great book because it lays out every lift, set, rep, and session. It starts with a generalized novice program, then high school programs for winter, summer, and in-season, and then college and advanced programs for winter, summer, and in-season, further tailored to different football position groups. Even if you don't play football you can choose a level, position group, and training season that is more of a match for your athletic needs and body type. There's a lot of good practical background information and guidance to go along with the programming, but all the programs are laid out in worksheets, session by session, so there's no real thinking involved. You just have to do the work.

A great book that is sadly overlooked.

That's why we use the reloaded system... It's setup with 1 big lift a day, 2-3 asst exercises, in an easy straightforward progression scheme... I was just pointing out that book

 

[ShawnM]

www.t-nation.com/training/the-texas-method/

They only changes I would make is to replace deadlifts and do power cleans and I would probably do incline press over the bench press.

 

[solarbear]

Depends on the time of year and age/experience of the athlete. As well as other factors such as equipment availablity, experience with different lifts, and expectations.

Training Jan-May will be vastly different from June and July.
Training 13-14 year Olds will be vastly different from 15-16 year Olds.
Schools may want you to train 6x per week, others 2.
I have zero experience with Olympic Lifting so teaching others would be impossible.

 

[John K]

Joe Kenn Tier System is hard to beat...

Athletic Based Strength Training ebook - Big House Power

The Original Coach's Manual that led to the highly popular book The Coach's Strength Training Playbook. This ebook contains aproximately 250 pages of material. There is information in this manual that is not available in the hard copy published by Coaches Choice. Big House Power is offering this...

bighousepower.com

 

[Spartan Agoge]

Strength matters more in American Football than other sports that focus on skill more. How would one train for increased performance in American Football? I dont know anything about the sports so if you ask about positions then I'll be stumped. I imagine you may need anti-rotational work to resist being tackled. Maybe a rotational(not anti-rotational) exercise to throw the ball further or maybe its not needed due to being able to throw far enough because of the other exercises.



I imagine it would be push, pull, hinge, squat and maybe anti rotation. With rotation at a push. And the antirotation exercise being a one hand bench press or suitcase deadlift to get a 2 in one.


Maybe a carry, not sure.




Maybe the best approach is push, pull, hinge and squat only for minimalism.

Monday
-Back/front squat 3x5
-Bench/overhead press 3x5
-Deadlift vatiation 1x5

Wednesday
-Farmer's walks
-Overhead carries
-Bearhug carries

Friday
-Squat dynamic effort 5x2
-Clean & push press 5x2

I would do something like this.

 

[watchnerd]

I look at The System as an advanced guide to programming aimed more at coaches, than a "do this" book of programs that would be accessible for most trainees (and even most football coaches without a lot of background in S&C programming). There are some sample programs, but they're really just that, a few samples of what a program based on the principles in the book might look like.

However, Johnny Parker, the co-author of The System, wrote a previous book that is a much more accessible programming guide and was my introduction to real strength training (planned, progressive, periodized training, using percentages, wave loading, unloading weeks, and so forth, and focusing on big multi-joint lifts, as opposed to random bodybuilding isolation exercises) called Johnny Parker's Ultimate Weight Training Program. It's out of print, but still may be available used.

Johnny Parker was the New York Giants strength coach under Bill Parcells and this book came out right after the Giants won the Super Bowl in 1986 (the technique demonstration photographs featured Giants players like Phil Simms, Joe Morris, and Jim Burt).

It's a great book because it lays out every lift, set, rep, and session. It starts with a generalized novice program, then high school programs for winter, summer, and in-season, and then college and advanced programs for winter, summer, and in-season, further tailored to different football position groups. Even if you don't play football you can choose a level, position group, and training season that is more of a match for your athletic needs and body type. There's a lot of good practical background information and guidance to go along with the programming, but all the programs are laid out in worksheets, session by session, so there's no real thinking involved. You just have to do the work.

A great book that is sadly overlooked.

He lost me with the cover photo of girly weight dumbbells.

 

[ShawnM]

He lost me with the cover photo of girly weight dumbbells.

It was actually a great book, I bought it when it first came out. It was mostly focused on the clean, snatch and squats as well as a press if I remember correctly. But yes, I agree, the only worst would have been if the dumbbells were plastic covered.

 

[Kenny Croxdale]

Strength matters more in American Football than other sports that focus on skill more.

Based On What?

Strength Training is a vital component with the majority of sports.

"In The World of Sports Power Rules"

This as per Dr Fred Hatfield, one of the great atheltes and Strength Coaches.

The Foundation of Power and Speed
The foundation of Power and Speed are built with Maximum Strength Training.

Research shows that initially with Novice Athletes an increase in Maxium Strength promotes an increase in Power and Speed.

Once an athlete progresses past the Novice Stage, Power and Speed Training are a vital component of a program; dependent on the Sport.

"Lifting Heavy Weights Make You Slow"
This statement has some validity to it.

Researach has demonstrated that if only Maximum Strength Training is performed, it eventually comes at the expense of Power and Speed.

This means that Maxium Strength increase while Power and Speed drop.

Fast Twich Muscle Fiber

There are two main types of Muscle Fiber...

1) "Super Fast" Explosive Type IIb/x Muscle Fiber

These muscle fiber are innervated with Explosive Power and Speed Training Movements.

2) Fast Twitch Strength Type IIa Muscle Fiber
These muscle fiber are trained and developed with Heavy Maximum Slow Strength Movements.
Muscle Fiber Conversion

Individual who only perform Maximum Strength Training will convert "Super Fast" Explosive Type IIb/x Fiber into Fast Twitch Strength Type IIa Fiber. Maximun Strength goes up while Power and Speed decrease.

Individual who only perform Power and/or Strength Training will convert Fast Twitch Strength Type IIa Fiber into "Super Fast" Explosive Type IIb/x Fiber . Power and Speed increase while Maximun Strength decrease.

Thus, once an athlete progresses to the Intermediate Level or beyond, Power and Speed Training need to be implemented into the program.

The Foudation of Football and Most Sport Strength Training

As Watchnerd posted, Bill Starr's The Strongest Shall Survive demonstrated that the Squat, Bench Press and Power Clean were fundamental for Football Players. That is true today as well for Football Players and other Sports.

 

[solarbear]

Things that are important and missing from most typical programs:
Neck
Knees
Rear Shoulders

I'd almost be tempted to have a circuit targetting building bulletproof versions of these. Workout could include the circuit then 2 lifts picked from the clean, squat and press family.