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Strength training is important for football players. The basic
elements of speed, mobility and endurance are all functions
of muscular strength. Improvements in muscular endurance,
motor ability and athletic abilities are directly associated
with an individual's muscular strength.
Strength training for football usually has two purposes.
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1. Improving overall strength
2. Developing muscle balance and preventing athlete injury.
Football running requires significant anaerobic energy
which is directly related to muscle strength. Therefore,
a muscle with greater strength can respond better to race
challenges without incurring extreme fatigue and requiring
a longer recovery period. Basically, strength training
improves an athlete's ability to run fast and produce
anaerobic energy. Football players need to be able to
run fast, sometimes very fast.
Muscular
Strength
In season weight training for football players should
be quick and to the point. Most of your training volume
is being expended out on the field during practice so
you will not have the energy and time to hit the weights
hard. A sample routine would look like this…
Day 1)
Power-cleans 5 sets of 5
Squats 5 sets of 8
Stiff leg deadlifts 3 sets of 8
Standing calf raises 4 sets of 12
Day 2)
Power-snatches 5 sets of 3
Push-presses 5 sets of 5
Flat bench presses 5 sets of 8
Dips 3 sets with bodyweight
Day 3)
High-pulls 4 sets of 5
Front squats 4 sets of 5
Pull-ups 4 sets with bodyweight
Barbell curls 5 sets of 8
Quick and to the point, you shouldn't be using a ton of weight,
keep yourself at 80% of your max or below for the on-season.
Speed
Work on your speed with short sprints – rest for 30
seconds between each. Beginner: 12 sets of five-meter sprints.
Intermediate: 16 sets of 10m sprints. Advanced: 20 sets of
20m sprints.
Endurance
Sets of 30 meter sprints with five minutes rest in between.
Beginner: 3 sets of 5 x 30m sprints. Intermediate: 3 sets
of 7 X 30m sprints. Advanced: 2 sets of 10 x 30m.
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