The main goal is to make better athletes – not just better lifters. |
Training Guidelines for Football Athleticism
· Ground Based Actions
- Football is played on your feet. Every movement a football player makes is driven by the pressure he applies to the ground.
- Compound movements involving more than one joint more closely simulates on field activities as wells as providing balance cues to muscle groups and joints that help improve overall kinesthetic sense.
- Incorporate exercises that work the athlete in all three planes of motion is key in the strengthening and maintenance of sport specific muscle groups.
- Through explosive training the athlete can recruit more motor units and develop the fast twitch muscle fibers that are required in performing football activities
- ALL body movements start in your core--so should your physical training!
- Football dictates that players be able to perform repetitive series of sprints at maximal intensity, with the ability to recover quickly between each sprint being the critical factor. Conditioning should target the Phosphate and Glycolic energy systems.
- Violence and speed of movement. In the game of football there is no time to be weak and slow--Mike Singletary, Chicago Bears.
- Systematically integrate Plyometric, Strength, Power, Flexibility, Core, Body Composition, Muscle Fiber recruitment, and Energy System Development