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AFM Magazine


Strength Report: Train Like A football Player

by: Jim Davis
Strength and Conditioning Coordinator New Trier High School (IL)
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At the core of all strength and conditioning, there is one unalienable principle: a body is a body. With so much focus on sport-specific training, it is easy for a coach to be enamored with the latest, greatest, custom-built program. The truth is, however, that without a solid base, none of that matters. So, before I explore the methods by which we prepare some of the top football players in the area, I will identify the building blocks to our program.

One: Technique. We cannot control the sort of athletes who walk through our door – nature makes a receiver 6’5”, we don’t – so, on the first day of any athlete’s strength program, we make it very clear that our aim is to be the most technically proficient team around. What we lift (pounds) is second to how we lift it (technique).

Two: Core. We frequently borrow a phrase from the Northwestern University Strength Program: build from the spine out. It is our sincere aim to protect an athlete, ensuring a long, healthy season. For that reason, we focus heavily on core, complementing our top-tier technique with countless isometric holds (plank variations). This is the foundation of everything we do.

Three: Balance. Whenever possible, we incorporate balance into our strength routines. All of our auxiliary lifting (biceps, triceps, shoulders, band work) is done on one leg. We challenge the athletes in order to increase kinesthetic awareness and proprioception, in addition to stabilizing the minor (but vital) support structure of the lower leg joints.

Four: Strength and Speed. Once we are confident in the athlete’s core strength, balance, and overall technical proficiency, then we can focus on the fun stuff - moving weight.

Five: Character Building. This is the hidden benefit of our program. We are lucky to have fantastic student-athletes at New Trier, and a host of incredibly dedicated coaches. That combination allows us to build athletes in ways that go far beyond the weight room.

Once we have faith that our athletes are capable in the aforementioned areas, we can get into sport specific training – namely, metabolic systems training. It is absolutely possible to get into “football shape” without a track. This is, of course, an off-season claim – once track and field space becomes available, nothing can replace the performance of game-like exercise, i.e., running routes. In the off-season, we attempt to challenge the threshold of our anaerobic system in a way that mimics our sport, but is periodized so that it corresponds with our overall strength program. Specifically, we use a dual peak, undulating strength and speed program (See Chart 1).



Without going into too much detail, our two “Performance Peaks” occur in March and July (pre-season), with various additional goals imbedded within the program. I will focus on the July peak, since that is when we need to be in our best “football shape.”


Our program runs four days per week: Day One is a Lower Body Power focus, Day Two is an Olympic/Explosive focus, Day Three is an Upper Body Strength focus, and Day Four is our Transitional Training day. Transitional Training is what differentiates our program. On Day Four, we analyze the specifics of the sport, and incorporate rest/recover ratios into the workout. We look for an approximate 2:1 ratio, accommodating the potential for a Hurry-Up Offense (ten seconds for the offense to coordinate : five seconds of play).

To accomplish this ratio we divide our athletes into groups of three – one athlete lifting, one athlete actively resting, and a third athlete spotting or at rest. The interval timing adjusts through the off-season to correlate with our Performance Peaks. Phen we first begin Transitional Training, we highlight the Glycolytic System (also known as Lactic Acid training) with times of 40-60 seconds. As we approach the season, we drop those intervals to highlight the ATP-PC (adenosine triphosphate-phosphocreatine) systems involved in anaerobic training.

Coaching Point: The coach must control the clock and monitor the rotation within and between stations. To be successful, this must be well regulated.
                                                     
Stations

On our transitional days, we break into groups of three and rotate within stations (one athlete performing the assigned lift, one athlete in plank position, and one athlete resting/spotting). The athletes also rotate through stations – the core lift at most stations incorporates large muscle groups and full-body, plyometric exercises.

Our most successful progressions include pairing upper body with lower body in consecutive stations (e.g., pullups and squats), then surprising the athlete with an exercise of high technical difficulty, like a One Leg Burpee or a Medicine Ball Slam variation. It is important to design the workout well in advance, in order to take advantage of facility space and plan your progression:

Sample Group Rotation: Athlete One, Hang Clean (:20); Athlete Two, Plank Position (:20); Athlete Three, Spot/Encourage (:20)

Once all three athletes have performed the core lift, the groups rotate to the next station (See Chart 2).



Each group of three should complete the Core Lift – Plank – Rest rotation at every station.

The Little Things

We tell our athletes that Day Four is when we separate ourselves. If the workout is performed with accuracy (it takes advanced coaching to conduct these sessions) and sprint-intensity, twenty continuous seconds of Med Ball Slams or One Arm Dumbbell Snatch can be absolutely exhausting.

In twenty seconds, our athletes have been completing between 17-26 Med Ball Slams when going full speed. It would be easy, however, for an athlete to let gravity do most of the work, “drop” the ball instead of “slam” it, and coast through the workout. In order to train the anaerobic system for football, the coaches must pay constant attention to effort, start time, and mood of the room. For example, we ensure all of our athletes are prepared to lift with three seconds left on the countdown clock – “bars up at 3, 2, 1…” – when the countdown hits zero, and the twenty second interval begins, the athletes need to be moving, not preparing to move.

Coaching Point: Make it clear why those seconds are so vital to your success. We remind our athletes that if we miss out on two seconds per station, that’s thirty two missed seconds in total. That’s like missing a station completely! Thirty two seconds could be four plays in a game – four plays could be a game winning drive – every moment is an opportunity.

Active Rest

Another core component are the two “rest” stations – the first being the Plank station (an active recovery station), and the second true Rest station. In station three the resting athlete should not only cheer on his teammate, but hold him accountable. This ensures a high-caliber workout, allows for the metabolic system training we hope for, and contributes to one of our five core standards: character building.

Yes, we train football players to be football players by performing exercises which will enhance their performance and keep them safe on the field, and we train them for the pace of a game through metabolic system training, but we train them to be a team through reciprocal teaching and motivation. The coach has to be there for them, and they have to be there for each other. That sort of training cannot be replaced. It’s what makes a good athlete a good football player – and what makes a collection of players a good football team.

About the Author: Jim Davis is an assistant football coach and the strength and conditioning coordinator at New Trier High School (IL). He is a Master’s candidate at Harvard University and will be attending classes this fall. Davis previously studied at both Knox College and Northwestern University.






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