Building Stronger, Faster Players In the Off-Season

There is no doubt that strength training has become one of the most integral parts of football programs at all levels, including high school, college and the professional ranks. Increasing explosive strength helps improve performance and also helps prevent and reduce injuries. Increasing explosive strength is also integral to increasing movement and the development of speed.

Absolute strength, although important, is not the essential ingredient of playing football. The ability to develop power is the critical ingredient. Along with power comes the quickness and explosiveness that is needed to excel.

The design of any strength program has four principal ingredients: speed, power, strength, and flexibility. A key part of any program is building strength and power in the off-season.

Figuring out what you have

To begin a program a coach must have vital information about the players. How high can they jump, how fast can they run, how strong are they in key lifts, and how flexible are they? The only way to obtain this information is to test the athletes at the beginning of the program and at selected intervals throughout the program.

Testing can serve as an important motivator. Most players will want to do well to impress their peers. The coach will also have good start data for his/her program and the data will provide continuous information to make the workouts much more specific for the athletes.

Another reason to test is for program validation. If the players don't meet the coach's goals, the coach may want to change the program.

Whether or not to test an athlete to his/her maximum ability in a lift is up to the coach. Although there is no substitute for direct indication of strength that the maximum weight lifted for one repetition (1 Repetition Maximum or 1RM) will provide, most coaches will choose to test strength with sub-maximum weight for repetitions.

One of the main reasons for sub-maximal testing is to reduce the the risk of injury. While most strength-training programs are based on a percentage of the 1RM, it is also necessary to know the maximal effort by the athletes. A good way to estimate the 1RM based on sub-maximal efforts is to extrapolate the estimated 1RM based on sub-maximal data. There are fairly reliable data to extrapolate a 1RM based on a 60-80 percent sub-maximal attempt in a particular lift for repetitions. A conversion chart for extrapolating the data for a 1RM can be found in the second edition of Essentials of Strength and Conditioning by Baechle and Earle, published by Human Kinetics.

A good point to remember is to only test the lift that the athlete is asked to work on. For example, if the program calls for the athlete to do the inclined press the coach should not test the bench press.

Another important point of testing is to make sure the athlete knows when the coach is going to test. If they know the date of the test, they can prepare mentally and physically for the challenge.

Program design

When designing a program to increase explosive strength, coaches must emphasize exercises that benefit coordination and joint stability. These two areas will lead to improved performance and injury prevention.

It is important to select exercises that are similar to the activity the athletes will encounter on the field. Most football programs use ground-based multiple joint exercises since football players obviously play the game on their feet and use multiple joints.

Multiple joint actions are essential for coordination, balance, and stabilization. Most coaches will want to select exercises that specifically match the conditions of the sport. The base of most modern programs include Olympic lifts and their variation, squatting movements, and other multiple joint, ground-based programs.

It is generally recognized that the classic Olympic lifting movements develop coordination, speed, flexibility and explosive power. Olympic weightlifters achieve the ability to develop maximum strength in a very short period of time. The amount of time that it takes a player to execute a block or tackle is less than a half of a second. The modified Olympic lifts, such as the power clean and the power snatch, take less than one-half second to perform. Multiple joint actions are necessary to execute Olympic lifting, squatting sections, and ancillary exercises.

There are very few actions in sport that utilize a single joint movement such as are done in dumbbell curls or leg extensions. Single joint exercises do not promote coordination or strength or support muscles used for balance and movements.

Many program use the bench press to strengthen the shoulders for blocking and tackling, although an argument can be made for more effective and safer exercises to strengthen the shoulders for football. However the bench press is still a stalwart for many programs. The incline bench press should be considered as an alternative to the bench press as it is also very effective and has less of a negative impact on the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulders.

A six-day program in the off-season that would emphasize speed, power and strength could look like this:

Strength Training

Monday: Back Squats, Box Jumps, Walking Lunges, Stiff Leg Dead Lifts (or Romanian Dead Lifts), Incline Press, Core Exercises (Plyometric Setups, Plyoball Crunches)

Tuesday: Power Cleans, Front Squats, Dumbbell Shrugs, Upright Rows, Push Press

Wednesday: Core exercises for Abdominals and Low Back (Plyometric Setups, Plyoball Crunches, Hanging Leg Raises, Back Extensions)

Thursday: Power Snatch, Power Shrugs, Overhead Squats, Romanian Dead Lifts

Friday: Back Squat, Walking Lunges, Clean Grip Pulls, Incline Bench Press, Power Jerk

Saturday: Core Work for Abdominals and Low Back.

Speed Conditioning (Five days)

Monday: Cadence Drills, Carioca, Power Skip and Bounding, Mini Hurdles

Tuesday: Hop to Sprint, Cone Drills, 60-meter Shuttle, Downhill Run

Wednesday: Back Pedal, Circle 8, Rope Ladder Run, Stretch and Flexibility

Thursday: Cadence Drills, Stair Bounds and Runs, Shuffles, 40-meter Sprints.

Friday: Lunges, Hop to Sprint, Hill Runs (up and down), Gassers

Practical Tips

The order of exercises is important when designing a program. High velocity exercises and those that use large muscle groups must be placed at the beginning of the weight training session. Abdominal exercises should be performed at the end of the workout. Certain exercises, such as the power clean and squats require a high degree of stabilization in the trunk area for safe and proper execution.

Since the off-season can vary, it is important to be prepared to change the exercises every four to six weeks. The variation can help relieve boredom and stimulate new muscle fibers that have not adapted to a set routine.

The sets and repetitions and intensity of the exercises can also be manipulated. Neck exercises should be part of every training session because of their importance during physical contact.

How much time should the athlete spend on explosive strength and speed conditioning exercises? In the off-season, the athlete should take about 30 seconds to 1 minute between sets. The exception is the offensive and defensive lineman. They should take about 1.5 to 2 minutes between sets. The total time should be no more than 45-60 minutes in the weight room or on the field. Working fast and hard will develop muscular endurance as well as explosive strength and speed.

A good off-season program will prepare players for a successful in-season with fewer and less serious injuries.

Richard Borden is president of the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is senior international coach for USA Weightlifting and professor emeritus at Northern Arizona University.