Times Change: So Should Your Workout

NFL speed guru Danny Arnold shakes up your thoughts on speed training
by: Danny Arnold
Director of Operations, Pro Athletic Sports & Rehab
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If you liked this article, here are three others just like it: 1. Speed Training for Combines, Feb. 2000 2. Running on Empty, March 2001 3. Football Strength, March 2002

From my time as a football player through my years as a speed, agility & quickness coach, there has been a noticeable improvement in training regimens and results. However, there is still a long way to go before many training regimens can reach their maximum potential. To improve the off-season programs and maximize their results you should place more emphasis on speed training, design programs that incorporate position specific speed drills and improve the evaluation process currently used to determine results.

Speed Kills

We all realize that football is a rugged, physical sport and strength training is an essential element in preparing for each season. However, there is a growing trend towards speed at every level of play. Yes, teams want strong players, but speed has become an even more valuable commodity. Fast receivers get open more easily, fast linebackers get to more plays and quicker offensive and defensive linemen allow coordinators more freedom in designing creative game plans. More often than not, you will hear a coach say that he fears an opposing team’s speed rather than an opposing team’s strength.

Being that said, the biggest concern for strength coaches is finding time to incorporate speed, quickness and agility training (SAQ training) into their current weight-training program. We never have as much time to work with these athletes as we would like, but there are ways of incorporating SAQ training without taking away from your current weight-training program.

The following is an example:

Take a traditional chest/shoulder weight workout
Bench Press 4 sets X 12,10,8,6 reps
Incline Flyes 4 sets X 12,10,8,6 reps
Military Press 4 sets X 12,10,8,6 reps
Shrugs 4 sets X 12,10,8,6 reps
A traditional SAQ Training workout
High knee 20 yards X 4 times
Carioca 20 yards X 4 times
Shuffle 20 yards X 4 times
Backpedal 20 yards X 4 times
And combine the two for a more efficient workout
Bench Press 1 set X 12 reps
High Knee 10 yards X 2 times
Incline Flyes 1 set X 12 reps
Carioca 10 yards X 2 times
Military Press 1 set X 12 reps
Shuffle 10 yards X 2 times
Shrugs 1 set X 12 reps
Backpedal 10 yards X 2 times
Then follow the same sequence except do 10 reps on the second cycle, 8 reps on the third cycle and 6 reps on the last cycle.

NOTE: You can implement any strength exercises with any short SAQ drills. Others that can be included can be: jump rope, box jumps, cone drills, etc.

Another problem I have noticed in current strength programs is that the goals are design to make stronger players rather than powerful (speed X strength) players. This is usually the case because the relationship of the strength and conditioning coach and the position coach is not where it should be when placing goals for a particular player or position. Remember, you need power (speed X strength) to play football, so why train them separate. The key is to come up with strengthening exercises that can be combined with speed. Of course, more attention to injury prevention has to be placed.

The following is one example for two positions that will show the two together.

Offensive/Defensive lineman power exercises:
Performing all shoulder exercises in a two-point stance rather than a sitting on a bench.

Running Back power exercises:
Rather than traditional lunges, do lunges with dumbbells around cones to simulate more of an explosive movement similar to those that take place on the football field.

NOTE: When lifting weights, always emphasize fast-twitch recruitment. This can be done by focusing on the 3 keys to fast-twitch muscle recruitment:

• Change of direction (down to up)
• Change of speed (slow to fast)
• Reaction to a command rather than anticipation
  (be told when to change direction)

Prepare Your Speed Program By Position

When we train a football player, regardless of position, our primary goal is to make that player better on the football field, not better on a sprint drill. Being that said, we need to design position specific speed programs, not speed programs designed for track athletes. If that weren’t the case, all of our receivers would come from our track programs.

When creating you position specific speed program, the first thing you need to do is determine the most distance covered by that position on any particular play (do not include trick plays). Second, determine the average number of change of directions that occur on any particular play. Fourth, determine the average time a play takes. And last, multiply each final number by 1.25.

With this information, you can put together position specific speed programs for each position:

The following is an example how to determine and create a position specific speed program for a linebacker: (the following information was just estimates, you must watch your teams tape to get more accurate numbers)

1. Average distance covered on a play is 25 yards.
2. Average change of directions on a play is 3 times.
3. Average time per play is 4 seconds
4. Multiply all numbers by 1.25 to determine drills.

With this information, we can now design different position-specific speed programs for a linebacker.

Results:

Total sprint length = 32 yards Total change of directions = 3-4 times Maximum allowed time = 5 seconds

NOTE: Do not get caught up with all this high tech equipment, this only separates the athlete from the game. Rather, keep your speed drills as similar as the plays occur in a football game. Also, it is good to implement obstacles (bags or cones) during sprints; it will further relate the sprint to a real live play.

Sprint #1 8 yards cut 8 yards cut 8 yards cut and sprint 8 yards

Sprint #2 3 yards cut 3 yards cut 3 yards cut 3 yards cut & sprint 20

Sprint #3 6 yards cut 12 yards cut 6 yards cut & sprint 6 yards

Re-Evaluating the Evaluation Process

For years, cold hard numbers have been the only barometers for improvement during the off-season strength and conditioning programs. How much is the player bench-pressing now? What is his 40 time? How much is his power-clean?

Changing the way you evaluate a player’s off-season work and improvements is a must in this day and age. We need to implement more on-the-field evaluation tests in conjunction with the weight training numbers. To do this, more trust has to be given to the program the strength and conditioning coach designs. This is simply for the fact that if the only way you determine if a strength and conditioning program is successful is by the numbers that the players increase on certain lifts, then the coach will place more importance on the lifts that your program uses to evaluate, rather than the ones that make a better football player.

You must understand, many exercises and lifts that improve a football player cannot be measurable in the weight room. That is because in football, speed is a huge element, and in weight room lifts’, strength is usually the only element used.

For example, the Power Clean, a commonly used lift to determine the progress of a football player’s weight training program. This is a lift that requires a great deal of concentration and technique that will probably not be used on the football field. I just don’t remember a football play where we place our feet exactly shoulder feet apart, elbows extended and pointed outward, maintain a constant torso position in relation to the floor, and as the knee’s bend is increased, we shift the body’s weight forward toward the front half of the feet while still keeping the heels in contact with floor, all to only begin to execute the beginning part of the Power Clean. Yet if you Power Clean a good weight, you’re supposedly a powerful player – I beg to differ.

What needs to be done is to spend more time on FOOTBALL related lifts, not power-lifter lifts, and determined the progress of a player’s weight training program by what he is doing on the field. Remember, design a program to better the football player, not your monitoring program.

I hope this information is helpful, and if you like more information on speed, agility and quickness, log onto www.dannyarnold.us

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Bio:
Danny Arnold is the Director of all operations for Pro Athletic Sports & Rehab, the premier in sports training and sports rehab. Together with his staff, Arnold has been able to design and implement intense and effective training and rehabilitation programs that have provided unparalleled gains for his athletes. As an NFL Scout simply best put it, “Danny Arnold makes the best even better.”

Arnold has performed original research and has personally worked with thousands of athletes, from Heisman and Outland Trophy winners to NFL & NBA All-Pro’s. His client list includes, Charles Woodson, Julius Peppers, Orlando Pace, Tommie Harris, EJ Henderson and many more. All of Arnold’s programs are the products of extensive study of athletic conditioning, strength & speed techniques, and applied experience in the United States and formally known Soviet Union.

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