Science & Common Sense
Developing strength and conditioning training for football
Director of Strength & Conditioning, Virginia Tech©
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Systematic resistance training and conditioning has become accepted
as a precursor to increased athletic success and an important component
for reduction of athletic related injury. Nearly all high school
and college football programs participate in some type of weight
training, speed, agility and conditioning regimens.
The football coach can find the available information related to strength and
conditioning training both vast and conflicting. This can lead to confusion and
training programs that lack a systematic approach.
In preparation for the writing of A Chance to Win – A Complete Guide to
Physical Training for Football, Dr. Caterisano and I attempted to provide an
easy to understand rationale for the how and why of program design.
At Virginia Tech we design programs based on principles of specificity and priority.
We will address the following issues related to priority and specificity.
I. Specificity Principles
A. Muscle Group Specificity
B. Energy System Specificity
C. Strength and Power Specificity
D. Position Specificity
II. Priority Principles
A. Athlete’s Age, Physical Maturity and Experience
B. Time of the Training Year
(Off-Season, Pre-Season, In-Season)
Muscle Group Specificity
While a balanced and comprehensive approach to strength training is important,
certain muscle groups that are prime movers in the activity should receive priority.
Pre-habilitation of muscles that surround often-injured joints should also be
prioritized. In football the muscles of the hips, legs and the extensor muscles
of the upper body are important to every position.
The strength and functional ability of the athlete’s “core” or
torso must also be trained in order to decrease the chance of injury to the lower
back and to allow a more efficient transfer of power from the lower body to the
upper body. Because of the violent impacts inherent in the sport, the muscles
of the neck and upper back must be trained in order to protect the player.
The greater the hypertrophy and strength of the knee extensor and flexor muscles
the greater the integrity of this often injured joint. Any strength-training
program for football should prioritize exercises for the hips, legs, neck, upper
back, shoulders, triceps, abdominals and lower back.
Energy System Specificity
Football is an anaerobic sport requiring great bursts of energy for short durations
with frequent rest intervals for recovery – all conditioning programs for
football should reflect this. The predominance of conditioning training for football
should be variations of sprint intervals. The volume and intensity of these sprint
intervals will be determined by: the time of the year; the age and physical maturity
of the athlete; the training experience of the athlete; and the athlete’s
position on the field.
Obviously, the younger or less experienced athlete will not be able to tolerate
the volume and intensity of an older, more experienced athlete. In general, the
level of anaerobic conditioning should increase as the competitive season nears.
Most aerobic conditioning designed to improve cardiovascular conditioning and
to reduce body fat in targeted individuals should be done in the off-season.
Aerobic conditioning done at the expense of anaerobic conditioning may actually
decrease anaerobic performance.
Strength verses Power Specificity
In weight training, the actual speed of movement and the amount of resistance
will have an influence on the ratio of the development of power verses strength.
Strength has been defined as Force X Distance.
Power has been defined as
Force x Distance
Time
Many times the terms of strength and power are used incorrectly. Power is often
mistaken for strength when we witness an opponent dominating his opponent. We
often lose sight of the fact that sport performance happens in the split second
reality of the game. When you watch a fast player sprint down the field, how
long is each foot in contact with the ground? It is only tenths of a second in
which maximum force must be generated in order to propel the athlete forward.
This is unlike the unlimited time that an athlete has to generate force during
a maximum squat attempt.
The bottom line is that, although there is a relationship between strength and
power, specific training for power is different from the specific training for
strength. In simple terms, when training most specifically for the development
of power, the exercise should be performed with lighter weights and more speed.
When most specifically training for strength, the athlete should use heavier
resistance and the speed of movement isn’t as important.
The most correct program is one that incorporates both strength and power training.
The percentage of each type of training will be determined by the age, maturity
and experience of the athlete as well as the position played and the time of
the training year. (See Figure 1)
Position Specificity
In football, beyond the youth league level, the physical demands of different
positions vary. All players require muscular hypertrophy, strength, power, speed
and agility to be successful; however, because of the specific physical requirements
of their position, the percentages of importance of each of these attributes
may vary greatly.
We typically divide the training of our players into three groups:
1. Skill or Speed Group – Receivers,
Defensive Backs, Tailbacks, Quarterbacks and Specialists.
2. Intermediate Group – Linebackers, Tight Ends, Defensive Ends and Fullbacks
3. Line of Scrimmage (L.O.S.) Group – Offensive Line and Defensive Tackles
Obviously, at the university level, our speed/skill group will devote an overall
greater percentage of training time on specific speed and agility training than
their L.O.S. teammates. The speed/skill group must remain active in strength
and power training but their total volume of this type of training is less than
the intermediate and L.O.S. group.
The intermediate group requires all elements of training: strength, power, speed
and agility. During speed training this group of athletes may concentrate on
acceleration drills rather than some of the top speed training of the speed/skill
group. While they must have a great deal of muscular size they may not need the
same degree of muscular hypertrophy training of the L.O.S. group.
The L.O.S. group must train for acceleration and agility but the greatest percentage
of their training at the college level is related to muscular hypertrophy, strength
and power. (See Figure 2.)
Training Priorities – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced
Training
It is our belief that younger post pubescent athletes, ages 12-16, or older untrained
athletes should devote the majority of their training time toward the development
of muscular hypertrophy and absolute strength. Muscular size and strength form
the foundation upon which power, speed, and agility are built. (See Figure 3.)
The young or inexperienced weight trainer while training primarily to develop
strength will also see increases in power and speed, a related result of strength
training. This improvement in power and speed can be measured by tests such as
vertical jump, long jump and short sprints, i.e. 10-40 yards.
As the athlete becomes more physically mature and experienced, more specific
power, speed and agility drills will be required, in addition to strength training,
in order to continually yield positive results in these areas.
The beginner training primarily for strength should concentrate on multi-joint,
closed chain exercises such as press variations, squat variations and rowing
variations, etc. These exercises should be performed with moderate loads (55-80%
of 1 rep max), for moderate to higher reps (5-12 reps). The volume of sets can
range between 1-4. The rest interval between sets should be 1-2 minutes.
Additionally, exercises designed to strengthen the core of the body (abdominal
and lower back) must be introduced. These exercises can include abdominal crunch
variations, leg raise variations, glute ham raises, reverse hyperextensions,
etc. Simple exercises for the neck and upper back such as the four way neck machine
and shrug variations should be introduced to the beginners football-training
program.
Shrugs
Overhead Press |
Weight training exercises such as overhead presses, and upright rows will begin
to prepare the novice for the advanced variations of Olympic weightlifting variations
to come later. Entry-level plyometric exercises can be performed such as clapping
push-ups and jumping rope. Drills to develop proper running mechanics should
be introduced such as fast arms drill, heel to butt kicks, and the A series of
running drills.
Intermediate Training
As the inexperienced athlete becomes bigger and stronger, after six months to
a year of training, more power related weight training exercises and more advanced
plyometric exercises should be introduced. These exercises could include Olympic
weightlifting variations such as push press, various pulls from the hang position,
Olympic deadlifts etc. Plyometric exercises could include non-weighted box jumps
with the athlete stepping down from the box between jumps, bounding, power skips
etc.
The speed of movement and proper technique are the most important factors in
the Olympic weightlifting variations. Always favor proper technique and speed
of movement over the amount of weight used in these movements.
Programmable agility drills such as the 20-yard shuttle, and various cone drills
should be introduced along with lower level reaction agility drills such as tag
variations.
Alternating Dumbell Press |
The frequency of weight training exercises per week could be increased from the
2-3 days per week of the beginner to 3-4 days per week for the intermediate athlete.
There can be an increase in the intensity of the strength building exercises
(75-90% of 1 RM) such as press, squat and row variations while the reps per set
may be decreased (i.e. 1-5 reps) commodate the increased intensity. Rest between
sets may be increased to accommodate heavier loads. Increasing the number of
sets per exercise (i.e. 3-5 sets) will increase total volume of training.
Some form of overspeed training can be introduced to intermediate athletes such
as downhill running. Agility drills may also increase in difficulty; for example
more reactive drills such as mirror-drills, get up and sprints, tennis ball drills,
etc., can be performed.
Advanced Training
Athletes that are physically mature and experienced in training, over a year
generally, should be prepared to involve all aspects of strength, power, speed
and agility training at the appropriate prescription. How is the appropriate
level of training determined for the advanced athlete? By the needs of the individual,
based on his particular strengths and weaknesses, his positional needs and the
time of the training year.
Priority Training Consideration
The time of the training year (Off Season, Pre Season, In Season) as it relates
to the competitive season should be a primary consideration when developing a
training program. (See Figure 4.)
The further away from the competitive season the greater the percentage of training
time should be spent on increasing muscular hypertrophy and increasing absolute
strength. As the competitive season nears, more training emphasis should be placed
on the development of power, speed and agility. Sports-specific conditioning
must be increased to prepare for traditional practice sessions.
During the pre-season period more time should be spent working on specific skill
requirements of the position: throwing, catching, etc. While power, speed, agility
and conditioning must be peaked.
The competitive season brings the actual practice of the sport, and specific
skill and agility requirements are practiced on the practice field. Appropriate
levels of strength and power training must be maintained in order to assure that
the gains made during the off-season and pre-season are preserved. Generally
2-3 days a week of weightlifting in season should be sufficient.
Conditioning drills should be performed 2-3 days a week during the season in
order to maintain a high level of conditioning in season.
Summary
Having made a case for specificity and proper prioritization of program design,
it now becomes time to put it together. The training pyramids presented should
serve as a reminder as we begin to write or evaluate our program of choice.
It is beyond the scope of this article to cover all aspects of training. We have
chosen to address the more often confused elements. For example, we have not
addressed flexibility training, yet we perform flexibility exercises of various
types before and after most training sessions.
Due to the principle of accommodation, which indicates that frequent changes
in exercises, volume and intensity are required to continually force the body
to adapt, our workouts have great variety within the context of this article.
In our book, A Chance to Win, we include an entire year’s worth of
training for the beginner, intermediate and advanced athlete. A Chance to
Win is available
through Amazon.com and Beamerball.com.
In closing, let me say that regardless of the program you choose for your
athletes, the daily involvement of a coach who understands what he is trying
to accomplish
and is able to translate, educate and motivate his athletes, will be successful.
They truly don’t care how much you know until they know how much you
care.
Best of luck with all your training.
About the author
Mike Gentry begins his 16th season as the Hokies’ director of
strength and conditioning. As assistant athletics director for athletic
performance, his duties include overseeing the strength and conditioning
training of athletes in all 21 varsity sports at Virginia Tech. He
is directly involved in the training of the football and women’s
basketball teams and manages programs for nutrition.
In May 2003, Gentry was honored by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches
Association when he was named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach.
For more information, please contact
gentrym@vt.edu