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AFM Magazine


Training the Offensive Lineman

by: Jeff Pittman
Strength Coach, University of Colorado
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Your offensive line is the life-blood of your football team. A strong, quick OL can change the complexion of any football game. Many of our players that went on to NFL careers took a strong interest in the weight room and the benefits it brought them. In this age of fast-paced offensive football, there still comes a time where your OL is going to be asked to put the game away. 

To accomplish our goal of developing offensive linemen to handle the pressure of a fourth quarter win, we focus on two major aspects of training – leg strength and power development. We train for injury prevention of the legs while becoming more explosive when the player strikes their opponent. The movements that we utilize are front squats, back squats, overhead squats, power cleans, hang cleans, and power snatch high pulls.  The second component of our training is lateral movement speed and quickness. Change of direction agility drills and quick feet drills are what we use to help us accomplish our goal of a quick, nimble offensive lineman.

There are many other drills and movements that we utilize to develop and maintain our offensive lineman’s athletic development and health. At the end of the day, power development and lateral quickness are our two main ingredients in good OL play. Below is a week in the life of an offensive lineman’s training with explanations of each drill we utilize.

MONDAY LIFT

Warm up drills:

•  Over-Under Hurdles - Develop hip and groin mobility.
•  Ladder Drills - Develop quick feet. Work on coordination.
•  Band Shoulder Series - Develop shoulder strength and mobility.  Warm up shoulders.
•  Overhead Squat - Develop full body strength, mobility, and flexibility.
•  Plate Sit up - Develop core strength and muscular strength. Warm core up.

Power Clean - Increase explosive power. Triple extension of the hips, knees, and ankles. This exercise mimics triple extension during running and jumping. Enhance development of speed, power, jumping ability, muscle coordination, and quickness. Ability to pick dead weight off the floor and move it explosively.

Power Shrug - Develop full body strength and power. Work all muscles of the posterior chain, calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, upper back, and traps.

RDL - Develop strength in the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. This exercise will help prevent hamstring pulls and aid in speed development.

Bench Press - Develop upper body strength. Develop strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Proper technique with a wide base, tight upper back, ridged core, elbows at a 45-degree angle.

Upright Row - Develop shoulder strength. Shoulders can move in a wide variety of movements. This is why shoulders are so easily injured. We must strengthen the surrounding muscles to decrease the risk of injury.

Barbell Curl - Strengthen biceps. Increase strength and stability of muscles surrounding the elbow.

Wrist Curl - Develop forearm and grip strength. Balance wrist extension.

Atomic Drop - Develop core strength, power, and muscular endurance. Also develops elastic strength of the core due to the rapid fire of reps.

Foam Roll - Myofascial release or self-message. This is used to increase muscle mobility and flexibility. This is done by rolling each muscle on a foam roll or PVC pipe. The athlete must find tender spots on the muscle and work to release the pain. This technique can help release knots within the muscle so the muscle can properly lengthen and contract.

TUESDAY LIFT

Warm up drills – See Monday’s warm-up drills.

Jump Squat - Explosive lower body development. Triple extension of the hips, knees, and ankles. This is a loaded jump to increase jumping ability.

Back Squat - Develop lower body strength. Develop strength in the hips, quads, hamstrings, and lower back. Increase mobility and flexibility by moving through a full range of motion, squat down to thigh parallel and stand all the way up.

Back Squat - Develop lower body strength. Develop strength in the hips, quads, hamstrings, and lower back. Increase mobility and flexibility by moving through a full range of motion, squat down to thigh parallel and stand all the way up.

DB Incline Press - Build unilateral upper body strength. Unlike the barbell bench press where both limbs are working together, the DB bench press allows each limb to work separately. Mimics angle and movement when blocking.

TYI - Strengthen shoulders. Injury prevention of the shoulders.

Plate Twist - Develop core strength and muscular endurance in the transverse plane.

Wrist Roller - Develop forearm, finger, and grip strength.

Rope Stretch - This is an active flexibility technique. Each athlete will go through a series of stretches using the stretch rope to pull to a better stretch. This will help increase muscle and joint flexibility.

TUESDAY RUN

Warm up drills -

•  Quad Stretch - Walking quad stretch that stretches and loosens quad muscles.
•  Hamstring Reach - Walking single leg hamstring stretch that stretches and loosens hamstring muscles.
High Knees - Teach knee drive and short ground contact time.
Backpedal
Butt Kicks - Hamstring firing drill and teach short ground contact time.
Perfect Skip - Teach proper mechanic arm action with rotation at the shoulder and elbows bent at 90-degrees, knee drive on up leg with foot dorsiflexed and under hamstring, contact leg straight and foot plantarflexed. Add rhythm and coordination. This mimics the drive phase in acceleration.
Lateral Shuffle - Mobility moving laterally, butt down chest up.
Tin Man - Coordination, hip flexor strength and hamstring dynamic flexibility.
Quick Skip - Rhythm and coordination.
Carioca - Lateral movement and hip mobility.


Pro Agility (Diagram 1) -  Develop short range change of direction. Develop the ability to accelerate laterally, decelerate, and change direction as fast as possible. Develop full body dynamic mobility due to bending to touch the line and the position you must get in to change direction.


Diagram 1: Pro Agility

Prowler Push - Get into an acceleration phase position. Push while keeping a stable upper back, drive knees up and push through the ground while keeping a good body lean.

T-Test (Diagram 2) - Develop change of direction in all planes of motion. Develop the ability to change direction from moving backward to moving forward. Develop lateral change of direction.



Diagram 2: T-Test

Hoop Drill (Diagram  3) - Develop body control and body lean to keep accelerating around the hoops.

Diagram 3: Hoop Drill

W-Drill (Diagram 4) - Develop short range acceleration and deceleration. O-Line shuffle through the cones.


Diagram 4: W-Drill

THURSDAY LIFT

Warm up drills – See Monday’s warm-up drills

Hang Clean - Increase explosive power. Triple extension of the hips, knees, and ankles. This exercise mimics triple extension during running and jumping. Enhance development of speed, power, jumping ability, muscle coordination, and quickness.

Glute Ham Raise - Develop strength in lower back, hamstrings, and glutes.

Lateral Lunge - Develop lower body strength. The lunge mimics running mechanics. We train in the sagittal plane. This movement hits the lower body in the frontal plane.

Quick Feet - Sagittal and frontal foot quickness.
Incline Bench Press - Develop upper body strength. Develop strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. Proper technique with a wide base, tight upper back, ridged core, elbows at a 45-degree angle. Mimic’s angle and movement when blocking.

Lat Pull Down - Develop back and bicep strength. Vertical pull.

Tricep Push Down - Strengthen triceps. Increase strength and stability of muscles surrounding the elbow.

Heel Locks - Develop core strength, power, and muscular endurance.

Foam Roll - Myofascial release or self-message. This is used to increase muscle mobility and flexibility. This is done by rolling each muscle on a foam roll or PVC pipe. The athlete must find tender spots on the muscle and work to release the pain. This technique can help release knots within the muscle so the muscle can properly lengthen and contract.

THURSDAY RUN

Warm up drills -  See Tuesday’s warm-up drills

Gopher Drill (Diagram 5) - Develop full body agility. Develop ability to move body using both your lower and upper body. Bear crawl through the bags, touch opposite cone, lateral step over the bags and touch with two feet. Then touch the cone and turn and sprint to finish.


Diagram 5: Gopher Drill

Lateral Bag Drills (Diagram 6) - Develop lateral agility while moving through bags. Must learn to pick up knees while staying upright.


Diagram 6: Lateral Bag Drill


Wood Sled Push - Get into an acceleration phase position. Push while keeping a stable upper back, drive knees up and push through the ground while keeping a good body lean.

Med Ball Toss - Develop full body explosive power.

L-Drill  (Diagram 7) - Develop short range change of direction. Develop ability to control body to change direction the most efficient and effective way. Teach body control and body lean to get around cones.


Diagram 7: L-Drill


FRIDAY LIFT

Warm up drills - See Monday’s warm-up drills

Power Snatch High Pull - Explosive full body development. Triple extension of the hips, knees, and ankles. Increase lower body mobility due to the wide snatch grip. The wide grip forces the athlete to squat down lower while keeping the chest up.

Front Squat - Develop lower body strength. Develop strength in the hips, quads, and hamstrings. Load the bar in front of the body to increase upper body and core stability. Increase mobility and flexibility by moving through a full range of motion. Then squat down to thigh parallel and stand all the way up.

Leg Extension - Develop quad strength. This is a quad isolation exercise. This helps increase strength of ligaments and tendons surrounding the knee.

Leg Curl - Develop hamstring strength. This is a hamstring isolation exercise. This helps increase strength of ligaments and tendons surrounding the knee.

DB Bench Press - Build unilateral upper body strength. Unlike the barbell bench press where both limbs are working together the DB bench press allows each limb to work separately. Horizontal push.

DB Bent Over Row - Develop strength in the lower and middle back. Allows you to train back one side at a time. Horizontal pull.

DB French Press - Strengthen triceps. Increase strength and stability of muscles surrounding the elbow. Develop overhead strength.

Plate Flips - Develop forearm and grip strength. Radial deviation and ulnar deviation.

Roller Abs - Develop core strength and stability.

Rope Stretch - This is an active flexibility technique. Each athlete will go through a series of stretches using the stretch rope to pull to a better stretch. This will help increase muscle and joint flexibility.
 
About the Author: Jeff Pitman began his second stint as strength and conditioning coach at Boise State last year. He served the Broncos in the same capacity from 1999-2006. Pitman made the move back when head coach Bryan Harsin left Arkansas State to become head coach at BSU. A three-time letterwinner at Boise State, Pitman began his coaching career at Montana State and later coached at San Jose State, Western Carolina, and Colorado.

 
More articles on this subject:

Strength Report: Bridging the Gap Between the Weight room and the Field for Linemen – March, 2013
Developing footwork for Your O-Linemen – April, 2012
7 Steps to dominance: Building Dominant Linemen in the Weightroom and On the Field – March, 2012






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