Strength Training in Football
Strength training is important for football players. The basic elements of speed, mobility and endurance are all functions of muscular strength. According to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, improvements in absolute muscular endurance, motor ability and athletic abilities are directly associated with an individual's muscular strength.
Strength training for football usually has two purposes.
- Improving overall strength
- Developing muscle balance and preventing athlete injury.
Football running requires significant anaerobic energy which is directly related to muscle strength. Therefore, a muscle with greater strength can respond better to race challenges without incurring extreme fatigue and requiring a longer recovery period. Basically, strength training improves an athlete's ability to run fast and produce anaerobic energy. Football players need to be able to run fast, sometimes very fast.
The following basic strength training routine can be accomplished outside of the weight room and easily incorporated into an athlete's home training program. For more information on circuit and fitness training, please review the
Nutrition, Safety and Fitness section in the
general coaching section.
- Light running to warm up
- Push-ups
- Lunges
- Sit-ups — Crunches
- Medicine-Ball Throws (please refer to Nutrition, Safety and Fitness section for medicine-ball throw exercises)
- Overhead Toss
- Forward Toss
- Side Toss
- Straight Arm Forward Toss to Partner
| Push-Ups — Up Position |
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Push-Ups — Down Position |
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Push-Ups with a Clap |
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| Make sure your athletes fully extend their arms in the start position, with a straight back. They can help keep a straight back by squeezing their abdominal muscles. |
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When athletes are in the down position, they want their elbows to be parallel with their shoulders. |
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For variety and increased intensity add a clap to the push-up exercise. This can help athletes test themselves and each other while working hard and still have fun. |
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Push-Ups, Regular and with a Clap (Dartfish) |
| Lunges |
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| 90-degree angle and thigh is parallel to ground. |
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Explode off the ground, pushing up strong from the ground. |
| Sit-Ups — Hands Behind Neck (up position) |
Sit-Ups — Crossed on Shoulders |
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| Here the athlete squeezed those abdominals coming up. Next time, we want to work on keeping the elbows straight out to the sides and parallel to the ground. |
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To reduce strain on the neck, athletes can place their hands on their opposite shoulders. As long as they are squeezing those abdominals, they are achieving the same intended result — stronger stomach muscles. |
