Everyone talks about the "new" thing.  Every year there is a new drug or a new supplement that will help you become a much better football player.  The one thing that you will eventually learn is that there is no shortcut to football success.  There are no miracle formulas for football.  If you want to be a great football player you must pay the price.  If there was ever a sport that strength training was made for it would have to be football.  Building your muscle mass decreases the chance of injury.  It also allows you to do more athletic things.  Time in the weight room will pay off on the field.  

Sometimes we concentrate so hard on building our muscle mass that we forget about our stamina.  It is a common phrase that fatigue makes cowards of everyone.  This is a true statement.  Players that were tough as nails early in the game find it almost impossible to carry on when they have used all their energy.  It does not matter how much you can bench if you can't get to the position on the field at the time you need to be there.  The point here is not to forget to be in shape when the season rolls around.

Working out with weights and getting proper conditioning is vital to your football success.  However, make sure that you are doing the right lifts and running.  Concentrate on the lifts that will make you a better football player and keep you from getting injured.  The bench press is a good example.  I have never understood why so many coaches treat the bench press as the holy grail of football lifts. It always amazes me when I walk into a gym and see a mob of lifters around the bench press area and just a couple of lifters spread in other areas.   I think the bench press is an important lift and should be included in any lifting program.  However, there are lifts that are every bit as good and better for football than the bench.

If you want to be an explosive football player do explosive lifts.  Here are some of the lifts that are related to what you will be expected to do on the field.

Hang Cleans        Rack Cleans    Jump Squats    Power Cleans   

The squat is a great lift and extremely important for football.  When you squat make sure that you always concentrate on your form.  I have seen experienced lifters lose concentration for a brief second and put their backs in positions that they were never intended to be in and with weight loads that just made it worse.  Learn to squat correctly and force yourself to concentrate each and every time that you squat.

I have included our summer workouts.  We use more explosive type lifts than some teams do.  We also use a Bulldog machine and a Bear Squat machine in place of a free weight squat at times.  You could easily put the squat in this workout in place of these machines.  In general we use the machines for the heavier weight as well as to do our jump squats.  We are incorporating some lighter weight free weight squats into our workouts.   We also use a machine called the "Lethal Weapon" which incorporates a thrust, press, and lunge all in one.  Several machines have been developed that can simulate this exercise such as the Hammer Strength machine.  If you do not have access to one don't worry, the hang cleans can get you where you need to go.

 If we had to choose just two lifts for our football program we would do hang cleans and jump squats.  

Always follow these simple rules when lifting.

1. Always have a good spotter in the gym with you.
2. Use your legs to pick up and set weight and never your back.
3. Always focus and force yourself to have good form.

   Be sure that you always have a partner to spot you on your workouts.

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