Get2TheLeague.com

Football Endurance Drills – Is Your Routine Getting it Done? Part Two

admin — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 10:21:14 +0000

Hey, welcome back for part two on our discussion on football endurance drills you do during the off season.

In part one, we learned that long-distance running may not help you as much as you think when it comes to playing on the football field.

Frank Gore trains at the University of Miami along with several of his co-alumni during the off seasons. (ICON Sports)

Click the link below if you missed part one:

Football Endurance Drills – Is Your Routine Getting it Done? Part One

Let’s finish up with more things you may not know when it comes to conditioning training in the off season.

Conditioning Should Emulate Playing the Game

Football is played fast, and in short intervals.

You need to train that same way.

From what I’ve read, proper training for football should focus on multiple reps of short-distance sprinting.

According to Chuck Steward, who penned the Long Distance Running for Football??? article at dfwfootball.net, you need to focus on your sprinting technique and agility drills during this time, too:

Emphasize proper sprinting mechanics through the three phases of a sprint: starting position, acceleration phase (or drive phase), and maximum velocity phase. You should also incorporate multi-directional (or agility) drills into your routine.

Conditioning for Tests and Camp, or For Games?

When you get to camp in the fall, you probably have conditioning tests.

Believe it or not, most of the conditioning tests our coaches have us take aren’t suited for football.

So as a result, a lot of times guys train in the summer with their upcoming conditioning test, instead of for game action.

I’m not bringing this up as if I have a resolution, I’m just more or less bringing it up to make you aware of what you may be doing.

I’m definitely not saying that you should ignore the conditioning test, and end up in the dog house with your coaches.

But when you’re training in the hot sun getting ready for camp, just sit back and ask yourself if you’re training for the conditioning test, or if you’re training for performance on the football field.

“So AG, What Kind of Conditioning Should I Do, Then?”

Are you training for your conditioning test in camp, or to perform in football games? (Image: Brian J. McDermott)

I knew you were going to ask that.

Look, I’ll keep it real.

I’m all for leveraging people that are experts when it comes to stuff like that, and an expert on football conditioning I’m not.

So, I’m going to quote Joe DeFranco to help you with your question.

He’s a popular trainer, who’s gym was rated as one of “America’s 10 Best Gyms” by Men’s Health Magazine.

This quote comes from his article, Football Conditioning: The Right Way!

He says that football players should focus on “exercises that require 4-10 seconds of intense activity, followed by 20-40 seconds of rest.”

He then went on to give examples:

…sprints, sprints with changes of direction, resisted sled/prowler sprints, overcoming a resistance (like flipping a tire) then sprinting, jumps into a sprint, reacting to a visual cue, etc… I like coupling strongman-type exercises with short, explosive sprints. You’ll also want to tweak things according to position. For example, skill position players should be performing “longer” sprints then the lineman, etc. The options are truly endless.

So there you have it.

I’ve learned a lot from this little research. I hope you did, too.

Do you disagree with anything you’ve read in this series?

Or did you learn anything new?

Leave a comment. I’d love to have some healthy dialogue on this topic.

Follow me on Twitter! @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.

Web References:

Energy System Training (Sport Conditioning) (via livestrength.com)
CONDITIONING FOR FOOTBALL (via jtsstrength.com)
Alactic vs. Lactate Training (via healthyliving.azcentral.com)
Long Distance Running for Football??? (via dfwfootball.net)
Conditioning for Football (via jasonferruggia.com)
FOOTBALL CONDITIONING: The RIGHT Way! (via defrancostraining.com)

Football Endurance Drills – Is Your Routine Getting it Done? Part One

admin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 11:05:41 +0000

Getting the Most Out of Your Football Endurance Drills?

Back when I played in college, we were asked to do in the off season football endurance drills our coaches asked us to do.

But I gotta be honest.

Even Barry Sanders had a hard time completing a session of Jerry Rice’s off season training regimen. (ICON Sports)

As I met other players from other programs, I always wondered why the off season conditioning program differed so much.

Today it crossed my mind again, and I said to myself,

“What if there were some basic principles that should be adhered-to when it came to conditioning for football?”

I did some research on-line, and wanted to let you know what I learned.

Football is an Alactic Sport

Before today, I never even knew what alactic meant.

But if you’re a football player, you should.

Alactic Anaerobic Energy System

Here’s how it works.

The muscle cells in our bodies store energy as adenosine triphosphate; commonly known as ATP.

Our cells can only hold about 10 seconds worth of ATP at a time.

Now that “10 second” number is important, so keep that in the back of your mind, because I’ll show you the importance of that number in a sec.

Creatine phosphate in our bodies replenishes the ATP.

Together, the ATP and creatine phosphate form what’s referred to as the alactic anaerobic energy system.

Still with me? I’m about to tie this in shortly.

This stuff is fascinating to me.

Why is Football is an Alactic Sport?

The average football play is anywhere from 2-to-10 seconds or so.

…that’s 2-to-10 seconds of intense activity.

Remember when I told you our bodies only hold 10 seconds worth of ATP at a time?

Well since football plays are so short, your main fuel system in football is your alactic anaerobic energy system.

Distance Running Doesn’t Help Football Players?

Alactic vs. Aerobic Energy System

You might’ve already knew this, but long distance running doesn’t train you for alactic anaerobic activity, like football.

It trains you for aerobic activity.

Your aerobic system uses carbs, fats, proteins, and oxygen, and it’s slow at producing energy.

Remember in football you need energy fast, so you rarely use your aerobic energy system in football.

Is your off season training regimen preparing you for games, or just your team’s conditioning test? (Image: NYCMarines)

Joint Problems

Did you know that long-distance running puts a lot of unnecessary stress on your joints?

I was always conditioned (no pun intended) to think that long-distance running was good for football.

I guess the question is, if it’s not helping you as a football player, why do it?

Does Long-Distance Running Actually Hurt Your Ability to Make Plays?

Feel free to do your own research on this, because I know what you just read above might be a shocker.

But from what I’ve read, long-distance running can actually hurt your ability to perform as a football player.

Apparently, this is because long distance doesn’t put you in the higher heart rate zone that you experience during most football plays.

So in a nutshell, if you’re training in the lower heart rate zones all the time (like you are in long-distance running), you’re hurting your ability to play at the higher heart rate zones that you’re going to experience on the field.

Crazy, right?

Aight, family, I’m gone for now, but click here for part two, once I get a minute to do it.

What kind of conditioning training do you (or your team) do during the off seasons? Leave a comment.

Follow me on Twitter! @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.

Web References:

Take the Guesswork Out of Relieving Student-Athlete Stress – Part Two

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 10:58:27 +0000

Welcome back for part two of our talk on dealing with stress as a student-athlete.

Click below if you missed part one:

Take the Guesswork Out of Relieving Student-Athlete Stress

Let’s finish-up where we left off, with more ways to alleviate and avoid stress.

Take Responsibility

I’ll admit that this is definitely easier said than done, but it makes sense.

This tip has actually helped me deal with stress a lot better than I did before.

Example

Let’s say somebody hit your car.

Is that a reason to be stressed? You might think, “hell yeah, Alvin!”

But think about it; do you think there’s someone else in the world who’s car was hit today that didn’t get stressed out?

I would venture to say that it’s probable.

“Get to the point, Alvin…”

My point, is that the external circumstance happened.

You can’t change that.

But the stress part comes from you, and how you chose to react to the situation.

Keep that in mind.

Investigate Your Habits

Or to say it simply, “take a look at your life.”

This one was huge for me.

From this introspection, I was able to identify that most of my own stress was caused by personal lack of prioritization.

But back to you.

Look at your life and habits… do you procrastinate (for example)?

If so, you know that waiting ’till the last minute, and “working under extreme pressure” can cause you stress, right?

So why are you continuing to do it?

You gotta be willing to be honest with yourself.

But once you are, it can be extremely liberating, and will reduce your stress tremendously.

Write it Down

I’ve found that it’s hard for me to see my life objectively until I write things down.

What I’m suggesting, is that you take out a piece of paper, and jot down the last couple times you remember being stressed.

Then really look at the root cause of that situation.

Chances are, there’s something you could’ve done differently to ease the stress of the situation to begin with.

Heck, you might’ve been able to avoid the stress altogether.

Are You a Control Freak?

Do you have a hard time delegating stuff to other people?

If so, that’s a trait you need to overcome ASAP, because no one accomplishes anything great completely on their own in life.

And two, you will go crazy if you try to do everything yourself. Especially if you plan on running a business of some sort down the line.l

For example, as football players in college, I used to make extra money from teammates that hated typing that used to pay me to type their papers.

They’d give me the rough draft, and play Playstation while I made a quick $20 here and there, because I’ve been able to type pretty well for a long time now (thanks Mom!)

Organize and Prioritize

For me, a lot of my stress has been caused by trying to do multiple things at once, and losing focus.

What has really changed my life, is the habit of prioritizing.

First Things First

When I schedule my next day before I go to bed, I schedule the most important things first.

And I schedule the things that have less immediate impact on my goals for later on in the day.

This has helped reduce my stress, because even if I’m unable to get to everything on my schedule, I’m still able to got the most impactful and important things done.

You and I both know that a day rarely goes exactly as planned.

So when life happens, it causes less stress on me mentally than it used to, because I’m still able to get the most important things done regardless of the curveballs life throws at me in a given day.

Anyway, if you’re looking for a complete guide to stress relieve Google it, or buy a book, I ain’t Dr. Phil, I know we’re both bald, but c’mon, I’m way better looking than him.

Seriously though, I hope you got something that’ll help you deal with stress.

How are you with stress? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

What are some things you do to relieve stress? Wait, if it’s illegal, keep it to yourself

Follow me on Twitter! @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook!

Web References:

37 Stress Management Tips (via Reader’s Digest – rd.com)
Stress can affect your health in many ways (via stress-explained.com)
Stress Management: How To Manage Stress | Coping With Stress (via laughsheal.com)
Stress at work and heart attack (via stress-explained.com)
Dealing with Stress | Ten Tips (via skillsyouneed.co.uk)

6 Explosive Workouts for Football Players

admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 10:14:22 +0000

Explosive Workouts for Football Players

Scouts absolutely loveplayers that are explosive.

At 239 pounds, and standing 6’5″, Lions’ wide receiver Calvin Johnson ran a 4.35 40 at the 2007 NFL Combine. (ICON)

Explosive players accelerate faster, have better chances at winning collision battles on the field, and tend to be just flat-out better athletes on the field than their lesser counterparts.

Today we’re going to talk about explosive workouts for football.

Well not exactly, I’m not going to be giving you a specific workout to follow (that should come from a more qualified source than me).

…but I will be giving you some drills that you might want to make sure are incorporated into your regimen.

I’ll also be explaining why they’ll help you become more explosive on the football field.

OK, so let’s jump right into it (pun intended) and talk about drills you can do that help you become more explosive.

No Weights? No Way?!?

You’ll notice that none of these drills include using weights.

That’s because when you’re strength training, you’re not able to move at the speeds necessary to develop power.

Power is all about the being able to produce force within short periods of time.

I’m not going to get super in-depth on these, so feel free to do your own research on the different variations and stuff elsewhere, like on YouTube or something.

Training for Explosion

So let’s get into what you can do to get more explosive.

Box Jumps

Box jumps help you increase the rate that your muscles can produce force, in other words; they help you develop more

Box jumps are great for developing explosion in football players.

power.

They train your body to produce a lot of force from a still position.

They do this by forcing you to overcome the weight and inertia of your body.

Box jumps also help you improve your performance in the broad jump and vertical jump tests, which are both performed from still positions.

Finding the Right Box

When it comes to figuring out the ideal height for your box, you want one that challenges you, but you don’t want it to be too high.

Yeah I know that’s not very descriptive, but it’s the truth.

It all depends on you and your abilities. If you need more help on how to find the right sized box for you, you might wanna do some more research on line or something.

Eliminate Stretch Shortening (ESS) Box Jumps

As the name eludes to, this is a variation of the box squat.

The difference, is that this version eliminates stretch shortening.

Stretch shortening is the stretching and shortening of a muscle. It works like a rubber band or spring and helps you produce power.

Regular box jumps take advantage of the stretch shortening, but this variation doesn’t.

Why ESS Box Jumps are Effective

When you’re on the field, you won’t always have the time to coil-up like you do in a normal box jump.

The ESS variation helps you develop the ability to express power in situations like this where you can’t leverage stretch shortening.

Broad Jumps

The more explosive you are, the better your chances are that you’ll win more of your collisions on the gridiron.

Broad jumps help you develop hip power and reactive strength.

They also train your body to minimize the amount of time you have to be in contact time with the ground when you jump.

That’s important, because if you need to get in the air in a game, you want to get up there as fast as you can.

The faster you can get up there, the better your chances are that you’ll make that play.

What is Reactive Strength?

Reactive strength is all about, well, helping you react faster. Just about everything you do on the fooball field involves reactive strength, if you really think about it.

Whether you’re an offensive or defensive player you’re constantly responding and reacting to what your opposition is doing or showing you.

Depth Jumps

These are good for developing reactive strength too.

These are done by jumping up onto a box immediately after dropping down to the ground from a box, chair, or some other platform.

When you’re doing this drill, now you need to jump back up as fast as possible, without bending your knees too much.

The less knee flexion, the better.

Heels or No?

No, I’m not talking about shoes when I say heels.

I’ve read that there’s some debate out there regarding whether or not you should let your heels hit the ground before you explode back up in this drill.

Some that argue that you want to avoid letting your heels touch, because they say that it increases the amount of time you’re in contact with the ground.

On the other hand, some say that letting your heels touch decreases the amount of shock you put on your joints, and that it really doesn’t cause that much lag in your contact time with the ground.

The verdict? I don’t know.

I recommend that you find what works for you, unless your strength trainer demands you go one way or the other.

Warning

Depth jumps really tax your central nervous system, so it’s vital that you get some good rest in-between sets.

Hurdle Jumps

As you know, explosion is directly related to our speed.

Hurdle jumps train our hip flexors.

The strength of your hip flexors play a major role in your sprinting speed.

Why You Want Strong Hip Flexors

You wanna have strong hip flexors because they help your legs get in that 70-90 degree angle that is optimal for maximizing sprint speed.

That’s why when your trainer takes you through form running, a lot of the drills involve getting your knees up to a 90 degree angle.

The 90 degree angle increases the amount of force you can put into the ground when your legs hit the ground. The more force you can put into the ground, the better.

The 90 degree angle also puts you in position to have a longer stride length, allowing you to cover more ground with each stride.

The hip flexor controls the forward swing of the leg every time you stride.

So the more force you’re able to swing forward, the faster it’s going to return back to it’s original spot, and be ready for the next stride.

I don’t know if it’s true, but in one of the articles I recently read, they claimed that after training someone with hip flexor-specific exercises, they improved their 40 time by .3!

Damn, I swear I wish I knew all of this stuff back when I was playing…

Plyometric Circuits

Plyometric circuits are where you go from station-to-station doing plyometric drills.

These help you maintain power and explosion over a period of time.

They help you with your speed endurance and cardio stamina too.

Have you, or your team been doing any of these drills? If so, how have they helped you or your team? Leave a comment.

Follow me on Twitter! @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.

Web references:

10 Exercises for Explosive Athletes! (via Bodybuilding.com)
Jump Training for Explosive Power (via dieselcrew.com)
Explosive Box Jumps Gives You More Speed And Power (via sportsfitnesshut.blogspot.ca)
Stretch shortening cycle (via Wikipedia.org)
Top 5 Explosive Lower Body Exercises (via oneresult.com)
Exercises to Increase Speed (via overtimeathletes.com)
What is Reactive Strength and Why Should I Train It? (via voices.yahoo.com)
EXPLOSIVE & REACTIVE STRENGTH TRAINING (via livestrong.com)
Depth Jump – A Closer Look (via verticaljumping.com)
Circuit Training with Plyometrics (via livestrong.com)

How to Find Free Speed Equipment for Football

admin — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:19:11 +0000

How to Find Speed Equipment for Football for Cheap

Today I’m going to talk about how you can find speed equipment for football for cheap.

Or free.

Devin Hester ran an impressive 4.27 in the 40 yard dash at his pro day in 2006. (ICON Sports)

I’ve found that a lot of guys feel like they can’t afford all of the stuff they need, when in actuality that isn’t always true.

Here are some things you can get for cheap, or even free.

Tractor Tires

If you Google “(your city) tireyard” or something like that, you should be able to find some tire and junk yards in your area.

Call them, and see if they have any tractor tires they want to get rid of.

The tires I’m talking about are often used for sledgehammer conditioning training (where you beat the hell out of it with a sledgehammer) or for tire-flipping conditioning drill.

You probably can’t find these at regular tire stores.

You might also want to check with places that deal with tractor trailers.

If you live in, or close to a rural area, you might even find a farmer that has one he doesn’t want or something.

Homemade Speed Ladder

If you’re going to be doing ladder drills on a hard surface, you can just make the pattern of a speed latter out of duct tape right there on the floor and leave it there.

Speed ladders are easy and inexpensive to make.

If you’re going to be doing it on grass or on field turf or something, you can stilluse duct tape for the sides of the ladder, and just get some small PVC pipe to lay across it to make the “rungs” in the ladder.

It’s pretty easy to make, actually.

Just roll out the left and right sides of duct tape out so they’re parallel to one another (sticky side up), then you lay the PVC pipe down onto the sticky sides of the tape, to make the rungs.

From there, you can just lay out another layer of duct tape that runs across both sides of the ladder (sticky side down) to lock the PVC pipes in place.

Homemade Speed Sled

I used one of these to train during one of my college off seasons.

I just went to Discount Tire and asked them if they had any used tires I could grab.

They led me to this big pile of used tires in back of the store, and told me to have at it.

Once you get the tire, just get yourself a chain and a strap (a tow rope works wonders) to use as a harness to go around your waist, and wa-lah.

Ropes

The training ropes are expensive as all get out. I’ve seen ‘em priced from $100 up to $400.

Unbelievable.

If you plan on including rope training in your workout, you might be able to find extra rope at your local marina.

I’ve also heard of people using used fire hoses, too. If you wanna go that route, you might wanna contact a local firefighter station or something.

Cheap Kettlebells

I’ve seen kettlebells at pretty cheap prices at WalMart, but they’re of a lesser quality.

If you’re going to be doing some serious training over a long period of time, you may not want to mess with the ones at WalMart, because you’ll probably end up needing to buy some new ones sooner than later.

Homemade Kettlebells

You can also make your own kettlebells made out of dumbbells.

The video below shows you how:

Kegs

If you’re looking for kegs to train with, reach out to some party stores, beer distributors, restaurants, and bars, and see if they have any kegs that they want to get rid of or aren’t using.

You might be able to find some for free that way.

If you need more info on how to fill the kegs for training, just search on Google, and you should find plenty of information.

Gym Plates

If you’re willing to search around, you can find a lot of plates at Play It Again Sports and places like that that buy-back and sell used sports equipment.

Chains

Most trainers that train for football have their athletes use bands or chains on the barbells when they do lifts like squats and bench presses.

The chains are used to help you build speed.

As you raise the barbell higher in the air, the amount of resistance increases.

You can find chains all over the place.

One good place is a boat yard.

Training ropes are expensive to buy retail, but you can find them for free if you’re willing to search.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you need a special chain for training. The only thing that matters, is that it’s heavy enough and long enough.

Weight Trees

You can search on Craigslist, or even search around your area for gyms that might be going out of business, and see if they want to just give one away.

Or you could use old barbell poles that you can find for free or cheap on Craigslist, and have a local welder make a tree for you to put your plates on.

Gym Mats

Shout out to Elliott Hulse for putting me up on this tip.

You don’t need “professional floor mats” for your gym.

You can just go to one of the Tractor supply stores, or go to a place that sells farm equipment, and buy horse stall mats, which are rugged and save you a ton of money.

Plyometric Boxes

If you pay for a “plyometric box” from a retailer, it must be because you just don’t feel like making one.

Plyo boxes can definitely be made yourself; or you could always pay someone to make one for you.

Speed Harness

I’ve seen speed harnesses on eBay for as low as $20.

Actually I just checked and saw one for $19.95 with free shipping.

These aren’t very expensive, actually, even if you buy one retail.

I don’t know if you can buy them together, but you’ll need the cord too, and I’ve seen them on Amazon for as low as $20 or so.

Dot Drill Mat

I used to do the dot drill as part of my warm up routine back in the day. It warms you up, AND it’s good for your footwork.

I’ve seen “dot drill mats” online for like $50 and more.

Buying one of these is an absolute waste of money.

Just get some damned duct tape and make five spots that resemble how the number “5″ looks on dice, and you’re all set.

It’s damn near impossible to list all of the equipment you might need for your speed training, but I hope I was able to help you save some money.

Now you have NO excuse to not get out there and git’er done.

Do you have any other tips on how to save money on training equipment? Leave a comment.

Follow me on Twitter! @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook!

Web References:

Homemade Speed Ladder and Sled (via YouTube.com)
KETTLEBELL STRENGTH TRAINING FOR SPEED (via livestrong.com)
Keg Lifting Basics (via dieselcrew.com)
Bench Press Chains (via criticalbench.com)

Speed Endurance Training in Football – What Every Player Should Know

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:15:31 +0000

I can’t lie, when I was playing in college, I knew absolutely nothing about speed endurance training.

But now that I know what it is, I damn near wanna kick myself for not doing any speed endurance training back when I was playing.

Free safety Kenny Vacarro’s rare mix of on-field speed and size makes him one of the top safeties heading into the 2013 NFL Draft. (ICON)

Today, I’m going to talk about speed endurance training in football, how you can implement it into your training regimen, and most importantly, how it can help you on the field.

What Is Speed Endurance?

Speed endurance gives you the ability to maintain top speeds over an extended period of time.

Speed endurance plays a vital role in a player’s ability to have breakaway speed.

A running back that can burst through the hole at top speeds, but can’t maintain that speed is destined to get “hawked’down” by defenders on the regular.

A db who might be able to keep up with the other teams’s fastest receiver in the first quarter, might lose in a speed battle between the two in the fourth quarter.

You catch my drift.

Using Interval Training

One of the most common methods I’ve seen used for building speed endurance is interval training.

Interval training programs tailored for speed endurance, require training sessions where you go through high-energy periods of activity (like sprinting) followed by long rest periods.

Long Rest Periods are Critical

The long rest periods are crucial for speed endurance training.

As I mentioned, the purpose of speed endurance training is to help you run at top speeds for longer periods of time.

So in order to run at top speeds during the training, you have to get the rest necessary between sets; otherwise you won’t be able to run at full speed on the rep.

Instead of running at lower speeds for longer distances (and longer periods of time), the goal is to train your body to maintain high speeds at “shorter” intervals of time.

If you think about it, the average football play lasts about 5 or 7 seconds (I don’t know if that’s an official average, just a guesstimate).

The Science Behind Speed Endurance Training

Speed endurance training works your glycolytic energy system.

The glycolytic energy system turns sugars, like glucose, into energy.

If your speed training a part of an organized plan, or are you “winging it?” (Courtesy: 1stringsportstraining.com)

Speed endurance training can also improve the amount of lactate that flushes out of your muscles, in addition to raising your body’s tolerance of the lactate.

In case you’re wondering, lactate is what causes that burning sensation you’ve felt in your muscles when you’re playing or training.

Here’s an excerpt from an article I read entitled Speed Endurance Training, that explains it:

The accumulation of blood lactate (from running over time) disturbs the excitation-contraction coupling and cross-bridge formation. In other words, the muscle’s mechanical properties are disturbed. The result? A decrease in force production, peak force and velocity…

I figured that it would be better to just quote somebody, other than sound like an idiot trying to explain it myself.

Anyways, both of these things help you maintain that high speed.

How long have you been training for speed endurance, or are/were you like me, and didn’t know anything about it until recently?

Leave a comment below!

Follow me on Twitter. @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.

Web References:

Interval Training For Sport Specific Endurance (via sport-fitness-advisor.com)
Interval Training (via www.lovemygym.com)
Speed Endurance Training by Dr. James Meschino (via YouTube.com)
Speed Endurance Training (via sports-fitness-advisor.com)
What Is the Burning Sensation From Working Out or Running? (via livestrong.com)

The Truth about How to Increase Speed in Football – Part Two

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 11:28:15 +0000

Welcome back for part two on our discussion on how to increase speed in football.

Click the link below if you missed part one:

The Truth about How to Increase Speed in Football

Do you train for speed during the off seasons? (Photo source: SD Dirk)

Let’s finish up, shall we?

What Happens Internally When We Train for Power?

In part one, we talked about the role power plays in our speed, but what happens in our bodies as we become more and more powerful?

To say it simply, when you’re training for power, you’re basically training your central nervous system to recruit your fast twitch muscle fibers faster and faster.

Periodization Training is Important

Periodization is a training philosophy that’s all about training for different purposes throughout the course of the regimen.

Most of the periodization strategies I’ve seen for off season football training start with a Functional or Hypertrophy focus, then progress into strength, and finishes with a focus on power as the season approaches.

This is designed to make sure you’re at your peak power and speed-wise when the season starts.

Muscle Imbalances Can Hurt Your Speed

Muscle imbalances take place when two opposing muscles that counteract one another have differences in strength or flexibility.

Example

So in the case of speed, let’s think about our hamstrings and our quadriceps real quick; one is used to bend the knee, and the other is used to extend it.

Now what would happen if one was stronger than the other?

You’re going to be more at risk for injury for one, and it’s going to hurt your speed.

Why? Because a muscle imbalance between these two muscles will hurt your stride length, which is the amount of distance you can cover with each step.

The imbalance can also decrease the frequency at which you’re able to make your strides when you run.

What do you do to improve your speed in the off seasons?

When I was coming up, the “big thing” that was supposed to help you run faster and jump higher were “Strength Shoes.” Ever heard of, or used those?

Leave a comment below!

Follow me on Twitter. @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.
Web References:
The Importance of Strength For Enhanced Explosiveness (via higher-faster-sports.com)
How Strength Training Helps Your Run (via Active.com)
From Strength Training for Football… The Elite Approach (via sport-fitness-advisor.com)
Role of Periodization (via pponline.co.uk)
How to Fix Muscle Imbalance (via coreperformance.com)
Speed: Beyond Genetics (via coreperformance.com)

The Truth about How to Increase Speed in Football

admin — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:33:16 +0000

It’s no secret that having a fast 40 yard dash time and playing with that speed (which is even more important) can greatly improve your chances at playing college ball or making it pro.

So let’s talk about how to increase speed in football.

Some say that Deion Sanders ran a 4.17 40 yard dash time in 1989 at the NFL Combine. (ICON Sports)

The stuff I’m going to talk about today doesn’t cover everything you need to know, but they’re good things to know nonetheless.

The Importance of Strength

Until a few years ago, I had no idea how big of a role a person’s physical strength played in their speed.

Physical strength is like horsepower in a car, in that it’s what gives you the ability to accelerate and move quickly.

Just like a car can have high performance tires, a spoiler and other aerodynamic crap on it to make it faster, you can have supreme flexibility, the lightest shoes, and whatever else, but unless you have that horsepower under the hood (aka strength), you’re never going to be as fast as you could be.

I’ve heard strength coaches say that they’ve helped beginner athletes improve their speed just by improving their strength alone; even before getting into any speed-specific training.

The Technical Reason Why Strength is Important.

Your strength is the backbone that controls everything else; your agility, speed, explosion, jumping ability and more are all affected by how strong you are.

I can’t really explain it much better than the dude in the article The Importance of Strength For Enhanced Explosiveness:

… a 200 pound man capable of squatting 250 pounds for a single rep will have a mere 50 pounds of reserve strength available to propel his body upward during a vertical jump. Contrast this with a 200-pound elite-class powerlifter capable of squatting 600 pounds. Now we’ve got 400 pounds of strength reserve available, and all things being equal, he will have a vastly superior vertical jump compared to the novice squatter.

That should clear it up for you.

Sorry, I know that was kinda long… Moving on…

Strength Isn’t Everything, Though.

But there’s more to the equation than just being strong.

In fact, if all you work on is just developing your strength, you’ll actually get slower.

Why? Because all you’ll do is just gain weight.

And you have to have a training program that converts that strength into power.

That’s the key.

Speaking of that…

You Gotta Transfer Strength to Explosion and Power!

“Power” is what you need to be as explosive and fast as you want to be.

Two different cars might be able to get to 60 miles per hour, but the one with more “power” under the hood is able to get to that top speed faster.

Related: 40 Yard Dash Training

It’s the same thing with us humans when it comes to developing speed.

Let’s Get Scientific

Or is the right word “mathematical?”

Who cares. Anyways, remember this equation in Physics class?

W/T = P

That equation says that Power is equal to the amount of work (W) you’re able to put out over a specific period of time (T).

We know, that in order to increase our football speed we want to be able to accelerate as “fast” as possible, agreed?

Are you training properly for speed in the off season? (Image: trainingfootballplayers.com)

So in other words, in the equation above, we want the “T” (for time) in this equation to be as small as possible.

Let’s throw these random number into the above Power equation, for the sake of having round numbers to work with:

100/2 = 50 (100 is Work, 2 is Time, and 50 is Power)

Now let’s say your power number increases to 100.

Let’s revisit that equation:

100/T = 100

100 divided by what equals 100?

That’s right, “1.”

This shows you that the more power you have, the less time it takes you move.

Make sense?

Damn, I feel all smart and stuff… :-)

Check back for part two.

Who do you think is the fastest dude in the NFL right now? Leave a comment.

Follow me on Twitter. @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.

Web References:
The Importance of Strength For Enhanced Explosiveness (via higher-faster-sports.com)
How Strength Training Helps Your Run (via Active.com)
From Strength Training for Football… The Elite Approach (via sport-fitness-advisor.com)
Role of Periodization (via pponline.co.uk)
How to Fix Muscle Imbalance (via coreperformance.com)
Speed: Beyond Genetics (via coreperformance.com)

6 Ways to Improve Standing Broad Jump Distance – Part Two

admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:28:36 +0000

Alrighty, let’s finish up with the other ways you can improve standing broad jump distance.

Click the link below if you missed part one…

6 Ways to Improve Standing Broad Jump Distance – Part One

I’ll pick up where I left off.

Safety Eric Berry was the second-best performer in the standing broad jump at the 2010 NFL Combine, jumping 10’10″ (ICON Sports)

#4 – Pay Attention to Where You’re Looking!

It might only help you get an extra inch or two, but every inch counts.

Before and during your jump, focus your eyes on a spot on the ground past the finish line.

You can use your eyes to aim for a target that will help you get a little extra distance on your jump.

#5 – Land Properly

As you know if you don’t land right, you can fall backwards when you land and that can take a lot of distance off your jump.

On top of that, you can flat-out hurt yourself pretty bad if you don’t land right.

Landing Technique

When you land, focus on letting the knees and hips flex, so that you properly channel and absorb the energy from the jump.
Core Strength Affects Your Landing

According to experts, a strong core will help you land properly, too.

If your workout program is worth anything, it should already include work for your core, so you shouldn’t have to do anything extra to accommodate.

#6 – Do Some Dynamic Warm-ups Before Testing

One expert recommended that you do about ten tuck jumps before you test in the standing broad jump.

Even if it’s not tuck jumps you’re doing, it’s probably in your best interest to do some type of dynamic stretching before you test.

A lot of guys still do static stretching, but static stretching can actually cause your muscles to relax.

“No duh, right?”

Well from what I’ve read, for an explosive test like this, you don’t really want your muscles to relax.

Check out what Ralph Reiff, the director of sports performance at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis said on this from one of the articles I read:

To get a good static stretch you are asking the body on a subconscious level to relax… From a muscle-recruitment standpoint, you don’t want to turn the muscles off in a relaxed state prior to asking them to perform. The elastic energy of a tighter muscle is going to have more recoil and power than a heavily stretched muscle.

Nuff said, right?

What’s your best jump in the standing broad jump?

What do you do to work on your jumping ability, or don’t you at all? Leave a comment.

Follow me on Twitter. @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.

Web References:

Workouts & Drills (via NFL.com)
5 Reasons You’re Failing the Standing Broad Jump (via menshealth.com)
Dynamic Stretching Better Before Training and Racing (via Runnersworld.com)

6 Ways to Improve Standing Broad Jump Distance – Part One

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:38:58 +0000

Happy New Year!

As you know, your performance at combines, tryouts and pro days can and will impact your future as a pro football player (or lack thereof).

Jerome Simpson had one of the farthest broad jumps in combine history as a wide receiver, jumping 11’4″ in 2008. (ICON Sports)

The standing broad jump is one of the six most popular combine/pro day workouts.

It shows-off your lower-body explosion, and lower-body strength.

So I did a little research, to find some things you can do to improve your standing broad jump distance.

Here are some tips that can help you improve your standing broad jump distance when you test:

#1 – Make Sure You’re Using Your Arms Correctly

Even though this drill measures your lower body explosion and strength, your arms play a huge role in your performance in this drill.

Think about it.

Can you jump higher if you pump your arms, or if you don’t?

Your arms help give you the momentum you need to jump farther; they also help you build “elastic” energy in your body that helps propel you farther and higher.

In fact, one expert said that arm motion and strength can account for as much as 15 percent of your performance in the standing broad jump!

So, What’s the Proper Arm Technique?

I knew you were going to ask that.

When you’re standing tall before you jump, raise your arms in front of you, and as you drop down into your crouch, swing your arms down and to the back, to the point where your arms are behind you.

Your arms should be timed perfectly, so that they move in-sync with the rest of your body.

As you hit the bottom of your squat, your arms should be at the end of the backswing.

As you jump, violently swing your arms forward, as you jump up, and out towards the target.

#2 – Make Sure You Train Your Hip Muscles

A lot of the power expressed in this jump comes from your hips and butt, or “glutes”, rather.

You might want to make sure your training regimen includes drills and exercises that will build power in this region of your body.

It should, but you might wanna check just to make sure.

#3 – Proper Strength Training

Plyometrics

If you’re following a periodization model, you don’t have to worry about this, as ballistic movements like plyometrics are a part of the regimen already (if it’s designed properly, that is).

The standing broad jump requires that you generate a lot of force in a very short period of time (aka “power”), which is probably addressed in the Power phase of your periodization training.

What Other Kinds of Training Helps Standing Broad Jump Performance?

Lunges, leg press, squats and leg extensions are weight training exercises that can help you, too.

I know I already mentioned plyometrics, but plyometric exercises like tuck jumps, squat jumps and box jumps help too.

But just doing these exercises “willy-nilly” without a structured plan in-place is not going to get you the kind of results you’re looking for.

These types of exercises need to be built into your training regimen, with the proper amount of sets, reps, and rest pre-determined.

Check back for part two, coming soon.

What’s your best jump in the standing broad jump?

What do you do to work on your jumping ability, or don’t you at all? Leave a comment.

Follow me on Twitter. @alvingrier

Click here to connect with us on Facebook.