Professional Football Tutorial

FOOTBALL PLAYERS NEED a combination of speed, strength, agility, and power to be successful on the field—and that means a lot of time in the gym. To train right, football players need to hit a range of areas and that’s why we’ve put together this all-around workout for you to add to your routine.

FREQUENCY: Perform each of workouts (I, II, III, and IV) once per week. Try and schedule your training so that you perform workouts I and II on back-to-back days, and then rest a day after that. Perform workouts III and IV on back-to-back days, followed by two days off.

HOW TO DO IT: Perform the exercise pairs (marked A and B) as alternating sets, resting the prescribed amount of time between each set. So you'll do one set of A, rest, then one set of B, rest again, and repeat for all the prescribed sets.

BOX SQUAT
Set up a barbell on the supports of a squat rack and place a box a few feet behind you. The box should be low enough that your thighs are parallel to the floor when you sit on it.

WEIGHTED BACK EXTENSION
Hold a weight plate against your chest and lock your legs into a back extension apparatus. Allow your torso to bend forward so that your hips are bent almost 90 degrees

SPRINTER SITUP
Lie on your back and bend the hip and knee on one side 90 degrees. Swing the opposite side's arm forward and that side's arm back and crunch your torso forward.

BENCH PRESS
Lie on the bench, grab the bar underhand, and pull your torso up and forward, resting your head on the bench before the rest of your body. Your eyes should be under the bar.

NEUTRAL-GRIP FLOOR PRESS
Hold a dumbbell in each hand and lie on the floor, your knees bent 90 degrees. Keeping your elbows close to your sides, lower the weights with your palms facing your sides until your triceps touch the floor [1]. Press the weights straight up and then return to the starting position. That's one rep. Perform eight reps the first and second sets, then six reps the third, and five reps the fourth.