2014 Summer Training Guide: Football
Football summer training program by Ron McKeefery, formerly of the Cincinnati Bengals and the University of Tennessee, current head football strength coach at Eastern Michigan University.
What Matters Now
With just four weeks to go before two-a-days, you need to build muscle and improve your conditioning. Muscle will protect your body from the violent collisions during practices and games, surrounding your joints like a natural suit of armor. But this isn’t huge lifts/long rest interval time. You’ll be doing more reps (but fewer sets) of a wide variety of exercises. Keep up the pace and effort to dial in your conditioning.
What This Program Will Do for You
It’s impossible to entirely prevent injuries, but this training plan will increase your durability so you’re less susceptible to injury. Each workout focuses on compound movements performed with moderately heavy weight in the 10- to 12-rep range. That provides enough stimulation for your muscles to grow. Bonus: Many of the program’s lifts are tested in camp, so you’ll be strong enough to impress your coaches.
Key Tips for Success
Success comes with planning. Look at the workout before you hit the weight room so you know what equipment you need to access. You may need to make some adjustments on the fly, and that’s okay. For example, if you don’t have a squat rack, do a Deadlift. Certain exercises work better than others, but as long as you work the same movement patterns, you can choose the ones that work best for you.
Check out the full 2014 Summer Training Guide.
Featured Football Exercises
Barbell Hip Thrust
One of the best glute-building exercises, this move will increase your speed and tackling power.
Manual Neck Extension, Flexion, Lateral Flexion
A strong neck helps absorb force from tackles, which may reduce the risk or severity of a concussion.
Tate Press
Strengthens your triceps so you have the pushing power to battle with and drive opponents away from you.
STACK Football Summer Training Guide
This article originally appeared on STACK.com: 2014 Summer Training Guide: Football
