When football season ends, some players move right to another sport. The change in the way you practice, and the different playing styles of other sports, can help your body recover from football. If you only play football, when the season ends you should consider a strength and conditioning plan to prepare your body for the next season.
First, take some time off from all physical activity. Two weeks off will help heal your body, and the downtime will have you eager to get active again. Then, consider a variety of resistance-training exercises-exercises that build muscle-to strengthen your body.
Guidelines For Resistance Training
Everyone knows that resistance training, which includes activities that use your own body weight for resistance and lifting exercises that use weighted objects, is a great way to build muscle. The first question is, at which age should you start? Some people worry that starting resistance training too young can stunt your growth. There is no strong evidence that resistance training reduces growth. Many resistance-training exercises, if properly supervised and done gradually over time, are safe for young football players. By strengthening your frame, they may even prevent injuries that happen because of weak or uncoordinated muscles.
Eating poorly and not resting enough have more impact on your growth than resistance training. Eating well and getting plenty of sleep each night will help you grow to your full height.
Your resistance-training workout can be organized in many different ways. See http://www.kickoffmag.com/ for a list of exercises you can include in your routine and for examples of daily workouts for players of different ages. Keep in mind that you also need to leave time during the week to do conditioning runs. If you are playing a winter sport like basketball or lacrosse, you will probably be in pretty good shape. However, if you only play football, you can start running soon after the season ends.
The nine exercises that follow are good for young football players of different ages. If you are a younger player, to avoid possible injury, do not attempt the exercises for older players.
Important:
Safety always comes first. To avoid injury, always have a certified strength and conditioning specialist supervise your workouts. Stick to a plan that slowly introduces resistance and range-of-motion exercises that are appropriate for your age. Never train alone. Find an adult who is properly trained to supervise your workouts and can help you maximize your gains, while avoiding injuries. No matter what your age, when you are first starting out, begin with the exercises for younger players. Until you can do exercises with weighted bars properly, start with a broomstick or very light dumbbells. The most important thing is to learn the different motions and proper technique, not to see how much weight you can lift.
General Strength Exercises
Exercises to build large muscles
Push-ups
For players 7 years or older. Military-style push-ups build upper-body strength and strong arms for blocking opponents. Start by lying flat on the ground on your stomach. Place your hands on the floor in front of your shoulders. Push your body up from the ground, using your feet and your hands while keeping your body straight. Your arms should do most of the work. Then slowly lower your chest toward the ground, using your arms to support your body weight.
Overhead Presses
For players 13 years or older. Use a broomstick, weight-training bar, dumbbells or a piece of PVC pipe. Hold the bar at shoulder level. Begin by pressing the weight over your head to full arm's length, to a point slightly behind your ears. Return the bar slowly to your shoulders. To avoid lower-back strain, be sure not to lean back as you move the bar upward.
Romanian Dead Lifts (RDLs)
For players 13 years or older. Use a broomstick, weight-training bar, dumbbells or a piece of PVC pipe. Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold the bar with your hands at waist level just outside your hips. Without bending your knees, bend at your waist, pushing your buttocks back as far as possible without your toes leaving the floor. Allow the bar to hang toward the floor. Be sure to keep your upper and lower back straight, not rounded. To come back up, bring your hips forward until you are in a standing position again. To avoid strain, your back must remain straight throughout this exercise.
Functional Strength Exercises
Exercises to make your movements more powerful
Sit-ups and Crunches
For players 7 years or older. Sit-ups build strong stomach muscles, which stabilize all of your body movements. Lie on your back with your legs bent and your feet on the floor. Place both hands behind your head. Inhale and raise your upper body from the floor. Exhale as you lower your upper body back toward the floor. Return to your starting position without resting your shoulders on the floor.
Another type of the sit-up is a crunch (pictured right). To do crunches, lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Raise your legs, bending your knees at a 90-degree angle so that your feet stick out. Once in position, inhale and lift your shoulders off the floor, moving your knees closer to your head. Slowly return back to your starting position and exhale as you complete the movement.
Duck Walking
For players 7 years or older. This exercise improves a football player's lower-body balance and range of motion. Get in a squatting position with your knees bent and your buttocks close to the ground. Walk forward and backward on the balls of your feet, while keeping your buttocks close to the ground.
Crab Walking
For players 7 years or older. Two ways of doing this exercise work different muscles. First, get in a push-up position and move forward and backward using your hands and feet. For the other type, sit down on the floor and raise your buttocks off the ground by supporting your weight with just your feet and hands (pictured above). Move your hands and feet to walk forward and backward (pictured left).
Muscle Power Exercises
Exercises to make your muscles stretch and shorten more quickly
Tuck Jumps
For players 7 years or older. Jump up and tuck your legs near your chest while you are in the air. To emphasize the tuck, loosely hug your knees. This hug has to be done quickly in order to land. When landing-in this and all jumping-related exercises-allow your knees to give a little in order to absorb the impact.
Cycle Jumps
For players 9 years or older. Begin with one foot in front and the other foot behind. Bend both knees. Jump off of the ground. In mid-air, switch the position of your legs, landing with your opposite legs in front and behind. When you land, hit the floor with your toes first and then allow your heels to hit. Allow your knees to bend. This reduces the amount of impact on your body. Landing onto a semisoft mat can also reduce the stress of landing. The jump can be very small in the beginning, while you get used to switching your legs. As you get better at it, jump for height, and have your feet kick up and hit your buttocks while you're in the air. This exercise is good for body control and quickness.
Power Cleans
For players 7 and 8 using a broomstick; for players 9 and older using light dumbbells, a weight-training bar, a weighted PVC bar or a similar light bar (35 pounds). Get in a squatting position with your back straight and your eyes up. Begin by rapidly pulling the weight-training bar (or whatever you are using) from the floor by extending your knees and hips fully. It is important to keep your back straight and your head and eyes angled slightly upward during the entire pull. At the same time you are extending your legs, use your arms to pull the bar upward toward your forehead. Remember to keep your elbows higher than your wrists during the pull. When the bar has reached its maximum height, flip your wrists, securely gripping the bar at the level of your shoulders. Once the bar has been secured, stand up tall and keep your elbows high. As you increase the resistance (weight) while doing this exercise, the height you will be able to pull the bar toward your forehead will become less and less. In order to finish the movement safely, you will have to squat lower and lower to catch the bar at your shoulders.
For more resistance-training exercises and sample workout routines, see http://www.kickoffmag.com/.
Ben Cook, MA, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, is the program manager for Carolina Sports Performance Center. He has been involved with athletic strength and conditioning for 15 years. He was the strength and conditioning coach for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team from 1993 to 2001, and is the author of 52-Week Football Training and Total Basketball Fitness: A 52-Week, Year-Round Training Program.
This article was reprinted with permission courtesy of Kickoff Magazine.
The evaluation of any athlete, whether as a part of health evaluations prior to activity or as a diagnosis of an injury as the consequence of sports activities, is specific to that individual and the history and current state of the individual presented. Advice, diagnosis and treatment is individualized according to numerous factors, including patient health and age information, medical history and symptoms. All athletes should be cleared by a physician or other appropriate medical professional before engaging in physical activities and, after injury, diagnosis and treatment, for return to play.