subject: High School Footall Training Tips for Great Workouts [print this page] High School Footall Training Tips for Great Workouts
Football Weight Training for High School Football Players - 5 Tips for Success
High school football workout programs are in a sad state of affairs. While we've come a long way, for ever great program there seems to be 10 bad ones. Young players need guidance when construction a weight training workout to build football speed and strength. Follow these 5 quick tips to rapidly increase your progress.
1. Choose a Plan and Give it a Chance
Once you do decide on a plan, or at least an outline of a plan, stick to the damn thing. Rotating exercises is one thing, completely changing your entire philosophy every other week is another.And, considering that you're in high school and probably just starting, you don't even have the know-how or experience yet to make those kinds of advance changes!
This might be the biggest mistake I see young football players and lifters make. They read an article and say, "yes! exactly what I need!" Then, 2 weeks later a new article comes out, preaching the EXACT OPPOSITE of what the first said, and again, it's "just what I needed!" And on and on and on...until a year goes by and you realize you've been training for 12-months and made almost no progress.
Have an experienced lifter or coach help you tweak your workouts as you go, but stick to the overall plan for a while. Despite what some trainers or supplement companies will tell you, you're NOT going to gain 100lbs on your Bench in 10-days.
2. Big Lifts + Big Weights = Stronger and Faster for Football
There are literally hundreds of football training programs out there for high school football players, and while most of them are terrible, there are still a dozen or so that are all really good for helping you get faster and stronger for football. How do you choose?
Well, if you are just starting out and are confused...or are a new coach who is suddenly in charge of 30+ fourteen and fifteen year olds, go with the most simple formula possible:
Basic lifts + Heavy weights = football strength and speed
Yes, once you get going you should refine things, but, at their base, all good programs focus on the big lifts (Bench, Incline, Press, Squads, Deads, Rows, etc). There are variations on sets and reps, but, in the beginning even something as simple as 3 x 8 is better than 0 x 0. Its far from perfect, but it's better than nothing!
3. Start Your Workout with a Fast Movement, Then Go Heavy
This one is so simple. Most of you are fascinated with Plyometrics...you want to know when, how many, and what to do. Well, the answer is simple: Jump before you lift heavy.
Doesn't have to be complicated. If you're not ready for Box Jumps or don't have Plyo boxes, do Standing Long Jumps, Vertical Jumps, Side Straddle Hops, One-Leg Long Jump, etc.
Do 5 - 10 jumps befor you move into your heavy Bench, Squat, or Deadlift.
Also, for those who want to dabble in the Olympic Lifts, doing Power Cleans, Clean Pulls, Snatch Pulls, Hang Snatch, etc. at the start of your heavy lower body day is a great idea. For example, if you have some Heavy Deadlifts planned for today, start off by doing Power Cleans. This serves as a great way to warm-up for the heavier pulls plus it "wakes up" your Central Nervous System (basically it tells your brain it's time to get to work).
