WEEK SEVENTY-NINE :: What Is The Best Pre-Season Football Program?

[the_fake_webmaster]

* Note: How can I win? 1. Answer all questions in the order that they are asked. 2. Go over reviews (located at the bottom of each TOTW article) and see what was said about those that did not win. Good Luck!
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TOPIC: What Is The Best Pre-Season Football Program?

For the week of: June 2nd - June 6th
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

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You are a high school or college football player, and it is early June. Your first football team practice is in August, so if you are going to gain muscle, get faster, and get into great shape in order to dominate on the field, now is the time to really kick things into gear with your training and nutrition!

What weight lifting program should you follow? What type of cardio/speed/plyometrics program should you follow? What nutrition guidelines should you follow? What supplements should you take? Are there any special activities you should be doing right now to get the extra competitive advantage?

Should your program change based on what position you are trying out for? For example, should your pre-season program change if you want to be a lineman, compared to being a wide receiver?

BONUS QUESTION: Did you (or do you) play high school, college, or pro football? If so, how well did you do? (Yes, now is the time to brag.)

BONUS QUESTION TWO: Who is one NFL player that you admire for their great physical condition? Do you know anything about the type of training program that they follow or followed in the past?

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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $75 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it. Become famous!

Thanks,
Will
Webmaster
Bodybuilding.com

[best regards]

WOO HOO!!! finally something I can actually write about.

[Ace50]

This should be interesting, bcuz i play currently football (high school level) and i could learn alot from the responses. I play D-Line, O-Line
I believe my coach uses a program called BFS or Bigger Faster Stronger

I lift 3x a week Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Day1- Upper Body (Bench, Incline Bench, Hang Clean (The Main Lifts), and the rest i use machines, and dumbells)
Day2- Lower Body, Legs, Back (Power Clean, Squat, Deadlift (Main Lifts), and machines that include Lat Pulldown, Leg Extention, and usually some ball exercises.
Day 3- Upper Body again "same as shown as day 1"

Try to drink alot of fluids, it really helps, you will really feel miserable without em.
I drink a (Whey Optimum Nutrition) protein shake with some fruit after each workout and i try to eat as much as i can to gain size.

Diet usually consists of - Meal one-3 Eggs, 2 pieces of wheat toast, fruit, 2 glasses Skim Milk, 1 cup of water.
Meal Two- school deli, Tuna SandWich, 2 Skim Milks, 1 bottle of water, and 1-2 packs of fruit snacks
Meal Three- PwO, Whey protein Shake Mixed with Water. Fruit, and 1 bottle of water
Meal Four- Peanut Butter Sandwich(Natural Peanut Butter, and Wheat Bread), and Milk Or Water
Meal Five- Brown Rice, with usually fish, or chicken
Meal Six- Whey Protein Shake Mixed with Milk.

I also sometimes include some cardio exercises with each of my workouts. (The coach usually gives us conditioning (Conditioning includes, Intence Cardio, Running the mile, or sprints) during the workouts, which really helps by warming up)

I only played for one year of football, i played in my high school freshman football team, i started on D-tackle.
I admire Jevon Kearse, because he is on my favorite Football Team (Eagles), and he is a quick Defensive lineman, and he is explosive and strong. People usually mistaken lineman for being fat and slow, but jevon is a quick explosive lineman. I have no idea what his training consists of

[Briones89]

Playing highschool football is great for young guys to come together and learn the true meaning of teamwork. However in order to have a successful team each member should be aware of their own contributions towards the teams success. Before the season starts you should plan and vision your goals. IDEAL goals. Not unrealistic things like 20 TD's in s season. Think smaller, like possibly 2-5 actions(meaning anything, catch,sack,pass,broken tackle etc.) Anyone who plays football knows when one thing is wrong in a play things usually go wrong. When they do go right though its because everyone on the team does their job.

Now, let's get to the pre-season program.
* this is designed for a High-school player, homework, hormones and daily mischief(if any!) is taken into account.

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First off, DIET. A proper diet can make or break your progress.
Try to aim for atleast 4-6 moderate sized meals, not to big not to small, spaced evenly throughout the day.

Basic:

1. ATLEAST 8 glasses of water. 1 before and after each meal and 1 after "snack meals" THE MORE THE BETTER
2. 75%-100% of bodyweight(kg) each day. eg. 140kg= about 60grams of protien a day. *Breakfast should have minimum 20g of protien.
3. Multi-vitamin taken as directed(double on training days)*
4. Recomended snacks include: fruits,yogurt,peanuts, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

Advanced(add-ons)

5. Gatorade during and/or after training
6. Creatine taken as directed.*
7. Protien power or bars for added protien uptake
8. Cranberry juice. Yep, cranberry juice. It promotes healthy blood flow > better overall muscle control.

*Do research on product. Try to keep it simple.
NOTE: This diet is designed for the lean body type. Those wishing for a larger,fuller body double the protien uptake.

Exercise:
* proper stretching is stressed to eliminate injury
** start lifting wieghts about 10 pounds less than what you know you can do,
then gradually move up in weight about 5 pounds a week or at your own pace.
*** Get a spotter. They add support mentally and physically.
DO NOT RUSH to add more weight!


Basic- 3 sets at 6-8 reps each
Rest 2 minutes between sets and water breaks are recommended.

Day 1(Monday) CHEST&TRICEPS

1. 2 Mins on skipping rope non-stop, casual speed
2. Flat bench press
3. Incline bench press
4. Tricep pushdown
5. Dips
6. Decline bench press
7. Tricep kickbacks (light-weight proper form stressed)

Day 2(Tuesday) BACK&BICEPS

1. 1 minute of fast non-stop skipping
2. Standing or sitting Dumbell curls
3. Sitting preacher curls
4. Lat pulldown(widegrip & close)
5. Chin-ups
6. Pull-ups
7. any machine based using BACK

Day 3(Wednesday) REST

OR for those of us who think resting=loss of "power" (me)

1. 50 push-ups, 25x2
2. 50 sit-ups, 25x2
3. skip to you hearts content

Day 4(Thursday) LEGS&ABS

1. 5 minutes or non-stop running
2. Standing calf raises (without weight then with)
3. Sitting leg raises
4. Machine or free-weight Squat (proper form stressed)
5. Jump on the spot to maximum height
6. Bicycle crunches
7. Machine hamstring curl
8. Footfire for 30 seconds x2

Day 5(Friday) Shoulders&Forearms

1. 2 minutes non-stop skipping, casual speed
2. Sitting Dumbell shoulder press
3. Standing Dumbell raises(palm down then up)
4. Pinch grips with weight plates
5. Standing Dumbell Side raises(palm up then down)
6. Behind the back barbell wrist curl

Day 6(Saturday) 1 of the FOLLOWING:

1. 50 pushups
50 situps
Footfire for 30 seconds x2
5 minutes of non-stop running

2. Any missed days work.
3. Any recreational sport activity
4. GO SWIMMING
5. REST

Day 7(Sunday) CARDIO&SPEED

1. 5 minutes non-stop skipping
2. 10 minutes non-stop jogging
3. 10 yard sprints x3
4. 20 yard sprints x2
5. Footfire for 30 seconds x2
6. Backpedal FAST 50 yards x2
7. Lateral slide 20 yards x2 each side
8. Lying pushup 40 yard DASH
9. 1 minute of skipping, cooldown speed



OVERTRAINING is not recommended.
Move up slowly and don't be afraid to ask for help in form.
*Try to elimate the chance of injury as much as possibly by lifting properly.


--EXTRAS:

-Whenever possibly have a football around. Getting used to the feel of the ball is very important for any position.

-Join track and field

-Visualize goals and performance. POSITIVE performance. If you can think it, you can do it.

-Keep up in school, the better brain the better awareness.

-KNOWLEDGE of the sport. Know what every positions job is and YOUR job the most.


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I currently play highschool football as a WR/CB and I have been playing for about a year and training for next season. Last season was my rookie season on the Senior Team and I was sceptical at first, not knowing how much playing time I would get. However, the defensive coach saw something in me that I didn't see at first. After training camp he started me at CB. I managed to move up the depth chart, ahead of most of the seniors with more experience. Offensively we were a 80% running team with most of the passes going to the TE, so I only had 1 reception on 1 thown. Defensively, I had 5 deflected balls, 1 fumble recovery, and 4 tackles. Not too bad for first season.

We just had a scrimmage against a run and gun team and I was starting WR and CB. Zero thown passes offensively so no catches. Defensively, I had 3 tackles, against the RB because they kept sweeping outside.

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I admire the work ethic and skill level of a number of NFL players. Mostly WR and CB though. I wear number 89, the same number as Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. He isn't that tall, like me so I guess I've always looked up to those who beat the odds. Ty Law's awareness aggressiveness and awareness at CB always inspires me to get sharpen my skills to cover the most skilled wide recievers.

[NoNameNecessary]

This will be a fun topic to write about.

[jdchedd]

With it being Early June I would spend the next 6 weeks developing Strenght and Power and then the last 4 weeks working on your muscular endurance to prepare your body for the beating it is going to take during the season.

There are 2 major things your body needs when getting stronger. That is Recovery and Calories. I would lift every other day with a split like this:

Day 1: Chest and Biceps
*Incline Bench D.Bells: (4 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
*Flat Bench B.Bells: (4 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery. One addt'l set of assisted negatives)
*Weighted Pushups (3 sets of 6-12 reps, full recovery)
*Cable Crossovers (2 sets of 6-12 reps)
*Straight Bar Curls (2 sets of 5-8 reps, full recovery)
*Hammer Curls (2 sets of 5-8 reps, full recovery)
Day 2: Sprints
*6 20 yard sprints
*4 40 yard sprints
*2 60 yard sprints
*1 70,80,90, and 100 yard sprints (full recovery on all)
* 3 sets of Ball Drops to work on explosiveness
Day 3: Legs and shoulders
* Squats (5 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
* Stiff Leg Dead Lifts (4 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
* Leg Press (2 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
* Power Cleans (3 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
* Shoulder Press ( 3 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Back and Triceps
*Deadlifts (5 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
*Bent Over Rows (4 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
*Weighted Pull ups ( 4 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
*Close Grip Bench ( 3 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
*Skull Crusher (3 sets of 2-6 reps, full recovery)
Day 6: Sprints
*repeat sprint drills
Day 7: Plyometrics ( You are working on the strength and power, now we need to use it!!)
*Jump Squats
*Exploding Lunges
*Mountain Climbers
*Cheerleaders (Jump and try to bring your toes to your fingers w/out bending knees)
*Box Jumps

As far as nutrition goes an athlete needs calories!! I would say a college athlete would need to watch his diet more than a high school kid because the high school kid is still growing. If they asked me for a sample, here is what I'd give them ( 6 meals)
Meal 1
* 2 serving oats
* 6 egg whites
* 2 whole eggs
*1/2 cup blue berries
* 1 cup skim milk
Carbs: 73 Protein: 53 Fat: 15
Meal 2
* 4 pieces of wheat bread
* 1 can tuna
* diced up tomatoes, onions, and peppers to flavor tuna
carbs: 85 Protein: 49 Fat: 6
Meal #3
2 pieces wheat bread
2 tbsp P.Butter
1 tbsp Jelly
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Carbs: 61 Protein: 29 Fat: 18

Meal #4 (Post Wo)
3 Banana's
2 scoops Whey
2 Rice Cakes
Carbs: 114 Protein: 50 Fat: 3

Meal #5
2 servings Pasta
6 oz ck breast
2 servings vegetables
1 serving pasta sauce
Carbs: 105 Protein: 53 Fat: 6

Meal #6
1 serving Oat Meal
1 serving Cottage Cheese
20 almonds
1 scoop whey
Carbs: 38 Protein: 47 Fat: 16

Daily Totals
Carbs: 476 Protein: 281 Fat: 64
Calories: 3704 (I hope my math is right)


Now when you get into Mid-Late July is when you start to do more endurance workouts. You can do the same excercises but lower the weight and give less rest. Try doing 12-15 reps but incorporate Drop Sets, Compound Sets, Super Sets, etc. You need to give those muscles endurance for the wear and tear they are going to recieve during the season. Then when you get into season, I would still have them lift weights say once a week on Wednesday. Just do a full body with light weight and moderate rest to keep there body at its maintanence level.
And yes, your program should be designed for the position. Skills positions such as Running back, Wideout, and Corner back could focus more on plyometric training more than big lineman. I did play some high school football but I don't have any credentials other than becoming a certified personal trainer. The football player I admire the most would be Robert Gallery. The man is a beast. But I bet many of you didn't know that he came to the university of Iowa as an unathletic 240 pound tight end. Now look at him. That is a prime example of hard work.

[Super Man]

***Because of the post limit, I'm forced to make 2 posts because my original one was far too long, so please, scroll down to the next reply after you read this one to get my part 2***

Intro:

For most high schoolers, there’s nothing better then walking onto a freshly cut field on a Friday right, dressed in pads from head to toe with your schools helmet on, ready for battle, ready for war. All football players dream of that game-saving sack, the tie-breaking field goal, or the game winning catch. Regardless of your goal or ambition, only two things matter in football, your determination, and your amount of EXPLOSIVENESS, regardless if your on offensive line, or defensive line, your explosiveness is what counts, how fast you get off that line, how fast you get down that field, how fast you go from a 3-point stance to blasting through that offensive line. A lot of people; no matter what your going for, be it high school, college, semi-pro, or even pro, dream of standing up on that field in front of hundreds, or even thousands of people, but, before that happens, you got to get through summer training first. That’s where I come in. The following program is designed for the average football player of every position, it specializes in strenght, speed, power, and explosiveness, something that EVERY position needs.


The Split:

First thing when designing a training routine, is to define your goal, and then, determine what best suits your goal.

Well, football is a major contact sport that includes tons of explosiveness, power, and speed. How is it possible to train all those in one training week you might ask? Well, it’s not as hard as it looks.

In a nut shell, you’ll be doing an upper body/lower body split (I’ll go more into reps and sets later). The split is designed accordingly.

Monday: Lower Body
Tuesday: Upper Body
Wednesday: Speed training/plyometrics
Thursday: Lower Body
Friday: Upper Body
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Notes: This is the way I trained when I played football, we had great strength training coaches. I personally added 100 pounds to my bench doing this program in a very short term, about a year (of course, the bulk of that were noob gains, being I started playing/training when I was a freshman in high school and my bench went from 90 pounds at the beginning of the year, to 190 pounds at the end of the year.) My squat increased GREATLY, My first squat max wasn’t but 185lbs, but by the end of my freshman year, I squatted 345.) Of course, all my other lifts improved like crazy, but those are just a few of the ones that come to mind as a great achievement.


The Exercises:

What’s a workout routine if you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into? Well, here is a list of the exercises you will be performing throughout your training.

Upper Body Exercises:
• Bench press
• Incline bench press
• Standing military press
• Upright rows
• Straight bar curls
• Dumb bell fly’s
• Over-head dumbbell extension.
• One arm DB rows
• Shrugs
• Dumbbell Bench Press
• Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Lower Body Exercises:
• Squats
• Front Squats
• Hack Squats
• Dead-Lifts
• Power Cleans
• Toe Raises
• Straight bar lunges
• Straight Legged Dead lifts
• High Pull Squats

Plyometrics:
• I’ll get into this at a later time.

The Routine:

Overview:
Before starting this program, you should know your max on just about all those lifts mentioned above, this way, you can track your strength increases.

How the routine is written:
Name of exercise: # of sets, reps (% of weight of to use based on your one rep max)


Monday
• Squats: You should do 5 sets of these, with the reps 10 (60%), 3 (85%), 3 (90%), 2 (95%), 3 (90%)
• Hack Squats: 4 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%), 4 (90%)
• Power Cleans: 4 sets, reps 8 (65%), 6 (75%), 4 (85%), 2 (95%)
• Straight Leg Dead Lifts: 3 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (75%), 8 (85%)
• Toe Raises: 3 sets, reps 12 (85%), 12 (85%), 12 (85%)
• Straight bar lunges: 3 sets, 12 steps (60%), 12 steps (70%), 12 steps (80%)
• High Pull Squats: 3 sets, reps 6 (70%), 4 (80%), 2 (90%)

Extra stuff: A high pull squat is something my football coaches coined I believe, basically, you start out in high pull position, like your doing a power clean, but have the bar start a few inches off the ground, and instead of dipping down just a bit when you jump, you dip down into a squat, catch the bar, then stand back up.

Tuesday
• Bench Press: 4 sets, reps 8 (75%), 6 (80%), 4 (85%), 2 (90%)
• Incline Bench Press: 3 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%)
• Standing Military Press: 4 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%), 4 (90%)
• Upright Rows: 3 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (75%), 8 (85%)
• Straight Bar Bicep Curls: 4 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (70%), 8 (75%), 6 (80%)
• Dumb bell fly’s: 3 sets, reps 12 (75%), 12 (75%), 12 (75%)
• Overhead dumbbell extension: 3 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (75%), 8 (85%)
• One-arm Dumbbell rows: 4 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%), 4 (90%)
• Barbell Shrugs: 3 sets, reps 12 (85%), 12 (85%), 12 (85%)

Wednesday
• Skipping, yes, it may sound funny, but this will help with stretching of the major speed muscles and will get your body use to bringing up your legs, skip around a track a few times for a nice warm up
• 4 cone square drill: Set up 4 cones, do this about 5-6 times with 1 minute rest between sets. (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2004/4_cone_square.wvx)
• Side Shuffle: Set up 3 cones about 10-20 feet apart, start in the middle and side step as fast as you can to the left, then all the way to the right, then back to the middle. Do this about 5 times with 1 minute rest
• Jump Ups: Do this 10 times per set, gradually going up in height for about 4 sets
• Frog Leaps: Do this about 20 yards, rest, then do it again 10 yards, rest, do it again for 5 yards.
• Sprinting: In my opinion, this is the best way to increase your speed and agility. Do 5 20 yard springs, 4 30 yard springs, 3 40yard sprints, 2 50 yard springs and then finally, set out a 40 yard dash, and sprint it at all out speed, take about a minute to catch your breath, get some water, and sprint back at full speed, do this till you are exhausted and can’t go on.
• Bonus: Run through the woods. As weird as it may sound, our coaches used to take us out to a large woodland area on the weekends during camp and we would run through the woods, this helped increase our reflex speed (which is great for football), raw agility, and moving at unexpected intervals (jumping, dodging, ducking, etc)

Thursday
• Front Squats: 4 sets, reps 8 (75%), 6 (80%), 4 (85%), 2 (90%)
• Dead-lift: 4 sets, reps 6 (80%), 4 (85%), 2 (90%), 1 (95%)
• Power Cleans: 4 sets, reps 8 (65%), 6 (75%), 4 (85%), 2 (95%)
• Straight Leg Dead Lifts: 3 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (75%), 8 (85%)
• Toe Raises: 3 sets, reps 12 (85%), 12 (85%), 12 (85%)
• Straight bar lunges: 3 sets, 12 steps (60%), 12 steps (70%), 12 steps (80%)
• High Pull Squats: 3 sets, reps 6 (70%), 4 (80%), 2 (90%)

Friday
• Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 sets, reps 8 (75%), 6 (80%), 4 (85%), 2 (90%)
• Dumbbell Incline Bench Press: 3 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%)
• Standing Military Press: 4 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%), 4 (90%)
• Upright Rows: 3 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (75%), 8 (85%)
• Straight Bar Bicep Curls: 4 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (70%), 8 (75%), 6 (80%)
• Dumb bell fly’s: 3 sets, reps 12 (75%), 12 (75%), 12 (75%)
• Overhead dumbbell extension: 3 sets, reps 12 (65%), 10 (75%), 8 (85%)
• One-arm Dumbbell rows: 4 sets, reps 10 (60%), 8 (70%), 6 (80%), 4 (90%)
• Barbell Shrugs: 3 sets, reps 12 (85%), 12 (85%), 12 (85%)

Info: Make sure, if possible, to always have a spotter around. Also do appropriate warm-ups and appropriate stretching before and after. Make sure you stay hydrated, drink water before, during, and after your workouts. On Wednesday, during springs, take about 1-2 minutes rest between each sprint, unless you require longer. As well, this routine is designed for explosiveness, so don’t give-up if you’re not able to finish the workouts all the way through the first few times. Last but not least, push yourself, remember, your opponent is always working twice as hard!

[Super Man]

pt.2


Supplementation:

Of course, you got to have your diet in check first, because supplements improve on your already great diet, so before you decide to supplement, make sure you have the perfect diet for your goals.

If you are ready to supplement, there are 2 basic supplements that are a top priority for any athlete.

• Whey Protein- I suggest and recommend ON’s 100% Whey: Golden Standard. It’s perfect with only 120 calories and 24 grams of protein per serving. It’s also easily to stir/mix/or shake and goes down smooth! Good to take post workout for recovery, and between meals to keep your body a fresh source of constant protein for muscle rebuilding!
• Multivitamin- This is a definite necessity, generally speaking, a multivitamin is a multivitamin, I for one, take Centrum: Pro. Though, if you’re looking for something on the site, I recommend animal stack complete multivitamin, it was built with the athlete in mind!

Now, if you have your 2 basics down, and you think your ready to move on to more advanced supplementation for your football needs.
• Creatine- Creatine has been a world changing supplement, which offers great gains when used correctly, I for one, recommend bulk creatine monohydrate, specifically, Higher Power 1000 grams Creatine. This will give you that extra “umph” you need right after a good workout/practice and it will definitely put size and mass (along with strength) on you.
• BCAA’s- These are a pinnacle in recovery, BCAA stands for branched chain amino acids, there the building blocks for protein (amino acids in general) and it will give you more of the essential amino's (leucine, isoleucine, and valine). BCAA’s are good year round figuratively speaking, you can take it in the morning, during a workout, after a workout, whenever just about depending on how sore you feel, this little supplement will knock days off of your recovery time!

Diet:
Well, this is the thing you’ve been waiting for, unfortunately, I’m not your mother, so I have no clue what you have access to for nourishment and nutrition, nor do I know your financial situation considering you might be in college/high-school, so I'm just going to give you a few basic rules to follow

• Eat every 2-3 hours.
• Try to consume 1.5-2 grams of protein per body weight pound.
• Eat as many healthy carbs as you can (I.e.. oatmeal, wheat breads, etc)
• Try to stay relatively lean with what you eat; you don’t want to gain any weight do you? (If you do, then eat your little heart out, just make sure your doing what you need to do to reach your goals!)
• WATER! WATER! WATER! Drink as much as you can, preferably between one to two gallons of water daily. (Yes, you will pee a lot, but you’ll get used to it and it’s really good for you.)
• Make sure you start the day with a power breakfast (good amount of protein and carbs, I recommend 5 egg whites and a cup of oats)
• Make sure you get plenty of EFA's, they have them at just about any grocery store/health store, but bodybuilding.com offers great deals on this product. (If your wandering which is better, flax or fish, I say take both, but if you can only take one, take the fish.)
• Also, make sure you get PLENTY of casein protein before bed, some great sources are: skim milk, cottage cheese, etc.


Misc. Stuff

Of course, you should check with a doctor before trying any fitness program. Also, every 8 weeks, take 1-2 weeks off for resting as you see fit to give the body more time to heal-up, its a very taxing program.

Conclusion:

Well, that’s it for Super Man’s training routine, I guarantee fast results with this program in strength, speed, power, and explosiveness. You can be rest assured you’ll make first string following this program. Let’s just hope your opponents don’t get a look at this .



Bonus Questions:
1) I played High-School football. I was J.V my first few weeks during my freshman year, but they saw the greatness and potential in me and moved me up to Varsity before I graduated my freshman year (of course I was bench warming, I didn’t get much play time, but I got TONS of experience). I played line backer/defensive line, even though they ended up moving me to running back, so I’ve had experience on both sides of the field . I would have played college, maybe even pro, but I messed both my knee’s up really bad playing this beautiful game my senior year (both my knee’s dislocated, now it’s a reoccurring thing).
2) I totally give all my respect to any true offensive linemen out there. Not just one, but all of them. Those guys bust their ass’s to protect that quarter back, running back, etc and they also hardly ever get credit. Whenever I got interviewed, I always shouted out to the offensive line of my team for all there hard work and dedication, without them, a win is not possible.

Work Hard,
Super Man

[TUnit]

Good luck to all!

[Football_Lifter]

Good luck to all!

That seems like an awesome schedule to me. I'm gonna definently use this!

[joop_monkey4]

I played college football. Didn't go pro, but was all-conference and played in a bowl game. For my first two years I played inside linebacker and the latter two I played outside LB (from Mike to Wil). As a freshman I weighed 210, ran an upper 4.8 40, benched 285 and I can't remember my squat. My senior summer before camp I weighed 240, benched 405, squatted 540 and ran a low 4.7 40. Our strength coach was two steps from worthless, so after having our weight program changed twice during my freshman year (and getting very frustrated), I was recommended a program which turned everything around for me. It's called Conditioning for Football and it was written by the strength coach for the Indy Colts. I highly recommend it. You can find it on Amazon. One thing you have to remember is football and bodybuilding are two very different things. For football you need to train for speed, strength and explosion. It's important to accelerate through the exercise in a controlled manner and use heavy weights with lower reps rather than lifting moderate weight numerous times at a slow pace. If anybody decides to take on this program, all I can say is you'll hate friday! Try it once and you'll know what I mean (superset legs = be ready to puke and not walk for an hour)

..oh, and for food, I ate tons of protein with about 2/3rd of that amount in carbs. I would hate to try and guess the # of cals I took in/day, but probably between 3k-4k day. Ate too much tuna (refuse to eat it anymore), chicken, lots of turkey, etc.

[jester2trife]

The Program

Monday, A.M. — Energy system training (change of direction focus)

Dynamic Warm-up

General Warm-up Phase

Body squats x 10
Jumping jacks x 15
Seal jumping jacks x 15
Front skips — 20 yards down & back
Stationary side lunge x 8 each leg
Side shuffle, 20 yds. down & back
Stationary leg swings (front & back) x 10 each leg
Stationary leg swings (side to side) x 10 ea. leg
60% Build-up sprint (arm & posture focus) — 30 yds. down and back
Lunge walk x 10 steps down and back
Backpedal x 20 yds. down and back
Squat jumps x 5
75% Build-up sprint — (knee drive focus) — 40 yds. down and back
Ground-Based Mobility Phases

Back bridges x 10
Iron cross x 10 each leg
Rollovers into V sits x 10
Birddogs (on all 4’s) — 10 each arm/leg
Fire hydrant circles (on all 4’s) — 10 fwd, 10 bkw ea. leg
Prone scorpions x 10 ea. leg
Mountain climbers x 10 ea. leg
Groiners x 10
Lateral quick steps — 2 sets of 10 yards
85% Build-up sprint — 40 yards

Change of Direction Drills

20-yard pro-agility shuttle — 3 reps starting to the left, 3 reps starting to your right. Rest 30 seconds between reps.
3-cone drill — 5 reps, rest 1 minute between reps.
Illinois drill — 3 reps (The goal is to complete all 3 reps in under 15 seconds. Rest 2 min. between sets.)


Monday, P.M. — Max-Effort Upper Body Lifting

A. Max-Effort Lift — Work up to a max set of 3-5 reps.

Choose one of the following exercises:

Thick bar or regular barbell bench press
Barbell floor press
Rack lockouts
Incline barbell bench
Close-grip bench press (index finger on smooth part of bar)
Weighted chin-ups
Board presses

B. Supplemental Lift — Perform 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:

Flat dumbbell bench press (palms in or palms facing out)
Incline dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell floor press (palms in)
C. Lat/upper back superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Lat pulldowns (various bars & grips)
Seated cable rows (various bars & grips)
Chest supported rows
Bent-over dumbbell rows

Group 2

Standing rope pulls to neck
Kneeling scarecrows
Straight arm lat pulldowns
Seated dumbbell power cleans
Rear delt flyes (dumbbells or machine)

D. Elbow flexor exercise — Perform 3 sets of 6-10 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:

Hammer curls
Zottmann curls
Barbell curls
Incline dumbbell curls
E. Abdominal circuit

Just pick a variety of ab exercises and perform them in circuit fashion with no rest between exercises.


Tuesday — Lower Body Strength Training

A. Max-Effort Lift — Work up to a max set of 3-5 reps

Choose one of the following exercises:

Trap bar deadlift variation
Straight bar deadlift variation
Free squat
Good morning variation
Rack pulls
Box squat variation


Wednesday — Energy System Training (linear speed focus)

Dynamic Warm-up

General Warm-up Phase

Body squats x 10
Jumping jacks x 15
Seal jumping jacks x 15
Front skips — 20 yards down & back
Stationary side lunge x 8 each leg
Side shuffle 20 yds. down & back
Stationary leg swings (front & back) x 10 ea. leg
Stationary leg swings (side to side) x 10 ea. leg
60 % Build-up sprint (arm & posture focus) — 30 yds. down and back
Lunge walk x 10 steps down and back
Backpedal x 20 yds. down and back
Squat jumps x 5
75% Build-up sprint — (knee drive focus) — 40 yds. Down and back
Hurdle Mobility Phase — 4-5 hurdles

Walking over/under — front (2 sets)
Walking over/under — sideways (2 sets)
Leg swings over hurdles (2 sets)
Trail leg pick-ups over hurdles (2 sets)
Frequency Phase

Jump rope — 3 x 20 seconds
Left leg 2 x 15 sec.
Right leg 2 x 15 sec.
85% Build-up sprint — 40 yds.

Linear Speed Workout

Hurdle Hops or High Box Jumps — Perform 3 sets of 3 jumps. Rest one minute between sets.
Loaded 20-yard sprints (use either a weighted vest or sled) — Perform 6 weighted 20-yard sprints. Rest 30 seconds between sprints.
Free sprints (no added weight) — Perform four 20-yard sprints, rest 30 seconds between sprints. After the last sprint, rest one minute then perform three 30-yard sprints. Rest the amount of time it takes you to walk back to the start line. After the last 30-yard sprint, rest one minute then perform two 40-yard sprints. Rest two minutes between the 40-yard sprints


Thursday — Repetition Upper Body Strength Training

A. Repetition Lift — Work up to 3 sets of max reps, rest 90 seconds between sets.

Choose one of the following exercises:

Dumbbell benches on Swiss ball, flat bench or incline bench
Barbell bench press (max reps with 95lbs., 135lbs., 185lbs. or 225lbs.)
Bodyweight dips
Chin-ups
2-3-4 board press (Choose a weight you can bench about 12-15 times. Perform two-board presses until your bar speed starts to slow down. Then, have your partner immediately switch to a three-board on your chest. Don’t rack the weight when he’s switching boards! Keep repping out, but don’t go to failure. Finally, have your partner switch to a four-board and finish off as many reps as you can. Only perform two sets of this exercise! Rest three minutes between sets.)
Regular push-ups, bar push-ups or suspended chain push-ups

B. Lat/upper back superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Lat pulldowns (various bars & grips)
Seated cable rows (various bars & grips)
Bent-over dumbbell rows
Chest supported rows

Group 2

Standing rope pulls to neck
Kneeling scarecrows
Straight arm lat pulldowns
Seated dumbbell power cleans

C. Medial Delt exercise — Perform 3 - 4 sets of 8-15 reps.

Choose one of the following exercises:

Dumbbell side press (single arm)
Dumbbell shoulder press (seated or standing)
Lateral raises (dumbbell or cable)
Bradford presses

D. Upper Arm Superset — Superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group of exercises. Perform 2-3 supersets of 8-12 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Preacher curls (EZ-bar or straight bar)
Regular barbell curls
Hammer curls
Alternate dumbbell curls (standing or seated incline)
Thick bar curls

Group 2

Triceps pushdowns (band or cable)
Dumbbell triceps extensions
Barbell triceps extensions
Incline, elbows-out triceps extensions
E. Weighted ab superset — Once again, superset one exercise from the first group of exercises with one exercise from the second group. Perform 2-3 supersets of 10-15 reps of each exercise.

Group 1

Hanging leg raises
Low-cable pull-ins
Weighted Swiss ball crunches

Group 2

Dumbbell or cable side bends
Reverse cable side bends
Lateral bridge (timed set)


Friday — Strongman Conditioning

Note: If you can't perform strongman training on this day, you can substitute it with another running day. This running day can consist of a dynamic warm-up followed by sport-specific drills. Kettlebell training is also another great alternative on this day.

A. Overhead Keg or Medicine ball toss - 5 tosses, rest 30 seconds between tosses

B. Tire Flip — 3 sets of 5 flips, rest 3 minutes between sets. Or 3 sets of 30 seconds, rest 3-4 minutes between sets. (In the timed set variation, the athlete performs as many tire flips as possible in the given timeframe.)

C. "Zigzag" Farmers Walk — Perform 3 sets of 50 yards around cones. Rest 3-4 minutes between sets.

D. Backward Sled Drag — 2 sets of 40-50 yards. Rest one minute between sets. This is a great "finisher!"

E. Tug-of-War — The tug-of-war separates the men from the boys. By the end of this workout, most guys are exhausted. Perform a two-out-of-three or three-out-of-five series to finish your workout. We rest one minute between each "war."

Conclusion

Use this program as a guide and get to work!

[jester2trife]

I played middle linebacker in high school. I was All-League twice and All-Area once.

The most insane NFL player offseason training program is TO's. Here it is from Muscle and Fitness Magazine:

Off-Season Training
Terrell’s off-season conditioning program is based on a three-day primary workout schedule followed by two days of selected resistance training, and then two days of rest over the weekend.

His routine focuses on high-rep training "so there is very little pressure on his joints," explains Primm. "He’s a naturally skinny guy who has worked out with weights for a long time and put on the muscle he needs to play his position. But we don’t want him heavier because the additional size could affect his speed."



Owens prepares to do hanging
leg raises --- look at that 6-pack!

A typical exercise would see him do 6 sets of the movement with a 20/20/16/16/12/12 rep scheme. But this can vary, depending on the exercise. Last year Owens worked in the 8-10 rep range to acquire a little more mass and strength, "but now it’s just a question of fine-tuning what I have, and staying as quick and strong as possible."

Every day:
Cardio and Abs
Each workout begins with some cardiovascular work, usually on the stationary bike. And each day following by ab work: On an incline ab bench Terrell does 3 sets of 15 right elbow to left knee crunches followed by a left elbow to right knee set. An 8-pound medicine ball sit-up or straight crunches on an ab machine with 3 sets of 25-30 reps. Hanging leg raises --- knees to chest --- and a variety of other ab exercises keep this part of his daily routine from becoming boring.



Leg presses result in
extraordinary quad strength
which helps with those
quick turns on the field



Monday:
Shoulders, Triceps, and Calves
Hammer machine shoulder presses are usual, followed by triceps pressdowns and standing or seated calve raises. Bent over rear delt dumbbell raises or seated machine side raises also figure into the equation as an option, meaning that the day’s work can be from 18-24 sets.

Tuesday:
Hamstrings and Back
Lying one-leg curls are standard here, followed by light lunges (really a quad stimulator), and then front lat pulldowns. All use the usual 6 set scheme with reps of 20/20/16/16/12/12. This translates into 18 sets for the day.

Wednesday:
Quads, Biceps, and Chest
Leg presses or squats are the rule after Terrell spends a lot of time doing incline leg presses.

Leg extensions follow. "I don’t want to get too big, so I work out to keep my speed and strength rather than working for size." Standing classic barbell curls remain a favorite, but dips and the pec dec are usually done instead of bench presses for chest work. This usually works out to 18-24 sets of the high-rep work.



Lying one-leg curls isolate each leg for speed.

Thursday:
This is a day when previous bodyparts can be selectively combined. "I may do triceps pressdowns, the same as on Monday," explains Owens. Regardless of what movement he may use, the set and rep scheme remains the same.

Friday:
"Typically, I may come in and do some ab work and then go to some weight work that isn’t exactly what I had done earlier in the week," says Terrell. "But if I need rest and have any hint of overtraining I’ll back off."



Terrell credits PTI
founder and president,
Buddy Primm with
maximizing his strength
training and conditioning

Saturday and Sunday:
Rest

Diet

"I stick with natural foods whenever possible," says Owens. "Because I burn a lot of calories I don’t have to get overly concerned about carbohydrates, but I keep my fats down. I have to take in a lot of protein for muscle repair."

Owens generally accomplishes that with whole foods: "You can pretty much count on me eating grilled chicken and egg whites on the days I work out." He’ll also use a vegetarian protein powder based on special high-protein rice. "I eat a lot of whole food animal-based proteins which gives me a nice balance and is pretty easy on the system."

[Super Man]

I think you might have missed the deadline bro.

[Rockwilder]

Good program Superman Im starting it today

[Super Man]

so are they not gonna tell us who won?