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We here at MuscleDog have heard the demand for football-specific information, and we have answered. This series, entitled “Building a Football Foundation”, will give you workouts to build the tools you need to succeed as a football player-- broken down into a position specific format. Even if you aren’t a football player, you can use these tips from the coaches at California Strength Academy, one of the premier athletic training centers in the nation, to build a body like your favorite football players (if you have a similar body type of course). Part One of this series focused on the offensive and defensive linemen. Now in Part Two, we will talk about the most athletic guys on the field, the so called “skill position” players.

 

"Football isn't a contact sport; it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport."
- Vince Lombardi

 

Chances are, that if you grew up loving football and weren’t one of the kids who imagined being the quarterback, that you instead wanted to be one of the other guys with the ball in their hands. You probably wanted to be the guy that makes the deep catch downfield behind the defense, or the guy that jukes a defender, splits two more and does a spin move that “breaks the last guys ankles” before waltzing into the end-zone. I’m talking about the “skill position” players – the running backs, receivers, and to a lesser extent, cornerbacks (some will say that cornerbacks are just receivers who don’t catch well enough). These are typically the most athletic guys on the field; the ones who by necessity can run faster, jump higher and move quicker than the other guys on the field. They may not make the most money or have the longest careers since they have the ball in their hands and get hit so often, but these are the guys you will see on SportsCenter every night doing amazing things.

 

Granted, these players come in all shapes and sizes, whether you are a big possession receiver vs. a smaller faster deep threat receiver, or whether you are a big bruising running back that punishes linebackers just as much as they punish your smaller and shiftier tailbacks. But when it all comes down to it, the same skill-sets are required for success. Obviously you need good coordination, balance and the ability to take a hit. But speed, quickness, explosiveness and leaping ability are at a premium when evaluating these positions. The combine exercises that are emphasized for skill position players are the 40-yard dash, the 3-cone drill and the jumping exercises: vertical jump for receivers and cornerbacks and the broad jump for running backs. The bench press doesn’t carry huge importance (in fact, wide receivers aren’t required to perform that test at all) but can be considered applicable because the skill positions do have to block when they don’t have the ball, particularly running backs when picking up a blitz on a pass play.

 

Just like with linemen and all the other football players, we place a high importance on increasing explosive power through full body lifts. However, as opposed to linemen (where the focus is on pressing power), the focus for the skill positions is to increase speed and explosiveness by building up the glutes and working on hip flexibility and activation. We also like to work specifically on sprinting mechanics as well as utilizing techniques to maximize results on the jumping tests. We find that almost all players have terrible jumping and running mechanics and that changing the way that they approach these two tests can work wonders on their final results. As before, we will leave the energy systems work to you since you probably get more than you need from your coaches in practice. It’s important to work in a good deal of foam rolling and stretching to help increase mobility in your hips, and it wouldn’t hurt to mix in some extra hand-eye coordination work with tennis balls. Try to increase your weights every week in a five to ten pound progression.

 

Day 1: Strength Day

Light Power Snatch, 5 x 2 (up to 70-80 % max)

Heavy Power Clean, 5 x 2 (up to 70-80 % of max)

Back Squats, 5-8 sets pyramid up to max, then 2-3 drop sets of 3 reps (90 % of max)

Hip Thrusters, 4 x 5

A1. Medicine Ball Crunch hand off with partner, 3 x 10

A2. Triple 7 Bicep Curls, 3 sets

 

Day 2: Repetition Day

Complex - Light Hang Snatch x 2 to Overhead Squats x 5, 3 sets

Full Cleans, 5 x 5

Front Squats, 3 x 5 (75-85 % of max)

Weighted Hyperextensions, 4 x 10

A1. Captain’s Chair/Hanging Leg Raises 3 x 10-15

A2. Military Press, 3 x 10

 

Day 3: Plyometric Day

Power Snatch, 5 x 2

Light Back Squat, 3 x 3 @ 75% (these condition the legs for explosive movements)

Box jumps, 3 x 5 working up to highest box you have

Lateral jumps, 3 x 5 (one rep counts as a jump from one side to the other and back)

Weighted Squat jumps, 3 x 5 (use heavy enough weight to challenge without risking injury)

Plyo Push-ups 3 x 10 (work in medicine ball variations for more of a challenge)

Medicine Ball Russian Twists (passing off to partner on each rotation)

 

David Spitz – David is the founder of California Strength Academy in San Ramon. This former high school football player was also a USA Junior National Team thrower in track and field. He is currently working towards his CSCS certification. Clients he has recently trained include Chris Cooper (just resigned with the Oakland Raiders), TJ Ward (second round 2009 / 2010 NFL Draft pick) and Cameron Colvin (former Oregon Ducks and San Francisco 49ers player).