3 Ways to Improve Your Football Speed

I’m pretty much sick of seeing football training videos on YouTube or on websites having football players train for speed by running endlessly through cones.











It may have value, though it’s questionable. I unfortunately get to see football players subject to this pretty often. Add agility ladders to that list as well as “strength shoes” These gimmicks have nothing to do with building actual foot speed. And, even worse, they do nothing to improve your football speed!




What’s Wrong with Cone Drills?




Cone drills are really limited because of one main factor: the football players running through the cones are not strong enough to produce the proper amount of force to actually be agile.

• Football Agility requires relative body strength.
  

• Relative body strength (as all other elements of strength) is dependant on your Maximum Strength.
  

If you aren’t strong enough, you won’t be agile …or quick, or fast, or explosive. I can’t stand seeing skinny, weak young players, or, fat, weak players doing cone drills because they can’t even muster up the force to get out of their own way.



A strong football player will almost always be a fast football player. Speed training should be built into your football training program.



So, if cone drills don’t improve foot speed and agility, what does?




Get Stronger



You must work on your strength. Heavy weights and low reps. Max Effort work for both upper and lower body. Explosive Football exercises like Squats, Deadlifts, Incline Bench, Snatch Grip Deadlifts, Good Mornings and Cleans should all be done regularly.


Clean & Jerks


Not many exercises test your ability to move your feet like a Jerk. While you can do Jerks out of the rack, I still like to mix in C&J’s because of the fatigue factor. Basically, you want to be a little tired, then have to move your feet quickly while putting a big weight overhead. You’ll be tired in your games, so don’t you think it would make sense to train agility-building movements while tired?



Clean and Jerks, should, in some way, be part of everyone’s football training program. They are an ideal football exercise – they require foot speed, power, strength, and agility. Those are the qualities that football speed are made of!




Jump Rope



This is as basic as it gets. But, adding a jump rope to your training after you have enough strength can be a great “bridge” between weightroom strength and on-field performance. You can use a jump rope as a warm up, a cool down, or as a workout all to itself. Lineman especially should be jumping rope. If you don’t have good foot-work on the line, forget it, you’re done.



When people talk about how to train explosively for football, they usually start talking about exotic, odd exercises and all kinds of weird training tools like Jump Soles and parachutes and similar crapola.

• But, the Jump Rope is as old as the hills and continues to out-perform just about everything when it comes to improving your football foot speed.

Also, be position specific. Lineman should work on their steps…LB’s on theirs, and so on.

There’s not much sense putting every player through the same cookie-cutter agility and foot-speed training program. Remember, the only football exercises you should add to your training program are those with a high return on your efforts. Jump Rope and Clean & Jerks are two of the best in this regard.

Football Training Follies: Philadelphia Eagles Sign Vick

Football Training camps are about to get started here in Philadelphia.






This morning, the whole city is abuzz with the news of the Eagles signing Vick.

I suppose this fraud of a Quarter Back will be arriving at Eagles Training Camp soon enough.

This is one of the dumbest moves in an Eagle history know for its idiocy...

In a city where the football team has turned down numerous players because of "character issues," ran T.O. out of town, and proclaims themselves as "the Gold Standard," without ever having won a championship, I find it amazing that they would sign a guy like Michael Vick, who is fresh out of jail.

Say what you want about TO, the guy treated training for Football like it was life and death and it showed on the field!

The management of the Eagles has some strange fascination with Donovan McNabb. The guy chokes in every big game, yet they can't seem to replace him with a real QB. So, after signing him to a contract that pretty much guarantees that, unless he's injured, will be the leader of the Eagles offense for the next 5 years, they sign another QB. A former starter.

I smell some kind of lame Andy Reid football expirement where he tries to turn conVICKt into a WR or some shit.

Vick is one of the worst QB's the NFL has ever seen. Great athlete, but an awful QB! Vick's signing will be meaningless, the Eagles will probably finish below .500 and I will laugh with glee...


but, I digress...

I'm sitting in a coffee shop typing this into my phone, so forgive my lack the normal Explosive Football Training pizzaz!

Anyway, I can see guys practicing right across the street. Right now they are going though conditioning work.

I won't name the team, but they are a power house and for damn good reason!

While most coaches center their football conditioning programs around jogging, these guys are out sprinting their asses off.

Line it up, sprint, walk back, repeat.

Look, football training shouldn't be so complicated.

-Lift heavy, lift for speed and do some rep work

-Sprint a lot

-Train your hamstrings like it's your job!

-Stop jogging...Please, if you listen to nothing else, listen to me here...

--Jogging has NO place in a football training program!

I'm keeping this one short, but get ready for the upcoming "Pre-Season Football Training" special, starting Sunday.

Until then, check out some of the older articles or head over to the probram page at Explosive Football Training Program

-Coach Steve, live from Philly with a 24oz espresso, ...ust up the street where a homeless guy once hurled a bag of garbage at me like a discus (he did a pretty damn good spin too)

Football Speed Training: Kettlebells

I once wrote an article about how agility training sucks…I got more than a few pieces of hate mail; and for that I’m thankful. If we were all afraid to change the old-school thinking on football training, we’d all be doing calisthenics and wouldn’t lift weights because it makes you “muscle-bound.”

Well, here’s another reason for some to hate me: most football speed training sucks too. More on that in a future article…for now, we’ll talk about ways to increase football speed in the one place that matters most: the weight room!




Big, compound movements like Squats, Box Squats and Deadlifts should always be the base of your football training program. However, there are several smaller movements and special tools that can help you increase your quickness when performing speed training for football.


Enter the Dragon

Most people never heard of Kettlebells before Dragon Door and Pavel re-introduced them to the world.

They’ve been used by fighters and athletes for about a century, but they lost popularity somewhere along the line. This is a shame because they are excellent tools for becoming faster and stronger, especially for football.


Before anyone bitches out and complains that I’m a member of a Kettlebell Kult (people who train only with Kettlebells), get over it. Kettlebells are to be used in addition to your normal football training, not in place of it!


Kettlebells are excellent for football speed because:


They can target the hamstrings and glutes in a way that a barbell can’t

• They compliment the big movements nicely by allowing you to train in athletic positions
  


• They are excellent for dynamic speed work
  

Remember, football speed isn’t just about running some damn 40-yd dash. You’ve got to be explosive (hence the name – Explosive Football Training).

Here are 3 excellent Kettlebell exercises that will increase your football speed:

1. Kettlebell Swings

This is the king of the football speed makers! It’s a really common KB exercise yet I see people doing them wrong all the time. If all you did was add Kettlebell Swings to your football speed training, you’d be miles ahead of most of your competitors.

• This is NOT a squat movement. While you can do a squat/swing for general conditioning and fat loss, this is not what I am talking about for speed development.
  

You need to allow the bell to travel all the way back and then SNAP it forward. That snap is the key to the exercise…you are building reactive strength, the same you would need for sprinting, jumping, and coming out of your stance into a sprint. This is explosive football training, not training for fat loss!


This can be done after your heavy leg exercise or at the end of your training as a hamstring/glute finisher. It is not necessary to do high reps in the swing as some believe.

Use a heavier KB and shoot for 3-4 sets of 4 – 6 reps.

Here is a video of the right way to do a swing:




2. Kettlebell Overhead Lunge

This is an excellent single-leg football exercise that will hit the glutes, hams and hips hard. It also has the added bonus of working the abs/obliques very hard since they have to stabilize the bell overhead.

Grab a kettlebell, press it overhead, then do a lunge. Get a nice, long stride and explode back up.

When you lunge, don’t be afraid to go deep. This is an excellent movement for football speed training because not only will it strengthen the muscles, but it will also dynamicall stretch the hip flexors…tight hip flexors are often called “breaks,” because they literally will push the brake pedal on your speed!

3. Kettlebell Overhead Throw

This is a great way to learn to transfer power. If your football training program doesn’t address how to transfer power; it’s worthless. Building up strength only to leave it in the weight room will only lead to frustration.

• This is pretty simple – perform a Kettlebell Swing but release the bell at the top. You are trying to throw it as far as possible.
  

This is an excellent way to track explosiveness. Super coach Charles Poliquin once called the overhead toss the best indicator of athletic ability in young athletes.


Track this exercise by keeping measurements – measure every 3 – 4 weeks.
Keep it fairly light – a K-bell between 10 – 20lbs is plenty.

Add these movements to your training one at a time so that you can track progress and see which works best for you.



Check out the brand-new, all-out, insanely info-packed Explosive Football Training Program Manual <----- Click Right There

Football Training Myths: Agility Drills Improve Football Speed

Oh the Myths that surround Football Training. From the old-school “muscle bound” theory to the “aerobic base” phenomenon, there is a seemingly endless parade of B.S. that surrounds how to get bigger, stronger, and more explosive for football.

One of my favorite Football Training myths is that the use of agility drills, cones, ladders and those stupid parachutes will improve football speed and agility.




The theory seems sound: set up cones in increasingly difficult patterns, run through them as fast as possible. After several week of this, your football agility will be through the roof and you’ll be jukin’ people outta’ their shoes in no time.

In the old days, you just ran back and forth through some cones, now a days, you are forced to run through a maze of cones that would stump even the most experienced lab rat.

First off, let’s define agility.


• Agility is the ability to rapidly change direction without loss of speed. To be agile, you must be able to generate great amounts of force and apply them to the ground; this is what propels you in the opposite direction.
However, they miss several key issues.

1. If you are weak, all the agility training in the world will not make your more agile!

• Maximum Strength is the foundation of all elements of football training. If you are stronger, you will become more agile. Think of it this way – if you are 160lbs and you currently Deadlift 200 and your agility is average.

What do you think will allow you to produce more force? Running through cones or upping your Deadlift to 225lbs? Remember science class? Force = mass x acceleration



2. Often, improvements in testing times are a result of improved form and all the little “tricks” that one can apply to the agility tests.

o Let’s take a look at the ever-popular 20-yd Pro Agility Shuttle. On the surface, it’s not a bad test. You have to change directions and turn and sprint…that’s very football-like. However, watch a new player run that test. They run high, then bend way over to touch the ground, and they sometimes even turn completely around when they hit the cones.

Now, watch someone who’s been coached on this drill. They sprint low, stop short of the cone, touch, and drive forward in an extremely low position. Those few form changes can make huge improvements in the testing time. There are so many problems with this.

First, there was no real improvement in speed. The player simply ran the drill better

• Second, we are training for football, not a reverse limbo contest. When the hell do you ever run so bent over in a football game? I hope you don’t, unless you fancy a broken neck!


3. Running over and through cones can cause the athlete to run with exaggerated high-knees.

o For all this talk about sports specificity, coaches completely disregard the fact that running round like a Rockette will alter running form and hinder speed. Not only that, but think about times you’ve had to do any kind of cutting in a game…can you ever remember lifting your knees up to waist height? Exactly

Bottom line: Lift weights and get stronger so you can produce more force and be faster and more agile. Agility drills have no place in football training! Leave the cones for soccer players or some other sport where making the wrong move won’t get you knocked out.


For more articles and free downloads, go to the Explosive Football Training page. <---

Football Training at Home

The myth that you need to have fancy equipment to really do a great football training workout or that you need to lift in an expensive gym in order to be a great athlete is complete B.S. I’ve heard way too many times that in order to get a real, hard-core football training session in, you need expensive equipment or a fully stocked commercial gym!

History is full of guys who trained in conditions that would be considered damn-near 3rd World who went on to be come champions. Jim Davis and Tommy Kono, two former Olympic Gold Medallists in Olympic Lifting, both trained in basements on bent bars. Tommy used dirt in place of chalk. Football training is about attitude, effort and work...not fancy machines!

John Davis Clean & Jerking Over 350lbs - How many guys at your local gym can even Squat that?" src="http://www.explosivefootballtraining.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/john-davis-clean-and-jerk.jpg" width=395>
John Davis Clean & Jerking Over 350lbs - How many guys at your local gym can even Squat that?

There are teams of Olympic lifter in foreign countries who train in freezing cold training halls, with bent bars, and barely have enough to eat…yet they kick the asses of guys training in state-of-the-art facilities year after year.
Why? Attitude. Balls. Intestinal fortitude. Whatever you wanna call it. Effort is a great word for it.

Can a football player train to get big and strong lifting at home? Absolutely!

I’ve been lifting in garages, sheds, and basements for over 10 years. I’ve trained people in those same sparse facilities, and guess what? The results are better than those who train in a commercial gym.


If you are forced to lift at home, what equipment do you need? Can you get a real hard-core football training workout in at home?
A bar and weights.
If you can get your hands on a squat rack and a bench, great. But, if not, don’t sweat it. With just a cheap 300lb set (you can find these for $50 on Craigstlist or in the newspaper classifieds), you can do a ton of exercises, including:

Deadlifts
Rows
Presses
Curls
All deadlift variations (Snatch Grip, Sumo, Suitcase)
Cleans and Snatches
High Pulls
Floor Presses
Bar Push-ups

That’s just a small sample. Look at that list. Do you really think you can’t make progress on just those lifts? If you add some dumbbells you are set! Is there anything missing from that list that would hurt your football training goals? I don’t think so!
If you can’t get a bar and plates, get a sandbag and do every exercise listed above.

Check out any issue of MILO (a strength training journal which I often write for) and you’ll see pictures of guys training on cement weights, with sandbags, barrels, stones and whatever else they can lift.

If you are limited to the above tools, here’s a great workout to get started:
3 days per week do a training session with a Push, a Pull, and a Row of some kind. Throw in ab and arm work as needed.

Deadlifts – 5 x 5Rows – 3 x 8Presses – 5 x 5Curls – 3 x 8Sit-ups – 3 x 10The next session try:

Sumo DL – 6 x 41-arm Row – 3 x 10 (load one side of the bar and row it)Floor Press – 3 x 8 (just like a bench press, but lying on the floor: Please have a spotter! If you can not find a spot, use dumbbells or substitute Bar Push-ups)Behind the Head Extensions – 3 x 8Side Deadlifts – 3 x 10 (for the abs)

The third session you can repeat the first, but go a bit lighter. It’s a classic push/pull/squat with a heavy/medium/light loading scheme. Simple and effective.

In my home gym, I’ve trained countless athletes and lifters. On a simple platform, I’ve seen dozens of 500+lb Deadlifts, 300 – 425lb Benches (one 605, by your favorite strength coach), and slabs of muscle have been built. The equipment is basic.
Sure, I add to it when possible, but those add-ons are the sides, not the entree!

Check out our full Football Training article section at Explosive Football Training <---Click here

The Econo Prowler, a Review

September 8, 2008

The Prowler is a strength and conditioning tool sold by Elitefts.com. Let me first say that I have ZERO financial interest with Elitefts.com or the Prowler. I will review various fitness tools and supplements from time to time, and if they receive a positive review, it’s simply because I like the product.

Ok, with that out of the way. On Christmas Night 2007, I opened a huge box from my rather generous girlfriend. Inside I saw a mass of metal tubes and pipes known as the Econo Prowler. I had been not so subtly hinting that I wanted this for several months, and I was so excited, I almost tried it out right then and there. However, I decided to be normal for once and wait until the next day.

Putting the unit together took all of five minutes. It’s simply a matter of fastening two heavy duty bolts and you’re ready to go. The first session I tried just about every movement I could think of. Pushing on the high bars, pushing on the low bars, attaching a chain to a handle and pulling it forward and backward, on grass and on the driveway. I quickly found that different areas had different effects. It was much easier to push/pull on pavement than on grass. The length and "wetness" of the grass also played a role. Pulling was easier than pushing and thus needed more weight.

Since then I’ve walked with fairly light loads (155lbs) for 20 minutes, sprinted with more moderate weight, and done all out push-pulls with heavy (300lb+) weights. All work and all have distinct possibilities. I like the light walking push/pull for general conditioning and losing body fat. It’s also great the day after a heavy training session for pushing the blood through the system and relieving stiffness.

The more moderate-weight sprints are excellent for conditioning and the heavy push/pulls are best saved for special occasions. The great thing about pushing the Econo Prowler, is that it causes almost no soreness. No matter how much my legs were screaming while pushing it, I’ve never encountered any real soreness the next day.

Any drawbacks? Only one that I’ve come across. The front of the sled is not weighted and has a single "foot" that can sometimes get caught or jammed into soft grass/ground. It’s not a huge deal, but when you are sprinting with it, hitting a soft patch and getting jammed can feel like you’ve run into a wall. The best remedy I’ve found for this is simply putting a few "standard" (weight plates with the small holes) plates on the low handles…a pair of 25’s seems to work best. This will keep the sled from jamming and also from coming off the ground when pulling.

A common complaint used to be the cost, but the new Econo version of the Prowler makes it extremely affordable and well worth every penny. I can’t recommend it highly enough! I've used it with clients ranging from football players to stay at home moms, and the results have been nothing short of amazing.
(Note: This blog entry also appears on my Fitness Site, http://www.uwafitness.com/)

In-season Training

September 9, 2008

Figuring out in-season training programs can be quite confusing. After all, you don’t want to lose all that you worked so hard for in the off-season. But, you know you are tired and beat up from games and practices. In the old-days, many coaches would simply have their players not train.

This really hurt the players’ strength and power. Why build up your strength for 9 months only to watch it dissappear by week 4 of the season?

There are many different approaches to in-season training that are effective, but I prefer a two day/week protocol. One upper body day, and a combo upper/lower day.

On Max effort upper day, work up to a triple, then use higher (8+ reps) for the rest of your upper body work. This is NOT a max triple, however. Go to a weight that feels heavy but not impossible. This could change week to week, but the focus is on "straining" for a few seconds and keeping your strength levels up.

On the combo day, I like to keep the upper body reps high (10 – 12) to pump blood through the system and to your sore muscles. Lower body training must be dictated by what you are doing/will do/have done that week. A few triples with a moderately heavy weight will keep the strength up without damaging muscle fibers too much.

I find Deadlifts better for this purpose because the bar is off your back. And, if the bar is dropped after each rep, the eccentric portion is eliminated, thus reducing soreness.

Whatever method you chose, please refrain from doing agility work during the season. You are being trained in a very sport-specific way in-season…by actually playing your sport! It’s a waste of energy and leg strength.