Training Football Players

After you have played football for some time, it may be that you ask yourself how to get football speed into your game.  Maybe you are enjoying the game more than ever, but you are looking for new ways of how to get football speed to outpace your opponents.  Covering the ground at pace is essential for beating your opponent in the game of football.  Whether it be on defense or whether it be an attack, speed is essential in the great game of football.

Building yourself a training routine that can help you build up speed for covering the ground rapidly, come game day, is what you need to look to do for yourself.  Always look to be precise in your training, because out of doing things in a technically correct way, your muscles will have a platform to work from to gain that extra bit of explosive speed.

A good place to start is to see where your fitness level actually lies.  The beep test used in Australasian rugby training is a superior test for working out an athlete’s level of fitness.  This is a very simple test that requires you to keep up with an audio beep.  All you need is a sound system, and two cones for which to measure the distance for running.  The CD soundtrack has beeps for each new level, and as you move through the levels you are continually running.  The object is to make it to the cone before the next beep sounds. Each level has the beeping tone being sped up more than the previous level.  Once you cannot keep up with the beeping, this is your assigned fitness level.  You must exit out of the test at this point.  It is a simple test, and can be completed at any stage throughout the game season.  It is of immense help to see how your fitness is improving as the year progresses.

Having a first-rate level of fitness and stamina, combined with overall strength, will ensure that you have a good platform from which you can train to gain greater speed across the ground.  If your core muscles are strong, and your body is fit, then your outer limb speed can be improved.  Heading off to the gym, swimming, cycling and jogging on a regular basis will help your fitness level and you core muscle strength.

Sprint training, is a superb way of creating speed to your game.  Doing fifteen sets of sixty meter sprints after a good warm-up is a great way to teach your body to run fast.  These sprints must be at your fastest running pace.  Another good sprint training technique is to run up fifty stadium steps.  This exercise really works your muscles hard, and you must perform the exercise as fast as you can to get the greatest benefit.

To answer the question of ‘how to get football speed?’ is simple really.  Dedication to your sprint training and fitness routines are so important for you to succeed. If you can do this while performing the training activities above, you will improve tremendously.

Make sure to seek the advice of a professional trainer, as their expertise and running technique could well improve your speed across the ground in football games, as well.

Before performing intense football workouts, make sure that you have stretched well and warmed up properly.  As with most sports, people do forget to stretch prior to the start of a game or before intense football workouts.  With football, having sudden bursts of speed at any point in the game means that it is vital for you to have warmed your body up appropriately, in order to prevent an injury from occurring.  At training it should be no different.

Ladder drills are a great way for you to gain speed in your footwork.  All you need to do is lay out a rope ladder and sprint between the rungs.  You can go both forward and sideways as fast as you can.  There are many ladder drills that you can do to build your leg speed.  You can simply run straight through the ladder without catching your foot on the rope.  You can perform the double league run, which requires that both feet land inside each gap.  Make sure you run at speed through the rope ladder pumping with your arms.  Doing twenty sets of these sorts of exercises can be one of the most intense football workouts you can do.

Performing intense football workouts regularly will ensure that your eye, body and brain work in unison to build up your coordination.  Only the best football players will see the ball and react to it instantly.  Improving your coordination skills must be a part of any intense football workouts.  The area of coordination can be improved by developing your motor skills.  It is essential that your coordination reacts instantly so that your body automatically positions itself for being in the correct place at the correct time.

Intense football workouts should include sessions at the gym to build your muscle strength.  Maintaining your core muscle strength is so important.  Make use of a personal trainer, particularly in your weight training.  This will ensure that you can monitor your progress with the amount of weight that you can lift, as well as the number of reps.  Also, don’t forget to do the push- up circuit and your abdominal workouts.  These need to be a part of any intense football workout routine.

A top football player needs to add to their training routine explosive exercises that improve their speed across the ground.  Doing some sets of shuttle sprints are a great way of teaching your body to run very fast.  Mark out a sixty meter sprint track, and sprint this track as explosively and as fast as you can.  Do fifteen sets of these, and walk in between each sprint back to your mark. A fun way to vary these explosive sprints is to have your sprints take the following form: start standing, start lying flat on your stomach, a running start, sprint forward with a run back to your mark, and then try and repeat all of these ways while you carry a football.

Being the fittest and strongest player on the playing field is pointless if you cannot handle the ball properly.  Turning at speed, passing, catching and kicking are all skills that you should be working on outside of your intense football workouts.  Better still include ball handling skills as part of your workout training.

First, let me share with you what type of sport, football is. It is being played by two teams composed of 11 members each. The field where this sport is being played on is in rectangular form with a length of 100 yards. In this type of sport, members will run and always pass across the goal line of the opposing team with the main purpose of getting the ball to their goal in order to score. Football is among the many sports that does not only require power or strength but it also require stamina and speed. There are fitness adviser who even compare the training of speed in football to weight lifting–the traditional one. One friend of mine who does play football has really a great speed when she played basketball. I can truly say that good players are really speedy. However, it is important to take note that speed alone will not make you the best football player but it will contribute to your goodness in this game. It is indeed important. But how can you increase your speed and acceleration in order to travel fast that 360 by 160 feet football field? Here are some important tips to increase your speed.

It is not always true that a player will be good in this game if it runs in the family. Although, speed may run in the family and can somehow contribute to your success in the game. But speed can be practiced. Strengthen your leg muscles. But you have to do some stretching, the jog and run. Once you have developed your leg power then practice speed. First, perform sprint training in a very short distance. Then gradually increase you. You should also perform jump training. Maybe have a simple training then gradually have a complex training. But do not ever overtrain yourself. Remember, too much of something is bad and it can result to stress. Plyometric training is also advisable. When you say plyometric training, it will help a person to reach the highest level of his physical condition.  Football speed training is about strength than majority will admit. Parachutes & neon green speed ladders sell the heavy Deadlifts. Thus, while it comes to selling the football speed training programs, majority of the people go with what sells and not with what works. And they are many times concerned with money than to help anybody get faster for the football. Being quick is good, however colleges want a lot more and they are searching for the athletes with most of the explosive acceleration from starting position.

Successful football speed training must include the exercises, which may focus on fast twitch muscles.

Football in America is simply huge.  We all have our favorite players, but what does it take to become the best.  We all want to play football hard and fast, so we need to ready ourselves by conditioning our bodies for the undertaking of playing football.  A good speed workout for football ensures that our muscles are ready conditioned to act quickly and respond instantly.

Any speed workout for football should include power, speed and resistance training.  Nothing beats quick, explosive speed, and specially designed bungee chords that work on the horizontal plane offer the athlete excellent speed resistance training that enables a gain in leg lift power.  The athlete connected to the bungee runs forward as hard as they can, while somebody follows pulling as a resistance behind them.  They follow the athlete training, but will they work to pull them back as they run forward.  This is an excellent speed workout for football, and you get the bonus of training with a friend.  Essentially, the power speed resistor is a harness that sits over your shoulders.  The elastic tail behind you is easily held on to buy your follower who will work hard to slow you down.

Another speed workout for football could include sprint training routines.  Sprint training can include sets of explosive running at top speed for distances of sixty to 100 meters. This is a fantastic speed workout for football that trains your body to explosively cover the ground at speed.  In football, there are many times when you need to outpace an opponent.  And, whether on attack or defense, you cannot beat outright speed.

A great place to do your sprint training is down at your local park.  Measure out 60 meters, and then take your marks.  Explode from the starting line, and run the 60 meters at your fullest pace.  You need to do at least 15 sets.

Another fun exercise that all the football team will enjoy is working through an agility marker routine.  Brightly colored agility marker spots are placed on the ground around the trainer.  There are a number of routines that you can pick out that will have you needing to touch the colored cones in a set order.  This speed workout for football is ideal for gains in agility, positional strength and balance, plyometrics and foot speed drills.

Include in your speed workout for football the agility cross ladder.  Stepping in and out of the rungs as quickly as possible in a number of different routines gives your leg muscles a really strong workout and build up there power and strength.

In addition to a good speed workout for football, make sure that you have at least three sessions at the gym per week.  You need to keep your core muscles in tip-top shape, so low impact weight training is excellent for keeping your upper body muscles toned and strong.

To vary things up a little, include in your speed workout for football other exercises that will enhance your fitness.  Swimming and cycling are great ways for building your stamina levels up.  If you have strong speed and stamina on the football field, then you will have a potent combination for helping your team to win games.

Don’t forget to keep your eye and coordination speed at optimum levels by practicing other aspects of the game of football like your throwing and catching of the football.  Warm up prior to any exercising and train at your best by training hard so that you can play your best and play hard come game day.

Strength training for football is essential for all football players.  Strength and speed are two of the most important attributes a football player can have.  Remember, strength training is to gain power, not necessarily to gain mass.  Mass can work against you for many positions on the field.

Strength Training for Football – Before You Get Started

Before you get started with strength training for football routines you want to get clearance from your doctor, especially if you have sustained any injuries in the past.  Make sure they say you are healthy enough for a strength training routine.

It is typically a good idea to find a workout partner.  This is someone who can spot you during your workout and also keep you motivated.  The right workout partner will have a significant impact on your strength training for football.

Strength Training for Football – Routines

There are countless routines to choose from.  You want to make sure you choose the strength training routine that matches your goals.  Some workout routines are focused on strength, some are focused on mass and some are focused on aesthetics.  You want to choose strength training routines that are designed to add power.

When you are engaging in strength training for football you want to make sure you hit all the muscle groups.  For the most part you want to divide your workout based on muscle groups.

An example of a strength training routine for football would be:  Day 1: Back and Biceps;  Day 2: Shoulders and Triceps;  Day 3:  Chest and Lats; Day 4: Legs.  You can incorporate core and abdominal exercises all four days.

An alternative routine would be:  Day 1 – Quads and Biceps; Day 2: Chest and Calves; Day 3: Back and Hamstrings; Day 4: Shoulders, Traps and Triceps.  Again you can incorporate core and abdominal exercises all four days.

Strength Training for Football – The Weight

Choosing the right amount of weight is important.  There are all different theories behind choosing the weight.  Here is a simple rule of thumb you can use to determine the right weight for you:

1. Set 1:  12 repetitions – the first 4 should be easy; the second 4 a little work; the last four a slight struggle
2. Set 2:  10 repetitions – the first 4 should be a little struggle, the second 4 should be a moderate struggle, the last 2 should push your strength
3. Set 3:  8 repetitions – the first 4 should be a moderate struggle, the next 4 should push your strength, ask for help if needed
4. Set 4:  6 repetitions – you should be pushing yourself with all 6, ask for assistance if needed

Strength Training for Football – How Often

If you are engaging in strength training for football you want to make sure you do not go overboard with any muscle groups. Give your body a chance to rest and heal.  Typically you want to consider giving a muscle group at least two days off after working it out.

Follow these guidelines and you can have effective strength training for football.

Before embarking on a new football season, it’s always good to find out how good your level of fitness is.  There are a number of fitness tests that you can do, but have you heard of the ‘beep test’?

The ‘beep test’ uses a soundtrack CD of some very audible beeps.  Each progression through the levels has the beeps sounding slightly quicker than the previous level.  The person being tested needs to run back and forward between two cones.  Each run between the cones needs to be completed before the next beep sounds.  Once you can’t make it to the cone before the beep sounds you need to sit down on that particular level.  As you will appreciate, at the start of your football training program you will be on a lower level of fitness, and it’s always amusing to see how your fitness levels progress through the season.

What should a footballer include in a good football training program?  Well, before any game or exercise they need to ensure that they have warmed up and stretched properly.  Prevention is better than cure, so warming up helps to keep injuries at bay.

Always a priority to any footballer’s greater fitness and stamina is an inclusion of a run.  Some cycling and swimming is a great variation to your football training program.  Definitely some time at the gym is a necessity where weight training, press-ups and abdominal exercises all help to build up the footballer’s core muscles, flexibility and strength.

No football training program would be complete without sprint training.  Sprint training enables the athlete to cover the ground explosively, at full speed and at a regular occurrence.  It really just imitates what occurs consistently throughout a football match.  During the game you are always pivoting, running and sprinting at speed and the sprint training exercises train the body to run as fast as possible.

If you have access to a park, then you can easily measure out a sixty meter sprint track where you can do fifteen sets of sprints at full speed.  You can walk back to the start mark at the end of each sprint.

Every serious football training program needs to have coordination training skills practiced regularly.  Ball skills, passing and kicking skills are all essential in the professional footballer’s game.  If you want to be the best you can be, then refining these skills is a fundamental part of any useful football training program.

What would a good football training program look like?  Take a look at the following:

Sunday                 Rest
Monday               30 minute run, gym exercises
Tuesday               Skills training
Wednesday        Sprint training, 45 minute swim
Thursday            Cycle, gym exercises
Friday                  Skills training
Saturday             Game day

In good biblical fashion having a rest day is very important for the body to fully recover.  The hard game the day before will require that the body have some time to repair and strengthen.

Also, make sure that your training is done at your fullest potential.  Then you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your game was played at your best.

So, you’re into football in a big way?  There’s nothing quite like the excitement of playing football.  The speed the game is played at, the crunching tackles on defense, and the wonderful long throws to score touchdowns in the corner all make for lots of speed, bash and lots of action.  Yet, to be a top football player you have to have everyday training routines.  Let’s take a look at some of the activities that will make a good football training exercise.

Cross training offers tremendous improvements in your overall muscle group development, aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, muscle strength and endurance, and flexibility and agility – all of which has to improve the performance of your football on the field.  Cross training exercises offer so much variety to all parts of your body, to keep the football player fit and ready for action.

Cross training offers the football player aerobic endurance.  Cross training activities such as distance running, distance cycling and even aqua jogging in the water are very effective ways to increase a footballer’s stamina.

Football training exercises should make good use of the cross training methods, as the footballer can make plenty endurance gains.  Football is a game of speed, sprinting and power, so any football training exercise that includes activities such as middle distance swimming, middle-distance running, cycling, weights, or even wrestling can vastly improve a footballer’s core body strength.  Rowing machines are great for increasing upper body strength and core body strength, and it is surprising how much balance and power a footballer gains from these sorts of training activities.

If you can make plenty of use of various cross training activities, muscular strength and power will grow.  Muscular strength and power provide the basis for the football athlete.  Overloading the muscles by subjecting them to greater than normal levels of stress makes impressive power gains for the athlete.  Stair climbing, weight training and plyometrics all provide huge strength gains that the athletes may not receive through training only within their primary sport.

Repetitive muscle contraction against a resistance for extended periods of time extends an athlete’s muscular endurance.  In the game of football, the greater your muscular endurance the longer you will be able to play the game at your best on the field.  It’s no good just being able to play half a game of football because you can’t hack the pace in the second half.  It’s much better that you play at your peak levels for the whole game.

Each football training exercise needs to be different.  Variety is a good thing, because your body will be extended in different ways.  Flexibility is very important, as almost all sports require good flexibility.  As an excellent football training exercise you may like to even consider gymnastics.  Activities such as gymnastics require a wide range of joint movement that enhances flexibility.  The more flexible you are, the more you will reduce the possibility of aches, pains and inflammation associated with joints stressed through rigorous activity.

Before you do any football training exercise, make sure that you do plenty of warm-up exercises beforehand.  And as an added bonus, cross training offers a variety of activities to keep you focused and fresh.  Performing a football training exercise with a friend can be a lot of fun as well.