Tuesday 25 November 2014

Football Off season Weight Training Program

Football is a sport that has many demands on the bodies and minds of the players. Not only does a player have to be mentally tough, he also has to be strong and fast. Not every athlete is born with these skills and physique. This is where a off season football weight training programs comes in. A training program is divided into three phases – in-season, transition and offseason phase. For a high school player, the offseason phase is the longest. Even if you attend a number of combines and showcases games, you will still have at least 6 months of offseason time. Smart athletes learn to capitalize on this free time by developing an offseason football training program.

Football training programs offseason have to be designed keeping a few focus areas in mind. These are the important aspects that you need to work on during offseason:

1. Building Endurance

During the season, you have most probably pushed your body to the very limit. It is likely that you have pulled muscles and caused muscle imbalances. These things have to be worked on during off season football training. Exercises that help boost core stability, balance and coordination need to be included in your training plan.

2. Hypertrophy and Maximal Strength Training

The in-season football training program leaves very little opportunity for weight training. During the offseason football training phase, increase the reps and intensity of strength and weight training exercises. Hypertrophy training focuses on building muscles and increasing the cross section of each muscle. This type of training is characterized by lower reps of higher intensity. Maximal strength training is simply taking hypertrophy training to the next level by performing heavy weight lifts.

3. Building Power

Even though you have to focus on weight lifting and strength training, an offseason football training program will account for nothing if you cannot transfer this strength in a game-specific situation. The next step is to focus on converting all your strength into explosive power.

4. Speed and Agility Training

An integral part of football training programs offseason is speed and agility training through cone and marker drills.

A good offseason football training program will cover all these aspects and help you become a much better player by the time the next season starts.