Staying in shape in the offseason can be overwhelming. Having to maintain focus and motivation while no longer being surrounded by staff & teammates makes it much more difficult. It's hard to stay motivated. When working out in the offseason, there are some essential things to keep in mind to make sure you are improving as a football player.
Consistency
The first thing to stress is the importance of consistency. Many times, you see athletes trying to reinvent the wheel with their workout program. While it is essential to keep the body adjusting to different aspects of the game, nothing is more important than hammering down the essentials. Find a reasonable number of days a week you can commit to training. Make it a routine as if they were team-required practices.
Related: Yale Athlete Maya Meschkuleit's 3 Tips to Keeping an Athletic Base During COVID
Explosive Power
The second thing football players should focus on is explosion and power. In football, there are many different skill sets that can be used successfully out on the field. However, in all of those skill sets, there is strength, power, and athletic ability. These three things need to be hyper-focused in the offseason because during the season, your focus is elsewhere as you want to avoid injury or overworking yourself. The offseason is where the real physical progress happens. Compound movements should be at the forefront of all programs with explosive eccentrics and controlled negatives.
Related: Creating a Balanced Workout Routine for Sprinters
Basic Conditioning
Finally, don't forget basic conditioning. Before you roll your eyes, there are ways to make conditioning fun. You can run sprints till the sun goes down, but there are other viable options. HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, is proven to improve cardiovascular health while replicating football with the constant stopping and starting of going 150% and then resting for 20-30 seconds.
Another great option is jumping rope. Jumping rope helps improve cardio, but the footwork, timing, and agility needed for jumping rope are all transferable onto the football field. If you're still bored, another alternative could be ladder variations. While ladders aren't the most efficient method for training cardio, promoting the neuromuscular connection between the brain and the feet through ladder drills becomes very helpful when running or avoiding routes, tackles & blocks. And you can change them up to challenge and engage yourself.
There are many different methods for working out in the offseason that can help improve your football ability. At the forefront of all of these should be consistency, strength & power, and cardio to be able to keep your muscles ready to go and fine-tune your skills.
Related: Troy Polamalu's Advice to High School Football Players
Have an idea for a story or a question you need answered? Email us at [email protected]
* Originally published on January 11, 2022, by Noah Fisher
