Image by: West Point Public Affairs
By Roger Barone
Are you one of the guys that cheer on their favorite football team but then wonder how the running back can sprint faster than a field of men hurling themselves after him? Or how they can continuously run up and down the field without breaking a sweat?
Well, you don’t have to wonder anymore. There are certain exercises you can do to workout like a pro football player. You will have the insane stamina, physique, and muscle tone as your favorite pro football athlete.
What Makes Athlete Training Different From Working Out At A Gym
Football athletes have to be conditioned to have strength, agility, be able to recover quickly, and on top of that… they have to maintain 100% performance rate the whole game. That takes an incredible amount of conditioning that most of us won’t experience working out.
So what makes their workout different? They add a lot of plyometric exercises in their workout to make sure their muscles are conditioned to respond quickly to all sorts of hits and digs.
Another thing that makes athletic conditioning different is that they use agility & speed exercises [which include resistance bands, speed ladders, chain belts, etc.] to ensure their body is up to par with their competitors.
Exercises The Pros Use
Squats – I’m not just talking about the normal squats of being stationary and squating to the ground for 100 reps. They have to infuse plyometric variations into their routine to make sure they can explode as soon as the ball is hiked.
What they have done is added jumping! Jump squats are a ton of fun but if you aren’t used to it, can definitely take a toll on you. It will also make your legs have insane definition.
To start, you start in a normal squat position with both of your feet shoulder width apart. Then you squat to the ground; but once you get to the bottom… you explode up into a jump. When you land, you immediately sink back down to the ground and do about 50 of them in a row.
Agility Training – Another exercise you can add to your routine is to purchase 5-6 cones from your local sports store. Make sure they are in a zig-zag position about 5-6 feet apart from each other.
What you basically do is sprint towards the first cone and then zag towards the second as fast as you can without knocking any of them over. As soon as you reached the second… back pedal as fast as you can to the 3rd cone.
Once you reach the 5th or 6th cone… you immediately restart but in the opposite direction. You can rest for about 30 seconds in between each set but you’ll want to do about 5-6 sets of this exercise.
Upper Strength – The best thing you can do for your upper body is to focus on the basics. Push-ups, pull ups, incline push-ups, and even weight training. Keep pushing yourself to the next limits every week and eventually, you’ll have those defined arms.
Don’t Forget About Nutrition
On top of all of the exercises, the weights, and insane amounts of cardio/plyometrics; please don’t forget about a balanced diet. Nutrition is just as important, if not more important, to condition yourself to be as defined as a pro athlete.
It won’t happen overnight but I promise you, if you continuously continue to push the limits… you’ll be able to play a game with your favorite pro athlete and keep up with him. Have fun conditioning!