Good Football Workout?

[Skyhawks7]

ok... so ive been lifting pretty hard for the past year now and ive gotten my bench press, power clean and squat to a decent amount and im looking for a good workout to get my numbers higher. im 6'2" and i weigh about 210 pounds. i play middle linebacker if that will make any difference.

my numbers right now are:

bench- about 255
squat- 295 (just coming out of a knee surgery and wasnt allowed to go any higher)
clean-215


i dont have a set work out, but i work out every monday, wednesday, and friday. the things i do every work out are bench press, dumbell incline, and weighted dips.

like i said above im just coming out of a knee surgery so i have a little trouble doing leg things, but i still can do most things.

anything helpful on a good workout for me is greatly appreciated thanks!

[ixoyc]

well when your knee gets better try deadlifting. in fact any of the main power lifts/olympic lifts will be valuable to you. also rows whether it be dumbell or barbell. shoulder strength a must when your blowing the line up or an unfortunate running back ( i love defense, i was a d end .

but really, squat will be probably be most valuable, when your knee gets better that is

[Skyhawks7]

well im cleared 100% by my surgon, today we were doing squat max outs and my coach got worried cause i was doing so much he just wanted me to stop so i dont hurt it or anything. so im cleared to do whatever, i just need a good idea of what a good work out for me is

[ixoyc]

hmm...I don't mean to be rude but your coach doesn't have a lifting plan?

well right now this is what i'm doing. i'm trying to combine body building and power lifting (mainly powerlifting)

basically i revolve my plan around the basic power moves (bench, squat, deadlift) and also the clean and jerk (and i guess dumbell/barbell rows).

then i added other accessory lifts (like curls, forearms, etc. to isolate areas)

i posted it in general body building (new routine, what do you think)(er,something like that) and it's the second plan.

sorry for blabbing so much. hope i helped

[Skyhawks7]

yea we dont really have a plan right now, its off season (basically go in there do what you want). but yea that actually sounds pretty good probably what ill end up doing

[.V.]

For your stated goal, take a look at this: New Lifter and no, it's not just for new lifters.

[Big Mike]

Keep it simple.

Day 1-
squats
and 1 exercise for your quads, hams, or glutes (build up what is the weakest part of your squat)

Day 2-
(chest) pick/rotate 2 different exercises each week
barbell Bench Press
incline Barbell Press
dumbell Bench Press
incline Dumbell Press

(shoulder) pick/rotate 2 each week
lateral raises
upright row
barbell overhead press
dumbell overhead press

(triceps) rotate exersises each week
skullcrushers
dips

Day 3-
deadlift

alternate 1 each week...
bent over row
seated cable row
chin ups

*1-2 days off inbetween. whatever you feel like you need. but no more than two days off.

this is very basic. it may not seem like it is enough, but it is. as long as you do everything right, you will see you "big 3" skyrocket! stick with this for 8-12 weeks before you decide you want to change it up. deload about every 5-6 weeks. deloading = taking it easy. use about 50% of your 1 rep max during your deload week. This will give your body a well deserved rest.

[86drop]

everybody above seems to say deadlift but i would say that if you have to choose between power clean and deadlift i would stick with the power clean. you'll get more explosive power out of it than you would from deadlifting alone. if you can work both into your workout then all the more power to you.

also, if you had to choose one exercise out of the three you listed to do every workout i would recommend you make squat that essential lift as opposed to bench press. you'll be working your trunk muscles a lot more and squatting will help with things like building stability in your hips and core muscles that will in turn help in your ability to change direction and rotate. all essential things when playing linebacker.

[Big Mike]

As far as power and strength gains, NOTHING is better than squats and deads. There is a reason why people have been recommending deads.

If you do not know how to cycle your routine, do not do one particular lift EVERY workout. Such as ME one day and speed work later on in the week.

[86drop]

im not saying deads dont have their place. but as far as FOOTBALL needs, power cleans will provide a lot more explosive power than deadlifting. ideally both will be used but the OP isnt asking for advice about powerlifting, he's looking for help increasing strength for use in a football environment. IMO power cleans will help more than just deadlifting alone.

[Dcr41]

Barry Sanders gave power cleans all the credit for making him as explosive as he was, i used to have a packet about power cleans and football but I can't seem to find it. Think about the muscles you use and how you use them and try to find excersizes that accomodate those needs. But the core lifts are essetential.

p.s.-It's a shame your coach doesn't put together a lifting program, what's his problem?

oh and one more tip-neck excersizes. Keep you neck strong-it will prvent injuries like stingers. When I was in high school we had a neck machine-if you don't have one I'm sure theres something you could find-you should at least stretch your neck as much as you can.

[.V.]

Deads are great in my opinion. Whatever kind of deads you want to do.

However, they do have some risk involved. If you know how to do them safely, remember that Bill Starr did reccomend Power Cleans over Deads.

I too have a difficult time understanding why a football coach doesn't have a lifting program. I'm a middle school cheerleading conditioning coach this summer and my girls are lifting. They do squats, deads, overhead press, and rows...things to give them strong backs, legs, and shoulders. But the boys playing midget football...they aren't lifting. A shame really.

[jakob_s012]

I am going into high school as hopefully a quarterback but I need to throw farther and get more arm strength (and getting faster wont hurt). Any ideas for a good workout routine that will help me.

[MscFactory]

I use to play football myself as a Half-Back (Running back). Just make sure you do all of your compound exercises and try to stay away from isolation.

This is what I use to do:

Bench press- Monday 4-5 sets of 6
Squats- Tuesday 4-5 sets of 6
Rows- Wednesday 4-5 sets of 6
Power Cleans- Thursday 4-5 sets of 6
Fri Sat & Sun- OFF

Also be careful using all of that heavy weight, make sure you have proper form and a good spot, or you will end up hurting yourself.