Need help with training for football

[Tazz]

Right now I'm in the process of training for football. I'm lifting weights every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. My workout schedule goes like this:

Monday:
Bench Press
Weighted Dips
Military Press
Shrugs
Weighted Pull-ups

Tuesday:
Squats
Leg Press
Calve Raises
Leg Extensions
Leg Curls
Crunches

Thursday:
Powercleans
Bench Press
Weighted Dips
Military Press
Shrugs
Weighted Pull-Ups

Friday:
Deadlifts
Front Squats
Leg Extensions
Step-Ups
Lunges
Crunches

I'm trying to gain some size by football season, which starts during the middle of august. I know I can't gain much mass by then, but I know I can gain some. I don't know if any of you ever played football, but I'm going to be a tight end mainly, so I'll need to be able to run, but I'll also need to be able to block.

I'll be lifting heavy during weight lifting. The way we have our workout set up, you really gain a lot of strength. I've increased my squat by about 80lbs in around three months.

Does running hamper muscle growth if you're trying to gain mass through heavy weight lifting and diet? I need to get faster, and I can't avoid running. I want to get faster by the middle of July, when we start practicing. And when the middle of July comes, running will become a way of life for us football players.

Lately I've been thinking about dropping the idea of serious mass building until after football season. This way I can concentrate on building up my muscular endurance and speed without worrying about not reaching my goals through gaining size.

Can some of you offer your opinions on this matter? What would you do if you were in my shoes? Would I be better off training for muscular endurance, explosive power, and speed rather than serious mass gains until football season is over?

-- Thanks

Tazz

[abarlament]

Keep doing what you're doing, keep the reps low, sets moderate. Don't go to failure because if you do you will hammer your CNS constantly. Work on agility drills. Try a diet plan, like the ABCDE or the Delta 1250.

I'm a football player too, center and Dtackle, but I'm trying to get leaner/quicker, so I'm trying to lose fat now, and bulk up with a month to go until the season starts.

[gregc]

I used to play football. If you're wondering, I played OG/DT.

Anyway, since you're going to be a tight end, don't bulk up too much. If you gain too much muscle, you will lose a significant amount of speed. I don't know if you'll be a pass catching TE or a blocking TE more, but just don't crazy with the bulking. Having speed is much more valuable than being bigger.

[Gambit]

Looks good to me so far.

[Tazz]

Yeah, that's why I was just thinking about droping the idea of gaining serious muscle mass until after football season is over. I'll probably still gain some muscle by lifting up until season starts, but not too much to gain a noticible weight gain.

As far as sets and reps go for exercises, I'll probably be doing 3 sets of anywhere from 8-12 on most exercises. If my goal isn't to gain weight, then I'm not going to do low reps. I'm not going to list the exact layout of sets / reps for my workout, but it works as far as strength goes, and I've gained some size.

I'm going to fine tune a scheduale some time soon, most likely with the help of some of you guys, if you don't mind. But my main plan is to keep lifting the way I'm lifting and start working on my speed.

As far as speed goes, what helped some of you football players develop speed? I'm going to run not only to increase my endurance and overall speed, but also to tone up a little bit. I don't have much fat, but I could stand to loose some. As a matter of fact, I'm in the desirable range as far as a weight / height ratio goes, and my BF % is in the healthy range for my size. I think my BF % is around 10% right now, but it's been a while since I've done it.

Another thing I'm going to have to work on is my diet. Up until now I've been dieting like I'm trying to gain wieght. And for a few weeks now I've been lifting to gain mass. Should I shoot for 2000 calories? What about carbs and proteins; should I still try to get a good intake of complex (startchy) carbs and proteins so that I get the most benefit out of my workouts?

Thanks for your help.

Tazz

[abarlament]

If you want speed you need to beef up your hamstrings, they are the speed muscle. Look at sprinters, HUGE hamstrings! If you want any comments on your diet you have to tell us how much you weigh, your bodyfat % and stuff like that.

[gregc]

If you have 10% body fat, don't try to lower that! It won't be necessary! Besides, you need a little fat on ya.

Regarding running, a good thing to do is to time yourself when you run a mile. Each time you run it, you should get a better time -- try to improve that time, like from 10 minutes to 9.5 minutes, 9.5 minutes to 9 minutes, and so on.

Regarding your calorie intake, it depends on your weight and height. How tall are you? How much do you weigh? Also, how old are you (just wondering)?

[ebon00]

To work on speed I suggest checking out Charles Poliquin's website here. In the Articles section he has recently posted two articles on using weight training to improve the 40-yard dash. Might be worth looking into.

As for you program it looks pretty good. I would not stick to that set/rep scheme for all the exercises though. Since you're mostly doubling up on your upper body exercises you should work one session (say Monday) heavy for low reps (no more than 5) and then do an explosive session the next time (Thursday). For that explosive session skip the dips and shrugs and substitute high pulls from the hang (snatch grip preferably). Also, substitute push jerks for the military press and do your bench presses explosively (50-60% of 1RM, 6-8 sets of 2-3 reps). Football is an explosive sport, contact is hardly ever more than 10 seconds so you don't need prolonged tension sets like 8-12 reps.

I also think you should add another hamstring exercise. The posterior chain is vital in sports performance and the overreliance on squats in most football programs tend to weaken the posterior chain in favor of strong quads/glutes.