Strength Training for Athletes

So, what are the rules of the weight room as it relates to speed athletes?

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Rule #1: Learn right....Start light

I know that it is very difficult, especially for boys, to go into the
weight room and put anything less than 45-pound plates on the bar.

That's why I have a motto that I have to repeat over and over and
over again: No Egos in the Weight room.

Most players' strength training technique is so bad in the weight room that they are rarely
more than a lapse in focus away from a career ending injury.

I can't stress how important it is, especially with football players brand new to weight training, that they start with very light weights and master the technique of the lift first.

At the beginning, complete forget about 'heavy' or 'light' and just go for good form. With your 'veteran' lifters, back them up and reteach them how to lift with perfect form.

As you'll see in a minute, effective weight training for sports is dependent on a player's ability to get the most out of the precious few reps they will be doing. So if their form is crap, then that's just what their workouts will be.

In this instance, I apply the 'graduation' game with their weights. I allow them to gradually increase the number of pounds on the bar once they prove to me that they can do it with good form.

I suggest you do the same. Of course, I'm assuming that you have learned how to teach, correct, and identify perfect form with the fundamental lifts.

And no, your experience as a high school or college athlete 15+ years
ago does not qualify you.

If you'd be 100% comfortable correcting and instructing your football team
in front of me, then you qualify.


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Rule #2: Speed athletes are not bodybuilders

With very few exceptions, it isn't going to help an athlete's speed if
they are in the weight room doing lifts that are going to add useless
bulk to their bodies.

Players should only be doing multi-joint movements that address multiple muscle groups at once and can have a positive impact on athletic performance.

For example, there are certain core lifts that we use in all of our strength
training programs.

None of them involve a machine.

There are supplemental exercises that can be added to these core lifts, step-ups for example, but they must follow the multi-joint movement
philosophy.

Now, here are some popular weight room exercises that are great for getting players to look good at the beach, but have no athletic value:

Bicep curls
Hamstring curls
Leg extensions
Chest flies
Tricep extensions
Most machine exercises

On top of that, Smith Machine squats and leg press are what I consider leg exercises for athletes too lazy to do squats and dead lifts and coaches too lazy to teach them.


If you want to learn how to teach and perform explosive weight training lifts that will make faster athletes go to:

Complete Olympic Lifting