Fast to Precise Performance
The first phase of an off-season training program is critical; this is when I set up the foundation I use to build the rest of my program from. Often this foundation is with each individual exercise. With all exercises I like to always ask the question, how do I want this to show up on the field and is that what is being displayed by the athlete? The goal is to teach the athlete proper position, muscle activation patterns, and muscle firing actions so they can translate it to the field of play. There will be slight variations based on individual athletes and their position. Due to the many variations, this article will focus on general positioning and coaching cues for the exercises. In later articles I will continue to highlight more exercises and explain specifically how they can be incorporated into position specific programs.
The first exercise I will highlight is the rear foot evaluated split squat. Unilateral (one legged) strength and stability is crucial, especially for skilled positions. The focus is on properly executing the exercise down to the fine details in order to maximize the hip position. It is important to take the time now to educate and coach the athlete on the execution and application of the exercise and how will it show up on the gridiron which will in turn bring maximum results later. For this reason I will use this squat as an auxiliary lift during this foundation building phase and then transition the lift into a more primary lift during later phases of the program based on the time of year and the intensity and execution speeds desired increases.
The key points to teach in the basic position are:
· Hips back and coiled (I use the analogy your hip flexor is a spring and you want to compress the spring on both sides).
· Knee comes forward so that it is directly over the toes from the side view and knee is in line with the second toe from the front view. Basically, the athlete’s shin should be pointing straight forward.
· The shoulders should come slightly forward, while keeping the back straight, so that the shoulders are in line with the knee.
· You can start by having the athlete just hold this position until they become familiar with it.
The first progression for the rear foot elevated split squat is the overhead style. Listening to Oregon strength coach Jim Radcliff present this once, I heard him say by placing a bar overhead it helps the athlete find the correct hip position. Since hearing that and using it with my athletes, I would agree. When introducing the overhead style, I only use a pvc pipe since the focus is to have the player find or groove the correct position. I keep the repetitions high (15-20 each leg) when using this as an auxiliary lift, normally one of the last exercises I do for the day. As I increase the weight I drop the repetitions down to as few as 6-8 for each leg. I will also move the exercise to one of my first exercises of the day in order to try to get a potentiation effect from it later.
The second progression that I like to use is a band variation. The idea of the band is to over- speed the downward (stretching) action of glutes and hamstrings which creates more potential energy to be used in the upward action (this commonly known as the rubber band effect, or stretch reflex). The key to this variation is trying to get the muscles to work more like rubber bands, so the emphasis is on the speed in to the bottom position, stabilize it, and have a fast transition coming up. It’s important for the coach to be watching for what happens in this transition phase of the movement, as it will correlate to field situations like the plant phase of a receiver’s route and acceleration in space when the athlete is at faster speeds. Since the importance is on speed, the reps will remain low in the 4-8 range. You should only add more band tension if the athlete is displaying correct position, stability, and quick transition in the bottom position. I tend to place this exercise in the beginning of the workout to maximize the speed that the athlete will be able to execute it with.
The last progression that I will use is an oscillatory split squat. I was first introduced to this variation for exercises by Cal Dietz of the University of Minnesota. The athlete holds the bottom position of the split squats and goes through a 3-5 inch range of motion, creating a pulsing action, starting with going down. I place the emphasis on the position of the transition and then look to add speed to the execution. Ideally, the athlete is trying to maximize the transition phase at the hip with this exercise. It is important make sure the knee isn’t moving side to side or shifting back a lot. It will be awkward at first for most athletes, so start with no weight and high reps (12-20 range) depending on the efficiency that the athlete is displaying. Even when loading the exercise, I keep the reps in the 8-15 range. To load the exercise I like to use dumbbells at the side.
These are just 3 progressions I like to use. Since you are trying to maximize the actions on the field, the position that the athletes display during the exercises is of high importance. Never be afraid to go back to the basic position and just have them hold it, or use the overhead variation with light weight and high reps. Often I will mix these in at the end of a workout in order to work on muscle endurance. Correct positions and actions will lead to more and quicker changes in power compared to just adding more strength.
Photo 1: Overhead Front View Photo 2: Banded Side View
About the Author:
Nick Pinkelman is owner and Athletic Performance Director of Fast To Precise Performance in Edina, Minnesota. F2P Performance specializes in customizing training programs for individual athletes and teams. His area of expertise is football-specific athletic development. He has extensive experience developing athletes at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels. Nick can be reached at nick@f2pperformance.com.