By Nick Pinkelman, Owner and Athletics Performance Director
Fast to Precise Performance
Nick@ f2pperfomance.com
Most football plays are won and lost at the point of contact. Being able to over-power your opponent in an instant is a key for a football player being successful. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an offensive player driving the defender back or a defensive player trying to shed a block, the point of contact is a vital part of the game. In order to optimally train for this part of the game we must first look at the forces involved at the point of contact and what it means to the player. Understanding this will allow you to be more specific with exercises that will give your player a greater advantage.
When looking at the forces happening at the point of contact, most will say you have to be stronger than your opponent, the more you bench, squat, and clean the better you will be. However, that thought is not taking two things into account, the force that the opponent is putting on the player and the time a player has to react and counter that force opposing him. It’s not the weight of the opponent that has to be overcame; rather, it’s the weight and momentum they create that has to be overcome. And not only does that amount of force have to be overcome it has to happen faster than the opponent can overcome the amount of force the player creates. Taking these things into account you can see it isn’t just about the amount you can lift, it’s about the amount of force you can withstand and then overcome as well as how fast can you do those things.
Being able to withstand high amounts of force correctly is vital to incorporate into a complete training program. Not only will it help with performance, but not handling force correctly (letting it leak to undesired joints of the body) will also increase the likelihood of injury. When starting my training progression for force absorption I start with isometric, or static, exercises. There are many ways that this can be done – push-up position, bottom of bench position, and a simulated point of contact position with bands.
One isn’t necessarily always better. All of them have their strengths and limitations. The push up and point of contact positions will require more core and shoulder stability, whereas the bench will put more emphasis on the chest muscles. It will depend on the individual weakness of the given player as far as which one is best. What is important is that no matter what exercise is being performed, the athlete has entire control and stability of the position. There isn’t a need to hold these positions more than 30 seconds. Instead, increasing the load or minimizing the rest between sets is more optimal.
Once a player developments the ability to withstand the force statically then you can progress into training to stabilize the force from a moving action. The same exercises used in static positions should be utilized in this progression as well. For this progression the emphasis is on the speed of the action going into an immediate stopping action. The training stimulus that is being trained is stopping high amounts of force and momentum on a dime. Often, I’ll see the athlete slow down as they come into the stopping position, and this isn’t the action the player should get accustomed to for on field performance. Think about how it is going to happen on the field. The opposing player isn’t going to slow down as they come into contact with your player. So how the stopping action occurs has to be the key variable in determining whether to increase the weight or speed of action of the given exercise.
There are three ways I use to overload the action of getting into position. The first is just putting more intent on having speed as you get into the last 2-3 inches of the bottom position. Remember, the stopping action has to be abrupt, so decreasing the weight might need to occur as the player is learning how to perform the movement. The second is to have the player perform a catching action at the desired position. This could be done with a ball, a bar, or even one’s self (for the push up position). The third way to load this action is with bands. You’re not using the bands to resist the action for coming up, but rather to over-speed the action going into the bottom. To do this correctly is almost a learned action in itself. The athlete has to have the confidence to keep the speed fast into the bottom position. Again, progressing or regressing the load will depend on if the correct stopping action is occurring with all of these different loading styles. When performed correctly these exercises will place high demands on the nervous system, so the amount of volume prescribed has to account for that. Too many repetitions will only set the player back for progression and/or adaptability for other training stimulus.
After the player has to withstand the force, he will then have to overcome it. And yes, the amount and speed he can press or “lift” has a role in this action; however, the greater attribute the player needs to have is the ability to switch from the loading or “catching” phase to the shortening or “pressing” phase of the action. Thus, anytime the focus of the training is on this particular progression the key examination point of the exercises has to be on the last 2-3 inches into the bottom position and the first 2-3 inches coming out of the bottom position.
There are two styles of exercises that I like to use for this progression. The first is what most people would term a plyometric exercise. For this progression I still use the three positions that we talked about early. The only thing you are going to add is an explosive pressing action immediately after the catching phase. The emphasis is on the immediate part. If it takes too long to get into the pressing action you won’t place the correct training stimulus you’re trying to achieve for the player. It is vital to be looking at the last and first 2-3 inches in and out of the bottom position. Also, note that this is an advanced exercise and shouldn’t be done with all players. They will have to have the required amount of the stability, especially through the shoulder joint, for it to be performed correctly and safely.
The second style of exercise that I like to use to train this switching action is an oscillatory one. To perform these exercises the player will assume the isometric or static position that we talked about. From there have them perform a pulsing action down and up. The range of motion that you are having them cover is this 2-3 inches into and 2-3 inches coming out of the bottom position. The emphasis is on having the stability throughout the movement and the speed of the switching action. Again, in order to have optimal training transfer to the field, the execution of the exercise has to be spot on.
A well-designed football training program needs to incorporate exercises that enhances the ability at the point of contact. Training your players to stabilize and transfer higher amounts of force quicker will give them a greater advantage for the point of contact when on the field.
