Bodybuilding During Football Season

Since a lot of athletes take part in more than one activity this can have an effect on how they train for their main sport. If this is the case with you, it can put you in a very tough position, and you have to monitor very closely any additional training. This would include making sure you are not feeling greatly exhausted, losing your desire for food, having regular joint aches or pains, or not making progress in the weight room.

For the football player who is also a bodybuilder, during football season, football should always come before bodybuilding. Unless you go pro, football will last only a few years of your life, and you will never get it back. It’s difficult to combine football and bodybuilding because both sports use different training methods and exercises. If your football coach recommends a specific workout, you can add some bodybuilding lifts to the end of your workout.

If your schedule allows it, you can try lifting twice a week, doing a full-body workout on both days. Limit workout selection to only moves that work the most muscle mass. You don’t have to do a fancy workout; just weighted dips, squats, calf raises, and leg curls are a good start. Try to preserve your strength in the “core” muscle group (gluteals, abdominals, hip flexors and spinal muscles) rather than trying to gain, as long as the season’s on. Squats, dead lifts, leg presses, abdominal curls against resistance, and leg raises are superb exercises for developing the core musculature.

Upper body strengthening with bench presses, military presses, and various exercises to strengthen elbow flexors and extensors are also important for football players. Don’t try to go for you max during the season – just eat a clean bulk diet to lose fat and retain muscle. Football practice and games will wear you out. Once the football season is over, and you can focus on bodybuilding again, you should see some gains.

Here is a program for football season training. Try to get about three days in between sessions, and no lifting 1-2 days before a game. Instead, drink lots of water so you are less likely to dehydrate during the game, and eat moderate carbs:

Week 1

Day 1

  • Pulling – cleans 5 sets of 5
  • DB rows – 3 sets of 8-10
  • Chins – total of 30 reps
  • Hammer curls – 3 sets of 6-8
  • Hanging leg raises – 3 sets to failure

Day 2

  • Pushing – bench press pyramid up to 8-10 rep failure set. You should be using about 60% of your max bench weight. All sets to be 8-10 reps. 5 total sets, including transition sets.
  • Squats – pyramid up to an 8-rep failure set. Total sets should be 5, including transition sets.
  • Push press – 3 sets of 6 reps
  • Bent laterals – 3 sets of 8-10
  • Skull crushers – 4 sets of 8
  • Incline crunches – 3 sets to failure

Week 2

Day 1

  • Pulling – good mornings or stiff legged deads pyramid up to an 8-10 rep failure set
  • DB rows – 3 sets of 8-10
  • Chins – total of 30 reps
  • Hammer Curls – 3 sets of 6-8
  • Hanging leg raises – 3 sets to failure

Day 2

  • Bench press – 8 sets of 3 reps. Set 1 should start with 10% of max bench, then 20%, 30%, etc., with the last set being about 80% of your max bench, 3 reps to failure.
  • Lunges – 3 sets of 10
  • Military press – 3 sets of 10
  • Bent laterals – 3 sets of 8-10
  • Outward DB extensions (on incline) – 4 sets of 8-10
  • Incline crunches – 3 sets to failure

Week 3 – repeat Week 1

Your lifting program should vary with the stages of your football year. There are lots of extra training demands in the middle of a hard football season, and these will have a great effect on your recovery ability. Quality exercise, rather than quantity is certainly healthier in the middle of the season. Because of the great strain of a long football season most players end the season weaker and smaller than when they started.

The Benefits Of Strength Training

Strength training uses resistance to fortify and condition the musculoskeletal system, improving muscle tone and stamina. The main effect of strength training is improved physical performance. This type of training increases the size, strength and endurance of your muscles, which adds to your performance on the football field. Another benefit of a good strength-training program is its effect on your general appearance and body composition, which can directly influence self-esteem.

Strength is the foundation of everything you do on the football field. All of your on-field movements – running, jumping, blocking, tackling, kicking, throwing, etc. – require the application of force. It is also important to develop power, which is defined as the rate at which you can apply your strength. Movement, which includes speed and agility, is another important area for development.

Should You Take Supplements For Football?

Football is an electrifying game of powerful contest, and success depends on having a varied set of abilities. Physical training, dietary intake and supplementation will determine a great part of your performance. What supplements are suitable?
•Multivitamins
•Glutamine
•Whey Protein
•Creatine Monohydrate
Vitamin B
• Caffeine
•Flax Seed
•Vitamin E
• Citrulline
• Ginseng
• Gingko Biloba

Shannon Sharpe

There’s probably no better-known “bodybuilder” in professional sports than retired seven-time all-pro Baltimore Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe. A lot of full-time bodybuilders covet Sharpe’s muscle size, proportion and definition. Sharpe’s workout is really comparable to that of most bodybuilders. When he played, Sharpe worked each body part once a week during the season and twice a week during the off-season.

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