Explosive Upper Body Training for Football Lineman
By
Steven Morris
“I tell ya. His legs are as strong as an ox, but he throws a punch like a
7-year old girl!”
Ah, yes, football coaches are definitely known for their sensitivity.
Actually, in this case, the coach was right. I had been called by a coaching
friend of mine to figure out what was wrong with one of their most promising
lineman. The kid was big and could squat a ton, but he just wasn’t taking people
out like he should be.
After watching him practice for a while, I immediately noticed he had two
problems—he was leaving his hips behind a bit when blocking (a quick form
correction fixes this), and his hands were slow (this take a little more work).
The last decade or so has seen the spread of heavy, hard, and fast lower body
training. An emphasis on the posterior chain has led to increases in speed and
explosiveness and has made the game of football a whole lot faster. This is a
welcome break from the Muscle & Fitness inspired programs of the 1980s.
However, many football training programs still neglect a huge element—upper body
explosiveness! Hand speed is largely ignored. So many guys can run fast or lift
a lot of weights but deliver a blow like Glass Joe!
If you have strong legs and explosive hips but no power in the upper body,
you’ll get owned. You will lose so much power that the strength in your legs
will be rendered worthless. In order to ensure that your upper body power
matches your lower, here are four exercises you must do.
Rapid standing band press
This serves as a great warm-up exercise to the bench and will also train your
brain to make your arms move fast and with maximum power. Setting up is super
easy. Grab a light band and stump it around your back and over your triceps like
so.
Don’t know how to stump a band? Go low on the back and the band should lie
across your triceps. It’s from this position that you do your band bench.
Now, get into a good athletic position (back arched, hips down, chest up—just
like you would on the line ya big dummy). Once your position is set, start
“benching” that band as fast as humanly possible for three reps. Rest 30 seconds
and repeat. Do this for 3–4 rounds.
Because you’re working against band resistance, it’s important to make sure
you don’t slow toward the end of the press. Try to punch the band so hard that
it breaks. This is similar to how martial artists are taught to punch “through”
someone rather than just make contact.
Plyometric push-up
This is an old school movement that just isn’t part of enough football
training programs these days. Plyometric or explosive push-ups are a great way
to wake up the central nervous system and get the muscles responsible for bench
pressing and blocking to fire. They’re also a great way to train yourself to
produce massive amounts of force in the upper body.
Drop down into a normal push-up position. Instead of simply doing a push-up,
you’re going to explode up. You should come up with so much force that you
literally leave the ground. If you’ve ever seen someone do a “clapping push-up,”
this is what it should look like. You need to produce enough force so that your
body leaves the ground and you have enough time to clap your hands.
Clapping push-up
A great alternative to the clapping style push-up is to set up two plates
(25s work well) push-up distance apart. Now, start the push-ups with your hands
on the plates. Drop down and explode up. This will give you an extra inch or so
of range of motion.
Prowler duck walk and punch
This is a lineman favorite. It isn’t only effective but super fun to do. This
might have something to do with the fact that it’s very similar to actually
blocking, and players can really see how the movement would carry over.
You’ll need a Prowler or sled and a set of straps with handles. Blast straps
work great for this.
Attach both straps to the sled and walk them out until there’s tension. Now,
drop into your athletic position—handles in hand with the arms close to the body
(again, just like you would be pre-block). Get set and explode. Pop the hips and
punch the handles up and out like you do when blocking. Walk out a bit, reset,
and do it again. Repeat for 20 yards or so, rest, and then do it again.
You can do this without the straps by just using the upright poles on the
Prowler, but if you train more than a few athletes, your Prowler could end up
getting the worst of the exchange. The new Prowler drive pads will make this
easier! Either way, the important thing is to make sure you’re learning to time
the hip pop and punch properly. Having fast hips or fast hands is great, but you
have to be able to coordinate them for maximum results.
Sandbag clean and push
This is a cool variation of the clean and press and is perfect for football
training because it’s highly specific, especially for lineman. It will require
great strength, transfer of power from the legs through the hips and to the
upper body, and muscular coordination. All you need is a sandbag and a little
bit of room.
Load a bag, and clean it in any way you see fit. Use the various handles or
mixed grips, or just grab the bag itself. Now, clean it to chest height. When I
say clean it, I don’t mean end up in one of those “split the legs eight feet
apart” kind of clean position. No, I mean finish the clean in the good football
position, just as you would pre-block, tackle, jump, or sprint.
For the first few reps, hold that position. Then pop the hips hard and push
the bag as far as you can. Think if it like a standing bench press. It’s the
exact motion used when blocking, making it an excellent movement for lineman. It
is maybe one of the most football specific training exercises in the world.
After you get the motion down, begin to do the entire movement as one
complete exercise rather than pausing with the bag at chest height before
pushing. This is an ideal time to video the lift or have a coach/teammate watch
you and critique your form. There aren’t many guarantees in football or football
training, but I can damn-near guarantee that this exercise will improve your
blocking and tackling.
Steven Morris is a personal trainer and strength coach in the Philadelphia
and south Jersey areas and owner of Explosive Football Training. He has been
lifting weights for over 15 years and has been helping people achieve their
fitness and strength goals for over a decade. Learn more about his methods and
download free training reports at
www.ExplosiveFootballTraining.com and
www.ExplosiveFootballTrainingProgram.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
