One of the most important aspects of a football player’s overall training is strength and conditioning training for football. Recreational and professional bodybuilders are primarily focused on just building mass as soon as possible. However, strength training in football is a whole different ball game.

Strength training for football players has to follow phases or cycles that are designed to improve their overall strength and power. By breaking the football season into three separate phases – off-season, in-season and transition, your coach will be able to define the different types of strength that form a part of strength training for long snappers or quarterbacks. Here is a quick breakdown of the different types of strength and power training for football that you will have to undergo to excel on the gridiron.

1) Anatomical Training

Anatomical strength training in football refers to working on your functional strength. During this cycle of training, the primary focus is to balance your body, strengthen the ligaments, tendons and muscular tissues that will soon see extensive wear and tear once season starts.
How: Circuit training

2) Hypertrophy Training

Football players need to be well-built and strong. However, pure bodybuilding should not form the bulk of your strength training in football. Hypertrophy training or training for building bulk should be done in a 4 week macro cycle.
How: Exercises that stick to prime movers in the body of a football player

3) Maximal Strength Training

Once you have completed your hypertrophy training, you will have to take up maximal strength training to activate the fast twitch motor units in the muscles that you have bulked up.
How: Same as hypertrophy training but with maximum load

4) Power Training

srength and power training for football go hand-in-hand. If you cannot transfer all your bulk and strength to sport-specific movements, your training will have no real value. Power training helps you to contract your muscles rapidly and convert movements to explosive power on the field.
How: Plyometric or jump training and isotonic weight lifting