I have been training with weights, since I was 16 years of age and I am now 65, I have read studied and learnt from, whom I class as very knowledgeable people in the strength training field, such as Bill Starr, Bob Whelan, Brad Steiner, Stuart Mc Robert, John Christie, Brooks Kubik and Peary Rader.
I know what I am on about, without being a lard head who knows it all. I am prepared to learn, providing what I am learning is helpful and safe, in building my body and others.
Just recently I offered my services to my Local Football Club ( Australian Rules ), as their Strength Coach , I obtained advice from Bob Whelan and came up with the following program in which the players under my tutelage , and 2 of my assistants train twice a week.
I have experience in training Footballers and people in Strength training as I operated a Gym in my back yard from 1978 till 1991, no one questioned my training methods, they just done it and got results, just the basics in good form, mostly only training twice a week and sometimes three.
Australian Rules is a heavy contact sport, where no head gear or protective gear is worn; the player’s play 4 quarters of 25 minutes per quarter, with a 15 minute break at half time. The sport has a high incidence of knee injuries, resulting in knee reconstructions; I put this down to continuous running and high angled pressure put upon the body. My main aim is to strength train my players which will, Prevent injuries and improve their performance.
Australian Rules is all about pushing and pulling as most or if not all contact sports are. It makes sense to work the legs, back and shoulders, using compound exercises.
It is my feeling that strength training has had the greatest effect on the improvement of athletic performance, more than any other form of supplementary training.
The program the players use is as follows:
Monday: Workout 1#
5 minutes warm up, as players run around the Football Oval.
1. Bench Press 2x6-8 1 warm up set after first hard set go straight to chins, rest 2 minutes and repeat
2. Chins hands facing 2x6-8
3. Dips 2x6-8 after first set go straight to Lat Pulls, rest 2 minutes and repeat
4. Lat Machine pull downs 2x6-8
5. Machine Squats 1warm up set followed by 2 sets x10reps.
6. Weighted crunch sit up
7. Neck work sets x 10 using slightly deflated soccer ball
8. Calf raises 1x 20reps
Friday Workout 2#
5 minutes warm up, as players run around the Football Oval.
1. Standing Press 2x6-8 ( same process as above)
2. Chins 2x6-8
3. Dips 2x6-8
4. Seated Rows 2x6-8
5. Trap Bar Dead lifts 1warm up set, 2x10
6. Side bends 2x10
7. Neck Ball 2sets
8. Calf Raises 1x20
Note: If time is short and the heat reaches between 90 F 100degrees F, I sometimes train the players using one hard set only.
This type of temperature is normal in my home town from January till April
When a player can lift the weight for the target reps in good form the weight is increased by 2 to 5lbs.
· All workouts are recorded, and improvement passed on to players.
· The ankles and feet are strengthened with Calf raises, as does standing on your feet
performing movements.
· Players are rotated off the training track in groups of 6 with two players at each station,
· The neck is kept strong, by using a slightly deflated soccer, putting pressure on the ball with your head and rolling it up and down the wall.
· The big thing these days , which you hear a lot about in Football circles is strengthening the Core Muscles , the Core Muscles are the abdominals, obliques, quadratus lumborium, lower back, and gluteus muscles, exercises which work and strengthen these muscles are Crunch sit up, Side bend, Squat, Trap Bar Dead lift, Chin up.
· Occasionally I have been using the Farmers walk and Sand bag carry.
Some people get off the track:
Just recently I was confronted by a player who wanted to do something different, or his own thing, it became too hard explaining to him that the basics work. He told me he likes to train 5 days a week splitting his program, training body parts so to speak.
There are some players who find it hard to accept the truth about strength training, as mentioned above, these people fall by the way side, and sometimes come back and train correctly using full body, basics exercises.
Strength training for football must not be confused with modern bodybuilding, as some players feel they need to read and follow body building magazine programs, this can be no further from the truth. This is my major hurdle convincing all, what the truth is about strength training.
I know it and others need to.
