One of the most underrated attributes of an offensive lineman is flexibility. This can often get lost when evaluating an athlete because they can be so big and so strong. When you get to the higher levels, the first test they want to see offensive athletes perform is an overhead squat. A lot can be said about an athlete when looking at how good of a squatter they are; it can give insight on athletic ability and their range of motion to determine if they can take the pounding that football places on your body. I have discussed with many college coaches it is very easy to get players stronger and faster, it is much more difficult to get them more flexible. That’s why with all of my offensive line athletes I constantly make them do a movement called Squat-to-Stand.
This movement works by doing the following
- Reaching down and touch your toes (or as far as you can)
- Then letting your but slowly come down to the squat position. Keeping you chest up nice and big.
- Followed by putting one arm up at a time above your head
- Then standing up
- Repeat 2 sets of 12
I preach to the kids that they should be doing this before every single one of their workouts and a couple sets before they go to bed at night. If done over a period of time you will definitely see an improvement in lower body flexibility.
Jamie Lalonde
thebigchill@sstcanada.com