Football Core

One of the most overlooked aspects of training Football Players is Core Strength. This aspect of training cannot be overlooked as it is so important to their performance on the field. Football is a sport that is played in a 4 directions, vertical, lateral, reverse and forward. Having a strong core with help get you get from point A to point B as fast and as strong as possible. I will briefly discuss two reasons why I think core strength is so important.

Anti- Rotational Force

This is a big one, especially in the trenches in football. On the line of scrimmage, one of the main goals to stay square to your target, whatever your target may be. For example to get to the Quarterback, the primary goal for the defensive lineman is to beat the offensive lineman anyway possible. The offensive must stay square to the LOS because he does not know 100% where the QB is. Staying square to the LOS is hard to due when pressure form the DL can come at man different angles toward the QB. You can see over and over again OL with weak core get beat via a simple rip-bull, because they cannot fight themselves square!

Rotational Force

This one is super easy, Quarterback Play! There is an old adage you throw the football with your shoulder and arm, but you DRIVE the football with your core and legs. Being able to disassociate the hips and core and force the hips into the throw takes a strong core, without a strong core you won’t be able to zip the football. Playing QB is a unique position, you have to make very unique dynamic movements in a very small area (the pocket) so rotational force is the most bang for the buck, allowing the QB to generate force in a small area! Rotational Force can be seen in all the other positions but QB is the most glaring!

Please do not overlook the importance of having a strong core. To learn how to improve in these areas come by SST Burlington and see how and why we have been so successful in training our athletes for over 20 years! There is no better time to get going at SST, we have our High Performance Summer Camps coming up for our Highschool and University athletes! This camp will provide over 72 hours of training both on the field working speed and agility and in the weight room teaching technique and lifting! Our High Performance Summer Camp has a very extensive alumni list with multiple NCAA/USPORTS/CFL Football Players along with multiple OHL/AHL/NHL Hockey Players! If you are interested in our High Performance Summer Camp, give us a call at 905-632-3558 or hit us up on social media!

Coach Jamie

AND… Don’t forget to check out our High Performance Camp this summer!

Come in for a FREE demo with our MaxFit class!

To book please email us at sst@sstcanada.com and we’ll get you scheduled for your demo.

Resistance for Acceleration

Sprinting has been described as consisting of a series of phases: an acceleration phase (typically the first 10 metres), a transition phase, and a maximum velocity phase.  For sports such as soccer, rugby, hockey, football and basketball, maximum velocity is not always attained, and repeated short sprints are more common.  Taking this into consideration, the ability to develop speed in as short a time as possible (acceleration) may be of high importance to many athletes.  It has been proposed that acceleration and maximum velocity are relatively separate and specific qualities.

An athlete’s ability to accelerate his or her body during sprinting is dependent on several factors.  These factors include technique and the force production capability of the body, in particular the leg muscles.  It has been shown that the technical aspects may have less importance for the acceleration phase of performance than for a typical sprinting event.  For example, in many sports the athletes have to accelerate from a lying or crouching position, from landing on 1 leg and pivoting, from catching a ball, and so on.  Therefore, the force capability of the muscle may be more important in improving acceleration of the athlete.  This point was supported by R. Mann in his publication titled “The Elite Athletes Project: Sprints and Hurdles.” which stated that the ability to perform well in sprints over short distances is dependent on the ability to produce large amounts of force at crucial times.

A variety of methods are used to enhance force output.  These methods include resistance training, plyometric training, and assisted and resisted sprinting techniques.  For this article we will focus on resisted sprinting which involves athletes sprinting with added load.  This load can come in different forms: weighted vests, sled-sprints, uphill sprinting and limb loading.  More specifically, this article will focus on the towing of weighted devices such as sleds which is the most common method of providing towing resistance for the enhancement of sprinting.

 

 

It has been shown that the use of towing as a form of resistance may increase the load on the athlete’s torso and therefore require more stabilization.  This training stimulus may increase pelvic stabilization, leading to a positive effect on sprint performance.  Increased torso loads also cause an increased upper-body lean and increased thigh angle at both the beginning and the end of the stance phase.  This increased thigh angle reflects the increased need for force production during the prolonged stance phase.

It is important to note that sprinting speed should not be decreased by more than 10% when adding resistance; adding too much resistance may alter running kinematics in ways that are not desirable.  It is also maintained that sled-sprinting should not be employed when the desired training effect is neural (i.e. maximal velocity).  Sled-sprinting is an effective method for a metabolic training effect (i.e. acceleration).  Due to evidence that only the first 10 metres of a sprint have been designated as the acceleration phase, it is suggested that sled-sprints should be performed for distances no longer than 10 metres.

S.S.T. holds that a well implemented speed program should include a variety of methods to achieve desirable results (i.e. resisted sprints, assisted sprints, unassisted sprints and resistance training).  Also, methods such as resisted and assisted sprints should be used sparingly, such as in the final or next-to-final block of an athlete’s periodized program.

BTW – If you missed last week’s piece “To Squat or to Power Clean, that is the question?” CLICK HERE to see it.

 

Come in for a FREE demo with our MaxFit class!

To book please email us at sst@sstcanada.com and we’ll get you scheduled for your demo.