How to Get Much Faster for Football
Here is how you get much faster for football. The real, non-nonsense approach to football speed training, the kind that not only takes over a half second off your 40 but also helps you get faster where it counts – on the football field!
Getting faster for football really isn’t that complicated. Somehow, football speed training has become more complex than advanced nuclear physics. As I wrote in the “3 Football Speed Training Myths, Busted” article, most football players are led astray by gimmick products like parachutes, cones and the dreaded track-influenced “Football Speed” programs.
The problem with most of the “get faster for football” Stuff out there is that 99% of the football speed training products out there focus on the 40-yard dash. Now, we all have to run the 40 during testing, so, investing in a testing preparation product like Joe DeFranco’s DVD is a wise move. After all, some coaches put so much stock in your testing numbers that performing well could mean the difference between having a spot on the team and sitting on the bench.
But, I’m not concerned with testing speed right now. I’m talking game speed. The speed that gets D-lineman to the QB and gets Running Backs to the second level. This is the type of speed that wins games. Why some coaches over-rely on testing, I’ll never know. As Chuck Knoll always says, “Watch the film, not the stopwatch!”
So, how do we go about building this kind of game speed? How do we really get faster for football? Glad you asked…
To Really Get Faster For Football, Get Stronger
Why do guys hate hearing this? I swear, every time I write an article about how you need to get stronger in order to get faster rather than running around cones, I get venomous hate mail. Something about those little orange cones makes people happy.
Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but a heavy Deadlift will do more for your football speed than 10-million cones.
How strong you are determines how fast you are, at least to a point. The first argument weak, cone-running, parachute-wearing types come up with is that Elite Powerlifters, especially the super heavies aren’t super fast. “Those guys Squat 1000lbs, they should be the fastest in the world!”
There is a point of diminishing returns. But, for many guys, this might be in excess of 700-lbs. When you can Squat that much, let me know and we’ll figure out how to further increase your speed without lifting more. But, don’t come to me with your massive 405 and proclaim that strength work isn’t key to increasing speed.
If you want to get faster for football, you need to concentrate on getting stronger on exercises like Box Squats, Box Front Squats, Deadlifts and Deadlift Variations, Cleans, and Squats. Work them hard, Max Effort style. Continue to increase the weights and your flexibility (more on that later) and you will get faster.
In Bill Romonowski’s book, he talks about working on his speed with a world famous track coach. Bill was only leg pressing at that time and coach told him to start Squatting. After a few weeks, Bill called and excitedly let the coach know that he hit 410. The coach replied, “good, now you can Squat as much as my female sprinters.”
Train Hamstrings Heavy & for Speed
Your hamstrings are your speed muscles. The hams, along with the glutes, act as your engine out on the field. Yet, we still see people missing the boat on hamstring training. In training the hamstrings, keep a few key points in mind:
The hamstrings are made up of a high percentage of fast twitch fibers and must be trained heavily. They tend to respond best to low – medium reps. If you’ve been neglecting them, the hams will have to be worked more often until they catch up to the more powerful Quads. Your hamstrings are made up of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, & semimenbranosus muscles – all must be worked for maximum speed The hamstrings must be worked from multiple angles with a variety of exercises
The hamstrings must be attacked. Plan on working them at least twice per week. Exercises like Deadlifts, Snatch Deadlifts, Box Squats, Romanian Deadlifts, Kettlebell Swings and Power Cleans are what build football speed. Not running over hurdles in a tinfoil hat. These must be done heavily in order to get the kind of speed you desire.
Now, with that in mind, the hamstrings must also be trained dynamically. Most players never stop and think about the insane force we place on our hams during a game. Thus, we must prepare them for those forces by training the hams specifically for speed.
Building crazy stength in your legs is the first step in getting faster for football. But, as many a disapointed lifter has found out, it’s not the only one.
You must also work your legs in a dynamic way…or, simply put, you must do speed-specific exercises. No, I don’t mean “speed exercises” where you run with a vest on or pulling your teammate around.
The History of Texas Rangers Team
When the original Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1960 when the Washington, DC, the Alliance for the senator in the name of a professional baseball team the right to operate. Air Force Major General Elwood Richard Quesada bought the team.
The new Washington Senators team in 11 seasons, winning only in 1969 was more than defeating. Senators Frank Howard was the most successful players. Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams from 1969 to 1971 served as the head coach of the Senators until 1972 the team moved to Arlington, Texas.
Senator’s home in the East Capitol Street and Ana Castilla riverside DC Stadium (later renamed in 1969, RFK Memorial Stadium). Senators uniform colors are red, blue, white composition, uniform chest reads “Senators”.
The baseball industry efforts into the DFW Metro Area. Since 1962, the American League will have a professional team intends to move to Dallas. Fort Worth area. Kansas City Athletics owner Charles O. Finley had planned to Athletics moved to Dallas, but this idea was the other AL team owners flatly refused. In 1964, as a minor league team Dalasiwo Fort San Antonio home, with a 10,000-seat stadium in Arlington completion of the Turnpike. The stadium was renamed Arlington Stadium, the Rangers became the first home.
New York Mets Pitching Staff Not Bad At All After 20-Inning Marathon Win!
Who would have thought that the New York Mets Pitching Staff would be the strongest part of the team, while the Hitting Staff would be the weakest? Saturday, April 17th against the Saint Louis Cardinals, the Mets Hitting Staff was shut-down until the top of the 19th inning when Jose Reyes scored a run on a sacrifice fly against a position player converted to pitcher during the game. All regular relievers were already used up in the Cardinals bullpen, and the only pitchers available were starters.
Cardinals coach Tony La Russa decided not to bring in any of his starting pitchers to continue the game; so, he elected therefore to use position players to do the pitching. This decision eventually cost him the game, considering the fact that the Mets hitters could not hit a ball outside the Saint Louis infield if their lives depended on it.
The Mets Hitting Staff could not even score a run against Felipe Lopez, Cardinals third-base man who took over the pitching duties, temporarily relinquishing his third-base position in the top of the 18th inning; this is how dreadful the Mets batters were. Even Jason Bay could not buy a hit to save his life. He went something like 0-for- 7 and was only afforded the chance to reach first base when he was struck on the hand by Joseph Mather (infielder and outfielder), another position player converted to pitcher in the middle of the game.
With his teammates standing on top of the dugout watching every pitch hurled by the shortstop, who won the 3-game series opener with a grand slam the night before, Felipe Lopez pitched a scoreless 18th inning. His Cardinals teammates, jumping up and down, smacking high fives all over the dugout, roared when he entered the dugout allowing no runs and one hit to the hapless Mets hitting staff.
Every Mets fan in the stadium and at home must have been thinking that this could be the worst loss ever in the history of the Mets franchise if the team happens to lose this game. Luckily however, the worst did not happen, and the Mets came away with a 2-1 win over the Cardinals in the 20th inning.
When the season started, every Mets fan was saying that the front office did not do much to make the pitching staff better. Indeed, Mets fans are correct in their claim because the team really did not sign any big-name pitchers. They only added Minor League pitchers from their farm system in Jonathan Niese, Jenrry Mejia, and Fernando Nieve and borrowed Raul Valdes from the Mexican League. The team also signed two Japanese pitchers (Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi) who are currently in the bullpen along with Mejia and Nieve while Niese is in the starting rotation at the number five spot.