Speed Training Workouts for Football

Football is an intense contact sport that requires a high level of strength and agility. Speed is key when it comes to winning on the football field. Athletes who want to take their game to the next level need to focus on speed training to improve their performance. There are a few different speed training workouts for football that are both simple and effective. Performing these exercises can greatly increase your speed and make you a better football player.

  1. Suicide Sprints

    • One of the best ways to improve speed and agility for football is to run suicide sprints. This workout will greatly improve your ability to accelerate on the field and make speedy cuts. To perform this exercise, place markers at the 5 yard line, the 10 yard line, the 20 yard line, and the 40 yard line. Make sure you are warmed up and stretch your muscles before starting this workout. It is intense and you will be sprinting at full speed, so a solid warm-up is key. To complete the workout, sprint from the goal line to each of the markers and back in order from the 5 yard line to the 40. Focus on your form when accelerating and making cuts. Drive off the balls of your feet while leaning forward. Use short strides when picking up speed and pump your arms for momentum. This exercise is called a suicide for a reason. It should leave your legs exhausted. Rest between sets and try to time yourself to keep track of your speed and weekly progress.

    Squat Jumps

    • Another excellent speed training workout is the squat jump. This plyometric exercise is effective because it focuses on the development of your slow twitch muscle fibers. Distance runners have slow twitch fibers, but football players need to develop fast twitch fibers for shorter bursts of speed on the field. Squat jumps engage your muscles to build strength and develop explosive speed. You also will improve your vertical jump at the same time. To perform this exercise, begin in a squatting position. Crouch down so that your rear end is just below knee level. Extend your arms in front of you for balance. Then jump straight up, using your leg muscles to explode up through the jumping motion. Land on the balls of your feet and return to the squatting position. Try to complete two or three sets of 10 repetitions to start. You will improve as you regularly follow this workout routine.

    Lunges

    • Lunges are also effective in terms of building muscle strength in your legs. Strong muscle fibers will greatly increase your speed and agility, making you a more explosive and dynamic football player. Lunges are simple to perform. In a standing position, slowly extend one leg forward in a long stride. Then squat down, lowering your other knee until it touches the ground. Slowly stand up and bring your legs back together. You will feel a strain on the muscles in the leg that has been extended. Continue by extending the other leg and repeating the same lunging motion. Perform two sets of 10 to start. You can increase the workout load as you improve your leg strength. Holding free weights in each hand is a simple way to increase the difficulty of the exercise. Remember that there is more to speed training than just running. You need to focus on exercises that build muscle and fast twitch fibers in order to achieve significant results.