The Best NFL Combine Workouts

The NFL combine is a week-long event for the best college football players nationwide to show professional scouts and coaches what they can do in a series of tests. This is probably the biggest week in the life of most of the young athletes invited to the combine, as performance there can help determine their futures. The main tests involved include a 40-yard dash, 225-pound bench press for reps, maximum broad jump and vertical jump, a shuttle run and a three-cone agility drill. Specific workouts can be tailored to improve performance across these disciplines.

  1. Building the Bench Press

    • You can be the fastest, most agile and have the strongest legs of any combine participant, but if your bench press is lagging, you'll be left behind. The 225-pound bench test involves performing as many consecutive reps with 225 pounds as you can. Strength coach Brijesh Patel recommends having two bench press workouts each week -- one based on strength, the other on muscular endurance. In the first session, perform low-rep sets of between one and five using a heavy weight. In the second session, three days later, alternate weekly between three sets of eight and an attempt of the 225-pound test. If benching 225 pounds seems out of the question for the moment, try using either 95, 135 or 175 pounds for your maximum rep workouts. Use around 80 to 90 percent of this for your one- to five-rep sets and 70 to 75 percent for your three sets of eight.

    Just Jump

    • The vertical and broad jump tests are designed to measure lower-body power. The current best broad jump is held jointly by Justin Fargas and Scott Sharks, who both achieved 11 feet, 5 inches, while Gerald Sensabaugh has the best vertical at 3 feet, 10 inches. Train your lower-body twice per week, starting one session with vertical jumps -- landing on the ground or on a high box -- and the other with broad jumps or single-leg broad jumps. Complete five sets of three reps, focusing on generating maximum power. You also need to be strong, so perform one lower-body strength session each week too. Strength coach Charles Poliquin suggests basing leg workouts around full-range squats and deadlifts. Perform these moves for five sets of three to five reps each in your session, aiming to increase the weight or reps each week.

    Fit Over 40

    • Increasing strength and power automatically will boost your 40-yard dash time, but technique has a lot to do with how you perform too. Set up with your shin at around a 45-degree angle and your feet in front of your toes, advises NFL strength coach Joe DeFranco. He adds that if you're strong, mobile and flexible, you shouldn't need that much specific 40-yard dash work. Add three to five 40-yard dashes to your lower-body strength session and six to eight 10-yard dashes, working on your starting position and initial acceleration, on one of your upper-body days. Flexibility is crucial for getting in the right starting position, so DeFranco recommends regular hip flexor, glute and hamstring stretching.

    Running Around

    • Like the dash, the agility drill requires more practice and less in the way of specific training. The cones are set in an L-shape, and you must run to each in different directions. The shuttle run involves sprinting for 5 yards, changing direction and running 10 yards, changing direction again and sprinting a final 5 yards. Include one agility and shuttle-specific day each week, when you either perform the whole test three or four times, or break it down to concentrate on the areas you're struggling with, such as turning 180 degrees or bending to touch the ground. This session should take no more than 30 to 40 minutes.