Division 1 Football Workouts

Football, a sport known for its tough athletes and hard-hitting play, features players who train year-round on and off the field. Successful football players often incorporate many elements of athleticism such as speed, agility, and strength. The game requires dynamic play and the ability to make sudden movements to evade opposing players. Division 1 college football brings players to the level just below professional. Their workouts need to be extreme to prepare them for the competition.

  1. Olympic Lifts

    • Considered "dynamic" exercises, they require the lifter to move weights from the ground, over their head. These exercises engage multiple muscle groups, rather than isolating a single muscle per exercise. These exercises provide an advantage for football players, especially at higher levels, strengthening ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue from different angles and promoting overall body development. An exercise to practice, the snatch, can be performed two different ways. The other prominent Olympic lift, the clean and pull, is remarkably similar to the snatch, but performed with a much narrower grip; utilizing different muscles in the chest, rather than the back and shoulders, according to Muscle Talk.

    Sprints

    • Almost any athlete can enjoy the advantages of practicing sprints, but football players, especially those in Division 1, can see improvement in their game if they utilize sprints. Although wide receivers tend to do the majority of the running, positions such as linebacker, quarterback, and running back can gain explosive speed with the proper training. Shuttle runs are practiced by setting up a cone 20 yards away and running to it, touching the ground and returning to the starting line. This basic workout is a necessity when looking for success in the 40-meter dash.

    Bench Press

    • The bench press is a tried and true workout used in football training programs. Working to increase your shoulders, triceps, and pectoral muscle, the football player gains the ability to push other players away, a skill needed to overpower opponents and get into the end zone. The 225 pound bench press is viewed as a measuring stick of strength by NFL coaches and scouts.