Complete Conditioning for Football: Part 6

By Michael J. Arthur & Bryan Bailey

Thanks to an agreement with Human Kinetics, NFLHS.com is able to provide our visitors with excerpts from the book "Complete Conditioning for Football."

During the past three decades the University of Nebraska football program has set the pace for successful conditioning. Now, two members of the Cornhuskers' strength and conditioning staff present the same program used by Nebraska to power its way to national championships.

The book includes 98 proven position-specific exercises that help players at all levels improve speed, agility, power, and endurance. The guide covers basic training principles of adaptation, specificity, overload, and periodization. It also lists which drills are beneficial for some players but not for others, and includes guidelines for proper rest and balanced nutrition.

If a tug-of-war contest pitted three strong men against one man, who would you pick to win the contest? The summation of forces produced by three men pulling in the same direction exceeds the force generated by one man pulling in the opposite direction. The same is true with joint actions. The greater the number of joint actions working together, the greater the force development. Football skills involve multiple joint actions of the hips, knees, and ankles, with the muscular forces added together. This multiple joint action of the hips, knees and ankles working in concert is known as the triple extension, the most powerful movement of the body. Two conditions must be met for the summation of force to be effective. First, as mentioned earlier, each joint action must be firmly stabilized for the force to be conducted through the body. Second, the forces from each joint action must be timed in the correct neuromuscular recruitment patterns. Not as much force can be developed when doing single joint actions such as the leg extension or leg curls, and the timing of muscle recruitment patterns cannot be developed. Therefore, there is little transfer of training in performance improvement.

Football skills involve movements in several planes simultaneously. For example, the hip and shoulder joints allow forward, backward, rotational and side-to-side movements, while a sprint action is primarily done in one plane--forward. But as we have mentioned earlier, football is not played simply by moving forward, but requires changes of direction in which cutting maneuvers (side steps or crossover steps) are used. Making a cut requires movements in three planes at the hip joint (forward, rotational, and sideways), two planes at the knee joint (forward and rotational), and two planes at the ankle joint (forward and rotational). Therefore, it is important to include exercises in your strength program that incorporate multiple plane movements. Your running program should also incorporate a combination of movements including changes of direction.

Synergism occurs when several muscles act together to produce a coordinated joint action by neutralizing each other's individual secondary activity. Only exercises using free weights allow synergism. For example, when doing power presses the shoulder joint muscles must control and balance the barbell. Many smaller synergistic muscle groups of the shoulder girdle assist in coordinating joint actions and preventing unwanted movements. Muscle synergism is required as the body constantly changes position relative to an opponent during tackling and blocking. The synergistic muscles allow for split-second adjustments during movements so that maximum force can be applied to the opponent. Only free weight exercises allow muscle synergism to regulate and coordinate the movement of the resistance. Weight machines, on the other hand, use lever arms, guide rods, and pulleys to dictate the path of movements and balance the resistance, requiring the muscle only to provide the force. Therefore, machines limit the development of muscle synergism.

All speed and agility drills allow for synergism by the nature of their movements. No outside forces are required to change the movement patterns of the body during speed and agility drills. Only the internal adjustment of synergetic muscles assists movement changes and keeps the body in balanced positions to allow maximum force development. The multiple plane movements of free weights also help prevent major joint injuries. The balancing action of synergistic muscles develops joint integrity better than machines. For example, exercises using benches or seats as support restrict the body from stabilizing properly; when doing leg presses the adjustable board substitutes as the stabilizer. The back and stomach muscles are not required to stabilize the action, as when blocking and tackling. However, squatting using free weights requires the back and stomach muscles to stabilize the torso isometrically. This need to stabilize the body allows the legs and hips to work with the back and stomach muscles as a unit to perform the lift.

Find more information about the book Complete Conditioning for Football by clicking here.

Mike J. Arthur, C.S.C.S., is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable strength coaches in the nation. He joined the University of Nebraska staff as an assistant strength and conditioning coach in 1976. In 1994 he was named assistant director of athletic performance at Nebraska. During his tenure at Nebraska, the university has produced many advances in the strength programs used by athletes throughout the nation. His research helps Nebraska stay on the cutting edge of football conditioning. In 1995 Arthur was named National Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Society.

An AAU wrestling champion at 123 pounds for Nebraska in 1970, Arthur was a collegiate and junior national powerlifting champion in the 132-pound weight class in 1977. A ten-time Nebraska powerlifting champion, he set a world record with a 540.25-pound dead lift in the 132-pound class.

He and his wife Reena have two daughters, Tara and Rachel, and a son, John.

Bryan L. Bailey, C.S.C.S., specializes in reconditioning athletes. He has served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach on the University of Nebraska staff since 1987. Nationally recognized for his innovative training methods for reconditioning, Bryan works with doctors and trainers to modify injured athletes' strength and conditioning programs.

Bryan received a B.S. degree in exercise physiology from the University of Nebraska and an M.S. degree in exercise science from the United States Sports Academy.