In-Season Training for Football

What’s up guys, I hope everyone is operating on all cylinders and dominating their week! With football season basically here, teams are beginning training camp and now is the time that you will be tested. With that said I thought it would be a great time to write a post on in-season training.

Now what normally happens is players bust their ass from January-August in the weight room, making great strength and muscle gains. But for some reason, once August hits players stop lifting and in turn, they lose their hard earned strength and size during the season. Finishing off lighter, weaker and beat up.

This is madness!

Why on earth would you spend eight months busting your ass, just to lose all your gains during the most imperative time?! That would make as much sense as taking a hot girl out on a date, have a great time with some good conversation and drinks. All is going great and at the end of the night, she invites you into her apartment and you respond “na, I think I’m gonna head home and play some X-Box”!

Are you mad?!?!

No. Because my readers will not do that. Nor will you stop training during the most pivotal time of the year.

But there is however, some do’s and don’ts that go along with in-season training. So let me break em down for ya.

What you should do:

1. Train no more than 2 full body days per week.

2. The day after your game, include some mobility and recovery work like stretching and foam rolling.

3. Keep workouts no longer than 45 minutes, that’s including your warm-up.

4. Keep volume low. You do not need to do a ton of sets and reps because you don’t want to be sore for practice and of course, game day.

5. If you play on Friday, train Monday and Wednesday. If you play on Saturday, train Tuesday and Thursday.

6. Keep the lower body dominant day on the first training day of the week and the upper body dominant day on the second. You don’t need your legs fatigued for the game.

7. If you are sore or banged up from the game and a training day, only do what you can and focus more on mobility and recovery for the day. You do not want to make matters worse.

8. Don’t try to make gains during the season. Your training is for maintenance so don’t push too hard.

9. Leave 2 reps in the tank on lifts. You want to feel strong and fresh, so stay far away from a weight that is too heavy.

10. If you can, it’s best to train before practice.

11. Eat immediately after training and after practice. Make sure you are eating enough throughout the day otherwise you will lose more weight than you’d like to.

12. Be sure to stay hydrated. The best way is to drink at minimum, half of your body weight in ounces per day. But that is the very least. Try to push a gallon or more a day, depending on your weight.

These are the same rules my players follow and it has worked wonderfully. What I like to do is follow a 4 day routine over a 2 day training week. For example, we might base our day around squats on day 1, a bench variation on day 2, deadlift on day 3 and military presses on day 4. Then you follow day 1 and 2 on the first week, day 3 and 4 the second, and then back to day 1 and 2 on the third and repeat until you complete each day 3 times. This is great for maintenance and my guys are always feeling fresh.

Just don’t forget about the recovery day after the game. It doesn’t make sense to lift and run hard after the game. This time should be used for recovery if you want to stay healthy. Some light running won’t hurt but do not go too crazy.

Remember the goal is always to have the best season of your life, and if you’re constantly hurt and weak that certainly won’t happen. Follow these guidelines and stay strong and most importantly, in the game!

I hope this post helps you have the season of YOUR lifetime!

Until next time guys, get after it and have a safe training camp and season!

If you have any questions I would love to hear them. Please write them below in the comments or email me at chris@tutelatraining.com. Please don’t hesitate because I love to help as much as I can and also hear any feedback.

Have a great season!