Why Football Players Lift Weights In Season & Off Season

By Alex Mercer

August 2, 2019


Football is a contact sport. Football players need to be in peak physical condition to withstand the contact to absorb hit after hit. Football players will lift weights all year to maintain strength.

Football players will lift weights during the season and in the offseason to stay strong and prevent injuries. Football is a contact sport, so players need to absorb a season’s worth of contact with strong and flexible muscles.

This article will look at why football players lift weights year-round and its benefits.

Lifting Weights In The Off-Season

Football players will often spend their offseason lifting heavy weights and working on explosive movements. Squats, dead-lifts, and hang cleans are just some of the lifts thrown around by football players. Football players lift weights in the off-season for a few reasons:

  • Build Muscle
  • Increase speed
  • Increase flexibility
  • Weight Gain

These four main reasons will help football players on the field take on their opponents. Typically the more significant, faster, and stronger team is what dominates the football field come game time.

If your offense is predicated on physically moving players out of the way, strength training will help develop a football player’s foundation and natural power.

We also want to note that lifting weights is not just for football players. Its benefits range from an overall fitness and building strength for other sports.

Building Muscle In The Off-Season

As mentioned above, the main goal is to get bigger, faster, and stronger in the offseason. Lifting weights for an extended period will help (6-7) months before the season starts and help contribute to the player’s end goal of becoming more dynamic.

lifting weights

Football players will often do football-based, “explosive” lifts in the off-season. These are typical squats (full-body workout), deadlifts (which test how much force a player can generate off the ground), and hang cleans.

Hang cleans are an excellent testament to a player’s ability to use his hips to generate power from the ground into the bar. Players who can hang clean a good amount of weight often hit the hardest and run the fastest.

Maintaining Flexibility

Tight muscles “pull” and leave an athlete sidelined, nursing the injured muscle. As a player builds muscle, they must continue to stretch and keep the muscle flexible. Offseason flexibility will also help players stay healthy when they enter the season – as muscles can absorb impact and not pull or strain.

Daily stretching and maintaining a flexible and durable body are essential for a healthy season. Using resistance bands or foam rollers is a great way to maintain flexibility. Offseason flexibility will also help players stay healthy when they enter the season – as muscles can absorb impact and not pull or strain.

One thing we want to emphasize, as we live in a technology-driven world, is posture. Poor posture will inhibit flexibility.

The picture above may seem ordinary, as 90% of gamers will play with this forward lean. However, this natural forward lean position is terrible for the spine and shoulders.

For example, most athletes who play video games will often be stuck in this position for hours. Without moving off the couch or your gaming chair, sitting in this position will usually “lock” muscles up and restrict movements.

There’s nothing wrong with gaming, but if you do it for an extended period, we always recommend the player get up and do some stretching; there are no muscle and flexibility limitations.

See Our Complete List Of Helpful Football Articles Here

Lifting Weights To Gain Weight

Muscle weighs more than fat. Lifting weights will help increase muscle mass, which will outweigh the fat. Football players will lift in the off-season to pack on weight, proving beneficial for offensive and defensive linemen.

Why is weight gain beneficial for both offensive and defensive linemen? Offensive and defensive linemen rely on strength and power to out-due their opponents. Once leverage has been established, bigger players will often depend on their ability, generated from their muscles, to move smaller or same-size opponents.

Weight gain is also essential for skill positions, to run away from and through the opposing defense. Defensive players will also hit harder due to more mass being delivered with each hit.

Why Do Football Players Lift Weights During The Season

Football players often spend most of the year lifting weights to build strength and muscle. Muscle development helps players run faster, jump higher, and develop natural power.

Weight training must be consistent as muscle and definition typically start to go away after two weeks.

Therefore, if players work hard all off-season building muscle, they must work to maintain it. Teams who lift off-season and then don’t lift during the season are wasting muscle they gained in the off-season.

Consistent lifting and muscle building will help players’ bodies absorb contact and recover faster. Like how a golfer takes care of his golf clubs, a baseball player takes care of his glove, a football player must take care of his body.

Through consistent strength and conditioning, players will finish the whole season with a lower risk of injury.

Conclusion

Football players lift weights to build their bodies to maximum size ultimately. This will help with injury prevention, strength building, and eventually displacing opponents.

There’s a reason why players train year-round for football, continuously waking up at 6 AM for lifts. While football requires discipline and dedication, it also requires attention to detail and learning to push your body to the limit.

Weight lifting helps with all of the assets, as players must motivate and inspire each other to put in the necessary work to be successful off the field.

About the author

Hey There! My Name is Alex and I run Get Hyped Sports. I created this platform to help people find their love for sports and gaming.

Our work has been featured on platforms like Mashable.com, SVG.com, and XXL.com.

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