The goal of football style workouts is to have a combination of agility, strength, and power. This requires long hours spent at the gym, but more importantly targeted workouts for a range of areas.
This workout style is ideal for building up strength and stamina while losing weight in different areas of your body.
Here are football style strength workouts.
Legs
Bulgarian Split squat
As a lower body workout, the Bulgarian Split squat works the leg muscles, including the hamstrings, glutes, and calves.
This exercise is now preferred over the traditional squat because the latter puts pressure on your lower back, which could cause injury, while the former puts most of the emphasis on the legs.
Here’s how to do one correctly:
- Elevate one foot on a stable implement.
- Brace yourself and bring the hips straight up and down.
- Keep your chest only slightly leaned forward and keep your other foot on the floor.
Reverse Lunges
Lunges strengthen your glutes, legs, and abs.
However, the reverse lunge focuses on the muscles at the back of your thighs (hamstrings) and the meatiest muscle in your glutes (glute max).
Additionally, reverse lunges are better for your knees because compared to regular lunges or forward lunges, the technique reduces pressure on them.
A reverse lunge is performed by:
- Stand erect but with your hands on your hips and your left foot a step back.
- Lower your back leg until it is close to touching the floor, causing your front leg to create a 90-degree ankle.
- Push through your heel and return your right foot back in line with your left.
Arms
Zottman Curl
The Zottman Curl is one of the more famous workouts. As any educated trainer, like the certified personal trainer at Sin City Training, can tell you, the Zottman Curl was invented by George Zottman, a strongman in the 19th century.
This exercise has the advantage of working your biceps and forearms at the same time.
To perform the Zottman curl:
- Contract your biceps to curl your dumbbells upwards while keeping your back straight.
- Move your hands so that your palms face downwards while squeezing your biceps.
- Lower the dumbbells and twist your hands so that your palms are facing forward again.
Triceps Pushdown
The primary muscle group that this exercise targets is the triceps muscle in the back of your arm by strengthening it.
Strong triceps increase the stability of your shoulders and elbows, allowing you to better throw a ball, or lift heavy objects.
The triceps pushdown is done by:
- Stand straight with your feet slightly apart and grip the rope or band.
- Pull down by extending your elbows and squeeze or contract.
Abs
Planks
The plank is a core strength exercise that requires maintaining a pushup position for as long as you can. The plank strengthens your entire stomach muscles: the “six-pack muscle”, your deepest abs muscles, your sides, and back.
There are different type of planks such as the side plank, but to do a regular plank:
- Assume a push-up position by bending your elbows and putting your weight on your forearms.
- Brace your core.
- Stay in this position for as long as you can, remembering to breathe.
Weighted sit-up
While regular sit-ups will tighten your core just fine, you’ll see faster results with weighted sit-ups. Another reason is that doing sit-ups for a prolonged period will stop working, as your muscles get used to it.
Here’s how to do a weighted sit up:
- Hold a dumbbell or weighted plate to your chest and sit on the floor.
- Bend your knees at a 90-degree angle and lift only your upper body until your forearms touch your thighs.
- Hold this position for a few seconds, keeping your feet firmly on the ground.
Back
Back Extension
Performed on a 45-degree bench with feet planted, back extensions build lower back strength while also targeting your hamstrings and glutes. Developed back muscle strength improves power, speed, and good posture.
To do a back extension exercise:
- Slightly bend your knees, place your thighs on the pad and extend your arms towards the floor.
- Move up your shoulders until your spine and hips are in line, engaging your core.
- Slide your shoulders back, inhale and bend down from your waist.
Kneeling Cable Pulldown
This is an intermediate skill level workout that targets the back, shoulders, and arms.
On the cable machine:
- Kneel at the center and grab a handle in each hand.
- Fully extend your arms, then pull your elbows to your sides, feeling the tension.
With the proper guidance, particularly from the abundant personal trainers and workout studios in Las Vegas, football style workouts are one of the best exercises.
