Speed of Sport: Football

At TB12, we encourage all athletes to train at the Speed of Sport. So to prepare our brains and bodies for game day, our training needs to include movements that prime our muscles and our mind by simulating in-game activities.

For a full-contact sport like football, this may seem like a way to risk injury during your training, but we believe that this will actually help reduce the risk of injury. By wearing equipment like helmets, cleats, and pads and full-speed contact training with a football dummy or blocking shield you can match your training as close to what you will experience on game day.

Here are two exercises to incorporate into your training:

BANDED ROUTE RUNNING

Start by fastening two TB12 looped resistance bands together. Then fasten the band to an immovable pole or have a partner loop themselves within one end of the band. Then, loop the other end of the band yourself. Start in a staggered stance with one foot about 12 inches behind the other and in an athletic position, with your front knee bent to about 15 degrees and your body weight shifted forward onto your front foot. Make sure your knee is aligned over your toes.

When you or your partner say, “Go,” sprint forward for about 5 yards as quickly as you can. At the 5 yard mark cut toward the right and have your hands ready to receive a pass. Once your route is completed don’t let the band pull you back. Stay in an athletic stance and march back toward your partner or the pole keeping your core engaged. You can repeat this drill lining up on the other side of the field also.

BANDED BACK PEDAL

For those defensive players, an example of a speed of sport movement would be a Banded Back Pedal with Hip Opener, using two resistance bands to improve their speed and coordination. Start in a similar manner as the wide receiver drill looping two resistance bands together. Your partner will go inside one of the bands bringing it around their hips while the cornerback will bring the opposite end around their hips. The cornerback will face their partner and sit back in an athletic stance. When the partner says “go” the cornerback should backpedal as quickly as they can for about 3 yards and then turn their hips to the right and run forward full speed for another 5 yards. This same movement can be done by shifting the hips to the left and then running straight ahead.

GET STARTED

• The goal of these exercises is to increase your speed, coordination, and strengthen your core, so it’s important to be as explosive as possible when doing these movements.
• As a quick disclaimer, don’t perform any of these drills where you are tensioning the bands beyond 10 yards or there is the potential the bands will snap.
• You can apply the above examples of exercises to any other position and movement on the football field. Again, the main point here is you can’t train slow and move fast and that statement is the essence of what training at the speed of sport is.

For more TB12 resistance band exercises you can do at the Speed of Sport, check out our TB12 Method Mobile App. Learn more about the benefits of training at the Speed of Sport from TB12 client and aspiring college football player Carter Scudo here.