Conditioning for Offensive and (Maybe) Defensive Lineman

Hey

Im 18 6’3 and 265 lbs with around 29% BF. I’ve been working out a lot in the gym and I have noticed that my cardio has gone down drastically. I have about 3 months until college training camp and I would like to get my cardio up. I have strength training 4 days week.

I would prefer things that would help me in football and I have the proper motivation to do anything

Thanks.

Hill sprints
Sled pushes/drags
Loaded carries
Barbell complexes

You can either do them after lifting on some/all of your lifting days, or do conditioning on your non-lifting days.

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x2 activities guy -all you need really.

I’d add these as another option also…

Also for the second half of your strength workout cut the rest times right down to 20-30 secs or superset some opposing movements. Even if have to lighten up the weight for couple weeks wil be worth it in terms of increased pump and metabolic effect

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For football you’re gonna get the most out of sprints, sleds, and prowlers. Emom is great for football bc it’s so similar to the game. All out for a short time then a short rest, repeat. And as said above shorten rest times in the weight room

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What does your coach recommend? When my sons played college football, their coaches had specific workouts for them to follow the summer before reporting to their first camp.

Bigboisj, I love sprints either on a track, roadside or on a treadmill. :30 as hard as you can go and then :30 rest. If you can do 10 of these without dropping too far off your first sprint, or close to it, you will be in great shape for football.

I am a former college olinemen and I really enjoyed doing emom sets as tim mentioned a few comments earlier. As a big guy like you I hated running so I liked to do a lot of emom sets as they allow you to get a great workout that has real good application to our sport. I liked to do a lot of work with a speed ladder to quicken my feet which is very valuable for linemen if you dont have a ladder thats ok you can still do the movements without one, jumping rope also works really well for this. If your not already doing weighted carries you need to start implementing them into your training as core and grip strength is pivotal for linemen. Also make sure to get into your stance everyday and do some get offs and work through your step progressions it seems obvious but one of the hardest parts of the first few days is getting your legs accustomed to being in your stance so much so it can really help give you an edge if you go into camp comfortable there.

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What happened to make you think your cardio has gone down?

Without knowing what type of equipment you have access to it is hard to say. However, when I was high school and playing football I ran 3x per week and did cardio 2-3x per week. My weight training was full-body and pretty intense, it focus on O-lifts, as well as heavy squats, dead lifts, and presses. As far as running, I would do shuttle sprints, suicides, 40 yard dashes, and lots and lots of hill sprints. I also liked to hit the heavybag whenever I could, because I found it really improved my hand speed and upper body explosiveness, which helped me as a linemen. However, I had access to a great weight room and boxing gym, others may not be so lucky.

I meant lift 3x per week and did cardio 2-3 per week.