Help With 8 Weeks Prior to Football

football starts in officially 8 weeks, so the final push has begun.

my stats

Age 17
weight 215
bf not sure
bench 230
squat 365
dead 375

Im trying to decide basically the type of cardio i should be doing, and when to do it.

I was thinking of cardio 3 times a week. one session of 400m sprints, and 2 of shorter distances. A split would look something like this:

Mon: ME lower body, jump rope
Tues: 20mx4 40mx4 60mx4
Wed: ME upper body, jump rope
Thurs: 400mx4
Fri: DE lower body, jump rope
Sat: DE upper, shorter sprinting routine (same as tues)
Sun: off

  1. Not sure how much volume on the sprints. What would be the appropriate amount for both 400 and shorter varieties?
  2. Would this split be best, or a split in which running always occurs after lifting? (ie making tues and thurs off/GPP days, with those workouts moved to directly after my Wed and Fri workouts)

Thanks for any advice

I would do a 3 phase workout programme

  1. Hypertrophy for 3 weeks
  2. Maximum Strength for 3 weeks
  3. Power for 2 weeks

Phase 1.

Day1 - Hamstrings/Quadriceps

Hamstrings
Stiff leg deadlifts 4 X 10
Glute ham raises 3 X failure
Single leg curls 3 X 12
One leg barbell squats 2 X 12

Quadriceps
Front Squats 4 X 10
Leg Press 3 X 12
Reverse deadlifts (barbell hack squats) 3 X 12
Leg extensions 2 X 12

Day 2 - Back/Chest/Abdominals

Back
Wide grip chins 4 X failure
Wide grip rows 3 X 12
Single dumbbell rows 3 X 12
Close grip seated rows 2 X 12

Chest
Flat dumbbell press 4 X 10
Incline machine press 3 X 12
Dips 3 X 12
Flat dumbbell flyes 2 X 12

Abdominals
Flat back curl-ups 3 X 15
Toes to the sky 2 X 10

Day 3 - Shoulders/Trapezius

Shoulders
Seated military press 4 X 10
Standing dumbbell laterals 3 X 12
Bent dumbbell laterals 3 X 12
Dumbbell Shrugs 3 X 10

Day 4 - Triceps/Biceps/Abdominals

Triceps
Lying head cavers 3 X 10
Bench Dips 3 X 12
Straight bar pushdowns 3 X 12
Single arm pushdowns (supinated grip) 2 X 12

Biceps
Barbell curl 3 X 10
Standing dumbbell curl 3 X 12
Hammer curls 3 X 12
Rope curls 3 X 12

Abdominals
Russian twists 3 X 15
Oblique raises 3 X 15
(Roman chair)

Phase 2.

Day 1 - Monday

Squat (Box) 9 X 6 (5 warm up-sets, 4 working sets)
Bench Press 7-8 X 6 (3-4 warm-sets, 3 working sets)
Leg Press 7-8 X 6 (3-4 warm-sets, 3 working sets)
Push Press 6 X 6 (3 warm-up sets, 3 working sets)

Day 3 - Wednesday

Cheated Barbell Rows 8 X 6 (4 warm up-sets, 4 working sets)
Lying Triceps Extensions 6 X 6 (3 warm-up sets, 3 working sets)
Wide Grip Weighted Chins 5-6 X 6 (2-3 warm-up sets, 3 working sets)
Barbell Curls 5 X 6 (2 warm-up sets, 3 working sets)

Day 5 - Friday

Deadlifts 9 X 6 (5 warm-up sets, 4 working sets)
Incline Dumbbell Press 6 X 6 (3 warm-up sets, 3 working sets)
Barbell Shrugs 5 X 6 (2 warm-up sets, 3 working sets)
Standing Calf Raises 6 X 6 (2 warm-up sets, 4 working sets)

Phase 3.

Monday - Plyometrics and Aerobic Conditioning

Standing Broad Jump 3 X 6
Stair Jumps 2 X 6
Depth Jumps (12-18 inches) 2 X 6
Reactive Jumps (12-18 inches) 3 X 6
Reactive Jumps Over Bench/Box 3 X 6
Rest Interval: 3-5 min.

25-30 minutes running at 60-65% max HR

Tuesday - Anaerobic Conditioning
Sprint for 45 seconds jog for 1 minute,
do up to 8-12 minutes.

Wednesday - Weighted Power (30% of one rep max)

Barbell Squat Jumps 4-5 X 4-8
Bench Press 3 X 4-8
Cleans 4 X 4-8
Push Press 4 X4-8
Rest Interval: 3-5 min.

Thursday - Aerobic Conditioning (On field or track)

15 sec. sprints (65-80% of max) followed by 30 sec. of jogging, Work to Rest Ratio 1:1 or 1:2, 3 sets of 8 reps, Each rep is 45 sec. in length (15 sec sprint plus 30 sec. of coasting) and each set consists of 8 reps (45 sec. X 8reps = 6 min.)
After each set a 3-5 min break should be taken for recovery.

Friday - Dynamic (Ballistic) Power

Medicine Ball Squat Between Leg Over Head Throws 2-3 X 8
Medicine Ball Squat Between Leg Forward Throws 3 X 6-8
Medicine Ball Side Throws 3 X 6-8
Medicine Ball Squat Chest Throws 2-3 X 6-8
Rest Interval: 3-5 min.

Saturday - Power Endurance (30% of one rep max)

Dumbbell Squat Jumps 3 X 6-8(wk1), 12(wk2), 16(wk3), 20-30(wk4)
Bench Press 3 X 8(wk1), 12(wk2), 16(wk3), 20-30(wk4)
Standing Broad Jumps 3 X 6-8(wk1), 12(wk2), 16(wk3), 20-30(wk4)
Rest Interval: 5 min

Sunday - Off

Good Luck!

Try Joe Kenn’s tier system. He uses conjugated method (think Westside)which is superior to the other program outlined in other post. The traditional way of hypertrophy->strength->power is outdated. Conjugated training method work all phases at the same time rather than doing them seperately. Do a search for Joe Kenn’s tier system. Big Martin is a big fan of it. I think he uses it for his athletes. I use the same thing for mine. You can try Defranco’s westside for skinny bastard.

right, i was planning on using the conjugated training method for lifting, but my main question lies in the sprinting arena.

What would be the best volume for the sprints? I like the idea of both the shorter day for sprinting, and the longer 400m sprints. How many of each of these sprints should i do?

Here is just a basic routine you could do.

Monday - Cone drills, usually 4 reps of 4 to 8 different drills

Tuesday - Full Gassers, start with 3 reps and work up to about 6 or so. Make each rep in under 42 seconds. Rest 2 minutes between each rep.

Thursday - Cone drills or other drills that you do in practice. Such as takeoffs, L-drill, etc.

Friday - 110’s, start with 10 and work up to 16 - 20 reps. Make each run under 18 seconds with 45 seconds rest between each rep.

Conditioning also depends on what your coaches will have you do in practice. If they like to run 300 yd. shuttles you need to perform them.

This can be considered a “foundational” workout and doesn’t get too complicated.

On the question of sprint work…

Ditch those 400m intervals. Instead I would focus more on 150m,200m,300m interval runs. Do those on the days you arent doing your short sprints. i.e. 2x4x150, 2x3x200, or 4x300. If you want more volume for the endurance part, 10x200’s would be a good foundation on speed endurance, or 2x3x300m. Those short sprints are equally or if not more important than the long sprint interval work. Make sure you take enough rest in between each rep and set if you are doing shorter sprints at a higher intensity level, and less rest time in between reps if you are doing more of a speed endurance based workout. Hope that helped a little.

WRcortese 5- i feel like a moron asking, but what does 2x4x150 mean? i would assume it to be 2 sets of 4 reps, but i just wanted to make sure. Also, should i do all the 150 sprints, then to 200 then to 300, or stagger them somehow?

Should these sprints be done on their own separate day, or after lifting?

anyone with tips on when to do the sprints?

Hey sorry for the confusion; 2x4x150 would mean 2 sets of 4 reps of 150m sprints. Take longer rest periods in between the sets.

Don’t do all of that running workout in one day, it’s not needed. Its ok to lift on the same days you do your running. It might be better for you if say you lifted in the morning, then did you running in the late afternoon, or ran in the morning and lifted late afternoon.

So for example, on one day that you wanna do speed endurance, do somethin like 8x200 (you can vary it up with distances of 150m-300m, just get the basic idea of speed endurance is different than the short speed work you will do; the reps will usually be over 6 if its speed endurance*also depends on how far the distance is as well- 4 reps at 300m would be fine); Next day you could do somethin like 3x3x30m with alot of rest time between sets and reps; you want quality reps in your short speed training, so take like 5-6 min. between each rep and then between sets 10-12 min. or longer. Do a tempo run the 3rd day like a light jog or another activity just to stay loose, then come back on day 4 and do a speed endurance session i.e. 2x4x150m or 4x300m. Day 5 speed training again, 2x4x60m or 2x3x80m. You can try it out see how that works out for ya, make sure those short speed training days are high quality, get a good warm-up and cool down, and make sure you have someone timing you and out there with you to motivate you. It’s hard to run by yourself, maybe get some other guys to run with you. So basically you got 4 days of good running on the track right there, added in with your weight training, plyometric stuff (if you are doin that as well). Hope that helped out your understanding a lil more.

For resting would it be a good idea to say, run 200m, walk back then run it again? Or would it be best to wait a min or 2 between sets.

I could really do either way, with lifting in morning and running later, or fit the running into two days separate from lifting. Any thoughts on which would be better, separate days or after lifting?

Thanks again for the post, exactly what i was looking for.

What would be the best types of warmups/cooldowns for both speed and speed endurance?

For rest time… depends on the type of running workout you’re doing. Speed endurance is usually less rest in between reps… yeah you can run the 200m and have a 200m walk as your rest that’s probably cool for your speed endurance rest time.

As for warmups, they should always be the same no matter if you are doing speed or speed endurance. Alot of dynamic movements first (high knees, butt kicks, A-Skip, B-Skip, backwards running, quick feet, side shuffles, etc…) That should get you nice and loose and your joints, muscles, and tendons ready to go. Do your static stretches after the dynamic warm-up, but don’t spend alot of time doing static stuff BEFORE the workouts, especially on SPEED days. Your cooldown should be a light jog for say a lap or so, then static stretching for about 10-20 min. Did I miss anything?

thanks for all the info man, looks great.

The way my routine and my other commitments seem to be looking, it looks as though the best way to split things up would be with the 4 major lifting days with rope work after workouts, and 2 days for running. As there is only room for the two days, i will be doing both speed endurance and pure speed work on the same day. Which should i do first?

Seeing as pure sprint speed is my primary goal it seems logical that my pure speed work should come first, followed by speed endurance.

Would this split work? I need to become fast, explosive, and strong. Will this split help to accomplish these goals?

Thanks for the help

I think that most would advise you to do the speed work first followed by speed endurance to maintain the highest possible quality of the speed work.

If you visit the CF forum you will see a few sample schedules of runners who do one speed day (focusing on acceleration) followed by speed endurance say 2-3 x150m and a second speed day (focusing on max velocity) again followed by speed endurance so the general structure of your training is sound.

I know that you are limiting yourself to two running sessions a week but if you could do a third easier tempo session I think that it would help you get more out of the other sessions.

The occasional hill session would also be useful for both speed and anaerobic conditioning.

As I have previously written elsewhere under the CFTS weights are carried out after the running session to maximise recovery between high intensity sessions. This may be ideal but a lot depends on your personal circumstances. If that scheme is not possible for you or you find that it does not work well for you then work around it.

I will leave it to others to comment on your weights schedule to others.

I have found that in the offseason, unless you are a sprinter, your weightlifting should come first. In the offseason, your goal should be to become stronger, especially for a football player. I too follow a lot of what Charlie says with my athletes. You must get fast before you build speed endurance. What is the point of having the ability to run all day, if you run slow. I have found that with most high school athletes, that just making them stronger, relative to their bodyweight, makes dramatic improvements in their speed. Also remember that speed and game speed are two different things. Game speed, involves the ability to stop and change direction as fast as possible.

So barbender what would you suggest for my running schedule. I’m leaning towards a 2 day a week running split, with max speed session, then a speed endurance. Does that sounds about right? Should a third less intense session be added?

Also, as to your comment on game speed. In order to elevate this, I want to do some sort of agility/acceleration work. Any ideas for what would be some good methods to increase these?

I went to the charlie francis site, and some of what i could find stresses the importance of speed and less on speed endurance for football players. Now what would be the best speed workout to use?

Really, i need my 40 time to go up and a lot. What are the best distances, and volumes to use so that my 40 time will increase the most it possibly can?