Offensive Line Strength & Conditioning Program

OFFENSIVE LINE: STRENGTH & CONDITIONING PROGRAM
Table of Contents
About the Author..................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 4
Nutrition ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Health Concerns .................................................................................................................. 7
Nutrition Education Resources ....................................................................................... 8
Conditioning............................................................................................................................. 9
Timing is Everything ............................................................................................................ 10
Feedback is Everything Else.............................................................................................. 10
Not All Athletes Are Created Equal ................................................................................. 11
Sprint Conditioning for Speed .............................................................................................. 12
Lateral Quickness ............................................................................................................... 13
Pass Protection Speed ...................................................................................................... 14
Weight Training for Strength and Speed ............................................................................ 16
Skill Development .................................................................................................................. 18
Take a Stance .................................................................................................................... 18
Two-Point Stance............................................................................................................ 19
Three-Point Stance ......................................................................................................... 19
Four Point Stance ........................................................................................................... 20
Positioning Drills................................................................................................................... 20
First-Step Drill .................................................................................................................... 21
Driving Drill ....................................................................................................................... 22
Other Strength & Conditioning Considerations................................................................. 23
Flexibility ........................................................................................................................... 23
Muscular Fitness .............................................................................................................. 24
Rest ................................................................................................................................... 25
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 25
THE GRAPHIC EDGE, INC
About the Author

Andrew Cheng is currently in his senior year
at Southern California University of Health
Science studying to become a Doctor of
Chiropractic (DC).
Prior to beginning his Chiropractic Studies,
Andrew earned his Masters of Science
degree at California University of
Pennsylvania where he studied Exercise
Science and Health Promotion.
While pursuing his undergraduate degree,
Andrew also coached Track & Field at
Gardena High School, worked as a
personal trainer for Bally's Total Fitness (LA
Fitness), and served an NFL Combine
Internship at Velocity Sports Performance.
During his free time Andrew enjoys a wide variety of athletic pursuits,
including running, strength training, hiking, kayaking, yoga, and martial arts.
Certifications
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
NASM Certified Personal Trainer

TRX Sports Medicine
TRX Functional Training
TRX Suspension Training
USA Weight-Lifting Level 1 Sports
Performance Coach
NSCA Certified Strength & Conditioning
Specialist
DVRT Certification Level 1
Exercise is Medicine Credential Level 2
ACSM Health Fitness Specialist
Power Plate Level 1
Advanced Exercise Nutrition
LA84 Foundation Track & Field Clinic
(Shot Put, Long Lump)
NASE Speed and Explosive Specialist
x
x
x
x
NASM Fitness Nutrition Specialist

NASM Sports Performance Specialist
NASM Corrective Exercise Specialist
USATF Level 1 Coaching Education
Medical Certifications
x
x
x
x
x
Functional Movement Blades (Rock

Blades) Technique
American Heart Association BLS
(CPR & AED) Program
KinesioTherapy Taping Level 1 & 2
Certification
Wilderness Medicine Institute
(Wilderness First Aid) Program
American Safety & Health Institute
(Basic First Aid) Program
Introduction
Your offensive linemen have the most physically demanding job on the
football field. With virtually every snap, they exert maximum effort to stop a
rushing defense or to open a hole in that defense for a back to run through.
To excel in his position, todays offensive lineman needs a unique blend of
size, strength, speed, and agility. As a football coach, you already know
that those qualities often seem counter to each other: big players typically
lack agility, strong players tend to be slow players. Likewise, size and
strength are severe limiters to endurance.
This guide is intended to help you better position your players in a sweet
spot along the sports performance spectrum where they have a healthy
balance of size, strength, speed, quickness, agility and endurance.
Of course, no program can deliver all those qualities in equal measure, nor
is that the point of this one. Rather, the goal here is to help you assess and
enhance those qualities in your players by focusing on seven key areas of
athletic performance:
1. Nutrition
2. Conditioning
3. Speed & Quickness Training
4. Strength Training
5. Skill Development
6. Flexibility
7. Muscular Fitness
Nutrition
To get big, your players need to eat big. But its not just about eating more.
Its about eating more of the right foods healthy and nutritious foods that
fuel performance. Its also about how and when they consume those
nutrients. I, along with most modern nutritionists, recommend eating small
meals frequently throughout the day. A total days nutrition should include
equal parts proteins, carbs, and fruits and veggies.
One popular method to manage this is to imagine your plate is divided into
three equal wedges. Fill one wedge with protein-rich food, fill another
wedge with carbs, and then fill the final wedge with fruits and vegetables.
Of course, if theyre eating every few hours, most of their meals wont be
served on a plate, so encourage your players to plan their snacks or minimeals carefully to meet the one-third requirement.
As simple as this sounds, nutrition is one of the biggest challenges your
players will face. After all, you control practices, where agility, speed, and
quickness training happens. And most serious players enjoy hitting the
weight room for strength training sessions with their teammates. But you
cant control what your players eat all day, and many of them wont enjoy
trading the empty calories of soda, chips, candy bars, and snake cakes for
nutrition-rich choices such as bag of almonds, a handful or grapes, or a
protein shake.
Thats why its so important that you help them to understand that making
poor nutritional choices can cost them a lot more than bonking in the
fourth quarter or getting beat at the line by a better conditioned athlete. It
can cost them their long-term health.
Health Concerns
According to a study at Ohio State University1, offensive linemen are the
most likely to be obese; a 2011 New York Times article2 also found that
retired NFL linemen have a higher mortality rate than the general public,
not to mention that they are more prone to develop high blood pressure,
sleep apnea, diabetes, and other metabolic syndromes that can affect
both quality and length of life.
One mistake that many young athletes make in managing their nutrition is
that they fail to adjust how much they eat to match their current playing
status. A healthy player thats practicing all week and playing every snap
on game day can easily burn through the calories they consume from a
healthy diet. An injured or otherwise inactive player, on the other hand, will
need to reduce how much they eat to match the reduction in how hard
theyre practicing and playing. Otherwise, theyre likely to end up not just
injured, but injured and fat. Most injuries heal with time. Getting rid of fat
takes a lot of work.
Nutrition Education Resources

The good news about nutrition is that its on everybodys mind these days.
Chances are you wont have to look far to find some truly valuable
resources to help your players understand and meet their nutritional
requirements.
Virtually every health clinic and hospital in the country has dietary and
nutrition practitioners and many of them are willing to provide group
seminars as a community outreach. Consider asking one of them to speak
to your team as a group about how to create and stick to a nutritional plan
for athletic performance.
You might also check in with your local grocery store as many of them now
have dietitians on staff to provide services to the general public. These
dietitians often have very reasonable rates for group and individual
consultations. A group session could be a small investment with a big
payoff for your players.
If youre truly stuck for nutritional expertise in your area, try this website:
http://www.eatright.org/find-an-expert
One final word on nutrition if you do take the step of inviting an expert to
address your team, consider inviting their parents to attend, as well. After
all, healthy habits start at home.
Conditioning
Nutrition notwithstanding, conditioning comes first, figuratively and literally.

Figuratively because anything that follows a lackluster conditioning
program will be wasted effort. If your athletes arent in peak condition and
trained to push through fatigue and exhaustion, they wont have what it
takes to make that crucial final push in the closing moments of the big
game. Stated more simply, poor conditioning = poor execution.
Literally because conditioning is the first thing you should work on in every
practice. You give your athletes the very best chance to succeed in
conditioning drills by introducing them before physical and mental fatigue
set in. Their conditioning success will give them the strength, speed, and
agility to perform their very best, but it will also build self-confidence that
can play a huge role in how they respond to adversity on game day.
Timing is Everything
Along with introducing conditioning workouts at the beginning of the
practice, dont be afraid to let them know how long each drill will last. A
player who knows he has to give maximum effort for 10 minutes will
typically work much harder than the player who doesnt know when a
particularly demanding drill is going to end. That player is likely to hold
something in reserve on each rep to avoid completely tanking before the
drill ends.
Feedback is Everything Else
Feedback from you and other coaches is another critical component to a

successful conditioning program. Tell your players what theyre doing well,
what they need to improve on, and make sure youre acknowledging
improvement when you see it. That means knowing your players well
enough to make those assessments regularly, which is why I recommend
10
coaches keep player cards to track and record an athletes conditioning

level and performance stats.
A quick glance at this card will refresh your memory on the athletes past
performance so that you can set current expectations accordingly.
Not All Athletes Are Created Equal

Some players can train at 95% effort all week long and still give 100%
physically and mentally on game day. Other players might be prone to
mental or physical fatigue (or worse, injury) if they train at more than 75% of
maximum effort throughout the week.
The point is, you need to understand your athletes as individuals and adjust
your conditioning expectations to the individual. It should be your goal to
support and encourage your athlete in his physical conditioning and
development while respecting and allowing for safety. Player cards will be
invaluable in that effort.
11
Sprint Conditioning for Speed
The speed of your offensive line can be a game changer. Getting to the
point of attack first gives your players their best chance to make blocks and
open holes. That being said, offensive linemen will rarely travel beyond 10
yards in a typical play and perhaps up to 20 yards on a screen pass. So it
makes sense that youd focus your sprint-conditioning training within those
distances. And while conditioning is an individual effort, sprints can also be
great team-building drills when you break your squad into groups of four or
five and have them run a set of sequential sprints. For example:
x
Line up your groups, one behind the other, for a 20-yard dash.
At the whistle, the first group runs.
When the last player from that group crosses the finish line, blow the
whistle again to signal the next group to sprint.
12
Continue that until all groups have sprinted and then run it again in
the opposite direction for 5 to 10 sets (remember to tell your players
how many times theyll run this drill it really will maximize their effort).
Use your stopwatch to time how long it takes all groups to complete
all sprints. Establish a baseline time that your players must strive to
meet or exceed at each subsequent practice.
The team component coupled with a time limit will encourage your players
to give it their very best effort. No one wants to be the last guy across the
line, especially when they know the next group cant go until they finish.
In addition to speed and teamwork, endurance is another by-product of
these drills. Most of your players are going to run the 20 in between 3 and 4
seconds, so if you have five or six groups running the drill, theyll only get
about 20 seconds rest between sprints. It wont take many reps to exhaust
most athletes.
For more great sprint-conditioning drills, see:
The 40-Yard Dash as a Team Drill
Offensive Lineman Speed Workouts
Lateral Quickness
Moving sideways isnt natural for human beings. Were built to move
forward and backward. Moving sideways requires more energy and can
quickly drain stamina. So if youre blocking schemes require a lot of lateral
movement from your linemen, its crucial that you train them rigorously for
it.
Side shuffle drills are most frequently thought of for running back and
linebackers to build their lateral speed and agility, but they can easily be
adapted to linemen to improve their quickness and stamina.
13
One simple but effective variation is to position two cones or other groundlevel targets on a yard line with about ten yards between them.
x
The player starts in a two point stance with one cone directly in front
of him.
At the whistle, he side shuffles as quickly as possible to the other

cone, touches it with his hand, and then shuffles back to the other
cone.
When he reaches the starting cone, he touches it and side shuffles

back again. This time he should shuffle past the cone and finish the
rep with a five-yard sprint. (Depending on fitness, you can increase
this to five passes before the finishing sprint just make sure they end
on an odd pass so they finish away from the cone they started at.)
Repeat the drill from the other side after all players have completed
a rep.
Run 10 to 12 reps.
Another variation of this drill, which requires touching the ground with the
off-cone hand (which may tax the flexibility and balance of your larger
players) is demonstrated in this video.
Pass Protection Speed

In his excellent paper on Pass Protection Fundamentals, NFL line coach
Larry Zierlein lists 17 basics of pass protection. Clearly there is a lot that
goes into keeping your quarterback safe and giving him enough time to
let things develop downfield so he can throw a well-timed, accurate
pass. That being said, it would take you longer to recite just the first five of
Zierlinss 17 fundamentals than a typical pass play takes to unfold. Point
being speed is most important element of an effective pass protection
offense. Its as simple as this: If your players dont have the speed to get
14
themselves into position ahead of the pass rush, then little else matters. In
Zierlins own words, Get into the pass set quickly. Dont allow the rusher to
make contact while you are still in the process of getting into the
fundamental pass pro position.
So how can your players develop that combination of backward/lateral
speed that will put them between your QB and a rusher? Kick slide drills.
x
Have the players line up in either a left-handed or right-handed

stance depending on which side of the ball they line up on. The toe
of their outside foot (the one furthest from the ball) should be in line
with instep to heel of the inside foot.
At the whistle, the players will kick their outside foot back forcefully to
get their body moving in that direction while sliding their inside foot
back to reposition their body and maintain a strong, balanced
stance.
Have your players run 10 to 15 sets, varying their drop back from 3 to
7 yards.
As this video shows, this is very simple drill, but dont underestimate how
important it can to develop pass blocking speed.
Add a level of competition and intensity by giving your offensive linemen a
target spot that they have to drop back to then have a defensive player
rush that spot from the line of scrimmage. Even without full contact your
players will immediately see how much advantage they gain by getting to
the intercept point first.
15
Weight Training for Strength and Speed
Offensive linemen at least the ones who want to really dominate are no
strangers to the weight room. But showing up to the weight room isnt
nearly enough. Offensive linemen need to be weight training with specific
performance gains in mind. Below are overviews and video links of four
weight room exercises that will enhance the explosive speed and strength
of your entire line.
1. Split Clean The leg movement in this classic weightlifting motion closely
mimics a kick step as when setting up for pass protection. This exercise
will create the quickness and agility your linemen need to seal the edge
and pick up a blitzing linebacker.
Click Here to Watch a Video of the Split Clean
2. Pause Back Squat This variant of the back squat engages the same
muscles that a lineman uses to explode out of a three-point stance. That
explosive speed creates the force and acceleration to move a
16
defensive lineman.
Click Here to Watch a Video of the Pause Back Squat
3. Flying Medicine Ball Throw This exercise combines explosiveness from
the legs with strength and acceleration in the hands to simulate coming
out of three-point stance while shooting the hands to run block.
Click Here to Watch a Video of the Medicine Ball Throw
4. Medicine Ball Push Ups This exercise will build upper body strength with
plenty of emphasis on core strength while simulating the inside hand
positioning that wins battles at the line.
Click Here to Watch a Video of the Med Ball Push Up
17
Skill Development
In your rush to build bigger, stronger players its important that you not lose
sight of your ultimate goal of building better players, and the best players
are built on fundamentals. Good fundamental football skills are what your
players will draw on when theyre tired, frustrated, or confounded.
Fundamentals win football games, and for that reason they should be
drilled frequently and checked in on constantly.
Take a Stance
Having already used the obvious subhead Take a Stance Ill spare you all
the solid-foundation/strong-roots metaphors frequently used to explain how
important an offensive linemens stance is. Youre a football coach, you
get it weak stances mean a weak line.
So, how often do you check in on the basics of your players stances? Hint:
The correct answer is Every single practice.
18
Good!
Now lets review the three stances your offensive linemen should be able to
get into as easily and naturally as rolling off a log.
Two-Point Stance
The preferred stance for obvious passing situations. The keys to this stance
are:
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Feet are shoulder width apart.

Feet staggered toe of outside foot in line with instep/heel of inside
foot.
Toes pointed forward.
Weight on the whole of the foot or slightly shifted toward the ball
never on the heel!
Knees bent.
Slight bend at the waist.
Back flat.
Chest up.
Hands slightly extended in front of the body, palms down.
Elbows tight to the body.
Three-Point Stance
The most universal stance, lining your team up this way wont necessarily tip
the defense as to what to expect (run or pass). This stance continues from
the two-point with some shared fundamentals, but a few important
differences.
Here are the keys to a three-point stance:
x
Bend at the knees to get rear end parallel with the ground.
19
Bend at the waist and place three fingers (not knuckles) of the strong
hand on the ground.
Strong side foot (the same as the hand) is behind the other foot with
the ball touching the ground and the heel up.
Head up, looking straight ahead.
Player drives off with the up foot first.
This staple of football line play is actually the one your players are most
likely to struggle with. One bad tendency is to place too much weight on
the hand resting on the ground. A player should be able to drop his hand
and place it back on the ground without visible torso movement.
Another way to test this stance is to quickly remove the forward hand from
its contact with the ground if the player falls forward, hes placing too
much weight on that hand.
Four Point Stance

In the four-point stance the player places both hands on the ground and
shifts his weight forward to support about half his weight on his hands and
half on his feet. This stance is especially popular among power running
teams who pass very little its quite difficult to pass block from this position.
For running plays, however, the four-point stance has the advantage of
keeping the O-line low and in a balanced position from which they can fire
out at the opponent.
Positioning Drills
Good plays begin with good stances, so its important to drill your offensive
line on setting up in strong stances. However, asking your players to get into
and out of a stance repeatedly will prove to be boring for the players and
counterproductive to your ultimate goal of training your offensive line to
20
get into the correct stance quickly and then move off the snap effectively
for the play theyre running.
Instead, use a series of short-burst, positioning/first-impact drills to teach
your players to come out their stance and engage the opponent with
speed, power, and balance.
Listed below are just a few examples of drills that can be run very quickly so
your players will get plenty of reps setting into a good stance and reacting
to a snap with a strong first move without wearing them out too quickly.
First-Step Drill
Much is written, and rightly so, about the importance of first-step speed.
Unfortunately, the quest for a faster first step often means that first-step
balance becomes an afterthought. Thats too bad because speed without
balance really doesnt offer much advantage. If the fastest guy off the line
isnt steady on his feet, all hes going to accomplish is being the first guy
tossed aside as the defense overruns your backfield.
A simple way to develop speed with balance is this First Step drill. Run this
from the three-point and four-point stance. Here are the keys to this drill:
x
Used for gaining balance during a block.
You can do this with a bag or another player
Run this drill in three forward directions: straight ahead, inside, and
outside.
Start in either a three- or four-point stance.
Pause at the set to inspect and correct stances as necessary

before the snap.
21
At the snap, the players take one quick step and plant their forward
foot into the ground.
Their hands should be lightly touching or just in front of the

defender/bag they are engaging. Do not let them lean on the
defender for balance!
Have the players hold this position without shifting their weight or
falling over for a count of two or three Mississippi.
Driving Drill
After demonstrating that they can make a powerful first step without
leaning on their opponent for balance, this drill will help your payers
continue that balanced momentum to stop a rush or open a running lane.
This drill has the added benefit of developing both leg and upper body
strength while training proper hand positioning.
Run this drill as follows.
x
Set up and snap as for the First Step drill, pausing at the snap to
coach the players on their stances as necessary.
At the snap, players their balanced first step and
Engage their opponent or a bag with hands gripped to the chest

plate.
Players should drive their feet so as to make six inch steps while
staying low and keeping their head and shoulders down.
End the drill after the o-line drives three to five yards downfield.
22
Other Strength & Conditioning

Considerations
Flexibility
You already know stretching is good for your players, but do you know
why?
In the simplest of terms, stretching limbers up the muscles so energy can be
focused on completing a task rather than overcoming the bodys
resistance. Stretching will help your football players to kick higher, reach
longer, and generally move without bodily limitations.
So is more flexibility always better?
Not necessarily. There is such a thing as too much flexibility, where a
football players joints are too loose and instability can lead to injury and
early arthritis. Fortunately, this isnt a problem youre likely to face with
young athletes who are more likely to shortcut or even skip stretching
entirely because they find it boring. So your job will be to ensure that your
23
players perform an effective dynamic warm up to begin each practice

and each game. The following exercises comprise a foundational dynamic
war up routine that will benefit players in all positions:
x
Knee-to-Chest Walk
Hip Cradles
Inverted Toe Touch
Carioca
Hip Openers
High Knee Runs
Backward Runs
Power Skipstine
Muscular Fitness
Muscular endurance is critical to your linemen who have to sustain their
activity for the entire four quarters. Muscular endurance is determined by
how well the slow twitch muscle fibers are developed. There are generally
two types of muscle fibers in your body, slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow
twitch muscle fibers cannot exert as much force as fast twitch but can
sustain an effort over a much greater period of time. Fast twitch muscle
fibers exert a large amount of force in short bursts. Therefore, fast twitch
equals strength while slow twitch equals endurance.
The best way to improve muscular endurance is through cardiovascular
activities, such as running, biking, or swimming. Encourage your players to
include a good balance (120 to 150 minutes) of cardio work in with their
weight training each week.
24
Rest
Rest is absolutely essential to any strength, weight, or endurance-training
regimen. Without it, your athletes can become more susceptible to injury
caused by dysfunctional movement which is brought on by fatigue as well
as illness that results from a diminished immune system.
Nonetheless, your most driven athletes will fail to grasp this one, undeniable
truth: Rest, when part of a comprehensive training program, will make your
stronger, not weaker.
One thing you can do to help your players with this particular mental block
is to assign restorative exercises such as dynamic stretching routines, foam
rolling, or light bar work. These exercises, while genuinely restorative, have
the added benefit of keeping players moving and active so they feel like
they are still improving as athletes and competitors.
Conclusion
Strength, speed, flexibility, and balance are the building blocks of a
powerful offensive line. This report, while not meant to be comprehensive,
should serve as a preliminary blueprint for assembling those blocks to
construct your best offensive line ever.
If you take only thing away from this document, I hope its this: Not all
athletes are created equal. Its your challenge as a coach to get the very
best from all of your players while protecting them from injury and allowing
them to learn some life lessons along the way. After all, youre not just
building better athletes, your building better people.
25
References
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/linemen.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/sports/football/29weight.html
26

Offensive Line Strength & Conditioning Program

Cargado por

Información del documento

Título original

Derechos de autor

Formatos disponibles

Compartir este documento

Compartir o incrustar documentos

Opciones para compartir

¿Le pareció útil este documento?

¿Este contenido es inapropiado?

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

Offensive Line Strength & Conditioning Program

Cargado por

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

OFFENSIVE LINE: STRENGTH & CONDITIONING PROGRAM

THE GRAPHIC EDGE, INC