How do you improve your football game? It’s a question that is searched hundreds of times a day. The trouble is a lot of the answers rely on having at least one of the following things: a training buddy, loads of room or expensive equipment.
Nowadays this is even harder. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many of us are confined at home, and we are not allowed to go to the gym or train with anyone else.
To tackle that problem, we’ve compiled an NFL workout you can do anywhere: even in your bedroom or living room. If you follow these steps carefully you might leave quarantine completely jacked.
To be clear, there will still be some gear that you’ll need but it’s modest requirements in terms of space and financial outlay.
Page Contents
The NFL workout you can do anywhere
Warm up
We’re not going to get bogged down with specifics as we talk about getting your body ticking over. A warm up is essential to any vigorous exercise though. We recommend picking up a range of lighter exercises that cover off your key areas; think maybe a plank for your core, shoulder rolls to get loose and glute extensions to ready your lower body.
Exercise 1. Box Jumps
The versatility with a box jump is a beautiful thing; by adjusting the height of the jump you can tailor this exercise based on your requirements be it looking to add explosive power (use a high box and lower reps) or for cleaning up your footwork and improving your general stamina (lower box and high reps).
Ideally, you’d have adjustable steps to build your box but kerbs and things such as walls and park benches can double up well. You just lose the ability to specify the exact height.
What you’ll get from this exercise is a total lower body blast that covers off your calves, quads, hamstrings and flutes.
Exercise 2. Single arm dumbbell row
Right, this is an exercise that will help everyone on the field but primarily it’s a quarterback special. The single arm dumbbell row gets the nod from us on the basis it a) eliminates the need for any substantial kit but b) is still proven as an exercise that can bring big gains.
If you consider the actions of a quarterback, it’s nearly all motions that move the forwards through the delts i.e. pushing actions. The dumbbell row is a pulling action and provides balance to the body.
On top of being a good move for supporting the QB, it will also help when it comes to many phases of the game so don’t just skip it if you don’t play quarterback.
Exercise 3. Diagonal crunch
If there is one muscle group you cannot overlook in any sport then it’s your abs; that’s especially true of NFL.
The diagonal crunch is a great exercise that will work both your upper abs and your obliques. It can be done with no equipment but any form of weight that you can hold (a medicine ball, for example) will be a great step up.
The reason those muscle groups mentioned are important for footballers is because they underpin pretty much everything from taking a big hit to delivering one. They’ll even have a small benefit to the more technical side of the game with strong obliques important in your throwing ability.
Exercise 4. Side Lunges
A side lunge isn’t what you traditionally associate with the macho game of football. It’s not something you’ll see being done with huge weights and yet, most likely, it will still leave you with a serious post workout burn. This is because most people neglect their muscles that are crucial to lateral movement.
It is bonkers really; so much of football is played with side to side transitions being key. The beauty of a side lunge is that it can be done anywhere as a pure body weight exercise and dumbbells can be added to toughen the drill. The big things you’ll add to your arsenal is improved speed.
Exercise 5. Dumbbell floor press
You’ll all be familiar with the perceived jock and the buzz of benching huge weights. Forget about it. Nobody needs a bench. Instead, hit the floor with a pair dumbbell. Your start position should be with a flat back, bent knees and your arms angled at 45 degrees – not 90!!
You’ll get much of the same benefit as operating a similar press on a bench I.e. improving the strength of your chest, shoulders and arms but with huge upsides too. What are they? Firstly, it’s a tougher workout on your core but the most important element is the reduced risk of injury.
The reason behind this is predominantly because it’s impossible to overextend your shoulders on the downward phase. Nail this move and you’ll be throwing Hail Mary’s like Kyler Murray in no time.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, the NFL workout you can do pretty much anywhere with nothing but a set of dumbbells. Soon you will have the body build of a defensive back of the American Football League. To check out the best cornerbacks of the NFL, you can find out more here in BetAmerica. Hit the gym and remember to always take precautions to not get injuries and to find the right nutrition plan for your needs.
Remember that during lockdown people tend to get lazier and forget about doing exercise. Therefore, it is essential to have a workout plan and this NFL one might just be the ideal one for you. If you feel that you are not prepared for such an intense training, try to adapt it to your needs. The fundamental thing is that you don’t forget about exercising a couple times per week, to keep your body active and your mind sane. Let’s keep positive that we will get back into the gyms and outdoor activities sooner than later and that 2024 will be a better year than 2024 was!
