12-Week Periodized Strength Training & Aerobics Program Henry Halse| updated on January 2, 2018. Setting up a training program will help keep your workouts on track and make it easier to progress. It's easy to skip a workout if you don't have anything planned, but when you know what you have to do in advance there's more accountability.

In This Article

• Aerobic Fitness
• Role-Specific Training
• Phase 2 - Mid Pre-Season
• Phase 4 - In Season

Weight training is part of a comprehensive training program for football. Use this generic program for body contact football sports, including American football, Rugby, and Australian football. It does not necessarily include football (soccer), although elements of the program could apply to soccer weight training.

Aerobic Fitness for Football

Football requires good aerobic fitness to provide endurance for sustained effort, and strength, and even bulk, to break through or effect tackles. The part of the program outlined here is confined mostly to the weights and strength development part of the program. You will need to do cardio training to develop aerobic fitness early pre-season and then build up anaerobic fitness with sprints, shuttles, and intervals to be fully prepared for the season start.

Aerobic fitness means you can jog, run, cycle or ski for a long time at moderate pace without getting too tired. Anaerobic fitness means you can keep going longer at high intensities before your legs and body slow down. Both are important in football, especially if you are likely to play the whole or most of the game. When you optimize all elements of fitness—running fitness, strength, and power, you can claim to be at peak fitness.

Periodized Weight Training for Football

Periodized training breaks the year into three or four training phases, with each phase concentrating on a particular fitness development. Periodized programs provide a progressive buildup to peak fitness and performance. Each phase has different objectives and each successive phase builds on the previous one.

A year-round football weight training program could look like the program we’ve outlined below. When we use the term “football,” we mean any of the body contact sports included above. If we mention something that doesn’t apply to your sport, just modify it appropriately.

Early Pre-Season

• Players are preparing for the season and starting to build up after the off season.
• Emphasis is on building aerobic fitness, basic functional strength and muscle bulk, which is called “hypertrophy.”

Late Pre-Season

• Players are working up to the start of the season and pre-season trials are imminent.
• Emphasis is on building anaerobic fitness and maximum strength and power.

In Season

• Competition is underway and players are expected to be fully functional for competition.
• Maintenance of speed, aerobic and anaerobic fitness and strength and power is emphasized.

Off Season

• You won the title, or you hopefully came close; time to relax for a while but you need to keep active.
• Emphasis is on rest and recovery with maintenance of light activity — cross training, light gym work — and go easy on the booze because you don’t want to have to lose too much weight in the next pre-season workup. Several weeks break from serious fitness and strength training is helpful.
• As pre-season approaches, more regular work can resume with an emphasis on building aerobic fitness once again for the pre-season training.

Role-Specific Training for Football

Within a generic training program for a particular sport, further specialty programs may be useful, especially in teams where members have specific roles and certain advantageous physical attributes apply. For example, a quarterback and a defensive lineman (US), or a halfback and a front rower (rugby), will probably have a somewhat different program in the gym. One emphasizing speed and agility, and the other bulk, strength, and power.

Consider the program presented here to be an all-round program, best suited to beginners or casual weight trainers without a history of weight training for football. The best programs are always specific to an individual’s current fitness, role in the team, access to resources, and, no less important, the team coaches’ essential philosophy. You will be best served by using the following program in conjunction with a trainer or coach.

If you’re new to weight training, brush up on principles and practices with the beginner resources.

Always warm up and cool down before and after a training session. A medical clearance for exercise is always a good idea at the start of the season if you have not had one previously. Now, let’s get started.

Phase 1 - Early Pre-Season

Foundation Strength and Muscle for Football
How this phase is approached will depend on whether a player is new to weight training or is coming off a season of weights. Building foundation strength means utilizing a program that works all the major muscle groups of the body. Less-experienced weight trainers will need to start with lighter weights and fewer sets and work up to heavier weights with more sets. Start early in the season to get used to this phase if you have not used weights previously.

Repetitive sports activities can strengthen one side of the body at the expense of the other, or emphasize one or two major muscle groups with less emphasis on others. Inevitably, weak areas can be susceptible to injury and can perform poorly. This is not to say that your non-kicking leg has to be as “skillful” as you kicking leg, but it should be as strong. You need to allocate sufficient training resources so that you achieve functional foundation strength in all areas including opposing muscles and left and right sides of all major muscle group areas — back, buttocks, legs, arms, shoulders, chest , and abdominals.

In the early pre-season, the foundation program encompasses a mix of endurance, strength and hypertrophy objectives, which means that the weights are not too heavy and the sets and repetitions are in the range of 2 to 4 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions. In this phase, you build some strength, some muscle size and endurance.

Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one rest day between sessions and a lighter week in week 4 to promote recovery and progression.
Reps: 10 to 15
Sets: 2 to 4
Rest between sets: 30 to 60 seconds

• Barbell squat, dumbbell squat or sled hack squat
• Dumbbell triceps extension or machine pushdown
• Lat pulldown to the front with wide grip

• By trial and error, find a weight that represents a taxing lift for the last few reps of each set. If you're unsure, start with a light weight and increase it as you get stronger during the training period so that the perceived effort remains similar.
• Don't lift too heavy in this phase. The last few reps in a set should be taxing — yet without extreme effort to 'failure,' especially for the arm and shoulder exercises. You want the arm and shoulder prepared for work and beefed up but not overtaxed.
• Circuit training, off-rink cardio, and other aerobic exercise should be added to this program where possible.
• Stop immediately if acute pain is noticed during or after a weights exercise, and seek medical and training advice if it persists.

Phase 2 - Mid Pre-Season

In this phase, you will build strength and muscle. The fast and agile players should be careful not to bulk up too much. You have a good foundation from early pre-season workouts and now the emphasis is on lifting heavier weights in order to train the nervous system in conjunction with the muscle fibers to move bigger loads. Hypertrophy, which is building muscle size, does not necessarily imply strength. However, in the foundation phase and in this phase, hypertrophy will serve you well for strength development.

Strength will be the foundation for the next phase, which is power development. Power is the ability to move the heaviest loads in the shortest time. Power is essentially a product of strength and speed and is an important component of a successful football skill set.

• Time of year: Mid pre-season
• Duration: 4 to 6 weeks
• Days per week: 2 to 3, with at least one day between sessions
• Reps: 3 to 6. The players relying most on speed and agility and who need least bulk should do the lowest number of reps.
• Sets: 3 to 5
• Rest in between sets: 3 to 4 minutes

• Barbell hack squat, or barbell front squat
• Romanian deadlift
• Pull ups - 3x6 repetitions — adjust to suit ability, weighted if necessary

• Adjust the weight so that the final few repetitions are taxing but not to complete failure. The fewer reps mean that you will be lifting heavier in this phase.
• Get sufficient rest between sets. You need your muscles recovered so that you can complete a heavy lifting session.
• If you are unable to recover from a session with only one rest day in between, reschedule this program to two sessions each week rather than three. Strength training can be physically and mentally demanding.
• You will be sore in the muscles after these sessions. Muscle soreness or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal; joint pain is not. Be sure to monitor your arm and shoulder reactions to this phase. Back off when you feel any joint pain or discomfort.

Phase 3 - Late Pre-Season to In Season

In this phase, you build on the strength developed in phase 2 with training that will increase your ability to move a load at high velocity. Power is the combination of strength and speed. Power training requires that you lift lighter weights than you did in the strength phase, yet with explosive intent. You need to rest adequately between repetitions and sets so that each movement is done as fast as possible. The number of sets can be less than phase 1. There is no point to training like this when you're fatigued.

• Time of year: late pre-season and in-season
• Duration: 4 weeks ongoing
• Days per week: 2 to 3
• Reps: 8 to 10
• Sets: 2 to 3
• Rest between repetitions: 10 to 15 seconds
• Rest between sets: at least 1 minute or until recovery

• Romanian deadlifts

• In power training, it's important that you're relatively recovered for each repetition and set so that you can maximize the velocity of the movement. The weights should not be too heavy and the rest periods sufficient.
• At the same time, you need to push or pull reasonably heavy loads to develop power against reasonable resistance. Lift heavier than phase 1 but lighter than phase 2.
• The Olympic lift elements — hang clean, deadlift, push press — require some technical ability to get right. Use a knowledgeable strength and conditioning coach, if possible, to fine tune these lifts.

Phase 4 - In Season

Phase 4 focuses on maintenance of strength and power. Alternate phase 2 (Strength) and phase 3 (Power) for a total of two sessions each week. Every fifth week, skip weight training to assist recovery.

• Try to allow at least two days between any strength session and a game.
• Try not to do strength training on the same day as you work out on the field — or at least separate workouts morning and afternoon.
• Rest completely from strength training one week in five. Light gym work is OK.
• Use your judgment. Don't sacrifice ball skills training for weight work if you have limited time available.

Phase 5 - Off Season

Now it's time to rest up. You need this time for emotional and physical renewal. For several weeks, forget about football and do other things. Staying fit and active with cross training or other activities is a good idea.

Give yourself plenty of time to do it all again next year.

In This Article

• Basic Strength and Muscle
• The Exercises
• Frequency of Workout
• How to Survive and Progress

This is one in a series of regular weight training programs. Each program is optimized for a specific outcome including general fitness, weight loss, body shaping, and sport-specific programs.

Basic Strength and Muscle

The Basic Strength and Muscle program is not just for beginners: you should use it if you want a formalized and precise program following casual experience with weights. As the name implies, it's an all-around program for basic strength and muscle building. This could be used in off-season training if your sport has elements of strength, power and strength endurance, which fits many sports. Consult your coach to ensure it doesn't conflict with other training priorities. Training programs are always most efficient when tailored specifically for individuals and their goals.

It’s worth reading the introductory weight training information before starting this program, or any program for that matter. The exercises use the standard free weights and equipment found in most gyms. All exercises can be done at home if you have the appropriate home gym equipment. A medical examination and clearance is wise if you've been sedentary for a lengthy period. Take care with injured or dysfunctional joints. Get medical advice before starting weight training if this applies to you.

The basic program includes:

1. Warmup
2. Squat (or leg press)
3. Bench press (or chest press)
4. Cool down, stretch

The Warmup

Warm up with ten minutes of aerobic exercise. This can be with treadmill walking or jogging, stationary bicycle, cross-trainer or stepper machines. Extend this to 30 minutes depending on requirements for fat loss. In any case, we recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise at moderate intensity three times each week for all weight trainers in order to promote aerobic fitness. It need not be done at the same time as the weights session.

Warmups are important to get blood flowing to heart, lung, and muscles and lubricating (synovial) fluid loosening the joints ready for action. Each weights exercise should include a warmup with light weights and practicing the same form as for the workout weight. Sixty percent of your workout weight is about right for warmups. Stretching is not so important before exercise and is better performed after exercise. Some light stretches will do no harm.

The Exercises

If you have little experience of weight training and free weights, you may wish to start with the machine leg press instead of the squat, especially if you're not accompanied by a trainer, helper or spotter. Even so, there is no reason to be intimidated by the squat exercise. It need not be done in a squat rack or power cage with the big bar and free weights to begin with, although squatting with the bar alone is a good way to practice form. Dumbbells or small-bar barbells or a Smith machine can provide reassurance for the beginner. The same applies to the racked bench press with heavy bar, which can be substituted with dumbbells or lighter barbells. The key is not to lift too heavy too soon.

Sets, Repetitions, and Starting Weight

You will start with 1 set of 12 repetitions for each of 9 exercises for the first week. At workout session 8, you should have progressed to 3 sets of 12 repetitions for each exercise. The weight you choose to start with will be sufficient to perform a set of 12 repetitions to failure with good form, which means that the twelfth repetition is pretty much the most you can do without resting. This is called 12RM (repetition maximum).

Various formulae exist for calculating what this starting weight should be, but I find it just as easy to trial different weights until you get to that limit. If you’re new to free weights, this helps familiarization as well. Try an obvious light weight, for you, to warm up and then upgrade to something heavier for the workout set. By the third set, you should have settled on the 12RM weight. If not, just move on and upgrade the weight next session.

The rest period between sets is variable according to your goals. For strength rather than muscle size (hypertrophy), longer rests are required—preferably about two minutes or more. For hypertrophy and elements of muscle endurance, shorter rest usually works best—around 45-90 seconds. Considering that this program is designed for a combination of strength and muscle building, you will rest for one minute if possible. Longer rests between sets are sometimes problematic in busy gyms but a longer interval than one minute is fine if that's what you require to continue.

Football Kicker Training Equipment

When you see something like Squat: 150x3x12, 60 seconds, it means 150 pounds (or kilograms depending on the source) for 3 sets of 12 repetitions with 60 seconds rest in between sets.

Frequency of Workout

This program is designed for 3 workout sessions each week for 6 weeks. If you consider that 3 workouts is too much because of time or fitness constraints, try to do at least 2 sessions per week, Monday to Sunday. In either case, the sequence of progression is as follows:

This program is based around 18 sessions comprised of either 6 weeks of 3 sessions or 9 weeks of 2 sessions for 9 exercises.

Here’s how it works (sets X repetitions, seconds break, for each exercise):

• Session 1 – 1 X 12, 60 seconds
• Session 2 – 1 X 12, 60 seconds
• Session 3 – 1 X 12, 60 seconds
• Session 4 – 2 X 12, 60 seconds
• Session 5 – 2 X 12, 60 seconds
• Session 6 – 2 X 12, 60 seconds
• Session 7 – 2 X 12, 60 seconds
• Sessions 8-18 – 3 X 12, 60 seconds

After session 12, consider whether you need to increase the weight for any particular exercise. If you can comfortably do more than the RM of 12 exercises, increase the weight by a modest amount, say two pounds or a kilogram for isolation exercise muscles such as triceps and biceps, and 5 pounds or 2.5.kilograms for compound and large muscle group exercises like squats and deadlifts. When using dumbbells, this would apply to each one. Don’t increase the number of sets beyond 3 at this time.

Note the flexibility here. If you're an experienced casual lifter starting an organized program, you may be able to kick off with 3 X 12 from the beginning. If you are new to weights and have some fitness issues, you should start with one set and progress slowly. Doing only 1 set of 9 exercises will not take too long, perhaps only 30 minutes with warmup included. Doing an extra 20 minutes or more of cardio before or after weights would be time well spent at this stage. Once you reach full stretch in the program, aerobic training may be better done before weights or at a separate session.

Order of Exercises

The exercise order should be maintained as above, busy gyms notwithstanding. This order has been designed with large muscle group, compound exercises first, the smaller muscle isolation exercises following and with alternating ‘push’ and ‘pull’ to achieve a session that alternates muscle groups and modes of action as much as possible to enable maximum rest and recovery of the various muscle groups. Some compromises were required. Don’t get too hung-up if you can’t achieve this sequence. It’s not always possible to access equipment when you want it in gyms. In the scheme of things, it’s not fatal.

Here are some examples of compound, isolation, and push and pull exercises.

• Squat - compound - push
• Seated cable row – compound - pull
• Triceps pushdown – isolation - push
• Lat pulldown – compound - pull
• Overhead press – compound - push
• Biceps curl – isolation – pull

College Football Kickers

How to Survive and Progress

• Overload Management. The basis of strength and conditioning is progressive overload. It takes some skill to judge the point at which overload—increasingly heavier weight—is building capacity yet not making you too sore, ill or fatigued to continue. That’s why it’s very important to start slowly and build. When in doubt, take a rest, miss a session but don’t alter the program detail, the reps, and sets, if you can help it. The squat and deadlift can be very taxing, so be careful not to lift too heavy for a start.
• Pre and Post. Second, don’t skip the warmup and cool down. Yes, these are important for your continued health and progress. If you feel pain in any movement, don't do it. See a doctor or therapist as soon as possible if it persists.
• Diet and Nutrition. Third, eat well and keep the fluid intake appropriate for the exercise and conditions.

Nebraska Football Weight Training Program

That’s it for Basic Strength and Muscle. Novices and casual exercisers can expect a 20-40 percent increase in strength and some muscle size and muscle endurance enhancement. You could continue with this program beyond the 18 weeks by increasing the weight load as strength and capability improves. However, further progress may depend on alterations in exercise variety, frequency and timing. The next phase should be an intermediate program designed to enhance the progress you’ve already made.