Professional football has been America’s favorite spectator sport for 30 years, according to ESPN; and with over 1,088,000 high school football players in the 2012-13 season, football is now the nation’s most popular participant sport as well. However, with the high participation level also comes a high injury rate.

Get Fit Tips from the NEBH Sports Performance Team

As with most sports, football requires cardiovascular (CV) endurance. However, training for football is unique in that requirements vary depending on the athlete’s position on the field. For linemen, training should include aspects of strength, power, and agility, as well as muscular and CV endurance. For the remainder of the positions, training should include power, CV endurance, agility, and speed. All positions on the field should include exercises and drills that require movement in all directions including front/back, side-to-side, and diagonal. Strength training sessions should take place 2-3 times a week while conditioning and field work/agility should take place 3-4 times a week.

Specific Training: Linemen

• Start all training sessions with a warm up that includes running (5-10 minutes) and dynamic stretches.
• Continue with conditioning and agility drills that mimic drives, for example zig-zag runs, 40-yard dash, etc.
• Include strength training exercises that incorporate increasing strength and power, with all your major muscle groups. Bench press, push-ups through a hand ladder, and plyometric box jumps are good exercises to perform.

Specific Training: Backs

• Like your teammates, start all training sessions with a warm up of running 5-10 minutes and dynamic stretches.
• Continue with workout sessions that include exercise focusing on power and plyometrics, and strength through your legs and core.
• Other sessions should include conditioning with sprint exercises incorporated with short rest periods. These exercises should focus on acceleration and deceleration in all directions.

Preventing Injuries

To help prevent injury, make sure you practice these general safety tips:

• Always have an athletic trainer present at practices and games. Do not play without permission from a trainer with expansive medical knowledge of football injuries.
• Use only up-to-date and properly-fitting equipment. New helmets will help protect you from serious head injuries, new padding can minimize fractures, and properly-fitting shoes will help prevent sprains and strains.
• If you are injured, do not try to push through your injury. Always consult a medical professional before you resume playing.
• Warm up and stretch before and after you play.
• Participate in a conditioning course to strengthen your muscles, particularly ones statistically prone to injury.
• Consult with your coach or athletic trainer about ways to prevent overuse injuries like stress fractures and tendonitis.
• Have a physical examination at the start of the season to make sure you’re healthy to play.