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The Football Body Workout Routine

Use gridiron training to get the build of an NFL athlete.

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The Football Body Workout Routine
Fuse / Getty
The Football Body Workout Routine
Fuse / Getty

Football players need a combination of speed, strength, agility, and power to be successful on the field—and that means a lot of time in the gym. To train right, football players need to hit a range of areas, and that’s why we’ve put together this all-around workout for you to add to your routine.

Frequency

Perform each of the workouts (I, II, III, and IV) once per week. Try and schedule your training so that you perform workouts I and II on back-to-back days, and then rest a day after that. Perform workouts III and IV on back-to-back days, followed by two days off.

How to do it

Perform the exercise pairs (marked A and B) as alternating sets, resting the prescribed amount of time between each set. So you’ll do one set of A, rest, then one set of B, rest again, and repeat for all the prescribed sets.

Perform the remaining exercises as straight sets, completing all the prescribed sets for one exercise before moving on to the next. Some exercises call for you to “work up” to a weight that’s the most you can use for a given rep range. This is called your “rep max,” or RM. A “3RM” would indicate a three-rep max (a weight with which you can perform only three reps).

Perform increasingly heavier warm-up sets of no more than six reps to gradually arrive at your RM weight (the warm-up sets should not be very stressful). Make sure you perform at least five sets total for the exercise.

 

Routine

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The football body workout

Day 1: Legs, back, abs

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 1 of 5

Box Squat

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
5
Reps
3
Rest
As needed
Exercise 2 of 5

Bulgarian Split Squat

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
8 each leg
Rest
180 sec.
Exercise 3 of 5

Weighted Back Extension

Equipment
Bench
Sets
4
Reps
12
Rest
0 sec.
Exercise 4 of 5

Dumbbell Side Bend

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
4
Reps
12 each side
Rest
90 sec.
Exercise 5 of 5

Sprinter Situp

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
5
Reps
3
Rest
As needed

The football body workout

Day 2: Chest, arms, back, shoulders

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 6 of 5

Bench Press

Equipment
Barbell
Sets
5
Reps
3
Rest
As needed
Exercise 7 of 5

Neutral-Grip Floor Press

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
4
Reps
8,8,6,5
Rest
180 sec.
Exercise 8 of 5

Dumbbell Row

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
2
Reps
8, 20-25
Rest
120 sec.
Exercise 9 of 5

Seated dumbbell lateral raise

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
10
Rest
0 sec.
Exercise 10 of 5

Seated Dumbbell Clean

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
10
Rest
90 sec.
Exercise 11 of 5

Zottman Curl

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
8
Rest
60 sec.

The football body workout

Day 3: Legs, back, shoulders, abs

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 12 of 5

High Box Jump

Equipment
Box
Sets
8
Reps
2
Rest
45 sec.
Exercise 13 of 5

Reverse Lunge

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
10 each leg
Rest
120 sec.
Perform with barbell. Add knee lift to end of move.
Exercise 14 of 5

Dumbbell One-Arm Swing

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
15 (each arm)
Rest
90 sec.
Exercise 15 of 5

Plank

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
3
Reps
Hold for 30 sec
Rest
0 sec.
Exercise 16 of 5

Weighted Situp

Equipment
Weight Plates
Sets
3
Reps
15
Rest
30 sec.

The football body workout

Day 4: Arms, shoulders, traps

Exercise
Equipment
Sets
Reps
Rest
Exercise 17 of 5

Plyo Pushup

Equipment
No Equipment
Sets
8
Reps
5
Rest
45 sec.
Exercise 18 of 5

Chinup

Equipment
Pullup Bar
Sets
3
Reps
30 sec AMRAP
Rest
120 sec.
Exercise 19 of 5

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
10
Rest
0 sec.
Exercise 20 of 5

Face Pull

Equipment
Cable Machine
Sets
3
Reps
12
Rest
120 sec.
Exercise 21 of 5

Shrug

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
30 sec AMRAP
Rest
120 sec
Use dumbells.
Exercise 22 of 5

Hammer Curl

Equipment
Dumbbells
Sets
3
Reps
30 sec AMRAP per side
Rest
120 sec.
Alternate arms.
Exercise 23 of 5

Triceps Pushdown

Equipment
Elastic Band
Sets
3
Reps
20
Rest
60 sec.
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