Whether you play American NFL or Australian Rules Football you need to weight train to be competitive. This article will look at what type of weight training exercises you should use to improve your football game.

How should football players lift weights

Football is an explosive sport. You get knocked around, tackled to the ground and have to do the same to other players. You need to be able to run fast, jump high and outdo your opponent in whatever scenario the game cooks up for you. Without weight training you will be next to useless.

Having said that, it is important to know how to lift weights. You need to know the right exercises and you need to know how to do them. Football players train hard all day; you don’t want to waste energy in the gym doing the wrong thing.

There are two things you need to focus on when weight training:

• Increasing the strength of the muscle
• Increasing the endurance of the muscle

Everything that happens on a football field is summed up into these two parts. If you need to wrestle another player to the ground you need to know two things: the first is that your muscles are stronger than his and the second is that your muscles are going to last longer than his. If you lose either of these you lose the tackle.

I can hear you now saying “Dude, there is more to a tackle than that! What about technique?” And my answer would be: “Well, sport, this article is about weight training, not football technique”. Of course, if your technique is shit it won’t matter how strong you are. Make sure you know this fact.

So, back to the question: how should football players lift weights?

The answer is simple. Footballers should lift weights just like they play football. Sometimes they need explosive strength, somtimes they need a slower pushing power. We therefore need to make sure that our weight training addresses all of these things.

NOTE - We all know football players need to pack on muscle size. This article is not concerned with that. Instead, we are looking at explosive ways to develop better strength and power for on field performance. If you want to know how to pack on muscle size then check out our bodybuilding archives.

Explosive training for much stronger football

The Australian Rules Football players are some of the strongest men in the world, bar none. These guys are not as big as NFL players but they are harder, fitter and much more athletic. They wear NO pads when they play and the sport is full contact. An NFL player wouldn’t know what had hit them.

When the staff of the Philadelphia Eagles flew to Australia to watch a game of Aussie Rules in order to scout some talent (Saverio Rocca) they could not believe how hard the game was. And because the game is so hard these guys have to prepare their body with the right kind of weight training; explosive training.

Here are some ideas for explosive weight training:
Continue Reading

I love to go for a run around the hills, parks and streets of my local hood. I also love to have a comfortable running shoe. The ASICS Gel Cumulus is possibly the best running shoe of all time.

What is so good about the ASICS Gel?

If you ask almost any runner what the best shoe is they will, 90% of the time, tell you it is the ASICS Gel. ASICS Gels are a super series which are focussed on developing solid quality running and cross training shoes. They have been at the top of this market for years now and as far as I am concerned are in no danger of losing that spot.

• The shoes are solid but have mesh lining in places to allow your feet to breathe. This is important if your feet smell as bad as mine.
• The shoes are stable and very well balanced. It is hard to roll your ankle in these bad boys.
• The shoes are cheaper than most but still of a much higher quality than the expensive counterparts.
• They have great heel shock absorbption which means you will get less shin splints and more miles.
• Finally, they last. I hate spending big money on a new pair of shoes that die after a few weeks wear and tear. I still have a pair of ASICS Gels that I was using almost 10 years ago.

Of course saying they are the “best running shoe ever” could be going a little too far. Probably what I should have said is that they are the best running shoe “in my opinion”. Some people like to run in Nikes (I do too..), other like Reebok, others like Adidas. It really comes down to what you have tried and which marketing ploy worked best on you.

You can get a price on the ASICS Gel Cumulus here.

When we think of Tai Chi we think of an old Chinese man practicing alone in the park. We don’t really think that it could be of any benefit to us. However, Tai Chi is a powerful tool for improving your health. It is even useful for bodybuilders!

What exactly is Tai Chi

Tai Chi is actually an ancient Chinese martial art. It focusses on slow external movements with the aim of increasing the internal strength, power and health of one’s body and energies.

Despite its slow movements, Tai Chi is a powerful martial art and can be used in combat. This, however, can only happen after years of training. The primary goal of Tai Chi is health, wellbeing and internal strength.

How does Tai Chi work?

Tai chi uses slow movements (forms) in order to manipulate the internal energies of the human body. According to Chinese medicine the body is made up of small energy channels through which our internal energy flows. By applying pressure to certain points on the body we can manipulate that energy as is seen in acupuncture. However, one can also use movement and the breath to control these energies and this is how Tai Chi works.

What health problems does Tai Chi help?

By performing Tai Chi on a regular basis one will be able to clear blockages in these channels as well as strengthen the energy itself. It will help heal small health problems such as muscle injuries and any sickness related to a blocked channel. Some illnesses that are often cured by Tai Chi include:

• Hayfever
• Migraines
• Digestive problems
• Sexual function problems
• Neck and back pain
• Arthritis
• Stress and anxiety

It is also now being used as part of a wider range of treatments for more serious illnesses such as cancer. Although Tai Chi does not profess to cure such illnesses, it has been known to make other treatments more effective.

So how does Tai Chi help muscle growth?

One major benefit of Tai Chi is that it helps your muscles recover quicker. When you can learn to manipulate your internal chi or when you improve your chi strength you find that your muscles recover faster after a workout. This is a big bonus.

As we know, muscles break down when you lift weights and the muscle growth happens when the repairing starts to occur. If we can repair the muscles faster we can hit the gym again in order to start the process all over again.

Tai Chi also helps muscle growth by teaching us to be in better control of our body. When we can isolate our muscles and tense them mentally we can get a better contraction each time we lift weights and this will assist us in our gains.