12-Month Periodized Football Training Program

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The 12-Month Football Training
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If you want to perform at YOUR best - whatever level that might be -
It's designed exclusively for football
you can learn a lot from the way the pros train.
ELEMENTS OF FITNESS players and there's nothing like it

First and foremost though, a football training program has to meet your available anywhere.
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own specific needs...
Body Composition

Training time for most players is limited. You might not have the
Circuit Training resources (or the inclination) to train 6 days a week.
Endurance Training
And you don't have to.
Exercise Physiology
Your only goal should be to maximise the time you DO have at your
Fitness Tests disposal. Do that and you cannot fail to improve.

Flexibility Training
Any effective training regime should be built on the back of a solid
fitness assessment. And it becomes exceptionally important in sports
Plyometric Training
conditioning... See here for more...
Speed Training

Without objective testing you simply cannot know how effective your
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Visit the fitness testing section of the site. You'll find all kinds of tests
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Athletics (Track) This eye-opening guide reviews the

As a football player you'll want focus on tests that measure strength, scientific facts and gives you them
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power and speed. For example in plain English.
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Standing broad jump
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Sit and reach test
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Split Your Football Training Program Into 3 Name:
Phases
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Martial Arts Training A football training program lasts 12 months - even if the competitive in-

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12-Month Periodized Football Training Program

season only spans from September to December. And that applies to any Get It Now!
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football player at any level...
Rowing Training Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally

Even if you only have a couple of days a week spare for football secure. I promise to use it only to send
Rugby Training conditioning, you should still adapt and vary those sessions over the you The Truth About supplements.
course of a year.
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For the more ambitious players, this system of periodization is the
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Here are the three phases or periods of a football training program... can trust the content
on this website. So
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Pre-season phase - 7 months if you'd like to read
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In-season phase - 4 months me, and my
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credentials... you can do that
Transition phase - 1-2 months here...

Wow - over half a year to prepare! That's because it takes time to
develop peak strength and power. RSS FEED

Let's have a look at each phase in more detail...

Individual exercises and sessions are covered in separate articles. This is [?] Subscribe To This
how everything fits together into one, complete football training Site
program.

Pre-Season Phase of Football Training

The pre-season or off-season is by far the largest phase of the annual
plan.

The goal is to develop optimum strength and power so that it peaks just
prior to the start of the in-season.

Because this phase is so long you need to break into smaller cycles -
often referred to as macrocycles...

Each macrocycle might last between 3 and 6 weeks (for the sake of ease
we'll assume that each cycle lasts for a calendar month). The training
objectives and methods vary within each cycle and there's an important
reason for this...

Firstly, adjusting intensity and volume helps to avoid overtraining and
burnout.

Secondly, certain aspects of fitness are built on the back of others.
Explosive power conditioning for example follows maximal strength
training, which in turn follows functional strength training.

Strength & Power Conditioning

During the transition period (see below) it's sensible to layoff strength
training all together, at least for a few weeks.

You should also consider a functional strength program designed to
correct any imbalances that occur as a result of a strenuous football
training program.

This functional strength program will likely spill into very early pre-
season and it's designed to prepare your body for subsequently more
demanding sessions.

Football players are one of the few groups of athletes that can benefit
from a hypertrophy program. This type of weight training is designed to
increase muscle mass. But contrary to popular belief larger muscles are
not necessarily stronger muscles...

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12-Month Periodized Football Training Program

As such hypertrophy training in football should make up only a portion of
the strength training program. Maximal strength training is an important
element also and leads to significantly different adaptations than
bodybuilding.

Linemen may want to place more emphasis on the hypertrophy phase
than other players. As an example, they could split their preseason into
just 4 phases -
functional/hypertrophy/maximal strength/power.

Finally, following the development of muscle mass and maximal
strength, conversion to sport-specific power is crucial...

It is power (and not maximal strength) that is most beneficial to football
players. The cycle just prior to the season start should focus on
developing peak power.

For a detailed look at strength training for football, click here.

Speed & Agility Training

In the early pre-season speed and agility work is optional and should be
low in intesnity. Too much running and interval training can detract from
the development of muscles mass and maximal strength.

Some light aerobic training may feature but more as a form of active
recovery than intense endurance sessions.

As the pre-season progresses more emphasis can be placed on speed
and agility and intense interval training. If you take the time to plan your
football training program in advance, quickness and agility should hit a
peak just as the season begins.

A superb resource for speed training is the North / South Football
Speed DVD. You can get it here..

Flexibility Training
Don't neglect your flexibility. Your degree of range of movement impacts
on your speed, agility and to some extent your power. It will also help to
prevent injuries resulting from over stretching.

While too much flexibility is not beneficial either, most football players
are a long way from being overly supple. Spend at least 3 days a week
stretching - this is on top of stretching exercises performed as part of the
warm up.

In-Season Phase of Football Training

Compared to the substantial pre-season preparation phase this should be
a walk in the park!

The objective is to maintain all the gains resulting from your hard work
over the previous 6 months or so.

Competitive games take priority. All of your conditioning work should be
based around when you play. It's important to either rest or perform
lower intensity drills the day before a game. You'll also have to co-
ordinate your strength sessions so that you recover fully in time.

Fortunately, to maintain your new levels of strength and power takes a
lot less time in the weight room.

You can afford to reduce your number of strength sessions and the
volume of sets and repetitions. But don't skip weight training all
together.

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12-Month Periodized Football Training Program

Transition Phase of Football Training

The transition phase is as important as any other in the 12 month
football training program. It may only last 4-6 weeks but what you
choose to do over that period of time can dictate how your entire season
plays out.

If you don't take the time to rest - physically AND mentally - you WILL
burnout... eventually.

Even if you feel fresh at the end of hard season take time out. Try
another sport - tennis is a favourite, or any racket sport. Just avoid
weight training and pounding the roads.

The only caveat is that you do something physically active...

If you do absolutely nothing it will be that much harder to return to
training. It takes only 4-5 weeks of complete sedentary living to loose
most of what's taken you the best part of year to build up.

The Perfect Plan - Putting it All Together

Have a good look at the chart below...

Notice how the amount and intensity of running drills varies depending on
the strength phase?

Too much intense interval training alongside strenuous hypertrophy
training can leave you physically exhausted.

Notice also how the volume of speed and agility work increases alongside
power conditioning. This makes sense as it compliments the objectives of
the phase.

The intensity row is a rough guideline for overall training intensity.
Often that can be a subjective measure so pay close attention to how
you feel.

More football training programs and articles will be added on a regular
basis. But this is the place where they all fit together into one cohesive,
highly effective plan.

Yes, it does take a little planning to bring everything together. And no

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/football-training-program.html[11/5/2015 7:57:36 AM]

12-Month Periodized Football Training Program

doubt that plan will (and should) change as you progress. But the
changes you'll see in your performance are worth every minute!

Return to the main football training program section

Get Seriously Quick For Football

Being quick is NOT just about genetics.

If you follow this program (from the creators of the

world-class 'Complete Speed Training' system) you'll
become seriously quick.

It's designed exclusively for football players and there's

nothing like it available anywhere.

Click here for more details...

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