The principle of specificity is the most important element in designing an exercise program for any athlete in any sport. With regard to resistance training, specificity dictates that exercises are selected on the basis of their similarity to the sporting activity.
All football players require strength, mass, speed and explosive power. However, no matter how appealing, or desirable it may be, the athlete can’t train to improve all of these simultaneously in one program. The idea of effective program design is to focus on one or two key components, such as “strength and mass” during a select phase of the year.
Strength and lean mass should form the base of your weight lifting program and this component must focus on high-overload training to develop functional strength. This foundation phase is where I see you focus on Max-OT Training.
Exercises that are specific to the sports movement should only be introduced once a foundation has been laid. Max-OT provides an excellent foundation upon which more sports specific movements can be incorporated. Sports specific movements such as power cleans, pull and push-presses as well as other explosive movements serve to transfer the strength benefits obtained from Max-OT training into increased power, force production and agility.
Your foundation Max-OT program should focus on barbell squats, deadlifts and presses – this phase will most likely be your off-season. A pre-season program needs to incorporate the more sports specific movements. However, always be mindful of the amount of training volume pre season and in-season demands. During these phases, foundation Max-OT workouts should be still incorporated into your training with slightly less frequency.
