All around the country, football teams are getting back into the weight room for off-season conditioning. Every athlete wants to be better than he was last year. Position guys want to get faster, quarterbacks want to throw farther, and lineman want to get bigger, stronger and more agile.

Here are four exercises that will improve your performance on the offensive line.

Offensive Line Exercises

Split Clean

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Skill most like: Kick step when setting up for pass protection.

The benefit: Defensive linemen are faster than ever. They come off the edge quicker and with more agility. The faster an offensive lineman can kick step and set up, the easier it will be to seal the edge and pick up a blitzing linebacker.

Points of emphasis:

1. Make sure your back is flat with your hips out as if you were going to jump.
2. Extend your hips like you are jumping while pulling the bar as high as you can.
3. When the bar is at its highest point, get your elbows around the bar while landing in a split stance.
4. Make sure the weight is light.

Sets/Reps: 3-5 x 2-4 each leg

Pause Back Squat

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Skill most like: Coming out of a three-point stance to run block.

The benefit: Having a strong upper body is not enough to execute a run block. The ability to come out of a three-point stance with enough force to accelerate your hands into the defensive linemen is key to moving him. Successful run blocking requires total body strength.

Points of emphasis:

1. Keep your stomach tight and go slow as you sit on the box.
2. Pause for two seconds while keeping your stomach tight.
3. Explode off the box.

Sets/Reps: 3-5×5-8

Flying Medicine Ball Throw

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Skill most like: Coming out of a stance while shooting the hands to run block.

The benefit: Blocking requires your hands and hips to work together. When coming out of a three-point stance, a lineman takes a 6-inch step to load his hips, then shoots his hips and hands together to block a defender off the line. This exercise mimics those motions. If the medicine ball flies straight, it is similar to the hands flying into the chest of the defender.

Points of emphasis:

1. Start in a two-point stance.
2. Take a 6-inch power step.
3. Leap out as far as you can while pushing the ball as far as you can.

Sets/Reps: 3-4×6-8

Medicine Ball Push-Up

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Skill most like: Setting up to pass block

The benefit: Hand placement is crucial when blocking. The lineman who has his hands inside of his opponent will win the battle at the line of scrimmage. This exercise builds the strength needed to be successful.

Points of emphasis:

1. Keep your stomach tight.
2. Keep your elbows tight to your body.
3. Remember to go all the way down and up.

Sets/Reps: 3-4×8-12

Read More:

• 12-Week Off-Season Lineman Workout Program
• NFL Strongman Workout With Offensive Lineman Andy Alleman
• Elite Lineman Training Guide
• Wisconsin’s Star Drill for Offensive Linemen

 

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