Getting Huge Legs for Football.

C

Chief Smackah0

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Hey Guys, Im wondering what some good leg exercises for Football are. Last year on the freshman team, I didn't play much because I was too slow firing out of my stance, and I'm looking to come back as a beast next year.


I'm a 14 year old 6 foot 1 280 pound Defensive Tackle.

My Leg workout routine usually consists of doing 3 sets of leg extensions starting with 160 pounds and ending with 190 pounds.

Then I move on to the leg curl machine, where I start at 100 and move up to around 130 pounds.

Next, I use the leg press machine and start with 3 plates(On each side of the machine)Then move up to 4, 5, 6 and 7 plates per side, and during my most recent workout maxed out doing 1 rep with 8 plates.

Lastly, I usually finish off by doing 3 sets of calf raises with 300 pounds. Each "set" consists of 15 reps each with my toes straight, then pointed in, then pointed out. I can do much, much more, but unfortunately, the machine at the gym I go to maxes at 300 pounds.


Is there anything I need to change/eliminate/emphasize more ?
 
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Elimiate everything you're doing.

All you need are squats and a hip extensor exercise. This means good mornings, straight legged deadlifts, glute ham raises, and romanian deadlifts.

If you don't know what any of these exercises are, google them, or advanced google search in places like t-nation.com, elitefts.com, and defrancostraining.com.
 
Well, you should do your research. Figure out why the exercises you perform have little athletic carryover compared to the ones I mentioned. Don't go about it blindly.
 
good advice Lei. Researching form on the lifts suggested is importaint!
Also, dont you have a coach or anything who can give qualified advice and even teach you those lifts? When you get some experience with squats and deadlifts, look into olympic lifting, those will make you FAST. It might not be a good idea to get into it now however, since you are a newbie to weightlifting and will make good speed gains from doing heavy stuff like squats and deads.
 
All the exercises you are doing is fine, just change the order you are doing them in. Perform your leg press first, then leg extensions, and leg curls. You should try to incorporate some of the other lifts mentioned, but if you are looking for explosive power you need to do more skill development. Doing squats is not going to make you get out of your stance any faster, practicing your technique will.
 
CRE said:
All the exercises you are doing is fine, just change the order you are doing them in. Perform your leg press first, then leg extensions, and leg curls. You should try to incorporate some of the other lifts mentioned, but if you are looking for explosive power you need to do more skill development. Doing squats is not going to make you get out of your stance any faster, practicing your technique will.
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This is terrible advice. If you'd do some research, you'd know that leg curls have almost NO athletic carryover, and that leg extensions suck compared to squats.

He might be slow because of his technique, but his workout sure as hell isn't helping.
 
Are leg extensions the ones where you sit in a chair, put your feet under a pad and straighten your legs?

If they are i have alot of trouble with these as it really hurts my knees so i have to do it with a really light weight but it still hurts abit. I think that it could be because i have really weaklegs after multiple knee injuries.

What other exercises could i do instead of this?
 
Without knowing your knee problems, we have no way of knowing what exercises you can and cannot do.

But one thing is for sure, leg extensions place tons of stress on the knee joint. You should be avoiding these like the plague. Ask your doctor what you can and cannot do...take it easy for now and do bodyweight exercises if you have to, but if it hurts, stop, review your form, try it again, and if it still hurts, don't do it.
 
My knee cap had broken up underneath but i had key hole surgery and they scraped that awayand said that it heal itself. I did do physio after but and they discharged me from the hospital. I also tore my ACL in 2005.

I can do dealifts and squats but will these exercises have the same affect?
 
If you can DL and squat, you can probably do all the exercises I mentioned earlier. If you can do those, yes, they have the "same affect", in the terms that they will work your hamstrings, glutes, and quads. However, if you're looking for knee problems and poor athletic carryover, then no, you won't get the same thing from squatting and deading.
 
LeiYunFat said:
Without knowing your knee problems, we have no way of knowing what exercises you can and cannot do.

But one thing is for sure, leg extensions place tons of stress on the knee joint. You should be avoiding these like the plague. Ask your doctor what you can and cannot do...take it easy for now and do bodyweight exercises if you have to, but if it hurts, stop, review your form, try it again, and if it still hurts, don't do it.
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Sorry to do this man but leg extensions are extremely useful in the rehabilitation of ACL ruptures and any problems concerning the popliteal and patella region on the knee. As long as the movement is performed slowly and the knee isnt put past its normal range of motion on the concentric phase it is fine.

Agreed with the form advice though.
 
Leg extensions are useful? Noooo!

Lmao, jk. I don't know my stuff nearly as much as you so you don't have to apologize when you correct me.
 
Thanks for the help, i'll be doing Defrancos skinny bastards program so i will make sure that leg extensions are in my workout, aswell as squats and deadlifts
 
Let me guess LeiYunFat, you must be a big proponent for powerlifting. Have you ever played football? How are you so positive that Squats have an athletic carryover? I'm not saying squats are not a good exercise, but they can be dangerous for some people, so leg press is a safer alternative. I have met plenty of good weight lifters who could not perform on the football field. Strengthening the muscles involved in the athletic movement is important and as long as there is an overload your muscles will become stronger. Now I know no matter what I say you will try to cut me down because you are so closed minded in your beliefs. The above information is just my opinion take it or leave it.

And as for the Leg curl not having an athletic carryover. Doesn't your leg do a curling action when you are running?
 
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I've neer played football on a team, but that doesn't make me any less credible. The glutes are never isolated when the hamstrings are activated in any athletic movement, that's a fact. Leg curling is isolating the hams. Why? It's not just about strengthening muscles, it's about CNS activation and the benefits of hip flexion over isolation.

I will agree with you that some athletes simply aren't built for squats. This doesn't mean that they should use machines over anything else.

It's your OPINION? That's hilarious. The fact that you tried to take the high ground on this is laughable and indicates you're either scared of me, or scared that your own lack of knowledge will become apparent, which it has.
 
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So you never have played football on a team,I thought so. You have no idea then if you were doing Squats that it will make you faster and stronger out of your stance. Strengthening the muscles and practicing technique is key. I didn't once say that machines were superior to free weights, but you can acheive results using machines. Yes hip flexion is better than isolation. You can get hip flexion from a leg press while engaging the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Then take the quads and hamstings further by isolating them.

Oh and scared of you I think NOT.
 
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Knee extensions fine for rehab purposes; suck for athletic performace. Lying hamstring curls are in the same boat.

The problem with leg press is the excessive range of motion that most users like to use where they bring their knees into their face. Leg press should be used more as a supplemental movement.

I think what a lot of strength coaches have agreed on is that the front squat is superior to the other leg resisted movements in terms of athletic performance.

However, when you're dealing with problems in sprinting, usually the sprint mechanics are off in teh athlete and working on sprint technique should come before anything else in fixing the problem. If the first step is not good, then the rest will suck.
 
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