5 Best Muscles to train in the High School Weight Room
The High School Weight Room is where your NFL career begins. I was the type of kid who got bullied. I was fat because I ate candy bars and honey buns from my father’s candy store. I was short because I hadn’t grown up yet. I was weak for no reason. I wasn’t strong yet. My football skills were awful. I was a scrub. That is the word we used for a bench warmer. I got smashed in practice every day. I got trampled like a high traffic rug. My grade school classmates wrote in my yearbook, “to a cool cat that’s super-fat”. Size and strength were the only things that could save me. I needed protection. My newfound friends called muscles and height came to my rescue. It took 3 years though.
Here are 5 ways to get your High School body ready for College and the NFL.
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Do Squats
Squats done in the high school weight room are one of the most important exercises to do. Your legs are your base. They are your power source. Without a strong base, you will get run over in practice. Can I tell you a secret? Well, here goes. Some of my high school teammates hated lifting legs. Our high school cheerleaders had bigger and stronger legs than they did. Girls would giggle and shout, “Hey pencil legs”.
Bench Press
If you want to push people around instead of getting pushed around, work on increasing your bench press while in your high school weight room. My college tested us on dips. The NFL tested us with the number of times you could bench press 225 lbs. We had a linebacker in College we called He-man. He could bench press 400+ pounds. He would say,” I am going to smash you in 1 on 1’s”. We all lined up and we all planted him into the dirt. Bench press strength is good. You have to learn the technique so you can use it properly.
Push-ups at home and in the weight room
Doing push-ups at home could help you to increase your bench press. Hershel Walker used push-ups at home to enhance his football career. I used it to impress a woman. It worked. Push-ups develop the chest, shoulders, and triceps. These muscles are essential for the pushing motion. Wide receivers must push off. Lineman push each other around. Football is a push sport. Develop push strength early and reap the benefits later.
Fitness tip-Learn about a 52-week Strength and Core program for the high school weight room.
Crunches
Hershel also did 1000 crunches every day. This will work your core muscles. The Core muscles hold your entire body in place. Without them, you would be a puddle of water. My back ached from running laps in practice. Stronger core muscles could have saved me from so much pain.
Stretching
Stretching is often overlooked. The importance of stretching is astronomical. Why? Injuries occur when a joint gets moved away from the direction it is supposed to go. If the muscles surrounding the joints are tight, then the joint is more susceptible to injury. Flexibility could decrease the severity of the injury.
High School Weight Room and Endurance Training Routine
Jog to the Stadium Stairs after your workout in the weight room. Walk a lap. Complete a 440 as fast as you can. Walk a lap. Repeat this 2-3 times. Walk a lap. Complete 10 stadium step climbs. Run up and walk down to catch your breath. Walk a lap. Jog home. That is the routine that landed me into the NFL. Read the full story in the Undrafted-to NFL Roster post.
Without jogging and stadium stairs, I would have never gotten a full scholarship to Delaware State College. I would not have played a down in the NFL either. The stamina I received from jogging and stairs pushed me out there when I was dead tired on the field. The 4th quarter came with physical exhaustion. It made you happy that you took the time to work hard in your training.
