The new video goes live on Thursday, 12.22.23 at 9am, EST

In this video, I work with an HS Junior football player who has had an outstanding Junior year at OLD, MLB, and Strong Safety since this video was shot. We cover the warm-ups he should do before lifting in the weight room and then go from there as the series progresses next week onto the squat/bench/deadlift, etc.

I want to make clear that one colossal mistake coaches make with footballers is trying to turn them into powerlifters. Yes, Fullbacks and LBers resemble powerlifter builds, but the goals differ significantly to brush the surface. Get them strong, but strong for playing on the field; what an LB can pull from the floor means nothing. I’m not saying anyone deadlifting from the floor who plays football is an idiot. But if they are getting paid millions to tackle/hit/collide with the fastest athletes in the world running downhill at them, they should focus on that, not powerlifting.

In this video, I first break down Slade’s squat form with the KB; then, we move to the barbell squat. Remember, we are doing this in real-time, so changing forms and getting everything dialed in can take a few sessions. I feel the barbell squat is an excellent strength builder for most football players, but the depth of the squat and load and too much emphasis on strength can become an issue for some.

I’ve said this a lot. Football players don’t need to squat below 90. Never are these playing in such a way that they need to be loaded into a deep squat; it makes NO sense. While some can get away with this, others cannot. I’ve gotten to the point that I get the lack of understanding of the coach or the trainer’s part who doesn’t understand anatomy and differences in athletes’ hips (squat depth)  and load tolerance; that doesn’t mean I won’t keep repeating myself, hoping it lands sometimes. The problem is they don’t see the broken athletes that I do, who have wrecked their bodies because their coach was obsessed with squat depth and destroyed their hips and spine.