BY John Balano ACSM USAW
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
City College of San Francisco Football
2001 National
Champions
One of the most (if not the most) important individual on a
football team is the Quarterback. Their
overall health is often times of great concern and importance for the coaching
staff. As a Strength and Conditioning
Coach, you have to delicately and judiciously determine the commitment of the
football program to having the quarterback participate within the in-season
strength and conditioning curriculum. I
am fortunate at City College of San Francisco that George Rush is a firm
believer in 100% participation for all players in our season long strength and
conditioning program. With that in mind,
let me share with you my thoughts on the type of specialized program for the
Quarterback during the season.
CORE STRENGTH
For the core you can be as creative as possible. Typically, I like to see 250 reps in a
session, with upper and lower abdominal involvement. The oblique muscles too. Any variety will do although I favor dynamic
action using the medicine ball. I do
advocate doing some full-sit-ups as the lower abdominals and hip flexors
directly contribute to running. For the
low back, hyperextensions are good (tray these with a medicine ball either held
behind the head or at arms length for a real challenge). If you can do anything uni-lateral (one leg
or arm at a time) the better.
EXERCISE
TIP – (exercise name: POINTERS): Start by getting on your hands
and knees. Now, lift your left arm and
straighten you right leg so that both are parallel to the ground. Hold the position for a 2 count then do the
same for the opposite side. Count that
as 1 repetition. Build up until you can
do 30 reps minimum.
COACHING
POINTS: Arm and leg must be parallel to the ground. Gently place the kneecap on the ground when
returning the leg to its start position.
Do not rush the exercise, slowly and deliberately count to 2.
SHOULDER REGION
For the shoulder region, I like the Jobe dumbbell
protocol.
Dr. Frank Jobe developed these
exercises several years ago to aid in the rehabilitation of throwing athletes
(pitchers in-particular). Over the
years, they have become widely used in strengthening programs where dynamic
movement is concerned (i.e. throwing). I am fond of these particular exercises
within the protocol; perform them standing, in front of a mirror if
possible. Use 5 lb. or less with strict
form. Bear in mind, your target the four
muscles that comprise the rotator cuff.
(Heavier weights enable the rhomboids and deltoids to a greater extent)
JOBE 1: Begin with
dumbbells in your hands, arms at your side, palms facing your legs. Keeping your arms straight, raise them
laterally to shoulder height. As you
raise the weight, rotate the weights so that your thumbs are pointing toward
the ceiling.
JOBE 2: Begin with
dumbbells in your hands, arms at your side, palms facing your legs. Keeping your arms straight, raise your arms
forward to shoulder height and at 45 degree angles to your body. Your thumbs
should naturally point to the ceiling.
JOBE 3: Begin with dumbbells
in your hands, arms at your side, palms facing your legs. Keeping your arms straight, raise your arms
straight ahead to shoulder height. As
you raise your arms, rotate your hands as if you were emptying out two cans of
water.
COACHING
POINTS: Do not sway your body and don’t raise your hands above
shoulder level.
Add push-ups, with your hands on medicine balls (for
increased shoulder stability). Bent-over
flyes (try these laying over a balance ball for greater functionality) or T-Bar
rows for the posterior fibers of the deltoid (try squeezing your shoulder
blades together before pulling!). Throw
in some bicep curls (don’t forget that they decelerate the throwing motion);
actually I prefer reverse grip pull-ups with a 5 sec. eccentric (lowering
motion) movement.
There you have it, a concise in-season package for your
Quarterbacks. Right to the point and
easily executed in less than 20 minutes.
Think in terms of twice a week built into your annual plan for
periodization for greater opportunity for success. Where’s the running, you ask? My assumption is that your practice tempo
should be adequate enough to provide close to “game” conditions. Besides, you may be brighter than me and have
a well-established “in-season” running program.
I’ll accept that, after all, I am a professional.
John Balano
