First, keep in mind a couple things when you watch NFL videos:
Once you’re that awesome, you get to break the rules
These dudes are making their livelihood on one more yard. Watch what happens to running backs after they get that second contract; they step out every play
Great athleticism overcomes a lot
The rules/ safety focus has changed significantly in recent years; most these dudes grew up playing in a different norm
Now, to that last point, coaches are adapting too. They’re trying to emphasize safety while keeping you effective. I don’t know if I can do an adequate job of trying to give any cues, and it’s been a long time since I even smelled cleats, but I’ll throw some thoughts:
You do want your head in line with your spine; in that sense it shouldn’t lower
You’re going to want to get your shoulders low and forward; your head should come with and stay packed (not hyperextended)
Cover that ball! That’s just smart and keeps you in good position
Definitely don’t turn your body; that’s asking to fumble and nothing puts a back on the sideline quicker
Think of pushing a sled. It’s not exact, but that’s the idea of getting low and using your legs to drive. There’s a reason they’re popular in football
Keep in mind that it’s a movement going into contact; it’s not your actual run
Nobody is allowed to lead with their head anymore. You’ll see it get called a lot, because it’s tough to get this alignment perfect (as you noted)
All it takes to not lead with your head is a slight lateral shift (not an oblique turn); it’s a question of degrees
I don’t know if that’s helpful, but it’s what popped in my head on the spot! I’m sure Coach will have some real detail for you - I am pretty sure he actually was a running backs coach.
Honestly, if you have to think about stuff like that, you won’t be able to be effective on the field. The game is too complex to focus on minutea like that. And in complex motor skills, there is nothing worse than an internal focus/cueing.
In an ideal world, your eyes would always see the field in front of you, especially as a RB. That’s why you can’t put your head down. It is also illegal to use the crown of your helmet as a weapon (to initiate hits). It doesn’t mean that you all players NEVER look down or present the top of their head first, it is often an automatic/reflexive reaction upon contact.
I understand that but when I am being told to always keep my head up, that is the thing I focus on (internal cue) which leads to me being too high when contact comes from the front. Since it is not possible to keep the head up during contact, I would prefer to know what I can do to protect my neck. I mean some full backs or line backers are playing with a neck roll so they can just crash into contact like mad.
I’ve also seen our most experienced RB put his head down and break a tackle that way.
In the end, if no one can tell me how to brace properly before contact, I can only try it out. I mean there must be a safe way to go in helmet first, otherwise not every RB would do it or they are just maniacs, which is quite possible.
These three would have been my guess from what I saw in the videos and that’s what I’m gonna do.
Because your head is above your shoulders, if you have a forward lean (which you should) your head will pretty much always be forward, so making contact with the head is almost a given.
What we don’t want is not avoiding making contact with the head (which is impossible if you say low and square), it’s avoiding looking down to the ground. This will make you less able to see and adjust but also increase the chance of using the crown/top of the helmet as a weapon. (which is only a penalty if it’s a helmet to helmet contact)
It’s fine to have a downward angle to your head (e.g. looking forward and down at around a 45 deg), what we don’t want is looking straight down.
There is no real way to protect your neck when you contact head first. If you’ve seen the movie “Any Given Sunday” (which is based on real stories published in a book by the former Dr. for the Raiders with also some stuff coming from the Jack Tatum’s bibliography They called me assassin), the old team doctor said it best when he said that these guys are modern gladiators and they accept the risk to their health for the glory of the game.
What happens is that when you play football for 20+ years (they start with pop-warner football when they are like 6) is that a) you become technically good at handling the impacts b) your body becomes more resilient (maybe stronger co-contraction/reflexive contractions upon impact) to the contact, which makes the game “safer” (still not safe). Not only that, but there is a gradual increase in the intensity of the contacts as one progresses from the various levels, making it easier to adapt.
That’s why, here in Quebec, there is a big debate in the world of youth hockey: there is no hard contacts allowed until the midget level (15 years old). And many experts say that this doesn’t protect the kids… quite the opposite: it increases the risk of injuries once that contact is allowed because the body (and technique) is not prepared for it.
That’s why (and I’m not saying this to discourage you, but it’s a warning) there are so many injuries in senior/adult football leagues: you have guys who have the strength and power to play but who have not gone through the multi-year process of adapting to contact. That’s the reason why 10-15 years ago I didn’t joint a senior football team when many of my friend did: it has been too many years since I played and even though I was stronger and faster than when I played, I considered the risk of injury too high because of my absence from the game.
Pro RB, for the most part, are balls of dense muscle. They have thick necks, traps and upper back, which is the best protection against neck injuries and concussions.
Thank you and @TrainForPain very much for your input on this.
Exactly that’s what I was getting at.
That’s what I figured but no one besides the two of were saying it straight up.
Great, that’s what I needed!
Thanks again, very helpful.
BTW, I thought with American football being the biggest sport in the US, there would be a great deal of online resources, like forums, videos,… but there’s nearly nothing compared to working out in the gym and even compared to basketball. (Either that or I’m too stupid to google) It surprised me quite a bit, even better that you are here and taking your time to answer rookie questions, thanks CT.
No kidding! I love the game, but I can’t imagine lining up for just one series now; taking (or delivering) a real hit might cause me to explode on the spot.
Maybe it’s also my personal peculiarities. I like knowing exactly why I do something so I can do it optimally. A squat form explanation 30 pages long in starting strength is something I very much like and there were these technique videos and written instructions for shooting a basketball, but I have not come across in depth explanations on every football technique. Tackling may be the exception.
Then you will love two of my upcoming products. One is a barbell course going into great details on the squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press and their assistance exercises as well as the olympic lift variations… something like 10h of material!
Another one will be a book published by Human Kinetics, the chapters on squat, bench, deadlift, military press are quite extensive and will go into great details. We have the photoshoot for the book tomorrow
That sounds great. I’ve not seen a satisfying one on the Olympic lifts. Since you are always doing your work meticulously, I’m looking forward to this one.
Going to jump in this thread as a fellow European football player!
Congrats on making the team at RB!!
If i can give me honest opinion, at our level in Europe the work you do in the weights room is less important than actually going to the weights room. We are not blessed for talent unless you play German Div 1 or European Football League - both of which you will compete against a lot of ex college US players.
Apply yourself to football as much as possible, be a master of the role, master of technique and just be strong, fit / high levels of conditioning and most importantly INJURY RESISTANT.
Let me tell you know, once this season starts, players drop like flies. If you dont drop, you will play more, if you play more you will get better.
I appreciate this response isnt science driven but its personal experience of years at our level!
Yes, that’s what I figured. Some of the very good players on my team don’t look like they’ve ever seen a weight room from the inside. I focused on football practice the last couple of months and it’s done me a great service. I’ve reduced gym to once a week. I miss the gym and I can already see the changes in upper body mass, but they will come back in the off season. Appreciate the response and confirming what I thought about the sport here.
2 days per week + additional trainings and practice games. So all in all I’d say 2.5 trainings per week. I have a very high stress job, so more training than this plus one gym day is not manageable for me.
Makes sense! Just was gonna say if you don’t like the idea of losing mass or strength, 2 weights sessions a week should be sufficient in preserving until the off season.
If it’s any use this is my current week schedule
Monday: Recovery or lower strength if no Sunday game
Here we are, football season is here. My first game at RB was a great success (70 yards combined). Second one I did not see as much playing time as coaches wanted to give RB3 a chance though he didn’t use it. I’m expecting to see more touches again next game. I have two questions.
Do you have any tips on how to best recover from a football game? It’s quite intense, especially from a mental perspective. Adrenaline is high for hours so that the day after I’m just drained.
There’s some whiplash action my neck has to endure every game (we’ve mentioned this above as well). Are there any exercises that can partly prevent this or strengthen the neck particularly well?
For number one, I was young so I just slept and ate pop tarts the next day. That seemed to heal both body and mind. Unless I played poorly, in which case I just stayed mad for a week.
For number two, Coach will be smarter than me, but I think both strengthening your neck and learning to stay down/ absorb force will take time. If you get hit “tall” you’re going to get rocked. You’ll learn to “feel” hits coming and start to protect yourself.
Build your neck and traps. Train them twice a week. But far away from a game as the risidual fatigue from the workout might make you neck weaker during the game.
Off-season, start every workout with 2-3 neck exercises. I find that they are a great warm-up for the session as it increases neurological activation quickly.
