Football Workouts for Speed, Strength, and Agility

When you think of the best football players, you think of strong, fast, and agile athletes, right? They can launch a 60-yard pass, sprint past defenders, and battling for position against an opponent shaped like a wall at the line of scrimmage. Building that combination of strength, speed, and explosiveness takes more than reps on the field; it requires a training program designed to develop the physical qualities football demands.

We'll tackle (hehe) the football exercises student-athletes can add to their routine to improve in the off-season, plus a sample weekly workout plan to help you build strength, speed, power, and endurance on and off the field.

Components of a Well-Rounded Football Training Program

If you're looking to perform at your best on the field, or you just want to look like an NFL tank, you need more than just a big bench press. Football demands a combination of strength, explosiveness, speed, agility, and conditioning, but the emphasis can vary depending on your position. A defensive lineman may prioritize max strength and power, while a wide receiver may put more focus on building acceleration, top-end speed, and the ability to change direction quickly.

Depending on your goals, position, experience, and home gym equipment, your training may shift to prioritize certain qualities, whether that's building maximal strength, improving speed and agility, developing explosive power, or boosting conditioning.

Weight Training

Cooper DeJean builds strength with REP equipment.

Weight training builds the strength and muscle needed to hold your ground, break tackles, and generate force on the field. Compound movements are the foundation of a football strength training plan because they train multiple muscle groups at once and allow you to work with heavier loads.

Coach Berman says he focuses on five foundational movement categories with his athletes: upper-body pushing, upper-body pulling, lower-body hinging, lower-body pushing, and core training (with an emphasis on anti-rotation).

Sample Exercises:

• Bench press (upper-body push): The bench press builds the pushing strength needed to drive opponents out of the way, but it's also an indicator of overall upper-body strength. In this study, participants' 1RM in the bench press correlated to strength outside of just their chest muscles — in their triceps, shoulders, and biceps.
• Pull-ups (upper-body pull): This move builds pulling, grip, and upper-back strength which can help athletes control opponents, make tackles, and maintain position on the field.
• RDL (lower-body hinge): The key to the Romanian deadlift is maintaining a neutral spine while keeping the bar close to your legs as you hinge and extend at the hips.
• Back squats (lower-body push): With a bar loaded across your upper-back, squat low with control then power back up to standing. This compound lift builds strength for jumping and sprinting.
• Suitcase carries (anti-rotation): Pick up a kettlebell or dumbbell with one hand, stand tall, brace your core, and walk. "This sort of anti-rotation work forces athletes to fight rotation like they do in their sport," says Berman. 

Read More: Cardio vs. Strength Training

Power & Plyometrics

DeJean tackles box jumps on the REP® Stackable Soft Foam Plyo Box.

Power is a combination of strength and speed. It can be seen on the field as a running back streaks through a gap, a lineman explosively drives an opponent backwards, a receiver jumps for a catch, or a quarterback quickly generates force through their hips as they launch a deep pass. Power and plyometric training help you develop this explosive ability by training your muscles to produce force quickly. 

Sample Exercises:

• Olympic-lifting variations: Exercises like power cleans and hang cleans train your body to produce force quickly and explosively.
• Box jumps: Jump onto a plyo box to develop lower-body power.
• Broad jumps: Jump forward as far as possible to train horizontal power.
• Lateral bounds: Explosive side-to-side work that trains lateral power and improves the ability to push off and change direction.
• Medicine ball throws: Throw a medicine ball against a wall, to a partner, or overhead to develop full-body power.
• Jump rope: "Jump rope is my favorite warm-up," says Berman, who utilizes this beginner-friendly activity to prepare his athletes for the work to come.

Read More: Best Plyometric Exercises

Speed & Agility

Speed and agility training help you accelerate, change direction, stop under control, and react quickly to what's happening on the field. Football players need more than straight-line speed; they need good body control, footwork, quick first steps, and the ability to redirect their momentum in an instant.

"The weight room is our method to improve speed," says Berman, "but sport is the biggest driver of speed development." However, if you're not currently playing football, you can still incorporate sport-specific exercises in your pre-season training.

Sample Exercises:

• Shuttle runs: Sprint back and forth between set distances, accelerating and decelerating at each end.
• Short sprints: Sprint over short distances to develop explosive acceleration and a powerful first step.
• Cone drills: Move around a series of cones using sprints, cuts, and changes of direction to improve footwork and agility.
• Lateral shuffles: Side-to-side quick work that improves lateral movement and defensive footwork.
• Partner mirror drill: In pairs, mirror your partner's movements as they change direction — forcing you to react quickly while maintaining good body control.
• Speed ladder drills: Lay an agility ladder on the ground or draw up your own ladder lines with chalk to improve your footwork speed and coordination by stepping in and out as quickly as possible.

Football Conditioning

While football plays are relatively short and intense, endurance and conditioning are important to help players recover between plays and maintain their speed, strength, and explosiveness throughout the game.

Sample Exercises:

• Four corners: This drill moves you in four directions as you shuffle, backpedal, karaoke, and sprint — around a square marked by cones. Tackle four laps, rest for 60 seconds, and repeat for four times.
• Interval Running: Alternating between high-intensity work and recovery can help increase VO2 max and aerobic capacity, improve recovery, and is a time-efficient means to building endurance. Try a 20 second sprint followed by 40 seconds of active or passive recovery for 10 rounds. These can be done on a hill, the field, or a treadmill.
• Cross-Training: Mixing in low-impact activities like work on an air bike, swimming, or rowing can build cardiovascular endurance while giving your body a break from the repetitive impact of running. Try 20-30 minutes at a moderate intensity or use intervals to mimic the demands of football.

Read More: Strive™ Series Cardio Equipment Overview

Rest & Recovery

"Your programming is applying a stress — that's lifting and training — and we're applying that stress because we want a specific outcome: more weight on the bar, more reps, improved performance, etc," says Berman. "If you're not accomplishing those goals, look at the rest between sets or between the workouts." 

Rest and recovery are non-negotiables. In the weight room, you break the muscle down; it's during the downtime that your body rebuilds it stronger.

That recovery period is where the adaptation happens. Training provides the stimulus, but your body needs adequate time between sessions to repair, adapt, restore energy, and come back ready to perform. If you're constantly training without giving yourself enough time to recover, your performance and progress is likely to stall.

"Recovery is physical and mental. If you can maximize your rest, it'll improve your joy for the sport," says Berman.

Recommended Rest:

As a general rule, rest long enough between sets to maintain performance, and give heavily trained muscles adequate time to recover before stressing them again. For athletes who train multiple days in a row, rotating the training emphasis between muscle groups is a way to sneak in muscle-specific recovery while continuing to train.

• Heavy strength work: ~2-5 minutes between sets
• Power/explosive work: ~2-5 minutes between sets
• Hypertrophy/accessory work: ~1-3 minutes between sets
• Conditioning/circuits: ~30-90 seconds between sets
• Same muscle group, hard session: ~48-72 hours between sessions
• Same muscle group, lower intensity: Listen to your body, rest when needed

Off-Season Football Training Plan

A strong core, powerful legs, a sturdy upper body, and solid conditioning are all essential for football players looking to perform at their best. The off-season is the perfect time to build these qualities, giving you the time, recovery, and training volume needed to develop strength, power, speed, and endurance before the season kicks off.

Here's a training program you can follow to help prepare you for the demands of football season. Be sure to start each day with a 3–5-minute warm-up and dynamic stretches to prepare your body for the work to come.

Berman follows his warm-up with a barbell complex to help prime the body for the work to come while practicing key movement pattens.

Barbell Complex:

• Work with an empty, unloaded barbell
  
• RDL: 5 reps
• Hang cleans: 5 reps
• Push press: 5 reps
• Front squat: 5 reps
• Repeat for 2 rounds

Monday — Upper-Body Push, Lower-Body Hinge

• Barbell complex: 2 x 5
• Bench press: 3 x 5
• Power cleans: 5 x 3
• Suitcase carry: 3 x 30 seconds each side
• Plank with shoulder taps: 3 x 10 taps each side
  

Tuesday — Lower-Body Push, Upper-Body Pull + Speed/Plyos

• Jump rope: 3-5 minutes
• Barbell complex: 2 x 5
• 10-yard sprints: 6 reps
• Broad jumps: 3 x 3
• Back squats: 3 x 5
• One-arm dumbbell row: 3 x 8-10 each side
  

Wednesday — Recovery

• Light mobility work
• Low-intensity activity like walking, cycling, etc.

Thursday — Upper-Body Push, Lower-Body Hinge + Agility

• Barbell complex: 2 x 5
• Four corners: 3 rounds
• Pin bench press: 5 x 4
• Kettlebell swing: 5 x 5
• Pallof press: 3 x 10 each side
  
• Plank finisher: 1 minute

Friday — Lower-Body Push, Upper-Body Pull + Speed/Conditioning

• 40-yard sprints: 5 reps, 90 second rest
• Barbell complex: 2 x 5
• Bulgarian split squat: 3 x 5, each side
• Pull-ups:  3 x max quality reps

Saturday — Extra Credit Weekend Speed + Conditioning Work

• Hill sprints: 20 minutes AMRAP, sprint up/walk down

"The best speed coach on the entire planet is a hill," says Berman. He recommends sprinting uphill and walking down for a 20-minute workout. If you don't have a hill, utilize a treadmill with incline or resistance capabilities — Strive™ Curved Treadmill, we're looking at you.

Berman also suggests incorporating hill sprints as often as possible. "Run it every day if you can!" he says. Just be sure to listen to your body and give yourself adequate time to rest and recover when needed.

Takeaway

Sprinting, jumping, pushing, diving — football players need a combination of strength, speed, power, agility, and conditioning to perform when it counts. A well-rounded off-season training program can help you build each of these qualities while giving your body the time it needs to recover and adapt.

If you're looking for a more accessible starting point, check out our full-body dumbbell workout for beginners to help build the foundational strength you'll need.