How do football players prepare for the Super Bowl?
Let’s face it, the NFL is one of the most injury prone sports and foam rolling can help. It makes sense that the NFL, college, and youth levels can only play once a week during a season. They need six days between just to allow their bodies to recover. In regards to exercises, most people think NFL players mainly focus on building body mass and gaining brute strength. Although, this is somewhat true, these types of exercises can add more force and injury to the body. More and more NFL players are taking a therapeutic approach to training especially during the season. In a recent interview in Men’s Health Magazine, future hall of famer and 5-time super bowl champion Tom Brady, mentioned that he does not use any weights for his training regimen. Tom Brady trains using only resistance bands, thera-tubes, and sports bands when doing any type of strength training. He also loves using his vibrating foam roller and soft tissue tools to help increase blood circulation and relieve muscle tension.
For all you young and future football all stars, this is definitely something to think about. Tom Brady is going on his 18th season in the NFL. They say that the average football career is only 3 seasons long. Most of these football players careers are short lived due to injury. Tom Brady is now 40 years old and can potentially win his sixth Super Bowl. This machine of a man looks like he can continue to play until he is 50. Now I wouldn’t recommend he does that, but we have to take notice and pay respect to the way he has taken care of himself during his career.
Foam rolling increases circulation to a muscle as well as releasing adhesions that allow for better stretching. Foam rolling can be part of a warm up and cool down. Here are some examples of how you can foam roll your hamstrings, IT Band, and hip flexors. Make sure you move slowly over the muscle and stop for a few seconds on tender spots.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
Resistance Band Training challenges your muscles by creating resistance in multiple directions. It is great for stabilization endurance training because you are controlling the muscles against resistance to maintain the correct movement pattern for each exercise. Stabilizer and support muscles which are often neglected during traditional training are also strengthened. A great tempo to use for resistance band stabilization training is a 3-2-1.
The 3 stands for the eccentric muscle contraction. Eccentric muscle activation increases tension on a muscle as it lengthens. The 2 stands for the isometric contraction. The isometric hold or pause means there is no change in the length of the muscle fibers. Also, there is no movement at the joints, but the muscle fibers still are firing. Finally, the 1 stands for the concentric contraction. This type of contraction is the shortening of the muscle and is used to perform the acceleration or positive work of the exercise. A good example of resistance band training using this tempo is our client performing a chest press. As you can see, he slowly brings the band in working his eccentric muscle contraction( lengthening of the muscle) , then pauses when the band is close to his chest (isometric hold), and finally explodes the band back forward using a concentric contraction(shortening of the muscle).
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
The other videos demonstrate our clients working on power and acceleration using resistance bands.
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]