Best AFL related movements in the gym

[Slattery_20]

Shitload of intervals on the bikes/rowers/treadmills/cross-trainers anyone?
(although doubt footballers do too much cardio in the gym)
Most games you're more likely to lose through fitness at the end of a game than strength IMHO.

 

[cptkirk]

Shitload of intervals on the bikes/rowers/treadmills/cross-trainers anyone?
(although doubt footballers do too much cardio in the gym)
Most games you're more likely to lose through fitness at the end of a game than strength IMHO.

is it fitness though? or is it that you're too slow to get to the ball in the first place making your lack of speed in the first quarter which is already slow, even slower? therefore strength does play a apart and a pretty big one i think

 

[ThePezDispenser]

Saw a few of the Richmond boys in a Church st Fitness First.

Tyrone Vickery is having a lend. Rocks up and does tricep pull downs for 20 minutes then moves on to bicep curls, the others with him lat pull down than bicep curls. I had to leave at this stage, it would have been good to watch a full training session.

 

[Slattery_20]

Saw a few of the Richmond boys in a Church st Fitness First.

Tyrone Vickery is having a lend. Rocks up and does tricep pull downs for 20 minutes than moves on to bicep curls, the others with him lat pull down than bicep curls. I had to leave at this stage, it would have been good to watch a full training session.

And this is why footballers need to be supervised!

Getting ready for the pre-season "burning up the track" shirtless photos!

 

[jacross]

...what? You guys never warm up 'the guns' before your heavy squat session?

 

[jacross]

Shitload of intervals on the bikes/rowers/treadmills/cross-trainers anyone?
(although doubt footballers do too much cardio in the gym)
Most games you're more likely to lose through fitness at the end of a game than strength IMHO.

Yeah sure. I'd definitely promote intervals over steady state.

I think it depends on the individual and the team. I used to get around the ground alright but I'd often lose a contest because I was weaker than my opponent. Skill, fitness, speed, strength, tactics. They all can be the weak link that lets you down.

 

[Hungryhaydo]

Exact

A personal example would be that in deadlifts my glutes are probably the weak chain so I work on that in accessory work.

That's different from an issue I had a few years ago where my traps would do all the work in seated rows, barbell rows, dumbell rows, and my other upper back muscles (rhomboids etc) wouldn't fire. I had to go to a physio to get some exercises to learn how to fire them properly and then work my way back up to heavier weight.

In the first one, my glutes fire properly, they are just weak. Deadlifting will help but focusing some extra work on glutes will make the process faster.

In the second one, continuing to row without addressing the issue would have exacerbated the problem.

EXACTLY mate....exactly...

Not many people know enough about trainin to know what their weaknesses are...they just keep going heavier an heavier...

Which will eventually lead to muscle imbalances and injury

Doing 'football specific' movements help with stabilizers, balance, slower muscles catching up...

Best thing to do is:
Identify weaknesses
Work out a way to be stronger in them
Then go back and work on the movement as a whole..

 

[jacross]

I don't think 'specific rehab exercises as determined by an appropriate expert to suit an individual circumstance in the event of an identified issue' and 'football specific movements' are interchangeable terms though.

I don't think I'd consider football specific movement to even be a legitimate or useful term at all.

 

[Docker Clint]

push pulls

This isn't bad, but the real important exercises for footy are the big compound lifts: things like squats, deadlifts, clean and press etc.

The concept of football specific movements are very overrated.

You use heavy weights to build maximal strength and power. Building that power and strength, you can then apply it to whatever you are doing in your sport.

Trying to mash every single physical skill into the one movement is a recipe to be bad at everything. A footballer needs balance, but that doesn't mean squats on a bosu ball are a good idea. It doesn't make you stronger and it doesn't give you better balance on the football field. When you want to gain strength, work on strength. When you want to gain balance, work on balance. You can't always put all these factors together and think it's a faster way of achieving your OVERALL goals.

A footballers goal in the weightroom is to get stronger. You don't train football skillsets in the gym.

Powerlifters train for their specific sport. That doesn't mean that those lifts aren't beneficial for other athletes. The fact that the super heavy's are super heavy doesn't mean anything other than at a certain point if all you need to do is bench press the maximum amount of weight, a gut helps.

But that doesn't mean I don't believe in core work either. You definitely need a strong core. Horizontal pushing strength is also of benefit though.

At the end of the day you need to ask what you are deficient in for your position. Your greatest weakness is probably where you can get the most bang for your buck. If your skills are rubbish, focus on skills (while still doing endurance, speed, and strength work). If you have great skills but you are slow and weak, get stronger. If you have great skills, are fast and strong, but don't have enough fitness for your position, then work on endurance.

This is excellent advice as well. I'd also throw in horizontal pulling strength as well for tackling.

And this is why footballers need to be supervised!

Getting ready for the pre-season "burning up the track" shirtless photos!

Does my head in watching footballers doing endless bicep curls. I've tried to convince them they'll get 'guns' with any exercise that involves elbow flexion but it's hard to get through sometimes.

 

[cptkirk]

squats, deadlifts and military/bench press are simple linear exercises which will provide general strength...footy is played in all 3 planes from 360 degrees and the push pulls train forces coming at and through you at different angles

it CAN make a difference to use other exercises not named bench/military, deads and squats...of course they're needed but so are others

 

[mons]

Max Strength (suggested research: Westside Barbell)
BB: back squat, deadlifts.

Core Strength (everything ill mention will develop killer core strength)
BB: front squats, overhead squats.

Explosive Strength
BB: snatch, power clean, hang clean clean&jerk.
KB (kettlebell): Snatch, Swings.

Battle ropes
Chin Ups (real chin ups, palms facing away from ur face)
Hypers
Reverse Hypers (if ur lucky enough to have access to a machine)
BB Thrusters
Hill sprints
Burpees



Introduce yourself to "TABATA Intervals" introduce yourself to "metcon"

If you haven't heard of crossfit go to www.crossfit.com

It dosnt matter what exercises you are doing the number 1 thing you need to have is the right attitude if u put in half arsed effort during your training sessions you will only get half arsed results!

Oh theres another number 1 thing... Consistancy!

 

[ThePezDispenser]

haha promoting crossfit for foot related movements... Riggghhhhttt

 

[IAMDASH]

Can you not really grasp the concept of football specific movements?

If that we're the case power lifters would be the greatest athletes in all sports.

Your theory is flawed. Yes there is room for specificity in any training program but compound lifting is king.

Take a hitter in baseball or a golfer, sure there is room for sport specific movements in the gym, but they will gain foundation strength from compound lifting.

Why did you think Alistair Lynch was so strong in a one on one contest. Because he was an animal on the bench.

Compound first, accessorize later... go ask Jim Wendler!

 

[Hungryhaydo]

There are some really closed minded people in this thread.

Next time you're all at the gym, get on the hamstring leg curl machine..

Now instead of just going thru the motions, point your toes inline with ur legs...(plantar flexed)
And do them...

Then come back and tell me how compounds are king. while I def don't disagree they are useful, it's important to strengthen the supporting muscles so they all work together..

Injury prevention is often overlooked in football...

Take Essendon as a prime example, they came out with some serious mass..!

But what happened to them after the first 10 rounds!! Injuries galore...

 

[wrfl123]

In my opinion, three two excercies are related afl movements

Step up lunges on the bench (could help taking marks on jumping someones back or shoulders)
DB standing shoulder press (strong shoulders are great for overhead marking)
Twisting your core with a ball (helps shrug off tackles)


Not related movements, but it can enhance the players physical capabilities

Power Cleans (to help you be explosive and allows you to train your whole posterior chain which can increase in athletic performance)
Heavy Squats (1 to 5 reps, best to do it in preseason, be sure to tag some sprints along with, it will enhance your speed to the next level)
Heavy Bench Press (1 to 5 reps like the squat, increasing your strength in your upper body will help you use the ability of the 'dont argue')
Any Glute exercises (increases athletic performances)
Any Core excercises (having a strong will help you break tackles)

Well lets not forget the deadlift it too activates the whole posterior chain

 

[wceblog]

As long as you have a balanced program covering the 5 major movements (squat, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull and loaded carry - as mentioned by Dan John) with progressively heavier loads being used and low enough volume allowing for adequate recovery you will do well...no need to over complicate things...it's all about developing general strength and then transferring that to football through training and playing the game.

 

[Bazzar]

What's the point in being able to Deadlift 4 plates if you can hold your ground in a marking contest

ITT write as many movements you feel have helped your development in the gym as a footballer.

1. Burpees with dumbell Deadlift on the way up
2. Burpees with pullup at the end of the movement
3. Twisting lunges
4. Crapload of Glute ham raises
5. Bulgarian split squats
6. Box jumps

Ben Roberts-Smith, SAS Victoria Cross recipient, said a few months back in Mens Fitness that this is the best single exercise that can be performed, and if on a desert Island would be his first and most performed exercise.

 

[jacross]

As long as you have a balanced program covering the 5 major movements (squat, hip hinge, upper body push, upper body pull and loaded carry - as mentioned by Dan John) with progressively heavier loads being used and low enough volume allowing for adequate recovery you will do well...no need to over complicate things...it's all about developing general strength and then transferring that to football through training and playing the game.

That's pretty much 99% of it. We are all arguing over the 1%; tassel on the buggy.

 

[Nebula1971]

There are some really closed minded people in this thread.

Next time you're all at the gym, get on the hamstring leg curl machine..

Now instead of just going thru the motions, point your toes inline with ur legs...(plantar flexed)
And do them...

Then come back and tell me how compounds are king. while I def don't disagree they are useful, it's important to strengthen the supporting muscles so they all work together..

Injury prevention is often overlooked in football...

Take Essendon as a prime example, they came out with some serious mass..!

But what happened to them after the first 10 rounds!! Injuries galore...

Agree with your post.

Compound exercises are King, but you still need to focus on some isolated movements too.

After some pull ups, seated rows, chins and bent over rows my biceps have a great pump, but throwing in some Bicep curls at different tempos really build up the lactic acid and I can feel the added stress this movement imposes on my biceps. You cannot get this pump just on the compound movements.

It all comes down to individual goals.

 

[IAMDASH]

There are some really closed minded people in this thread.

Next time you're all at the gym, get on the hamstring leg curl machine..

Now instead of just going thru the motions, point your toes inline with ur legs...(plantar flexed)
And do them...

Then come back and tell me how compounds are king. while I def don't disagree they are useful, it's important to strengthen the supporting muscles so they all work together..

Injury prevention is often overlooked in football...

Take Essendon as a prime example, they came out with some serious mass..!

But what happened to them after the first 10 rounds!! Injuries galore...

Agree with your post.

Compound exercises are King, but you still need to focus on some isolated movements too.

After some pull ups, seated rows, chins and bent over rows my biceps have a great pump, but throwing in some Bicep curls at different tempos really build up the lactic acid and I can feel the added stress this movement imposes on my biceps. You cannot get this pump just on the compound movements.

It all comes down to individual goals.

Hamstring Leg Curls & Bicep Curls...

 

[mons]

haha promoting crossfit for foot related movements... Riggghhhhttt

What are you talking about?

 

[mons]

Do you think crossfit would not be beneficial for an aussie rules player?

 

[cptkirk]

maybe but there's other training methods that would be MORE beneficial

 

[mons]

Maybe thats true. If so then what training methods are they? most of the posts have just suggested exercises not a way to apply them. I was only suggesting to get to know crossfit because if its researched properly it teaches compound exercises and if applied properly will build you into an anaerobic machine! Thats really the best thing you can do imo for an aussie rules player.

That push pull thing will probably get your body to respond like once or twice after that ur just fluffing around getting nothing out of it. Looks like a physio exercise for grandma's.

I put my life on getting better results doing nothing but chin ups, deadlifts and pushups. Than anything involving that push pull thing.

 

[cptkirk]

i don't think anybody said to just do the push pull

i wouldn't put "crossfit" and "applied properly" in the same sentence either

your comparing a system vs an exercise which is nothing short of ridiculous