This page is about American football: the lifting a player does alongside practice and in the off-season. The strength and conditioning profession in North America can trace its roots to the sport, but a 2008 review notes that only recently had studies confirmed the links between strength, speed and power and success in it, and that most studies look at players' physical performance and training, with few on what happens over a season.1 So the evidence below is mostly college players, mostly men, and mostly what changed with training.
The game's demands depend on the position. In a 2016 study that tracked 33 college players with GPS across 12 regular-season games, wide receivers and defensive backs covered more total distance, more high-intensity running and more sprint distance, with more hard accelerations and decelerations, than the other position groups on their side of the ball.2 A lineman's week and a receiver's week can share the lifts and still differ in the running.
What separates players, by the numbers
Jumping stands out. In 40 college players, vertical jump correlated with playing ability, as ranked by their coaches, in every position group, and was the main predictor in each group's model.3 In 321 players tested at a professional league's pre-draft combine in 2004 and 2005, the drafted skill players were faster over 40 yards, jumped higher and were quicker in an agility shuttle and a cone drill than those not drafted; drafted linemen were faster over 40 yards, did better on a 225-pound bench press test and were quicker in the cone drill.4 Both are comparisons, not training trials: they show what better players had, not what made them better.
What years of lifting changed, and what it didn't
Strength climbs; speed is stubborn. Over eight years of testing, 289 Division III college players raised their one-rep max bench press 31.0% and squat 36.0% across their careers, and vertical jump was higher in the fourth year than in the first three, but 40-yard sprint and line drill times didn't change significantly.5 Seven years of preseason tests of Division I players showed the same pattern: every strength measure (bench press, squat, power clean and a 225-pound rep test) improved over four years, while 40-yard sprint speed didn't change significantly for linemen or skill players.6 Strength rose over the players' careers and sprint speed didn't, so the week below adds sprints as a practical choice, not a tested fix.
The off-season dose. In 51 experienced college players coming off 10 weeks of active rest, a 15-week off-season program raised the one-rep max squat, bench press and vertical jump by week 7 in all three groups, whichever way the weights and sets were varied, with no further gains from week 7 to week 15. The study didn't find a clear winner among the three programs.7
Olympic lifts or powerlifts. In one small trial, 20 college players trained four days a week for 15 weeks with either Olympic lifts or traditional powerlifts. Both groups improved their squat. Neither group's bench press, 40-yard sprint, agility or vertical jump changed significantly from start to finish, though the Olympic lifting group's change in vertical jump was significantly greater than the powerlifting group's.8 One trial isn't a rule: the Olympic lifts are a reasonable option, not a requirement.
The lifts for football players
The picks follow the lifts the studies tested; where each fits is practical.
| Lift | Where it fits |
|---|---|
| Squat | The heavy lower-body lift, tested in every training study above5,6,7,8 |
| Bench press | The upper-body press, tested in every training study above5,6,7,8 |
| Power clean, push press | The Olympic-style lifts; the power clean was one of the tested lifts6 |
| Romanian deadlift, Bulgarian split squat | Practical: the back of the legs and one leg at a time |
| Rows, pull-ups | Practical: the pull to balance the pressing |
| Box jumps, broad jumps, sprints | Jumping and speed, the qualities that separated players3,4 |
New to the barbell? How to get stronger covers building up to heavy sets, and how much weight to lift covers picking the load.
An off-season week
A practical layout, not a protocol from a trial. Four lifting days match the Olympic-versus-powerlifting trial.8
| Day | Lift | Run and jump |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Lower: squats, Romanian deadlifts | Short sprints, box jumps |
| Tuesday | Upper: bench press, rows, pull-ups | None |
| Wednesday | None | Conditioning or rest |
| Thursday | Power: power cleans, split squats | Short sprints, broad jumps |
| Friday | Upper: push press, incline or dumbbell press, rows | None |
| Weekend | None | Rest or position work |
Receivers and defensive backs, who cover the most ground in games,2 keep more of the sprint work; linemen keep the same lifts with shorter sprints. In season, a practical cut is two short lifting days around practice and games. Cardio and lifting covers the order and the gap between sessions.
Workouts for football players at home
Without a bar you lose the heavy squat and bench the studies tracked, so the home version leans on what's left. Practical picks: split squats and single-leg Romanian deadlifts with a loaded backpack, push-ups with the feet raised, pull-ups or inverted rows, broad jumps, and short sprints outside. The bodyweight workout lays out a full session, and the home gym workout plan shows what a pair of dumbbells adds.
Common questions
Will lifting make me slower?
Not in these studies, but it didn't make the players faster either: strength rose over college careers while 40-yard sprint times didn't change significantly.5,6 The week above adds sprints as a practical choice; the sprint workout covers them.
Do football players need Olympic lifts?
They're optional. In one small trial, the Olympic lifting group's change in vertical jump beat the powerlifting group's,8 and the power clean was one of the tested lifts in the Division I study.6 Practically, squats, presses and jumps can carry the program if the cleans aren't coached well.
How long is a football off-season program?
The off-season trials ran 15 weeks.8,7 In the periodization trial, strength came back within the first seven weeks after time off, and the authors suggested the rest period may need to be much shorter.7
What about in season?
There's less to go on: the 2008 review notes that only limited studies have looked at what happens to players over a season.1 A practical approach is to keep two shorter sessions and keep the main lifts in them.
If you'd rather have the week planned
An off-season only works when the lifting, sprinting and practice days fit together, and that's a scheduling problem as much as a training one. Coaching here is general strength and fitness coaching, not football coaching: your workouts are built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one around what's coming. How coaching works explains it, and apply is the first step. Otherwise: start with the Monday session next week.
General education only, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, or take medication, check with your doctor before changing how you train or eat.
Sources
- Hoffman JR. The applied physiology of American football. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19211949/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Wellman AD, Coad SC, Goulet GC, et al. Quantification of Competitive Game Demands of NCAA Division I College Football Players Using Global Positioning Systems. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2016. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26382134/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Sawyer DT, Ostarello JZ, Suess EA, et al. Relationship between football playing ability and selected performance measures. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2002. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12423194/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Sierer SP, Battaglini CL, Mihalik JP, et al. The National Football League Combine: performance differences between drafted and nondrafted players entering the 2004 and 2005 drafts. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18296949/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA, Kang J. Performance changes during a college playing career in NCAA division III football athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2011. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21747290/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Jacobson BH, Conchola EG, Glass RG, et al. Longitudinal morphological and performance profiles for American, NCAA Division I football players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23238095/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Hoffman JR, Ratamess NA, Klatt M, et al. Comparison between different off-season resistance training programs in Division III American college football players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19130636/ (accessed October 31, 2026).
- Hoffman JR, Cooper J, Wendell M, et al. Comparison of Olympic vs. traditional power lifting training programs in football players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2004. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14971971/ (accessed October 31, 2026).