5 GREAT EXERCISES FOR BUILDING A DOMINANT DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

When training, preparing & coaching defensive lineman it is important to remember that the American Football defensive lineman is one of the more unique athletes on the face of the earth. Its been long said that the average football lineman engages in the equivalent of  approximately 50-65 car crashes every game. OUCH! Lets take this even 1 step further. The American Football defensive lineman INITIATES these collision type crashes from 1-2yards away! All while having the responsibilities of disengaging and pursuing the ball carrier. These dudes definitely earn their pay.

Well because of this unique responsibility/requirement, strength & conditioning coaches must consider programming that will equip the athlete for all of this. Here I have list of exercises we do to prepare our lineman for their season. But 1st lets look at the list of requirements placed on the defensive lineman for an average play.

1. initiate collision & absorb impact
2. drive against 1 or sometimes even 2 offenders at one time
3. disengage the blocker and pursue the ball
4. tackle the ball & or whoever has it

All of these items require power, raw strength, speed & agility, superb conditioning & overall mental toughness!

With this in mind here is my (I hate the term best) favorite 5 exercises for building a dominant defensive lineman:

1. Heavy Trap Bar Dead Lift - The reason is because of the initial burst of raw power needed to move the bar. This pre-coiled position teaches good bend and helps develop explosive hips as the athlete moves the bar vertically.

* No trap bar? No Problem! Use a medicine ball, hold it in front of your chest (like doing a chest pass). Assume the pre-coiled squat position and on command explode vertically pressing the ball as high as humanly possible while jumping as high as possible. Land with good  posture and repeat.

2. Kneeling Medicine Ball Coil Press + Push-up - This exercise is great for using hips & upper body power. It teaches the similar mechanics as the defensive lineman use in horizontal pressing and best of all teaches how to absorb impact in the chest & shoulders. The emphasis to falling to the floor and exploding back to a upright kneeling position is key!

KNEELING MEDICINE BALL COIL PRESS + PUSH-UP

3. Up Hill Truck push - The up hill feature adds the element of the "fight back". All too often D-lineman practice pushing something that doesn't push back. Well, in every game I ever played in, the offensive lineman pushed back. If you use a slight (and I mean very slight) hill or slope, the truck will still budge but will most certainly push back if you don't use proper leverage. Push on flat service is no good as momentum takes over and the vehicle begins to roll on its own. So a 5-10 degree slope is best.

Disclaimer* This exercise should be done with a sound proven coach or instructor. Using a very steep hill, unsafe footing and or a over sized vehicle can and probably will cause injury. Please be wise in doing this drill. Its intended to help not hurt.

*If you feel this is too risky, use a Prowler! No need for a hill as a prowler will not roll, but it also will not push back. Prowlers can be purchased HERE! They are great tools for developing overall strength and power in the full body! We use them every week here. Either way you go be wise!

4. Push-up Sprints with pursuit! - This is simply having the athlete start on the ground in the push-up position. Then they push-up directly to their feet and begin a 5-10yard sprint. After that have them stop and re-direct and sprint to an area of choice (sort of like a pursuit drill seen at football practices all across the country).

PUSH-UP SPRINT WITH PURSUIT

You can add ball drops or partner chasing for increased intensity. another great tool is a drive portion where the athlete pushes off the floor, drives the prowler for 5 yard and then re-directs into a full scale pursuit sprint.

Come up with your own variation and have fun with it!

5. 1 Arm DB Row (4-6 second eccentric/ 1 second concentric action) - This exercise may be the simplest but hardest to perform. We are basically using an old school body building technique to help build mass and strength to the back & shoulders. Because of the high impact collisions that take place, our backs and shoulders MUST be able to withstand the test time after time after time. We perform this for 2-4 sets with heavy weights & low reps (usually 4-7reps). This exercise may not seem to fit, but performed over time with attention to detail, they can add tons of muscle to your back helping you sustain those high impact collisions every game.

*Don't have heavy dumbbells? Try slow eccentric pull-ups using a neutral grip. You can use the same rep & set scheme to help build a very strong back!


There you have it! Try these exercises in preparing your Defensive lineman, along with any other favorites you may have and watch them DOMINATE!!!!

GET STRONG BE EXPLOSIVE!!