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NFL players need to keep all parts of their bodies fit, not just their legs. This means their shoulders, neck, and core should also be muscular and fit. As such, during the NFL off-season, players often exercise to stay in shape, try out new workouts, and work on specific body parts that need attention before the next season.
Shoulders are one such body part that is extremely important for NFL players. Russell Wilson, the quarterback, has said that players need to have as much leg strength as shoulder stability when they are playing in his position.
It goes without saying that football is a very physical sport. NFL players play 20 games each year, including preseason and regular season games and, if they're lucky, playoff games too. This is about 1,200 minutes of rough contact every year.
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Neck and shoulder exercises need to be a regular part of the players' training if they want to stay healthy throughout the long season.
Strong neck and shoulder muscles help keep them from getting hurt when they bump into something. These muscles are the only thing that can protect a receiver from getting a neck injury or even a concussion if he or she comes across the field and gets knocked down. On the other hand, the player making the tackle needs strong shoulders to be able to take the force of the hit.
Here we will discuss some exercises for football players that will specifically strengthen their shoulders. The main goal of strength training is to keep you from getting hurt.
Best Shoulder Exercises for NFL Players
Check out the following shoulder exercises for NFL players that help to strengthen, tone, and condition their shoulders for the football season.
1) Crawls
Most people don't include natural movements on the ground, like crawling, in their workouts. Crawls are a great way to work your core, strengthen your shoulders, and improve your range of motion. The most important thing is to keep your knees close to the ground and your back straight. Perform it while moving forward and backward to get the right movement in the shoulder blades (10 to 15 yards in both directions).
2) KB Bottom Up Press
Don't ignore this simple kettlebell exercise, because it can be used in a lot of ways. To keep the kettlebell standing up, you have to externally rotate the shoulder more, which means that you have to use your rotator cuff muscles more. It's also a great tool for rehab and pre-rehab because it helps you get stronger in your rotator cuffs and core (8-12 reps).
3) Turkish Get-Up
The Turkish get-up is a dynamic test or workout for your shoulder joint's range of motion. During this full-body move, you hold a weight directly above your shoulder the whole time. This helps move and stabilize your shoulder. The Turkish get-up is great for all athletes because it works the glutes, traps, lower back, hamstrings, triceps, lats, and, of course, the shoulders (4–8 reps on each side).
4) Barbell Strict Press
This move strengthens the external rotator cuff muscles, which help to keep the shoulder joint stable and help with a variety of overhead movements. It works your triceps, upper back, deltoids, and core, as well as your front and back deltoids. This is a great full-body movement that improves your posture and your throwing power (10–15 reps).
5) Lateral Raise
When training the shoulder, people often forget to work on the medial delt. Most of the time, the pecs, anterior delts, rotator cuff, or rhomboids get the most attention. This simple lateral raise is a great way for athletes who want to get bigger and stronger in the upper body to work on their medial delts (8–15 reps).
6) Front Raise
This is a shoulder flexion exercise done by itself. It works your front deltoids and pectoralis major, which makes it a great upper-body exercise for building muscles and getting a defined look. Shoulder flexion is especially important for quarterbacks and pitchers who throw the ball from a high position (8–15 reps).
Takeaway
Each of these exercises should be done once a week to strengthen the shoulders as a whole. There are many ways to incorporate these into your workouts, but they shouldn't take the place of some of the most important lifts for your chest, shoulders, and back.
Also, the number of sets you do should depend on the workout you're doing and how many exercises you're doing. For instance, you can do one set of everything 4-5 days a week, or you can break it up into 2-3 sets and do it a few times a week.
Add these to your workouts to get stronger in ways that will help you on the football field.
