Back with another Football Strength Training Workout, this one was a very high rep upper body day.

While high rep stuff is typically thought of as a “bodybuilding” style of training, it is extremely useful for football training as well. Higher rep strength training, when combined with plenty of Max Effort and speed work, can:

• Cause huge increases in functional muscle. Most guys, especially high school players, could always use more mass, especially in the upper body…this is an excellent way to get bigger for football
• Brings large amounts of blood and nutrients to the muscles, speeding recovery and allowing for more frequent, more intense strength workouts
• Increases lactic-acid tolerance
• Improves mental toughness

Typically, for us, high reps fall into 3 Categories:

1. 2 – 3 sets of Maximum Reps
2. Three sets of 8 reps with very little rest
3. 4 sets of 12

In my own case, playing Minor League Spring Football, I’m in pre-season mode, so, I’m looking to bulk the upper body just a bit more. Here’s what I did a few weeks back.

1-Board Bench – 45, 135, 225 x 5, 275 x 2, 315, 365 x 1 … 320 x 20, 18, 11

Football Strength Training – Bench Press 320 x 18 from steven morris on Vimeo.

I’ve become a bit obsessed with doing 320 for 25 lately…not sure why. I’ll hit this mid-January. I’ve only done the high rep stuff with 320 twice, the first time I got 19, the second 20. Since hitting these numbers, my upper body has grown significantly.

By the way, I made two mistakes during the bench in the video…who can tell me what they are? Leave it in the comments…If you get em both right, I’ll send you a free copy of the New Football Strength Workouts Manual.

Blast Strap Chins – 3 x 8, 2 x 6