In the world of professional sports, few athletes are as physically demanding as NFL players. The NFL combines raw power, speed, and endurance, which requires top-level physical conditioning. One key aspect of that conditioning is lifting heavy weights. But how important is it? Do NFL players lift heavy regularly, and if so, why?
Why Do NFL Players Lift Heavy?
The Role of Strength in Football Performance
In the NFL, strength is one of the most critical attributes for a player’s performance on the field. Whether an athlete is pushing through a defensive line, sprinting across the field, or delivering a tackle, strength is paramount. NFL players lift heavy primarily to build the explosive power needed to execute these intense, high-stakes movements.
Strength in football is directly linked to several key performance factors:
- Blocking and Tackling: Offensive and defensive linemen need to be exceptionally strong to control the line of scrimmage. They use their body weight and muscle power to block or tackle opponents, often requiring them to lift heavy to develop the necessary raw strength.
- Explosiveness: Speed is important, but many NFL players rely on explosive power—the ability to exert maximum force in a short amount of time. This is especially important for positions such as running backs, linebackers, and wide receivers.
- Durability and Endurance: NFL players need not only to be strong but also to maintain that strength throughout a game. Lifting heavy helps build muscular endurance, enabling players to maintain their power output across all four quarters.
In fact, many positions in football—such as offensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive linemen—require a high level of upper and lower body strength. These players need to lift heavy weights as part of their training to build muscle mass and increase their on-field performance.
Injury Prevention Through Strength Training
Lifting heavy weights is not just about brute force—it also plays a vital role in injury prevention. NFL athletes are at constant risk of injury, especially in high-impact situations like tackles and collisions. By developing strength through heavy lifting, they build stronger muscles that protect the bones and joints.
Key benefits of strength training for injury prevention include:
- Increased Joint Stability: Strong muscles surrounding the joints help prevent ligament tears and other joint injuries.
- Strengthened Tendons and Ligaments: Heavy lifting places controlled stress on the body, which helps to strengthen connective tissues and reduces the risk of injury during rapid, unpredictable movements.
- Muscle Imbalance Correction: Football often involves repetitive motions, which can create imbalances in muscle strength. Heavy lifting routines designed by NFL strength coaches help correct these imbalances, improving overall body stability.
According to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, football players who engaged in consistent strength training had a 50% lower risk of injury compared to those who did not. This clearly highlights the preventive benefits of heavy lifting in an NFL context.
Building Functional Strength for NFL Roles
Not all strength is created equal. For NFL players, functional strength—the ability to perform movements that mimic real-world physical tasks—is more important than simply being able to lift massive amounts of weight. While heavy lifting is central to this, NFL training focuses on functional movements that translate directly to on-field performance.
For example, an NFL player will engage in exercises like deadlifts or squats because they help simulate the kinds of movements performed during a game:
- Squatting low and driving forward (similar to a lineman blocking an opponent).
- Lifting and driving an object overhead (similar to a defensive player tackling a ball carrier).
The emphasis here is on power, endurance, and flexibility, not just lifting for lifting’s sake. Every training movement is designed with a specific on-field action in mind. For instance, a linebacker needs to generate quick bursts of power, which can be enhanced through powerlifting techniques like cleans and snatches.
In this sense, NFL players lift heavy not only to build muscle but also to ensure that this muscle is functional in the dynamic, fast-paced context of an NFL game.
What Type of Heavy Lifting Do NFL Players Do?
Common Heavy Lifting Exercises in NFL Training Programs
NFL players incorporate a variety of heavy lifting exercises into their training programs, with each exercise serving a specific purpose related to their on-field performance. These exercises generally focus on compound movements, which engage multiple muscle groups and joints at once. This approach ensures that NFL players are building the kind of functional strength that is directly applicable to football.
Here are some of the most common heavy lifting exercises used by NFL players:
- Squats: Widely considered one of the most fundamental strength-building exercises, squats target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. They help develop lower-body power, which is essential for players who need to explode off the line, jump, or drive through an opponent.
- Deadlifts: Another compound exercise, deadlifts focus on the posterior chain, which includes the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. This movement is crucial for developing the strength and power needed to tackle, block, and lift opponents off their feet.
- Bench Press: The bench press is a staple for building upper body strength, especially in the chest, shoulders, and triceps. It’s an important exercise for players who need to push opponents away, such as offensive and defensive linemen.
- Power Cleans: An Olympic lift that builds explosive power, power cleans require the athlete to pull a loaded barbell from the ground to their chest in one swift motion. This exercise is key for improving quick bursts of strength, agility, and coordination, which are necessary for virtually every position in football.
- Snatches: Similar to the clean, the snatch is an Olympic lift that involves moving a loaded barbell from the ground to overhead in one fluid motion. This exercise builds full-body explosiveness and is especially helpful for positions that require rapid, high-intensity movements like linebackers and running backs.
NFL strength coaches often incorporate these exercises into their players’ routines because they build strength in a way that directly benefits their on-field performance. Each exercise can be adjusted based on the player’s position and the specific demands of that role.
Upper vs. Lower Body Strength Training for NFL Players
In the NFL, the balance between upper body and lower body strength is crucial. Every player, regardless of position, needs to develop both aspects of strength, but the focus may differ based on their role.
- Upper Body Strength: Offensive and defensive linemen, linebackers, and tight ends tend to prioritize upper body strength because it helps them engage with opponents, push blockers away, or deliver tackles. Exercises like the bench press, shoulder press, and incline press are common. A lineman, for instance, must be able to deliver a powerful punch to control the opponent in front of him, and this requires significant upper body strength.
- Lower Body Strength: Lower body strength is critical for every NFL player. It powers the explosive movements necessary for sprinting, jumping, cutting, and tackling. Lower body exercises, including squats, deadlifts, lunges, and leg presses, are incorporated into virtually every NFL player’s workout. For example, wide receivers rely on powerful legs to generate speed off the line, while running backs need strong legs to break tackles and maintain balance during runs.
Use of Compound Movements in NFL Strength Training
Compound movements are the cornerstone of NFL strength training. These are exercises that involve multiple joints and muscle groups working together to execute a movement, as opposed to isolation exercises that focus on a single muscle group. The reason NFL players focus so heavily on compound movements is that football is a full-body sport—almost every action on the field requires a coordinated effort between the upper and lower body.
Some of the primary benefits of compound movements in NFL training include:
- Improved coordination and balance: By engaging multiple muscle groups, compound exercises help players improve their overall body coordination and balance, which are essential in football.
- Time efficiency: Compound movements allow NFL players to work on several muscle groups simultaneously, making their workouts more efficient.
- Enhanced muscle synergy: In football, muscles rarely work in isolation. For instance, when a player is sprinting or tackling, muscles throughout the body are engaged. Compound lifts like squats and deadlifts help improve the synergy between these muscles.
By regularly incorporating exercises like deadlifts, squats, and power cleans into their routines, NFL players are able to build functional strength that helps them perform better on the field. For example, a linebacker performing a clean and jerk is mimicking the kind of explosive movement needed to burst through an offensive line and tackle a running back.
How Often Do NFL Players Lift Heavy?
NFL Off-Season vs. In-Season Strength Training Regimen
The training regimen of an NFL player varies significantly between the off-season and in-season periods. Each phase has a specific focus, and the intensity of heavy lifting changes accordingly to accommodate for recovery, performance needs, and the demands of the football season.
Off-Season Heavy Lifting
During the off-season, NFL players are not bound by the grueling weekly schedule of games and practices. This is the period when players can focus on building strength, power, and muscle mass through heavy lifting.
In the off-season, the goal is to maximize strength gains by lifting heavier weights with lower repetitions. Strength coaches often encourage players to push their limits, allowing them to make significant improvements to their overall physical strength and endurance. The off-season is also when players work to correct muscle imbalances or weaknesses, as they have more flexibility in their training schedules.
A typical off-season training program for an NFL player might include:
- 4-5 strength training sessions per week, focusing on different muscle groups.
- Heavy compound movements like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and Olympic lifts, often performed at 80-90% of their 1-rep max (1RM).
- Low repetition ranges (3-5 reps per set), which are ideal for developing maximal strength.
For example, Aaron Donald, one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive players, is known for his intense off-season training where he focuses on increasing his strength through heavy lifting. His workouts include squats and deadlifts, often lifting weights far above his own body weight to build explosive power.
In-Season Strength Training
Once the season begins, the focus of strength training shifts significantly. The primary objective during the season is maintenance—keeping the strength and muscle mass gained during the off-season while minimizing the risk of injury and fatigue.
NFL players still incorporate heavy lifting into their weekly routines, but the intensity and frequency are reduced. The in-season schedule is packed with practices, meetings, and travel, which means recovery time is limited. Lifting too heavy or too frequently during the season could lead to overtraining or injury, which would impact a player’s ability to perform during games.
A typical in-season lifting regimen may include:
- 2-3 strength training sessions per week, with a focus on maintaining strength rather than building it.
- Lifting weights at 50-70% of their 1RM, with moderate repetitions (5-8 reps per set).
- Emphasis on recovery and injury prevention through mobility work and stretching.
For example, wide receivers and running backs may reduce the amount of heavy lifting they do during the season to avoid fatigue, focusing instead on maintaining their speed, agility, and explosiveness.
Recovery and Periodization in NFL Strength Programs
Recovery is one of the most important aspects of any NFL strength training program. With the physical demands of the sport, players need adequate recovery time to allow their muscles to repair and grow stronger. Without proper recovery, players are at a higher risk for injury, which is why NFL strength coaches design training programs with periodization in mind.
Periodization is the systematic planning of athletic training. It involves cycling through different phases of training (e.g., building strength, focusing on power, peaking for the season) to ensure that players are performing at their best while avoiding burnout.
Key aspects of periodization in NFL strength training include:
- Progressive overload: Gradually increasing the weight lifted over time to stimulate muscle growth and strength without overwhelming the body.
- Deload weeks: These are scheduled periods of lighter lifting (with reduced weights and lower volume) to give the body time to recover from intense training.
- Peak performance periods: As the season approaches, the training intensity and volume taper off so that players can reach peak strength and endurance just as the games begin.
NFL strength programs also incorporate recovery techniques such as:
- Cryotherapy: Using cold temperatures to reduce muscle soreness and inflammation.
- Massage therapy: To help loosen tight muscles and improve blood flow.
- Nutritional support: Including protein intake and hydration strategies to support muscle recovery after lifting sessions.
By carefully managing the balance between heavy lifting and recovery, NFL players are able to sustain their physical performance throughout a long season, all while minimizing the risk of injury.
How Heavy Do NFL Players Lift?
Lifting Percentages and Maximal Strength in NFL Players
When discussing how much weight NFL players lift, it’s important to understand the concept of maximal strength and how it is measured. NFL players often calculate their one-rep max (1RM), which refers to the maximum amount of weight they can lift for a single repetition of a given exercise. This number serves as a baseline for their strength training programs, allowing them to lift at specific percentages of their 1RM to target different strength goals.
In the NFL, players typically lift at different intensities depending on the phase of their training:
- Strength-Building Phase: During the off-season, NFL players lift at 80-90% of their 1RM to maximize muscle growth and strength. This heavy lifting is usually performed with low repetitions (e.g., 3-5 reps per set).
- Maintenance Phase: During the in-season, players reduce their lifting intensity to 50-70% of their 1RM, allowing them to maintain strength without overtaxing their bodies. Repetition ranges are slightly higher (e.g., 5-8 reps per set) to balance strength and endurance.
For instance, a player with a 1RM squat of 500 pounds may perform sets of 3-5 reps at 400-450 pounds during the off-season to build strength. In contrast, during the in-season, they might reduce that to 250-350 pounds, focusing on maintaining strength while staying fresh for games.
NFL players’ maximal strength levels can be impressive, with many athletes lifting weights far beyond what an average gym-goer might achieve. For example, linemen—who require enormous amounts of power to push through opponents—are known to regularly squat or deadlift over 600 pounds.
NFL Players’ Bench Press and Squat Records
Some of the strongest NFL players have set remarkable benchmarks in heavy lifting. One of the most well-known tests of upper body strength in the NFL is the bench press, specifically the 225-pound bench press test, which is used at the NFL Combine. In this test, athletes attempt to bench press 225 pounds as many times as possible. The results give a clear indication of an athlete’s muscular endurance and upper body strength.
Top NFL Combine Bench Press Performances:
- Stephen Paea (2011 NFL Combine): 49 reps at 225 pounds—an all-time record for the bench press test.
- Myles Garrett (2017 NFL Combine): 33 reps at 225 pounds, showcasing his elite upper body strength and explosive power.
- Dontari Poe (2012 NFL Combine): 44 reps at 225 pounds, another standout performance that reflected his dominance as a defensive lineman.
When it comes to squats, NFL players, particularly those in positions requiring lower body power (like linemen), routinely squat between 500 and 700 pounds. Aaron Donald, a multiple-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is known to squat around 500 pounds, while former offensive lineman Larry Allen was reputed to squat over 700 pounds during his prime.
These lifting numbers illustrate the incredible strength required to compete at the highest level of football. Heavy lifting is a cornerstone of the physical preparation that allows NFL players to dominate on the field.
Case Study: J.J. Watt’s Strength Training Routine
One notable example of an NFL player who exemplifies the importance of heavy lifting is J.J. Watt, a defensive end known for his impressive strength and explosiveness. Watt’s training program is highly structured around heavy compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. He also incorporates Olympic lifts such as the clean and jerk to enhance his explosive power.
In interviews, Watt has emphasized the importance of lifting heavy to not only build strength but also improve his speed and agility. His ability to squat over 600 pounds and bench press upwards of 500 pounds showcases how his heavy lifting regimen has contributed to his dominance on the defensive line.
Watt also focuses on lifting at high percentages of his 1RM during the off-season to push his strength limits. During the season, his heavy lifting decreases slightly in intensity but remains a crucial part of his routine to ensure that he maintains the power necessary to compete week after week.