How to Get a Stronger Squat, Bench, and Clean: Less is More

In my experience, most football players have stalled in making progress in the weightroom for one reason. They’re just doing too much. If your workouts looks like 5x10 of 4 different strength exercises, then bodybuilding exercises thrown in AFTER, and its always in the same order for example.

5x10 Clean

5x10 Squat

5x10 Trap Bar Deadlift

5x10 Split Squat

Then you’re always exhausted by the time you get to whatever your third exercise is, and in a football setting, there’s never an ability focus on technique like needed to get the most out of exercises like cleans.

Here’s an example of the program we use to put 40lbs on a football players bench press, 40lbs on his squat, and 50lbs on his clean, in 6 weeks.

Warm Up

Hamstring Curl 2x20

Banded Row 2x20

Strength

Pause Back Squat No Belt 5x2 @80% or a moderately challenging weight

Superset

Sandbag Carry 3 sets of 100ft heavy

Bulgarian Split Squat 3x12 pause at bottom

You see, the key to getting TRULY strong isn’t always doing more, the key is intensity. If you are too fatigued to bring intensity to 70% of your training, then your training will always be subpar. Even the accessories need to be approached with the mental intensity of a max out session, or you will never truly reap the rewards. I’ve seen this remain true time and time again.

Want to get better?

Do less, but do it with everything you’ve got.

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