How to Become More Explosive Off the Line
Explosiveness off the line depends on powerful legs and a core that can transfer that leg strength directly into the offensive lineman. To build explosiveness we will no doubt be doing squats and leg presses, however it is important to not overlook that aforementioned core. Without a solid frame it won’t matter how much energy our legs can generate. A good offensive lineman will tip our upper body back and render our strength useless. A great exercise to include is the Ballistic Good Mornings. This will ensure a more explosive defensive drive and help you to shut down those lanes.
Ballistic Good Mornings
The key to this exercise is to focus on tipping upright from the hips. As the video shows, this is not a movement for the quads, rather it is meant for the lower back, hamstrings, glutes, and posterior core. It is important to keep a flat back during this exercise so as to not roll the spine. Not only can this cause injury, it is also not the form you want to be in as a defensive lineman. By keeping the back flat, the erector spinae muscles will contract and strengthen. This will become muscle memory for that explosive moment on the line, and help ensure a proper hit and drive on game day.
You’ll be doing 15-20 of these per set for a total of 5-6 sets. As always the last one in each set should be the last one your lower back muscles can accomplish. Maintain good form for each individual rep - as this is not the type of movement we want to be sacrificing form for reps. The last one you can do is the last one that can be done with proper form. Again the point is not to hit 20 on the highest band no matter the consequence, we are training our body to maintain that perfect defensive lineman position upon release from our stance. Train perfection, achieve perfection.
How do I Incorporate this Exercise into my Routine?
This is a great exercise as an off day exercise, or it can be easily added to your back day. Back day often consists of the lats, rhomboids, and other upper back muscles, however it is key to work through the entire erector spinae family, and all the way into the hamstrings and glutes. You might be thinking - “I’m not working legs when it’s not leg day, leg day is bad enough”. However, as the video shows, this is not a high weight exercise and won’t cause acute injuries due to strains. Instead this is an exercise specifically designed to work that lower back region to exhaustion - which you will feel well before your glutes or hamstrings give in.
If you haven’t developed a training regimen yet we recommend this exercise be done on a Monday or Wednesday for High School athletes - due to the Friday game day, and Monday, Wednesday or Thursday for College athletes. This will allow those tired spine muscles the time necessary to recover before engaging in full contact competition. You might be wondering “why not Tuesday?” Because Tuesday is leg day, and that day shall remain sacred. Remember that all muscles need good nutrition and rest to fully recover after any workout, so maintain a healthy schedule for maximum results.
Explosiveness Doesn’t End Here
Explosiveness is about more than just strong muscles. It is also about training the neurology to fire off those muscles at maximum effort on command, and to do this faster than the opponent. To get these results, speed training is a must. Here on kbandstraining.com we have loads of videos specifically designed for athletes to reach their speed goals, and we have a section composed entirely of speed drills, and explosive workouts. Afterwards, don’t forget to check out our recovery section to make leg day not so awful, and also to help with any injuries you might acquire during training or competition of any sort.