Better DE

Question
Hi My Name is Marcus, I'm 17yrs old, and I reside in Ca.  and as of now I am the starting wea* side defensive end. I feel comfortable stepping up and doing my job, but my only concern is that it's been 3yrs since I've had pads on; However since then i have gotten stronger. Our coaches are familiar with USC's coaching staff so we have been doing their wor*outs. But the main point is that I don't want to wait until i get pads again to find out if it's lie riding a bi*e. Do you have any tips that I can do at the gym to get ahead of the competition? (Please Excuse The "*" My (cay) button is bro*en.)

Answer
Dear Marcus R:
If you are going to start on the college level you are going to have to improve your overall skills. You will need to improve your speed, conditioning, and strength. Let's start by getting you in shape.

REMEMBER ONLY A DOCTOR CAN TELL YOU IF THE PROGRAM YOU ARE STARTING IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU. You need to get your PARENTS, your COACH, and your DOCTOR involved.

1. GET YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION AND ASK FOR THEIR ADVICE. THEY CAN BE OF GREAT HELP TO YOU.

2. TALK TO YOUR COACH HE IS THERE TO HELP YOU. HE WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED. HE CAN GET YOU STARTED ON THE RIGHT PROGRAM.

3. BEFORE YOU START ANY PROGRAM MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION AND YOUR DOCTORS OKAY.

REMEMBER ONLY A DOCTOR CAN TELL YOU IF THE PROGRAM YOU ARE STARTING IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU. IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN TO BE SORRY!!!!!!!!!!

You want to be quicker than everybody else and be able to run like a linebacker? Try basketball it will help you get into football shape. It will teach you how to run back, forth, and side to side without thinking about it. Basketball will also help your coordination, quickness, conditioning, and improve your foot work. This type of workout is especially good if you want to play half-back, defensive end, and or defensive back.

You also might want to add handball to your workout schedule. Just like in basketball, handball forces you to run back, forth, and side to side without having to think about it. You just react to the ball much like in football. Handball can be of great help, to a football player, for all the same reasons as basketball.

Try playing these two sports, as part of your routine workout, and you will get into fantastic football shape. You will also improve your coordination and reaction time. If you do not want to play basketball or handball try some running.

You want to be fresh in the fourth quarter when everybody else is exhausted. Start by running a 1/2 lap around the football field everyday. Be sure to sprint the last 100-yards of your run. This way you work on your wind sprints and long distance running at the same time.

After a week or so, when you feel up to it, add a half a lap to your workout. Keep adding a half a lap, every week or so, until you reach 3 or four miles per workout. Only workout once a day, you do not want to over do it. You want to build your body up not use it up. Be sure to drink lots of water, you will need it. And do not do all three work outs together. Just pick one and do it.

By the time you start football camp, you will be in the best shape of your life. TAKE IT SLOW. Do not push too hard and make sure that you get checked by a Doctor first.

DO NOT DO THIS WORK OUT IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WORKING OUT REGULARLY.THIS WORK OUT WILL CAUSE YOUR MUSCLES TO CRAMP UP FOR A MONTH IF YOUR BODY IS NOT READY FOR IT. I AM NOT KIDDING.   

You need to get your PARENTS, your COACH, and your DOCTOR involved.

1. GET YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION AND ASK FOR THEIR ADVICE. THEY CAN BE OF GREAT HELP TO YOU.

2. TALK TO YOUR COACH HE IS THERE TO HELP YOU. HE WANTS YOU TO SUCCEED. HE CAN GET YOU STARTED ON THE RIGHT PROGRAM.

3. BEFORE YOU START ANY PROGRAM MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR PARENTS PERMISSION AND YOUR DOCTORS OKAY. REMEMBER ONLY A DOCTOR CAN TELL YOU IF THE PROGRAM YOU ARE STARTING IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU. IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN TO BE SORRY!!!!!!!!!!  

You might want to give this work out a try.
Try doing Hundreds it is a muscle blaster to the max. The way to do hundreds is to lift 1/4 of what you normally would lift for 100-reps.

For example if you normally lift 200 pounds on the bench press you would cut that amount to 50 pound more or less. Your goal would be to bench press 50-pounds 100-times. Your first few reps will seem easy but before you get to a total of 100-reps your muscles will give out. Rest for only a minute or so and then continue from where you left off.

Lets say that you were only able to do 25-reps before your muscles gave out, then you would need another 75-reps to finish your workout.

You want to have a total of 100-reps.You do not want to count sets you only want to count reps. Do as many sets as it takes to reach a total of 100-reps.

You can only do hundreds on two major body groups at a time and never on the same day. Try this workout.

Do your chest workout on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only. On Tuesday and Thursday workout you back. Rest on Saturday and Sunday.

Do one exercise of 100-reps a day (only) and you are done with that muscle group for the day. NO MORE! You DO NOT WANT TO OVER DO IT.

This is a major wake up call for your chest, back, or what ever muscles you want to work on. You can do the same type of work out for your other body parts. For example, try working out your biceps and triceps together or quadriceps and calves. Do not do all these work outs in one day because it is too much for the body to recover from. You will need plenty of rest to go along with your workouts. Remember that your body needs to rest in order to build muscles. Your muscles grow when you give then time to recover.

Short (45-minute) naps during the day are great to help the body grow. Drink lots of water, get lots of sleep, and do not over do it. Remember your body needs time to recover from the workouts. And this is also the time, during which, your body grows. Here are a few tips on how to play on the defensive line.

Defensive Linemen
To get into a proper defensive linesman stance, stand with your feet parallel, knees flexed, and bend forward, resting forearms on knees. Reach out with both arms, hands on ground. Then raise one hand, open, palm forward.

DOUBLE TEAM
If you are double teamed, turn your body sideways into the gap between the two blockers and if you need too drop down to one knee.


WHEN THE HAT MOVES FORWARD
When the offensive player moves forward, the defensive lineman must step to the blocker, with a forceful blow (by the heels of the hands) strong enough to stop the blocker in his tracks. He must then separate from him and move to the ball. If the offensive lineman tries to cut him, the defensive lineman must extend his arms and force the blocker to the ground. At the same time he must kick out his feet backwards and away from the blocker.


WHEN THE HAT MOVES INSIDE OR OUTSIDE
The defensive lineman must be able to shuffle laterally keeping a half a man ahead of the blocker while reading the play. Remember the blocker is trying to keep you from the play. So if he is trying to block you from the right side, the play is going to the right side. If he is trying to block you from the left side, the play is going to the left side.


WHEN THE HAT MOVES BACKWARDS, BULL RUSH   
The defensive lineman must rush hard and close the distance between himself and the offensive lineman. The defensive lineman now becomes the offensive lineman; so to speak, by driving his opponent back (with the heels of the hands) as hard and fast as he can to get him off balance. The same drive block the offensive lineman uses against you is now used by you to get to the quarterback.

Remember the offensive lineman is dropping back as fast as he can to pass block. If you can make contact and keep driving him backward he is going to lose his balance and fall down on his rear. And you will have a clear shot at the quarterback. There are many other techniques used to rush the quarterback however, I will only go over the bull rush because I do not want to step on anyones toes. Most coach like to pick which techniques are going to be used by their defensive linemen and they do not want another coach butting in to their business. The bull rush is the only one that can be used without anybody being the wiser. From far away it looks just like any other rush technique. Here is a tip that will put a smile on your face. You are probably asking yourself, is there anyway to know when he is going to pass or run block. The answer is, look at his feet.


READ THE LINESMEN FEET
If the play is a run, the linemen will have most of their body weight on the front of their feet and their heels off the ground. If the play is a pass, the linemen will have most of their weight on the back of their feet and their heels on the ground. They also might do this if they are going to pull. Some of the linemen point their feet in the direction they are going to pull.


If you have any questions on how to do your work out just let me know. I will be more than happy to help you in any way I can.

Your friend, Coach Louis