quarterback strength

Question
Hi I'm a sophmore quarterback 5'10 and I want to increase my arm strength in distance and speed, and also want to increase my 40 time.  I want to play D1 football so I was wondering what kind of lifts would help me make it there, I don't know if I should be benching more or what, my max is 222 and I throw only 55 yards.  I read one of your answers to a question and said being to strong in the upper body hurts arm flexibility so I was wondering what you think I should do.  I run a 5.3 and I want to get in the 4's because I know I won't be a huge quarterback because my biggest family member is 6-3 so what do you suggest I do?

Answer
Alex -

First off, dont get me wrong.  In the response you referred to, I mentioned that being big and strong wasnt the most important thing to a QB.  But it IS important.  AS a QB, you are the only player on the field that will get hit without the ability to brace yourself.  So you will need to be as solid as possible to be able to take those hits and still get up.  So dont ignore the weight room.  However, if you do not stay extremely flexible, getting bulky WILL effect your throwing motion, so stay on that as well.  Make sure you do 2-3x as much stretching as you think you need.  Stick with the basic lifts - Bench, Incline, Military press, Lower back, Abs, Squats, Leg presses, dead lifts, neck machine, and shrugs.  You can also do a lot of tricep exercises.  Also, do a lot of rotator cuff exercises.  They will help yor arm strength, and prevet injury / wear and tear on your arm.

For speed, I want you to look up PLYOMETRICS on the internet.  They are exercises that require little to no equipment, but will increase your speed quickly.  When finding a program, make sure it has things like box leaps, box leg lifts, power hops, power skips, line jumps, etc.  Get a program off the net and start on it ASAP.  Again, flexibility will be very important.  A lot of players spend so much time trying to get stronger, but dont stay flexible enough to use their new strength. This results in either getting slower, or getting hurt.  Dont be one of those players.  Your leg training will also help, again, as long as your stay flexible enough to use it.

The last thing is to get together with a track or running coach.  Have him show you the correct form for running.  People dont realize that running is like anything else.  There are correct ways, and incorrect ways.  If you do it right, you will become much more efficient while running, using a lot less energy per step while going faster.

Good luck in your quest to be the next big time D-1 QB. AS you know, it is a tough goal, but work hard and see what happens.  Like I tell everyone, dont focus on college just yet.  Your goal should be to be the best QB in your HS conference next year.  And then your senior year.  IF you can do that, and continue to improve, college will take care of itself.  But right now, your job is to win at your school, thats it.

Best wishes

Coach Perl