Volt Delivers Strength Training to the U.S. National Football Team Program
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Training on a research-based strength and conditioning program can have a huge impact on performance and safety for any team. For the young athletes representing the U.S. National Football Team in the upcoming International Bowl, it will elevate the level of their game.
As the official strength and conditioning provider of USA Football, Volt delivered training to all U.S. National Team players and will deliver training for regional, national, and international participants. Built by our team of CSCS-certified strength coaches, each program was designed to peak the athletes for the upcoming International Bowl Games. And because Volt uses cloud-based technology to deliver training to athletes anywhere, National Team players were able to truly train together, regardless of their geographic location.
So whether athletes live in California or Connecticut, when they come together for the International Bowl on January 29th, they will all have had access to the same state-of-the-art training. The National Team is poised and ready to reap the same benefits of hard work we have seen from other members of our Volt Family.
What the Athletes Did
With the National Football Team training program, Volt emphasized the development of strength through sport-specific movements. Here are four ways the Volt program has helped take the Team's game to the next level:
1. Strength
Any good football strength training program builds strength. The caveat here is that strength is only important if it is applicable to the specific demands of the gridiron. That's why Volt's U.S. National Football Team program focused on multi-joint, ground-based strength through a combination of Olympic and powerlifting variations. Volt athletes don't train to put up weight in the weight room — they train to break tackles, sustain blocks, and dominate competition in the game. When the U.S. National Team takes the field next weekend, that is exactly what you will see.
2. Muscle Mass
Athletes that are bigger and stronger will literally make more impact during the game, as well as reduce their own risk of injury. Training on Volt's National Team program, combined with the right diet, has helped athletes build lean muscle to exert more force and withstand more impact on the field. Each individualized plan utilized strategically placed hypertrophy blocks to increase the amount of lean muscle tissue and muscular strength. The result is a group of athletes that are strong, imposing, and more resilient on the field.
3. Explosiveness
In order to compete at an elite level, the U.S. National Team athletes needed to harness their explosive abilities. With Volt's Olympic weightlifting and plyometric movement progressions, they have shown improved linear sprint speed, explosion off the line, and first-step acceleration in every direction. Our training built the foundational strength needed for that explosiveness, but it also included a speed, agility, and quickness (SAQ) program that targeted and eliminated weaknesses in directional movements. After training with Volt, U.S. National athletes exert more force on each play and in each direction, which is critical in a game that requires continuous short bursts of maximal energy.
4. Injury Prevention
Of course, none of this means anything if an athlete is hurt and can't play. Since injury prevention is often what sets great teams apart, Volt training incorporated football-specific injury prevention exercises, designed to develop structural integrity and stability of the spine. Volt training focused on strength and mobility around the hips, spine, and neck to enable proper football movement mechanics and reduce the risk of injury during the game. The training also mitigated the risk of knee injury by including specific prehab exercises targeted to help establish quality movement patterns, solidify proper patellar tracking, and activate gluteal muscles.
About the Technology
Based on simple data inputs by the coach or athlete, the U.S. National Team training program was built on an individualized training calendar, with workouts customized to each athlete. Workouts were accessible through any device and delivered with resources designed for safe and effective execution — including instructional videos, images, specific instructions, sets, reps, weights, and coaching points. The cloud-based technology also charted analytics for each athlete throughout the program, providing coaches with comprehensive information that was valuable for training and practice plans.
It's a privilege to train these athletes, who follow in the footsteps of Jameis Winston, Todd Gurley, and Tyrann Matheiu. But maybe former NFL running back David Wilson describes the experience of being part of the U.S. National Team best:
"Is there anything more American than representing your country through football?"
We're excited for all the 350+ football players participating in the 2016 International Bowl, and we'll be cheering from the sidelines!
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Learn more about Jace and read his other posts | @VoltCoachJace
