The use of the bench press when training football players is no revolutionary idea. This exercise has been used to strengthen the upper torso and arms of football players essentially since the beginning of football strength and conditioning. However, the way the exercise is manipulated and implemented can allow athletes to accelerate progress and unlock new levels of strength.

The Conjugate Method provides a training structure that addresses two critical aspects of upper body strength: absolute strength and explosive power. Through the use of weekly maximal and dynamic effort training, athletes increase absolute strength and improve their rate of force development. 

Not only does this training help to improve absolute strength and explosive power, but our approach to bench press training also improves the durability and resilience of an athlete's shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Weekly exposure to high levels of intensity and velocity helps to enhance the quality of upper torso and arm soft tissue. It also prepares the upper body for rapid movements and violent contact. 

Below, we will discuss our basic approach to bench press training when implementing the Conjugate Method in the high school football weight room. 

Max Effort

The first bench press workout of each week will be a max effort workout. During this workout, the goal will be for athletes to work up to a top set, where 1-3 reps will be performed. The key to success with the max effort method is avoiding missed top sets while training at or above 90% every week.

One common misconception of max effort training is that we expect athletes to PR each week or die trying. While our goal is to certainly PR as often as possible, we do not consider the inability to PR each week to be a significant issue. Our focus is consistent PR lifts over an eight to twelve-week period. 

If athletes were to exhibit the inability to consistently PR within that time frame, we would then review the programming and make modifications as needed. 

Our max effort training will also utilize various special exercises to introduce a variety of training effects and provide specific training outcomes. For instance, an athlete with weak triceps may focus on the use of close-grip standard and football bar exercise variations. In contrast, an athlete with weak pecs and anterior shoulders may focus on wide-grip bench press variations. 

This rotation of exercises helps to avoid both accommodation and overuse injuries related to the wrists, elbows, and shoulders. If athletes begin to report slight aches and pains with a specific exercise, we can adjust exercise selection in various ways to find an approach that allows for training to carry on without issue.

When it comes to specialty bars and special exercises, we do have a few movements outside of the standard and close-grip bench press that we consider critical for a football player:

• Floor Press 
• Football Bar Bench Press (aka Swiss Bar)
• Axle Bar Bench Press

The floor press is a great option considering the focus on triceps strength and the specific range of motion the movement trains. When blocking, players must have the ability to rapidly extend their elbows and drive the opposition off the ball or away from the ball carrier. 

The football bar bench press allows athletes to perform max effort presses utilizing a neutral grip, which relieves stress and strain on the shoulders. This barbell has three grip positions, which enable training at a close, comp, or wide neutral grip.

The axle bar is a great builder of the forearms, triceps, and biceps. Depending on the diameter of the axle, hand and finger strength can be improved as well. 

While many of our max effort upper body exercise selections will be based around a style of barbell bench pressing, there are situations where we will use dumbbells only for our main upper body press exercises. 

The first situation where we may opt for dumbbells over barbell training would be during max effort upper training for quarterbacks. If a quarterback reports shoulder pain or if we notice a negative impact on throwing mechanics, we will then opt for dumbbells over barbell training for the upper body. 

The next situation where we would make this adjustment is with any player reporting shoulder aches and pains that could be caused by barbell training. In this case, we would implement dumbbells as a means of deloading and relieving stress from the shoulder in the short term, with the goal being to return to barbell pressing as soon as possible. 

Some believe that skill position players don't need to train the upper body at high intensity, and that the bench press is an unnecessary movement. Any player on the field who is blocking or tackling needs to improve the strength of their arms and upper torso. The barbell bench press and its many variations are the most efficient means of doing so.

Dynamic Effort

Our second press-focused workout each week will be a dynamic effort training day. During this day, we will press submaximal weights at maximal velocity. Ideally, reps will be performed at an average of .8 - 1m/s. This training day intends to improve the rate of force development of the muscles that comprise the arms and upper torso. 

The approach we follow with athletes will essentially be the same as we would with powerlifters. We will follow a three-week wave schedule, with percentages ranging from 70-80% or 75-85%. Accommodating resistance will make up 25% of each week's training percentage, with the remaining percentage being made up in bar weight. 

The set and rep structure will also follow our standard powerlifting approach. Throughout the three-week wave, athletes will perform nine sets of three each week. 

For this training to be successful, athletes must focus on bar velocity and avoid being derailed by training with weights that are too heavy. While we do want to adhere to training percentages as much as possible, we will always lower the weight to ensure barbell velocity is on point, regardless of the training percentage. 

Typically, the inability to meet barbell velocity requirements is a potential indicator of a programming or recovery issue. However, it is common in athletes for accrued fatigue to begin affecting dynamic effort training weights and barbell velocity. Considering the practice schedules many athletes keep, there will be times when dynamic effort training weights must be modified based on current fatigue levels. 

Here is a standard three-week dynamic effort upper body training wave for football players:

Week 1

Football Bar + Minibands: 9 x 3 @70% (45% bar weight / 25% band)

Week 2

Football Bar + Minibands: 9 x 3 @75% (50% bar weight / 25% band)

Week 3

Football Bar + Minibands: 9 x 3 @80% (55% bar weight / 25% band)

As you can see, the sets, reps, and exercise remain the same throughout the three-week wave, while the training percentages increase. Once this wave is complete, we would change the barbell and the accommodating resistance setup and repeat the wave. It is important to note that the training maxes used to find dynamic effort training weights should always be relevant to the specialty bar being used. 

Repeated Effort Training

Most often, football players will execute a maximal and dynamic effort upper body workout each week. However, there are times when a wave of repeated effort main exercise training can be beneficial. This is especially true when working with beginners, who may not have the strength or coordination to execute dynamic effort bench press training properly.

When we add a repeated effort upper training day into the mix, we will do so in place of our dynamic effort upper training day. When it comes to set and rep parameters, we have quite a bit of freedom. Athletes can opt for a standard 8 x 3 or 5 x 5 approach, or go with even higher volume options such as 6 x 6 or 8 x 8. 

This training will also follow a three-week wave scheme, and can be performed with or without the use of accommodating resistance. Depending on the set and rep scheme, training intensity can fall anywhere between 65% and 85%. However, it is best to remain below 75% intensity if accommodating resistance is not being used. 

Here is a standard three-week repeated effort upper body training wave for football players:

Week 1

Close Grip Bench Press: 5 x 5 @65%

Week 2

Close Grip Bench Press: 5 x 5 @70%

Week 3

Close Grip Bench Press: 5 x 5 @75%

Ideally, athletes would perform dynamic effort bench press training more often than not; however, when a change of training approach is called for, whether due to issues with strength or fatigue, don't hesitate to employ the repeated effort method. 

For more information regarding the Westside Barbell approach to football strength and conditioning, check out the Conjugate Football EBook.