Visual learners – scroll to the bottom of the page for the mini book version.
You’re lacking contact (probably that kind too).
Remember that first hit of the season? That one stings.
Post COVID you could get thrown into games without a pre-season = volume 0 to 100.
Drastically increasing your risk of injury and underperformance.
Here are 4 things you can do to prepare:
1. Grappling Drills: In an ideal world, you’d have a partner to grapple. If not, as a subsitute, use tackle and punch bags. Follow @USAFootball MT for great grappling drill advice. Here’s a few simple drills you can do too:
2. Body Awareness: Falling, tumbling and crawling drills teach general body awareness and build confidence when bracing to hit the ground. Wresting warm-ups and workouts are a good place to look, check these crazy warm-ups out:
3. Armour Building: A term coined by Dan John. It’s muscle building to prepare for contact + callusing: loading carries, zerchers, front squats, KB cleans, get-ups and more. They prepare your tissues for the collisions of contact. If you want to train this way, read my short article: https://jacktylerperformance.com/contact-athletes-are-you-the-hammer-and-stone/
4. Neck Training: Collins et al (2014) claim that for every pound of neck strength, odds of concussion is reduced by 5%. If you have zero equipment, Jailhouse Strong has a simple exercise series for training the neck:
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