April 18, 2022 at 9:59:54 AM PDT April 18, 2022 at 9:59:54 AM PDTth, April 18, 2022 at 9:59:54 AM PDT

Football Lineman Training Equipment Guide

Whether you play on the offensive line or the defensive line, the best football lineman training equipment will emphasize and maximize critical areas in your workout regimen. What makes a good offensive tackle will often make for a good edge rusher, and effective football training equipment for linemen will center around the core workout concepts necessary to emphasize these skills.

For colleges, varsity programs and individuals alike, you need the best football lineman training equipment to reach the pinnacle of your abilities. In our comprehensive guide, we will discuss which areas to focus on as well as the training equipment you need to get the most out of your talents and hard work.

How Is Football Lineman Training Equipment Different?

They may not look like it at first glance, but offensive and defensive linemen are often the best athletes on the field. In order to succeed, they have to emphasize every single core area of training available. The best football lineman training equipment builds on top of a player's natural athletic foundation to strengthen and reinforce their skills. Each training tool focuses on a key area to help a player improve their performance on gameday.

What Areas Should Lineman Emphasize During Training?

If you ask NFL Pro Bowl players, some of the most important qualities to playing the offensive line — and we would say the defensive line as well — are intangible and can't be trained. Factors like toughness and football IQ are essential components to overall success, but these tools are useless without the proper physical training. The smartest and toughest players won't see the field if they don't possess elite athleticism achieved through training.

Here are the physical characteristics that linemen should pursue during their exercise programs and football training drills:

1. Strength

The silver bullet of playing the line in the modern NFL, superior strength makes the rest of the job easier. We are not just talking about arm strength or leg strength; each and every athlete on the offensive and defensive line needs to develop core strength in all facets of their body. The best football training equipment for linemen builds strength through each phase of the workout.

2. Burst

Burst is often confused for speed, and while speed is important for the overall NFL game, it is not the end-all-be-all when you are a lineman. Burst is more closely related to hand-eye coordination and quick-twitch muscle fibers. A lineman's ability to react to the snap, and either get upfield or drop back into their blocking set, is governed by their burst skill. The faster your body can explode from a neutral posture into a pass rush, the quicker you can get a jump on your opponent.

3. Lateral Quickness

While football is played on a grid, very rarely does the game involve straight lines. The ability to move sideways across the face of your opponent is a point of emphasis for modern blocking schemes and pass rush techniques. Football practice equipment emphasizes lateral quickness and agility through the use of plyometric training to help build muscle.

4. Conditioning

How long can you last? The best football lineman training equipment helps you last through the grind of playing football at the highest levels. The offensive line doesn't take plays off, so their conditioning has to be at its peak. As the old saying goes, "The best ability is availability," and without proper conditioning, it is impossible for you to stay on the field.

5. Technique

Last but not least, proper technique will get you far in your football career. Undersized, under-strengthened players can succeed (even at the NFL level) if they have enough physical talent coupled with the best technique. Focusing on your footwork, vision and hand placement will take you far.

What Is The Best Football Lineman Training Equipment?

Each athlete is going to have different training requirements when it comes to honing their physical skills. There are no cookie-cutter programs for physical training, which is why professional football clubs spend hundreds of thousands of dollars developing nutrition plans and hiring physical trainers to work with their players on an individual basis.

However, it is possible to develop a program designed around training equipment that will help improve foundational abilities in your athletes and allow them to tailor their own workout routines at practice and at home.

The best football training equipment for linemen includes the following:

1. Pro Agility Ladder

A modern take on one of the oldest training tools around, the Pro Agility Ladder works on developing leg strength, agility and lateral quickness. By running through different agility drills, you will improve your footwork and quickness through the process of repetition.

2. Lineman Chutes

Players can learn to stay low with a lineman chute. The drills you run with lineman chutes help you focus on stabilizing your center of gravity, staying low and playing through your opponent. Great tools for developing lower body strength, the lineman chute is a vital tool for programs of all levels.

3. Speed and Agility Kit

When it comes to football lineman training equipment, a lot of it is universal: While some of it may be specific to the position, most practice equipment can be used by all positions on the field. Your receivers can use an agility ladder just as much as your linemen can. That's why we recommend putting together a speed and agility kit to help you maximize your workouts. Each kit comes complete with a speed chute and harness, step hurdles, an agility ladder and saucer cones for shuttle drills. The offensive line can work on lateral movement while the defensive line works on drills to get off the line of scrimmage faster.

4. Tackle Wheels

One of our favorite pieces of equipment, the tackle wheel provides a safe target for the defensive line to focus on while working on run fits or doing pass rush training. Unlike regular training dummies, tackle wheels are movable targets that don't put coaches in harm's way, allowing players to "play through" the tackle without having to pull up or throttle down.

5. Football Sleds

An iconic piece of football lineman training equipment that shows up in every single movie, the football sled is one of the most tried and tested methods for improving offensive lines across the nation. Football sleds help with everything — players will:

  • Learn proper technique by working on blocking schemes and hand placement
  • Simulate the rigors of a full-length game to gain proper conditioning
  • Use core strength to drive defenders back on run blocking drills
  • Test their burst and quickness off the snap with simulated hikes

There's a reason why the football sled is one of the most recognizable pieces of football lineman training equipment around, and it is due entirely to its overwhelming effectiveness as a training tool (and the fact that it looks a little silly).

Get The Best Football Lineman Training Equipment From Trigon Sports

Put on your shoulder pads and put in a great practice with football training equipment for linemen available from your number one sports equipment supplier, Trigon Sports. We help programs, academies and individuals excel at their game by providing the best sports equipment across the country. Whether it is the game field or the practice field, you can find all the supplies you need at Trigon Sports. Get the very best in football lineman training equipment in our online store.

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