Teaching Football Skills Strength Training in Football Push Ups Push-Ups – Up Position Push-Ups – Down Position Push-Ups with a Clap Make sure your athletes fully extend their arms in the start position, with a straight back. They can help keep a straight back by squeezing their abdominal muscles. When athletes are in the down position, they want their elbows to be parallel with their shoulders. For variety and increased intensity, add a clap to the push-up exercise. This can help athletes test themselves and each other while working hard and still have fun. Lunges 90-degree angle, and thigh is parallel to ground Explode off the ground, pushing up strong from the ground Sit-Ups – Crossed on Shoulders Sit-Ups – Hands Behind Neck (up position) Here the athlete squeezed those abdominals coming up. Next time, we want to work on keeping the elbows straight out to the sides and parallel to the ground. To reduce strain on the neck, athletes can place their hands on their opposite shoulders. As long as they are squeezing those abdominals, they are achieving the same intended result – stronger stomach muscles. 48 Special Olympics Football Coaching Guide Created: February 2004