Running Back Drills - Make Them Miss

The strength of a running back's ankles directly correlates to the level of his game. If you ever take a look at NFL running back's legs, they have thick, strong calves to control their ankles. A running back needs strong ankles and strong calves to help him make faster cuts, hop to change direction and drive the pile. Here I'll show you, the running back, a workout to build strong calves and strong ankles to help you make would be tacklers miss.

Warm Up

Start by jumping rope or doing light line hops for one minute to warm up your the muscles in your calves then spend a couple minutes lightly stretching them to help prevent cramping during the workout.

Work Out

The first exercise to do is a variation on the squat jump except here you are not to do a deep squat. Load the bar for a warm up set and progress into weights heavier than you would use for a squat jump. Make a slight bend at the knees and drive up using the calves and ankles to accelerate upwards. At the heavier weights you may not be able to leave the floor, but that's okay as long as the movement is still explosive.

1 set x 15 reps at a light weight

3 sets x 8 reps at a heavier weight where you barely leave the ground.

In between sets of the squat jumps use the same weight and rock back on your heels to work the muscle on the front part of your shin. This is called your tibialis anterior and keeping this muscle strong and balanced with your calves will make you stronger as well as prevent shin splints. Do 10 reps after every set of squat jumps.

Next move to a star pad. If you don't have one just imagine or tape down a cross pattern like a four square box. Hold onto two dumbbells and standing on one foot hop from one box to the other. You can change up the pattern in any way you want. Just hop for 30 seconds. Then switch to the other leg. This exercises will not only build up the main muscles of your calves but will also build up the tiny muscles that help stabilize your ankles. As you get better. Tape down dots farther away from each other and jump for longer periods or hold more weight.

3 sets x 30 seconds for each leg, no rest.

After doing 3 sets for each leg drop the dumbbells and using both feet make a much bigger square to jump in. Bound from one dot to the next for 10 seconds. Then rest for 20 seconds. Do this for 3 sets. Bounding with no weight and both feet for a short period of time very closely simulates a game environment when a running back would hop side to side, backwards and forwards to avoid tacklers.

Cool Down

Do not skip this step. It is very important that a running back has not only strong but flexible ankles as well to avoid injuries caused by rolling ankles during cuts. Take 2 minutes at the end of your workout to stretch you calves and the sides of your ankles. Don't forget to stretch the muscles on the front of your shins as well to prevent shin splints.

Use this workout once a week on a leg day or plyo/cardio day to build strong calves and ankles and really see a boost in your reaction time, speed and vertical leap.