Football Wide Receiver Workouts

Football workouts should include weightlifting, sprinting and certain agility drills.Football image by Brian Garvey from Fotolia.com

Playing football takes a lot of strength and endurance, plus players need to withstand the physical contact and sprinting. A wide receiver's workout should include a combination of stretching, strength training, and running. Weight-lifting remains the primary source for building strength. However, wide receivers also should build lean muscle, as any excess fat will inevitably slow them down on the field. Football wide receiver workouts can include a number of different exercises.

Lower Body Stretching

Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Bend your body forward and touch your toes, according to the Sports Injury Clinic website. Hold this movement for 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat this movement until you feel that your hamstrings are warmed up, which should be after two or three repetitions. Next, spread your legs apart, grab your left ankle and lower your body toward your left leg. This exercise loosens up your groin muscle. Repeat this movement on your right side. Do 10 repetitions to each side. Additionally, with your legs still spread, lean on your elbows and stretch your groin muscles from that angle.

Squats build explosive strength. Perform squats in a gym on a squat rack. Grab the barbell with both hands in a wide grip, with the bar resting on your traps, not your neck. Inhale as you bend your knees, until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Exhale, and push yourself back into a standing position. Do this exercise once per week because too many squats can cause wear and tear on knee cartilage.

To keep your front and rear leg strength balanced, do leg curls on a leg curl machine. Lie on your stomach and pull the weight up slowly toward your buttocks, then back down. Complete your leg routine with some calf raises. This exercise can be done on a standing calf machine. Simply raise yourself up on your toes, then back down.

The bench press helps wide receivers develop strength for pushing defenders away at the line, or after catching a pass. This exercise can be performed lying on a bench. Inhale as you bring the bar down to your chest, then exhale as you push the barbell back up. Do four sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Your strength will eventually increase, and you will be able to lift more weight.

The military press builds shoulder strength. This exercise is performed by lifting a barbell from in front of your shoulders over your head, then back down. Sit down while performing military presses.

Bicep curls build strength in your arms for hanging on to the football. Exhale, as you curl the barbell toward your chest, then inhale as you lower it down toward your thighs. Do all upper body exercises twice per week.

Wide receivers often sprint as they run various patterns. Wind sprints help wide receivers build endurance so they do not tire as easily on the field. This type of conditioning is most effective if done a few days per week. You can run these sprints from 20 to 40 yards. Spend about five or 10 minutes on sprints from different distances. Run different patterns on your own with the football, simulating various moves to evade tacklers. For example, you can run toward a cone or person. When you reach that cone or person, fake left, then run to the right. Practice the drill several times, then fake right and run to the left.