Thread: 40 Yard Dash

Originally Posted by laxx

I doubt that I'm posting in the proper section but I guess you guys will tell me. I'm a freshman in high school and I'm 6'1" about 220 pounds. I did the 40 yard dash today and got a 5.59. I would like to know if that is good or not.

You are very young, and have some time to improve. 5.59 is not a great time. How is your overall fitness level?

Originally Posted by MDR

You are very young, and have some time to improve. 5.59 is not a great time. How is your overall fitness level?

I'm no where near physically fit. I'm trying to get fit this off season for football next year. Hoping to be on Varsity.

I forgot to point out that I am an offensive linemen.

5.59 is "old lineman with a blown out knee" time. You're young though...lots of room to improve. Good luck.

i think 40 yard dashes are overrated
when i played we had a bada$$ runningback about 5ft 8 inches tall, weighed about 205 and ran a 5.5 40yd dash, but man could he play, he had so many yards and not just 5 and 6 yard runs he had plenty of 50+ yard runs, in football physical does matter but i think "having balls" matters more

I'd say the best thing to do is to work on your overall fitness level. You need to be well conditioned to play well. A combination of running sprints and distance, along with lifting at least three times a week will help you achieve a much better time, and be a much more effective athlete in general. Forty yard dash time isn't everything, but quickness is important, even for lineman.

Stretch..Work on your abs and get your legs stronger.Do some hill running or bleachers.Do some deep squats with no weight and jump up as high as you can out of a squat along with some jump rope.Work you butt off and get in shape with the tools that are available to you,stay focused you cant always put it off until tomorrow.God Bless; train and pray hard!!!!

Low 5's are good and sub 5's are great for the size. However, dash time is very low on the things that define a good lineman. You rarely run more than 10 yds per play as a lineman! What you need to focus on is the explosive quickness and agility. I'd take a big guy whose light on his feet with a quick first step over one with a 4.5 dash time any day.

Originally Posted by dmcsas

Low 5's are good and sub 5's are great for the size. However, dash time is very low on the things that define a good lineman. You rarely run more than 10 yds per play as a lineman! What you need to focus on is the explosive quickness and agility. I'd take a big guy whose light on his feet with a quick first step over one with a 4.5 dash time any day.

Not even close. The kid is 220 lbs and out of shape. Running a 5 on most H.S. programs isn't fast enough to start at any position, unless you have tremendous size and strength. If you are talking about a 300 lb pro lineman, than around 5 maybe. Also, lineman run the forty just like everyone else. Both to get into college and at the pro combine. I ran a 4.7 my first year in college, as a 240 lb linebacker, and I also played guard in H.S., and I wasn't the fastest linebacker on the team. Offensive lineman have to be fast enough to block us, and big enough to block defensive tackles. It takes speed, agility and strength. A smaller H.S. player should be able to run under a 5 second forty no problem.

Explosive quickness and foot speed is important, but so is overall speed. Offensive lineman have to go downfield to block for screens and delays, along with sweeps, in front of running backs. Guys are getting faster all the time. Our biggest lineman in H.S. also ran a 4.9 40, and he was well over 300 lbs, and that was 25 years ago!

Just pretend all the freaks on here giving you advice are chasing you and you'll run faster.

Originally Posted by vortrit

Just pretend all the freaks on here giving you advice are chasing you and you'll run faster.

Great idea-I know I would