Strength & Conditioning Program Pays Dividends for Football

NEW YORK— Headed by Director of Football Sport Performance Robert Gilmartin, the Columbia Football Strength and Conditioning program focuses on developing strength, flexibility, power, speed and change of direction in all of its student-athletes. Gilmartin and his staff of Darius Ducre and Frank Lisante have three core principles: 1. Improve performance, 2. Prevent injury and 3. Improve physical and mental toughness as individuals and as a team.

“We are headed in a direction where we can compete for an Ivy League Championship,” Gilmartin said. “The two prior classes have laid the foundation for us to have success in the future. Each year, more and more players have stayed over the summer. This past year we had 45 players stay. The offseason and particularly the summer months are a critical time toward the development of a player. The players have bought into our program with hard work and dedication and judging by the results, we have experienced success.”

Gilmartin and his staff keep files on each student-athlete. Each athlete is tested multiple times over a course of a career and multiple times per year. All information goes directly into their player profiles. When an athlete enters the program as a freshman coming out of high school, Gilmartin says, the primary focus is to improve strength.

“Everything we do and everything we work on must have purpose,” Gilmartin said. “We have a vision for each player individually and a vision for where we want to go as a team. Our goal is to have a fresh, winning team attitude. We are setup to win and we want to feel and build that type of attitude team-wide. The team has bought into the vision.”

That vision is clearly on display in the various strength and conditioning videos that have been distributed this spring. The videos show the team camaraderie and the supportive team attitude displayed by the players as they encourage teammates to achieve goals that they never thought were possible.

Year-round nutrition is part of the program as Columbia is one of only a few schools nationwide that employs a full-time nutritionist on staff. Director of Nutrition Amy Connell plays a key role.

Facilities and equipment are also important factors as the Lions workout in one of the nation's nicest and newest weight rooms located in the Campbell Sports Center. In addition, Gilmartin says the Bubble at Baker has made an enormous impact on offseason strength and conditioning because for the the first time, Columbia can conduct workouts indoors at any time during the winter months.

Over a four-year period, Columbia players have gotten bigger, stronger, faster and more agile and it shows in the on-field product. Here is a look at how the entire team overall and certain individuals have improved over a four-year basis:

TEAM IMPROVEMENT OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS

The following is a chart depicting the improvement of the entire team made over a four-year period taking into account how many players can lift a certain amount of weight and the average for the entire team.

POWER CLEAN	2014	2015	2016	2017
300+ lbs	7 players	14 players	23 players	32 players
250-300 lbs	25 players	37 players	34 players	42 players
Average	249 lbs	270 lbs	282 lbs	286 lbs

SQUAT	2014	2015	2016	2017
500+ lbs	3 players	1 player	10 players	19 players
400-500 lbs	21 players	29 players	28 players	40 players
300-400 lbs	25 players	35 players	33 players	19 players
Average	349 lbs	391 lbs	406 lbs	436 lbs

BENCH	2014	2015	2016	2017
400+ lbs	1 player	3 players	4 players	1 player
350-400 lbs	4 players	3 players	8 players	17 players
300-350 lbs	18 players	26 players	29 players	35 players
Average	293 lbs	296 lbs	308 lbs	310 lbs

INDIVIDUAL FOUR-YEAR IMPROVEMENT

The following are examples of how 14 different players at various players playing different positions improved over a four-year period.

Landon Baty, DB	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	179	184	191	193
Clean	245	285	305	315
Squat	270	335	405	485
Bench	200	225	280	280

Charlie Flores, OL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	279	297	316	300
Clean	265	270	INJ	300
Squat	365	410	INJ	500
Bench	320	325	385	395

Anders Hill, QB	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	206	214	218	216
Clean	245	290	295	295
Squat	315	385	415	465
Bench	260	295	300	300

Alexander Holme, DL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	223	262	264	263
Clean	245	300	305	325
Squat	300	385	450	500
Bench	275	320	325	325

Lord Hyeamang, DL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	251	276	277	278
Clean	275	315	315	315
Squat	405	550	550	595
Bench	340	425	435	445

Markham Paukune,OL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	290	309	310	303
Clean	225	265	290	315
Squat	340	405	455	600
Bench	260	295	300	300

Dominic Perkovic, DL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	234	255	268	268
Clean	245	315	335	DNT
Squat	315	405	DNT	DNT
Bench	315	380	390	DNT

Bailey Popeck, TE	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	228	235	253	255
Clean	205	245	275	275
Squat	285	285	365	365
Bench	225	275	300	300

Cameron Roane, DB	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	191	193	195	197
Clean	255	280	300	300
Squat	380	435	440	500
Bench	290	315	315	325

Ben Robbins, OL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	286	295	305	289
Clean	225	265	300	315
Squat	285	360	420	445
Bench	220	265	275	295

T. Schoenwolf, C	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	256	266	277	281
Clean	N/A	245	280	305
Squat	N/A	385	405	475
Bench	275	275	320	355

Liam Talty, DL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	230	246	248	237
Clean	255	330	345	345
Squat	330	415	455	455
Bench	285	335	345	345

Parker Thome, PK	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	191	200	207	219
Clean	205	255	270	315
Squat	275	335	355	415
Bench	190	215	230	235

Bewley Wales, OL	2014	2015	2016	2017
Weight	291	300	301	304
Clean	225	250	290	295
Squat	300	405	455	525
Bench	240	255	275	295

Schedule

Strength & Conditioning Program Pays Dividends for Football

Players Mentioned

Landon Baty

Charlie Flores

Anders Hill

Alexander Holme

Lord Hyeamang

Markham Paukune

Dominic Perkovic

Bailey Popeck

Cameron Roane

Liam Talty

Parker Thome

Bewley Wales

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Football versus Lafayette on Sep 19, 2026

Upcoming Event: Football at Georgetown on Sep 26, 2026

Upcoming Event: Football versus Princeton on Oct 3, 2026

Upcoming Event: Football at Marist on Oct 9, 2026

Upcoming Event: Football at Penn on Oct 16, 2026 at 7:00 P.M.

Upcoming Event: Football versus Dartmouth on Oct 24, 2026

Upcoming Event: Football versus Yale on Oct 31, 2026

Upcoming Event: Football at Harvard on Nov 7, 2026

Results

Completed Event: Football at Cornell on November 22, 2025 , Win , 29, to, 12

Completed Event: Football versus Brown on November 15, 2025 , Loss , 29, to, 32

Completed Event: Football versus #9/13 Harvard on November 7, 2025 , Loss , 14, to, 31

Completed Event: Football at Yale on November 1, 2025 , Loss , 10, to, 24

Completed Event: Football at RV Dartmouth on October 24, 2025 , Loss , 3, to, 49

Completed Event: Football versus RV Penn on October 18, 2025 , Loss , 21, to, 35

Completed Event: Football versus #7/8 Lehigh on October 11, 2025 , Loss , 7, to, 31

Completed Event: Football at Princeton on October 3, 2025 , Loss , 10, to, 17

Strength & Conditioning Program Pays Dividends for Football

Related News

Players Mentioned

Landon Baty

Charlie Flores

Anders Hill

Alexander Holme

Lord Hyeamang

Markham Paukune

Dominic Perkovic

Bailey Popeck

Cameron Roane

Liam Talty

Parker Thome

Bewley Wales

Related Videos

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