| Soccer players require strength in both the lower and | | | | explosive power and muscular endurance. |
| upper body. Nearly every movement in the game from | | | | Explosive Power Training |
| kicking, to tackling, to twisting and turning, sprinting and | | | | Power is the ability of the neuromuscular system to |
| heading, requires a good foundation of strength and | | | | produce the greatest amount of force in the least |
| power. | | | | amount of time. A soccer player can be very strong |
| However, strength training for sport is very different | | | | but unable to apply that strength rapidly, so their |
| from simply lifting weights and trying to lift more and | | | | explosive power is limited. |
| more each session. The bodybuilding mentality still | | | | One way to develop power is through a form of |
| predominates in soccer strength training routines but it's | | | | training called plyometrics. A muscle that is stretched |
| important to remember that for most players, simply | | | | before it contracts will contract more forcefully and |
| adding muscle size and bulk, or even pure strength, is | | | | rapidly (like an elastic band). This is essentially what |
| not what they require to play soccer successfully. | | | | plyometric exercises do - they stretch muscles rapidly |
| There are essentially FOUR distinct types of strength | | | | and then immediately demand a powerful contraction. |
| training for soccer. Each one has its place and don't | | | | It's easier to imagine with a practical example: |
| worry... they are not all completed at the same time! In | | | | Imagine the jumping movement to win a header... |
| fact, in older players, the most effective | | | | The very first phase of this movement has to be a |
| strength-training plan is designed so that one form of | | | | downward thrust. If you try jumping off the ground |
| strength training builds on another over the course of a | | | | without first bending your knees, you can't even leave |
| season. Let's look at each in a little more detail... | | | | the ground. As you "dip" down just before a standing |
| Basic Strength Training | | | | jump you are stretching muscle groups like the |
| Basic strength training is designed to build a solid and | | | | quadriceps and hip extensors. These are the muscles |
| balanced foundation. It prepares the joints, muscles, | | | | that will contract very forcefully a split second later to |
| ligaments and tendons for more intense work later on | | | | produce the jump. |
| in the training plan. It is designed to strengthen | | | | The shorter and more rapid this downward movement |
| underused stabilizer muscles and to balance the right | | | | or pre-stretching action is, the more forcefully those |
| and left side of the body. Soccer, like any sport, tends | | | | muscle groups can contract... and the higher you will |
| to place uneven demands on various muscles leaving | | | | jump! |
| some overdeveloped and some neglected. Overly | | | | Muscular Endurance Training |
| strong quadriceps is a classic example, placing the | | | | Training for muscular endurance incorporates lighter |
| hamstrings under an uneven amount of stress. | | | | weights and more repetitions. One of the best formats |
| Maximal Strength Training | | | | is circuit training where several exercise stations are |
| Once a solid base has been built, and muscle balance | | | | performed consecutively. Many of the exercises can |
| is restored, more intense training can be completed in | | | | be performed with little or no equipment such as |
| order to develop a player's maximum strength. | | | | push-ups, step ups, burpees, squat thrusts, walking |
| Maximal strength and muscle size or bulk are NOT the | | | | lunges, bench dips, crunches and so on. |
| same thing. Bodybuilders train for muscle size - known | | | | Ideally, exercises should stress the same muscles in a |
| as hypertrophy training. A bodybuilder may look very | | | | similar way as a competitive soccer game would. For |
| strong, and they are, but their strength is not | | | | example, using high box step ups rather than lying leg |
| proportionate to their huge size. In order to train for | | | | presses for the leg muscles, is more specific to |
| maximal strength, very heavy weights are used for a | | | | soccer. |
| small number of repetitions. This limits the amount of | | | | Here's another example... squat jumps are a classic |
| muscle bulk that is developed but adapts the | | | | circuit training exercise that build strength in the lower |
| neuromuscular system so the greatest amount of | | | | body. Having a partner throw a ball in the air to head is |
| force can be applied. | | | | one way to make the drill more soccer specific. |
| The main goal here is to develop as much strength as | | | | Another adaptation is to have a partner play a ball |
| possible so that it can be converted into a high level of | | | | along the deck for you to pass back on every landing. |