Weight Training Soccer: 4 Sure-fire Tips
You might disagree, but hear me out on this. The play which requires excessive power, and, or explosive power, Weight training soccer is vital while coaching these players. If player do not need strength and power to a large extent even for them, strong abdominal and lower back muscles are helpful.
Here are the basic principles of weight training for soccer displaying simple activities to describe those principles.
A vital principle in soccer strength training is, Specificity. It means that if you can train your players in a way that emulates their activity when playing on the field, then you must spend the majority of your time training in that way. Take for example running and swimming, a great exercise for runners and swimmers respectively.
To improve power, speed is an important aspect in training. Weight training programs should be prepared explicitly for individuals taking into consideration their role in team sports, their age, physical and mental capacity to take stress, and the level at which they are to play.
When this kind of information is available to a coach while planning a fitness training program, it ensures a good start.
In order to develop physical conditioning such activities should be planned which improves specific training. You see workouts like running and weight exercises are also performed by swimmers to enhance their aerobic and strength and power fitness.
Injury prevention is another aspect of weight training soccer that is often overlooked. The effects of injury prevention are not evident directly but they are essential in player’s performance and confirm that the player is fit to play at the most important occasions of the calendar.
A sport like soccer includes activities such as running, sprinting, turning and twisting, side-stepping, going for a hit. To develop strength, stability and power the chain of muscles titled as the “anterior and posterior chain,” involved in these activities should be given attention.
The best exercises for developing these muscles are the core lifts, like squats and deadlifts. The normal soccer fitness program should useful if special importance is given to these two core lifts that are crucial for leg, hip, back and abdominal strength.
To concentrate on the shoulders, arms and back muscle areas the program should also include swimming.
Typically strength programs involve heavy masses with only some repetitions. You should be knowing by now that unlike other sports requiring bulk and weight soccer is a sport that requires strength with mobility, speed and stamina.
Working on very special muscle groups can also enhance the performance even if primary strength, power or endurance gains are lacking. These include the lower back and hamstrings, and the quadriceps muscles that direct knee joint function.
So this is it. Always remember these points while weight training soccer since in sport like soccer weights may not give much advantage. You can also join our youth soccer coaching community that has a plethora of informative articles, weekly newsletters, and videos to help you better understand the concepts of youth coaching.
Andre Botelho is a recognized authority in youth soccer coaching and has already helped thousands of youth coaches to dramatically improve their coaching skills. Learn how to explode your players’ skills and make training fun by downloading your free ebook at: Soccer Practice Tips.
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