Weight Training Soccer: How To Develop Strategies
Probability you might not believe this, but just hear me out on this. Weight training soccer is very essential while coaching the player on sports that needs a lot of strength, and, or explosive power. 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.
Specificity is a common principle in soccer strength training. 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.
Speed is the main factor to put effort to when training, so as to develop power. The role of players in team sports, their age, physical and mental capacity to take stress and their player’s level must be considered when coaching them in weight training programs.
All this information is useful for a trainer in designing a fitness training program, to make a good start.
Such exercises should be planned for physical conditioning 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 also something which is commonly overlooked although it is an important part of weight training soccer. Injury prevention even though not directly contributing to the play, is important as it ensures that the players are fit to play at the most critical times of the year.
Soccer is a sport which involves running, sprinting, turning and twisting, side-stepping, and setting for an attempt. It is therefore necessary that the chains of muscles used in these activities, called the “anterior and posterior chain,” are worked upon for strength, stability and power.
Hence the core lifts, like squats and deadlifts are essential working out for building these muscles. An all-round soccer fitness program may also help, but these two core lifts work wonders for leg, hip, back and abdominal strength.
To concentrate on the shoulders, arms and back muscle areas the program should also include swimming.
Usually strength enhancing programs include heavy weight lifting with few repetitions. You know by now that soccer is a sport which requires sufficient strength with mobility, speed and stamina not just building bulk and mass like other sports.
Working on very special muscle groups can also enhance the performance even if primary strength, power or endurance gains are lacking. Thus the lower back and hamstrings, and the quadriceps muscles that aids the knee joint function are such muscle groups.
This is it. Please try to consider these areas while weight training soccer as you know now that football unlike other sports do not require weights essentially. You are welcomed to 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.
