Fitness and Strength

What Are The Physical Benefits Of Playing Soccer? Find Out Here!

Playing soccer is an excellent way to get exercise. Not only is it a physically-demanding game, but playing soccer also requires clear and clever thinking. This means that in order to play at your best, you must be in great physical and mental shape.

This article focuses on the physical benefits of playing soccer and why participating in such a sport is a great way to stay fit and healthy. Ready to find out more? SO are we! Let’s dive in.

Physical Benefits of Playing Soccer

Heart Health

Playing a game of soccer promotes a healthy heart. But why exactly is this the case?

Soccer requires a player to run around a pitch for up to 90 minutes a game. Running, in any form, utilizes the body’s cardiovascular system. When we run, especially at high speed, we require oxygen quickly; this means the heart must work faster to pump the blood throughout the body.

Pumping blood quickly around the heart enables the body to produce more oxygen. The heart muscles become stronger as it is used to pump the blood. Therefore, playing soccer regularly is an excellent workout for the heart.

Reduces Blood Pressure

Playing soccer requires constant movement; this helps reduce blood pressure as your cardiovascular system works hard to pump blood around your body.

Lowering your blood pressure reduces plaque buildup inside the arteries and promotes healthy veins and blood vessels. Soccer players run around 7 miles every game; this works the cardiovascular system to the core and keeps the heart strong and healthy.

Strengthens Bones

How does running around a grassy field strengthen bones? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that this statement is true!

The pressure applied to the skeletal frame during a soccer game encourages bones to strengthen. Strong bones also mean there is less risk of injury. As we get older, our bones become weaker. Therefore taking part in a physical game like soccer can help promote lifelong bone health.

Improves Flexibility

Flexibility in football is more common than you think. Sure, it doesn’t require the energy of a gymnast or the contortion of an expert yogi – but players need to be able to jump, slide tackle, and swivel their body throughout the game.

Regularly playing soccer improves flexibility which means over time, your body will be comfortable performing a range of movements to enhance your performance.

Reduces Body Fat

If you want to lose weight and get into shape, playing soccer is a perfect choice.

The game requires players to burn a hefty amount of calories through aerobic exercise. Thus, you will gradually notice a difference in your weight after a few games.

Builds Muscle

You will also be glad to know that playing soccer builds muscle. If you have never played before or haven’t played in a long time, you may feel quite sore after the first two or three games.

This feeling is down to your muscles fibers tearing as you run, jump and twist as you play. The muscles then fuse back together – this time stronger. Strong muscles are vital to give you the energy you need to play.

Builds Stamina

Playing soccer is exceptionally intense, and players must be able to play a whole game without tiring. Stamina and endurance are needed to play successfully. Both of which require extreme mental and physical focus.

Stamina is built through determination, relentless training, and pure focus. However, running for 90 minutes will seem like a piece of cake after a few games!

Improves Coordination

Eye-to-ball coordination is essential if you want to be a successful soccer player. The game is entirely focused around the ball. Playing soccer regularly improves coordination skills.

Improves Reflexes and Agility

A game of soccer requires more than just being able to run. Soccer is a fast-paced game, so you need to be agile in passing, dribbling, and shooting the ball.

Similarly, quick reflexes are needed. A player needs to react quickly to actions performed by the opposition.

Improves Joint Flexibility

As we get older, our joints tend to stiffen up if we do not use them as much. Playing soccer regularly can prevent this from happening and is a great way to keep those joints’ oiled’!

Mental Benefits of Playing Soccer

Reduces Feelings of Stress And Anxiety

Endorphins are a feel-good chemical that is released into the bloodstream during exercise. Soccer, along with any form of exercise, releases endorphins. These chemicals are famous for making people feel at their best.

These endorphins reduce feelings of stress, depression, and anxiety. Although this is not necessarily a physical benefit, the mind and body are connected.

Confidence Booster

Youth soccer is the perfect way to boost your little one’s confidence. The game relies on team spirit to play successfully; this means that every player has a job to do to achieve a literal goal.

Self-confidence is a fantastic skill for young children to have. It can be applied to every aspect of childhood and adult life.

Builds Healthy Relationships

Playing soccer helps individuals to build relationships with others. The game is highly focused on communication with other teammates. Each player develops a shared understanding of how to work together to win a game.

Provides a Sense of Responsibility

Being part of a soccer team gives individuals a sense of responsibility and something to work towards.

This can be important to individuals who enjoy being part of a successful team. It provides people with a sense of pride and respect.

Conclusion

The physical benefits of soccer are endless, and the ones we have covered in this article are just a few. Whether you are new to the game or play regularly, the physical benefits are great for changing and improving your health.

Playing soccer has countless physical and mental benefits that will not go unnoticed if you plan to put this article to the test!

How to Improve Stamina and Endurance for Soccer

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Being fit for soccer is important for a variety of reasons. Any time an important game nears the final whistle, you want to be able to keep running and fighting for your team instead of panting and calling for a sub.

In addition, being fit enhances all parts of your game from the quality of your touches to your positioning, because when you’re tired, your limited energy gets used up on the most basic movements leaving you unable to make your body go the extra mile for success.

Soccer fitness exercises can range from lifting weights to build strength in key areas of your body to running. We’ll focus on running in this article, but not on training your sprinting or explosiveness.

Your top speed and acceleration are of course important, but you also need your energy to last the whole game or else you will be ineffective and unable to help your team when it matters.

So stamina and endurance training is crucial for any soccer player hoping to reach a high level of fitness.

Runs and Exercises to Build Endurance for Soccer

When it comes to working on your stamina and endurance, the basics are fairly straightforward. Since you’re trying to maintain your effort over a long period of time (a usually 90 minute game), you need to increase the duration of running in your training program.

But there are some key points to keep in mind. First, you don’t want to try to add too much too quickly, as this won’t likely be sustainable and can lead to burnout or even injury.

Instead, you can gradually add to your runs by time (like adding 5-10 minutes) or distance (like adding a half mile) each session.

And even more importantly, remember that your ultimate goal is to have stamina and endurance for soccer.

Unlike a general runner who wants to build their endurance in order to run for a long time at the same pace, this is not what we do in a soccer game.

Instead, running in soccer is all about short bursts of speed followed by longer lulls of slow paced movements. The change of pace is something that you don’t get from merely running for a long time at one speed, no matter how long you can do it for.

So a crucial element of endurance training for soccer is a type of running that takes this into account.

I’m talking, of course, about interval training.

Interval training is defined as alternating short periods of fast-paced running with long periods of jogging or walking.

You may sprint (or run at something like 80% of your top speed) for 15-20 seconds, and then jog slowly for the next 40-45 seconds, then repeat. If each interval is one minute, it’s easy to plan and also easy to gradually add on another minute to build stamina.

We highly recommend doing intervals as they have the potential to build endurance even faster than long, slow runs.

This is not to say that interval training is the only type of running you should do, or that you should never go for longer runs at a constant speed.

You’ll want to establish a regular schedule, as maintaining consistency is vital to building endurance over time. It’s not something you can achieve in a week no matter how hard you work.

For example, your schedule may be two days of interval runs, incrementally increasing your running time or intensity by a small amount each time. Then you might add one day of a long steady run, and do some sprint work on a fourth day.

And if there’s a particular type of running you enjoy much more than others, then focus on that!

For soccer training, you also want to make sure you’re getting plenty of touches and technical training, as well as some strength work. And be sure to schedule at least one rest day per week to ensure your body is recovering adequately.

If you’re running as part of an off-season program to get ready for the upcoming campaign, you can try out some soccer fitness tests to see where your endurance levels are.

Other Important Factors for Building Stamina

Finally, there are some other things you might not think of but can make a difference in your fitness and conditioning work.

First, make sure you are doing a short warmup prior to your session and also a cooldown following it.

Also make sure you are eating a proper diet for soccer and ensuring you are staying hydrated.

Finally, a quick form check on your running can help make sure you are performing your best for both speed and endurance. This article gives you some good pointers for what to look for.

How (and Why) to Improve Your Agility in Soccer

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

agility training

In order to become the best soccer player you can be, you want to be able to move fast. But there’s much more to this than just being able to simply outrun your opposition.

For one, it’s not just pure speed that is useful, but also being able to change your pace at key moments. And you aren’t always bursting down the sideline in open space, so you need to be able to utilize your speed in more confined areas as well.

This brings us to the difference between some key terms relating to your speed: speed, quickness and agility, the latter of which we will focus on in this article.

Agility vs. Speed and Quickness in Soccer

Speed and quickness may sound similar, but they contain important distinctions.

Speed is the pace that you move in a particular direction, but quickness is the pace with which you can react and change your body position. Agility, then, is the ability to change both your speed and direction.

These all are crucial for success in game situations on the soccer field, but agility is one that you can improve with conscious effort.

It also may have more wide ranging benefits than you would assume.

How Does Better Agility Improve Your Soccer Play?

Improving your agility strengthens your fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are important for quickness and speed.

And the muscles that you work with agility training are often ignored in standard weight training, so working on your agility can help you avoid injuries.

In addition to this, many agility training exercises can also work a multitude of other muscle groups in your legs, back and core, helping you to get a full body workout at the same time.

Finally, better agility help with your balance, which can be crucial when you’re battling for the ball

Training Exercises to Work on Your Agility

There are lots of simple exercises you can do to improve your agility and most of them will involve jumping. These include simple things like tuck jumps where you bend your knees and jump up straight, bringing your knees to your chest and quickly grab your knees as the height of the leap.

You can also do split lunge jumps, where you start with your feet together, take a step back with one foot (about 2 feet), bend your knees, and jump straight up. As you land again, go back into your lunge position and then quickly follow it up with another jump.

As you can see, there are some good drills you can do without any equipment, but it can help to use some basic equipment. This may include something like cones, or a box so you can work on box jumping drills,

However, by far the best way to work on your agility in our opinion is to use an agility ladder.

With a ladder, you can do a variety of patterns through the various rungs from the simple, like one step in each rung alternating feet, to a more complex exercise like jumping jacks where you jump with both feet inside the ladder followed by each foot outside and back in again.

A particularly good drill for agility is the side step where you face sideways and run laterally with two feet in each rung, then switching sides.

Read our article on the best agility ladder exercises to get more specific ideas on these and others.

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How Better Fitness Can Improve Your Finishing

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adult league soccer fitness

I have connections to a adult men’s amateur team with players who are considerably skilled but have lost a step or two since they were in their 20s.

Recently this team has been struck with a difficult affliction: an inability to finish.

Forwards have received through balls and been 1 on 1 with the keeper only to scuff shots wide. Crosses have found their intended target only for the shot to drift harmlessly astray. On one occasion a player even completely whiffed a shot in a dangerous position.

Struggling to explain this lack of finishing that seems to be team-wide, players have offered a number of explanations (and many have been ribbing the worst offender constantly), but the cause still remains a mystery.

But in my observations, I think I’ve identified a big part of the problem.

Remember that this team is made up of players who are a little older; they openly admit they are not as in shape as they were a few years ago. Their current lives don’t often allow much time for working on conditioning.

I think it’s these lower levels of fitness that is causing the inability to finish!

Just think about the situation. Most of the squandered chances and shanked shots are coming at the end of a long run.

A forward sprinting behind the lines to receive a through ball. A midfielder quickly covering half of the pitch to make a late run into the box.

Those long runs are exhausting for anyone, and especially so for any player who is not at a high level of fitness.

At the end of their run, when it’s time to shoot or volley a cross, the players are often simply too tired to execute proper shooting technique.

Instead, their feet become clumsy and their contact with the ball is weak. They lean back and watch their effort soar skyward. Or their legs become heavy and they don’t even get a shot off in time.

So now that I’ve (hopefully) diagnosed the problem, what is this team to do?

Fitness for Adult League Soccer Players

First, it should be clear that they players need to become more fit in order to have enough energy after a long run to maintain correct form to finish the ball.

But what specifically can they do, especially given that they’re beyond their peak age and likely don’t have the time to undergo a complete training regimen?

There are plenty of fitness exercises to get soccer fit that don’t require an hour of your time for a long run.

One of the best things to do to quickly improve your fitness level is interval training, which is most similar to these game situations due to its change of speeds and has the added benefit of being high intensity for a short period of time.

In other words, it’s easy to work into a busy lifestyle and you can easily do it in a backyard or on the sidewalk in your neighborhood.

For more structured conditioning work, the players could work on 120s or the Man U fitness test, both of which can be done in a short period of time and will really help you feel the burn, and thus improve your in-game fitness considerably.

Hopefully the players take this advice and dedicate a half hour or so a to fitness couple of times during the week. That way, by the next game they’ll be firing their shots into the net thanks to the fact that they aren’t out of breath when the chance comes.

Speed vs. Acceleration in Soccer

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In his ode to the beautiful game, the book Soccer in Sun and Shadow, Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano describes the movement of all-time great forward Alfredo Di Stefano:

He would change flanks and change rhythm with the ball, from a lazy trot to an unstoppable cyclone; without the ball he’d evade his marker to gain open space, seeking air whenever a play would get choked off.

This quote helps illustrate the concept for today’s article: the difference between speed and acceleration in soccer.

Galeano’s eloquent description of Di Stefano changing his rhythm is referring to his acceleration, not his maximum speed, to elude his pursuers.

So what’s the difference between these two attributes?

Difference Between Top Speed and Acceleration in Sports

Your speed is the more commonly discussed measure, and this is simply the rate at which you can get from Point A to Point B.

Acceleration, on the other hand, is your change in speed. In other words, how quickly can you increase your speed and move faster?

What’s More Important in Soccer: Speed or Acceleration?

A player with lots of speed can be a fantastic asset for a team. Think of wingers burning past everyone to get to the endline and cutting the ball back; forwards racing between the lines for a through ball; and defenders sprinting back to their defensive third to thwart a counterattacking.

Many players, of course, aren’t blessed with the natural ability to set sprinting records. But players who have the ability to turn on the jets from standing still to running quickly with the ball, can be just as effective as the all out speedsters (or even more so).

Many argue that acceleration is more effective due to the fact that the change of speed is often surprising and unexpected. Players who burst past their defender in a 1 on 1 situation, or do a quick move and leave him or her in their wake.

It’s also worth pointing out that in soccer, it’s more common to be in a situation involving a shorter distance (say 10-30 yards) than one where you have the whole field wide open to run into. So this is another point in favor of acceleration as the more important attribute.

How to Train for Speed and Acceleration in Soccer

There are a variety of sprint drills you can do to improve both your speed and acceleration in soccer, and the details of how you do it can prioritize one over the other.

First, the ever-popular 40-yard dash is a great one to work into your routine. Try 3-4 sprints with a couple of minutes of rest in between.

For a variation to help with changing speeds, run the first 20 yards building up to your maximum speed, then sprint all out for the remaining yards.

If you have a set of soccer cones, you can set up five in a straight line about 5 yards apart and do a sprint and backpedal drill. To do this, start at the first cone. Sprint to the third cone, then backpedal to the second cone. Once there sprint again to the fourth cone, before backpedaling to the third cone and then sprinting to the end past the fifth cone. This is effective because it also involves changing direction.

We hope that this article has given you some insight on speed vs. acceleration in soccer, and how you can start to work on improving yours.

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2 Soccer Fitness Tests for Your Training: 120s and Man U

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Summer coming to an end is a surefire sign that it’s time to make sure you are properly fit to start your soccer season.

But no matter what the time of year, achieving a high level of fitness is crucial so working on conditioning is important year-round.

Becoming soccer fit takes hard work, sweat and mental toughness. But improving your soccer fitness is absolutely necessary if you want to become the best soccer player you can be.

Fitness is crucial in soccer because it helps you in so many ways. To give one example, fitness helps your touch because mentally you are not wasting brain-power thinking about being tired.

In order to assess your fitness levels, check out these two fitness tests: 120s and the Manchester United fitness test.

Depending on your level of play, you may find that your team requires you to pass one of these tests before starting the season. Or has you do it as an exercise to assess your fitness levels.

But even if your team doesn’t require it, these tests are a great way to put your soccer fitness to the test and see what level you’re at. As we often say on this website, it’s often how you train on your own outside of the structured team environment that puts you over the top for improving your game.

Both the 120s and the Man U fitness tests can have quite a few variations; we give our recommendations below.

120s Fitness Test: Details and How to Pass

For this test you will complete a series of 120 yard timed runs (a distance which gives the test its name).

First, run 120 yards in 20 seconds and then jog back to the start line in 30 seconds.

Then you get a 10 second rest at the start before starting again.

Typically, you complete the 120s fitness test by running this pattern 10 times in a row.

(If you really want to take your fitness to the next level, try to complete the 120s Fitness Test 15 times in a row. You’ll find that this is a real challenge no matter how fit you think you are!)

Acing the Manchester United Run (Man U Fitness Test)

This fitness test, named for the legendary English club Manchester United, is a common one in both men’s and women’s college programs.

In order to pass it, you will need to run 20 100 yard sprints over a period of 20 minutes. Each run lasts one minute for a combined run and recovery.

The run and recovery periods will vary throughout the fitness test with run times as quick as 15 seconds to as long as 25 seconds.

Elite players will be able to complete the whole fitness test, but a great goal is 15 runs.

If you find yourself only able to run 10 to 15 runs, then keep working to see whether you can improve. Trying these tests every few days over a period of a few weeks is a great way to assess where you’re at and see how your training improves with time and effort.

How the Man U Fitness test works

For each of the first 10 runs, you have 25 seconds to run 100 yards.

The remaining time of the minute (35 seconds) is your recovery run time to make it back to the start line for the next run.

For the 11th to the 20th run, your run time decreases by one second. So on the 11th run, you have 24 seconds to run 100 yards, with 36 seconds as your recovery run back to the start line.

For the 12th run, you have 23 seconds for the run and 37 seconds for the recovery.

The pattern continues, with each run subtracting a second for your run and adding it to your recovery time.

This means that the final run, the 20th, gives you only 15 seconds to run 100 yards with 45 seconds, as your recovery run back to the start line.

As you can likely guess, this is a tough test of both speed and endurance and it’s difficult to reach this final stage!

Other Fitness Tests: Beep Test and More

These two aren’t the only fitness tests out there. Another common one is known as the “beep test” which has players run between two cones that are about 20 yards apart.

The coach sounds the “beep” and the players must have run to the other cone before they hear it.

As the test goes on, the time in between beeps decreases so that by the end it is usually an all-out sprint to get to the other side.

This test provides some opportunity for strategy as you can try to pace yourself during the earlier stages when the time in between beeps is longer. Try to get to the cone just before the beep sounds.

Beyond the beep test, there plenty of others that all levels of teams, from high school to professional, use. Some keep it simple and do a 1 or 2 mile run in a certain amount of time like 6 or 12 minutes respectively.

More Tips for Passing Your Fitness Test

If your team requires you to pass one of these (or another) test, then the more time you have to prepare for it, the better.

If the test is in the fall, you don’t want to take an extended summer break and then try to pack in all of your fitness work in just one or two weeks before the season. Start small (especially if you have had a break or don’t consider yourself in great shape) and progressively increase the level of your runs.

You do want to regularly work on your fitness each week, but you don’t want to overdo it and try to do too much every day as this will not give your body enough recovery time. Gradually increasing the intensity each week is the best way to do it.

Also, as the day of the test nears, do lighter fitness work on the couple of days immediately preceding it and make sure that you are dedicating plenty of time for stretching. This will give yourself the best chance to perform at your highest level.

Have you tried either of the 120s or Manchester United fitness tests? Does your team require them? If so, how did you fare?

Is there another test that you (or your team) prefer?

photo credit Roman Boed

Agility Ladder Training for Soccer: the Best Exercises to Try

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

agility ladder training It’s no secret that a high level of fitness and conditioning is crucial for success in soccer. But if the grind of long runs isn’t your favorite way to spend your morning or afternoon, there are other methods you can try.

Many utilize the concept of interval training, in which you run at a high intensity for short bursts followed by a slower recovery phase.

One great tool for conditioning which allows you to get in a tough workout in a short period of time is the agility ladder. This type of training also has added benefits beyond just your general conditioning.

Need an agility ladder? Take a look at the best reviewed models on Amazon

Benefits of Agility Ladder Training for Soccer

Training with an agility ladder is a fast-paced, high-intensity activity which gets your heart rate up and burns lots of calories.

But in addition to this, which is advantageous for anyone looking to stay fit, it has some specific benefits that can help you improve your soccer game.

Agility ladder training for soccer helps strengthen your fast-twitch muscle fibers and improve three key areas: your speed, agility, and quickness.

While these may sound similar, speed refers to the pace at which you move in one direction, while agility is your ability to speed up, slow down, and change direction.

Quickness is your body’s ability to react and change positions rapidly.

All of these directly translate to the situations you encounter on the soccer field.

In addition to this, agility ladder training works a multitude of muscle groups in your legs, back and core. Some of these muscles are often neglected so these exercises help you with long-term injury prevention.

And finally, there’s even another benefit as this type of training has been shown to increase your mental sharpness and focus due to the attention paid to the different movements.

So now that we’ve (hopefully) convinced you that agility ladder workouts are beneficial for soccer, what exercises should you be doing?

The Best Agility Ladder Drills to Try for Soccer

There are endless variations that you can do with your ladder, but we’ve found the following exercises to be the some of the most useful.

One Step/Single Step – We start out with a fairly basic pattern: the one step. Simply take one step in each rung, alternating feet.

Side Steps – Start by facing sideways and move laterally through the ladder with two feet in each rung. Be sure to switch sides.

One Foot Hop – For this exercise, hop forward with the same foot in each rung. Be sure to switch feet on the way back. This is a nice one because it helps greatly with your balance. For variations, try hopping in a sideways position, or with both feet.

Heisman/Ickey Shuffle – For this pattern, you’ll start to the outside of the ladder (for this example, we’ll be on the right). The first step is inside the rung with your left foot, quickly followed by your right in the same rung.

Then you’ll step outside the ladder to the left with your left foot, and push off into the next rung where the exercise will be reversed (right foot inside, left food inside, right foot outside). This is a great exercise because it helps you work on smoothly moving laterally and forward at the same time.

Jumping Jacks – For each rung, jump with both foot inside the ladder, then hop forward so each foot is just to the outside and even with the next rung. Raise your arms over your head as you jump just as you would when doing a regular jumping jack.

There’s really no limit to the exercises you can do with your ladder, so be creative! We’ve seen players incorporate things like push-ups and squats in between each rung.

Which exercise is your favorite? Are there other good ones that you’ve tried in addition to these?

Tips for Better Agility Ladder Training

When working through these variations, there are a few general suggestions to keep in mind. First, you want to start each drill slowly, especially with the more complicated ones. That way you can master proper form and nail the routine before trying to perform it at speed.

Also, work hard to stay on the balls of your feet, use your arms, and try to keep your head steady and your muscles relaxed.

An agility ladder is an easy (and affordable) way to add some variety to your fitness work. Take a look at the best reviewed models on Amazon

Should You Lift Weights During Your Soccer Season?

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woman lifting weights

On Soccer Training Solutions and in our soccer training book we advocate strength training including a healthy dose of work on the legs, shoulders and core muscle groups.

But when you’re undertaking weight training for soccer, should you work on it mid-season? Do the demands of regular practices and games mean that weight work will tire you out too much, cause you to lose flexibility, or risk an injury? Should you save lifting weights for the summer or other periods in between your season?

Overall, despite any concerns you might have, you absolutely should continue to lift weights during the season! In fact, if you don’t, you can actually put yourself at risk for injury and you will also miss out on several significant benefits. This article will go over those points in more detail

Benefits of In-Season Strength Training

Having a stronger body helps you to avoid a variety of injuries when coming into contact with other players. This is confirmed by a large body of research including this randomized controlled trial published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Weight lifting the right way can also help with your speed. Simple exercises like free weight back squats help you with lower body strength, and increase your sprinting velocity. (Here’s another study on soccer players confirming this).

How Should You Lift Best for Soccer During the Season?

It is true that you shouldn’t overdo your strength training regimen during the season, since you’re really going for maintenance of strength, not bulking up a significant amount extra.

Think of honing your power and strength, not chasing after bulk or the appearance of taut, rippling muscles.

Because of this, keeping the weight lifting to two sessions a week is ideal. Keep the weight you lift at about 50-75% of your one rep max, and don’t usually go for more than 10 reps per set.

Working on your lower body specifically also has major benefits. Working these muscles help you with your vertical leap, for one. And core work also helps you with everything from throw-ins to headers.

A few specific exercises you might consider include leg press, toe raises, leg curls, triceps extension, overhead press, lat pulldown, side-ups, sit-ups (lumbar flexion), trunk curl, dips, and more.

Finally, a great way to aid in your recovery is to thoroughly stretch after your weight session.

History of Thought on Soccer Weight Training

This question has been an issue for many years, with many who were wary of suggesting strength training for players during the season. Way back in 1988, Charles Hughes addressed the concern in his book Football Tactics and Teamwork:

“There is only one way in which to gain strength and that is by progressive resistance activities which almost invariably take the form of weight training…There is also little doubt that football managers in general do not accept the efficacy of strength training. Fears of the players becoming muscle-bound are completely without foundation.”

Hopefully you agree with us and with Hughes and continue to incorporate strength training into your in-season soccer training regimen.

If you have any questions or soccer weight lifting tips, just let us know in the comment section below.

Additional sources
http://www.nmysa.net/Assets/coach+education/Soccer+Weight+Training.pdf

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What Are the Best Core Exercises for Soccer Players?

By Parker & Walsh 1 Comment

In the game of soccer, it’s important to have a strong core, not just strong abs.

Some might think these terms mean roughly the same thing, but the core includes more muscles than just your abs.

These include your obliques, lower back, and muscles around your pelvis like your hip flexor–all of which come into play over the course of a soccer game.

Developing a strong core will help you accomplish your fitness goals, as well as provide some practical improvements to your game.

Your core is involved in just about every aspect of soccer: jumping up to win a header, shielding and holding off an opponent who is hanging on you, and striking the ball, passing or shooting.

So now that we’ve (hopefully) convinced you on the merits of working on your core, the next question is what exercises to do to strengthen it.

How to Strengthen Your Core (and Abs) for Soccer

For working on abs, some players might think that a healthy diet of crunches is what the doctor ordered.

But enduring endless crunches is repetitive and not a whole lot of fun, and it’s also not very effective when compared to some other exercises you could be doing instead.

Take the following routine as a starting point for a more complete (and interesting) core workout.

The following core exercises are paired together as super-sets to incorporate side to side trunk movements that you use when striking a soccer ball as well as leg movements to strengthen your hip flexors that involve striking the ball.

(A super-set is a series of exercises done back to back to back with little to no rest.)

These super-sets work your whole core, including abs, obliques, lower back, and hip flexors. Another benefit is that you can easily do them either in an indoor or outdoor setting.

Super-Set Core Exercises for Soccer

V-Ups – 25 reps (Use a soccer ball to pass the ball between your feet and your hands.)

Bicycles – 25 each leg pausing for half a second between each rep

REST for 1 minute

Side Plank with Elbow Touches – 15 elbow touches for each side

Alternating Leg Raises – 25 each leg pausing for half a second between each rep.

REST for 1 minute

Seated Side to Side Taps with a soccer ball – 50 total taps

Ab Rows – 25. Pretend that you are heading a soccer ball when you bring your knees to your chest.

REST for 1 minute

Front Plank – 30 seconds

Side Plank plus hip lower and raises – 30 seconds + 10 on each side

Do you have any other exercises that you like to do for working on your core? If so, let us know in the comments below.

Bodyweight vs Weight Lifting: Which Is Better for Soccer?

By Parker & Walsh Leave a Comment

weight training soccer A question recently came up about speed and strength training. Specifically, the question was about bodyweight training vs. weight training. Which one is better for you as a player?

In the context of soccer, both bodyweight training and weight training will help you build strength and speed.

Each, however, has a distinct main benefit. What really matters is how hard you train and when you are training.

This article will go over the details, and you’ll see that it’s not always a one or the other proposition; both can be modified and customized in order to fit your needs best.

Bodyweight Training vs. Strength Training for Soccer

The main benefit for bodyweight training is the convenience of performing the exercises anywhere, so you can continue to accomplish your training goals. There is no equipment needed!

Bodyweight training also helps you to master your form which is really important when strength training.

A lot of the time, bodyweight training is performed first in order to master one’s form. And you can still add strength with bodyweight training by adding in static holds.

You can also add speed training with your bodyweight routine by adding in plyometrics.

So bodyweight training overall can be more flexible than you might have assumed.

Benefits of Weight Training for Soccer

The main benefit for weight training, on the other hand, is that you can really add muscle mass and maximize your strength since you can keeping increasing weight.

It is easy to know how much weight you lifted. If you want to get stronger, then you need to add more weight. You can add strength by adding more weight.

You can add speed training with weights by doing explosive movements or using lighter weights with as faster speeds.

In Season Speed and Strength Training

Overall, it doesn’t matter whether you choose bodyweight or weight training. But you DO need to be consistent in how often you workout and take the proper amount of recovery time to make sure you are performing your best.

For a hard workout that pushes you beyond your current physical capacity, you are going to need 72 hours to recover before your next game.

For a threshold workout that holds you are your current limit, you will need 48 hours to recover before your next game.

For a maintenance workout that holds your fitness level without overextending, you will need to 24 hours to recover before your next game.

Also, since you use your quads so much in soccer, you should concentrate on making sure that you work out your hamstrings more than your quads.

Off Season Speed and Strength Training

Again, it doesn’t matter whether you choose bodyweight or weight training. However, you may want to lean towards weight training because this is the time you can try to add muscle mass.

Weight training allows you to add muscle mass quicker, but again you need to be consistent in how often you are working out.

However, remember you still need to have endurance and be able to sprint and run for the entire game. This will limit your muscle mass. So there is a fine line with adding muscle mass and being soccer fit.

What’s your favorite way to improve your strength and speed through strength training?

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