Strength Training for Football Players

The benefit of strength and strength training for footballers is well supported by research. For example, De Proft and colleagues had one group of Belgian professionals perform extra weight training during the season. Compared to a control group of colleagues who did no extra training, the players improved their kicking power and leg strength. In addition, British researcher Thomas Reilly showed that the stronger players outlasted the weaker players in terms of a regular place in the team, and had reduced injury risks. He recommends that leg strength in particular is developed, especially in the quadriceps and hamstrings, to help stabilise the knee joint, which is the most frequently injured joint in football. Peter Apor, a Hungarian researcher who has been involved in long-term studies of Hungarian professionals, agrees, saying that knee-extension torque has been associated with success in the game and that strong hamstring muscles in relation to quadriceps are crucial to knee injury prevention. Another common football injury is hernia, for which the best protection is developing strong abdominal muscles.

Strength Training

From this brief review of the research, we can conclude that strength and strength training, especially in the legs and trunk, are important for footballers who want to improve kick performance and reduce the risk of injury. To increase general strength, a workout consisting of leg press, leg extensions, leg curls, bench press, lat pull downs, abdominal and lower back exercises, would be ideal. This can be done with multi-gym equipment, which is also safe and easy to use. In my experience, some professional players use the club's gym equipment to perform this kind of workout after their official training session. Reilly found that players who voluntarily performed extra strength training were the ones who suffered the fewest muscle injuries. Therefore, since maintaining a fully fit squad can be a big problem, it makes sense for clubs to encourage or schedule general strength training for all players.

And sprint times, too

Another piece of research - by Taiana and colleagues in France - showed that a 10-week leg-strength training program for footballers improved their 10m and 30m sprint times and their vertical jump performance. These motor tasks are obviously very valuable. However, this study used a training program that targeted maximum strength with heavy resistances. Although this type of training is a proven method for enhancing sprint speed and jumping power, it is also difficult to include in the regular training program of a football team, because the recovery required after heavy resistance training might interfere with the regular competitions during the season.

As with strength training the value of good sprinting speed for footballers is well supported by research. Ekblom found that the absolute maximum speed shown during play was one of the parameters that differentiated elite players from those of lesser standard. This is supported by a study with German division-one players by Kollath and Quade. They showed that professionals were significantly quicker than amateurs over 10m, 20m and 30m. The acceleration difference to 10m was especially significant. This suggests that better players need superior acceleration and maximum speed to play at a higher level. Interestingly, the 30m speed was similar for the German professionals regardless of position.

The training regimes of footballers must therefore reflect this need for good acceleration and maximum speed. Peter Apor suggests, in making fitness recommendations for footballers; that players need to develop the musculature of a sprinter. I have already mentioned the benefit of maximum leg-strength training with heavy resistances for developing acceleration and speed. Taiana says that the players he trained for maximum leg strength were able to play at the weekend without detriment if the strength workout was on Tuesday. This once-a-week routine was still found to be beneficial. However, this type of training should be used with caution. Two or three sessions a week during the off-season would bring about much greater gains in maximum strength. Taiana therefore recommends that this type of training should be used in the off-season and then maintained with one workout per week once the competitive season has started.

Step by step

Another point to remember is that maximum strength training should be a progression from general strength training with submaximal loads. Heavy maximal resistance exercise, while very effective, is for advanced strength trainees only. Zatsiorsky recommends that good abdominal and lower back strength are essential if heavy lifting exercises are to be used. Thus, the first step for improved sprint speed is ensuring a good basic level of strength. American trainers George Dintiman and Robert Ward recommend that an athlete should be able to perform one maximum leg press of at least 2.5 times body weight, and have a hamstring to quadriceps ratio of least 75-80%. Both these measures can be tested on the standard gym machines. Good abdominal and lower back strength are also essential for sprinting speed, as the trunk muscles are required to stabilise the sprinting movement.

Hop, bound and jump

Plyometric exercises are another proven training method that enhances leg power and sprinting speed. McNaughton cites soccer as one of the many games where short, explosive power is required, and that plyometric training is a useful complement or alternative to strength training to achieve this. Once the players are used to it, plyometrics may be more convenient than weights for speed development in terms of scheduling during the season.

Plyometric exercises are typified by hopping, bounding and jumping movements. These exercises demand a high force of contraction in response to a rapid loading of lengthening muscles. For this reason, they should be more accurately called reversible action or rebound exercises. The training effort increases the force production in the muscles, but the movements are performed at faster speeds than weight-training exercises. Thus rebound exercises are more specific to the sprinting and jumping movements in football. These exercises should be done in 3-5 sets of 8 repetitions for each leg, with at least one minute's rest between sets. The quality and speed of the movement is the priority. The other training element that is required for improving sprinting speed is sprinting itself. This should be done with maximum efforts over 30-60m. Again, at least one minute's rest between runs should be allowed so that quality can be maintained. Remember, with this kind of training the aim is to develop the maximum speed; endurance should not become a factor. Sprinting done uphill, with weighted jackets, or towing weights is also useful because it adds resistance to the sprint movement, placing greater load on the muscles in the most specific manner. Again, short distances with long rests are recommended.

Fitting it in I have discussed research that shows the importance of strength and speed for elite football performance. From this, I have suggested four types of training:

General strength training to help prevent injuries, improve kicking performance and provide the basis for good sprinting speed
Maximal leg-strength training, which is a progression from general strength training for advanced trainees only, but one that is extremely useful for developing speed and power
Plyometric training exercises, which complement strength training as an effective alternative
Maximum sprint running over short distances with or without added resistances

The main question that now needs answering is how can this training best be scheduled into an already full training and competing program?

Plyometrics and sprint training are usually performed when fresh. However, as it is a requirement of football to be able to sprint when fatigued, one could argue that sprint work should be done after a training session. One answer could be a short but high-quality hopping, jumping and sprints workout after a skills session. For example, 3x8 squat jumps, 3x8 skips for height, 3x8 hops for distance each leg, 3 x 30m towing runs and 5 x 40m sprints would be a short but useful workout if performed once or twice a week throughout the season. Scheduling strength-training workouts is more difficult. If the program is weekend matches only, then players could do a general strength-training workout on a Monday and Wednesday afternoon, leaving plenty of time to recover for the weekend match. However, if there are midweek fixtures, then strength training may have to be sacrificed or reduced to light workouts purely to maintain strength .

The best way for a player to develop his strength would be to start a strength-training program in the off-season. Three strength workouts a week would result in improvements. Once the pre-season training starts, the player can reduce to twice weekly and then fit in workouts when possible during the season. This way the player can maintain the strength gains made during the summer.

Maximum strength exercises should only be targeted during the off-season. Afterwards, they should be done only once a week to maintain strength during the season. Maximum strength can only be achieved if it is concentrated on, and training for it can interfere with other important activities.

With careful planning and careful selection of exercises, keeping sessions short but high quality, extra training should be practicable, although sensitivity to the training status of the players is important when prescribing extra sessions.

Article Reference

The information presented on this page is adapted from an article which was first published in Peak Performance issue 87.

Sportsshoes

Loads of deals on Football Boots, trainers, clothing and equipment.

Click here to shop online at the Sportsshoes website

Total Soccer Fitness

Want to play with an unshakeable self-confidence... and have an outstanding game week in, week out?

New soccer conditioning program guarantees that you will be playing the best Soccer of your life... No matter how much more 'Natural Ability' your opposition might have.

Select this link for more information on "Total Soccer Fitness".

Soccer Tutor

Here is how you can quickly and easily get instant access to 250 award winning soccer drills plus an extra 70 animated football drills, videos, coaching software, and a lot more.

Select this link for more information on "Soccer Tutor".

Championship Soccer Speed

One key principle of Championship Soccer Speed training is you cannot train the body to move faster by training slow. Muscles adapt and long, slow running trains the body to run slow.

Championship Soccer Speed training methods use over-speed training with perfect technique to re-program the brain, nervous system, and the body to move faster than ever before.

Select this link for more information on the "Championship Soccer Speed" DVD set.

Football Performance

Football Performance: how to raise your game brings together under one cover the findings of recent sports science research into footballers and their performance.

Over eighty pages of hard data and analysis on nutrition, preconditioning, injury prevention and treatment, and other aspects of fitness that you can use to raise your game or that of your team.

Select this link for more information on "Football Performance".

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:

Associated Books

The following books provide more information related to this topic:

Strength and Conditioning for Games Players, C. Brewer, ISBN 1 902523 85 7
Advanced Studies in Physical Education and Sport, P Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 4482345
Physical Education and the Study of Sport, B. Davis et al., ISBN 0 7234 31752
Essentials of Exercise Physiology, W.D. McArdle et al., ISBN 0 683 30507 7
Physical Education and Sport Studies, D. Roscoe et al., ISBN 1 901424 20 0
The World of Sport Examined, P. Beashel et al., ISBN 0 17 438719 9
Advanced PE for Edexcel, F. Galligan et al., ISBN 0 435 50643 9
Examining Physical Education, K. Bizley, ISBN 0 435 50660 9
Sport and PE, K Wesson et al., ISBN 0 340 683821
PE for you, J. Honeybourne, ISBN 0 7487 3277 2