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. CCompared to a control group of colleagues who did no additional training, the players improved their kicking power and leg strength. Reilly (1990)[2] 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, be developed, especially in the quadriceps and hamstrings, to help stabilise the knee joint, the most frequently injured in football. Apor (1998)[3], 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 with quadriceps are crucial to knee injury prevention. Another common football injury is a 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 essential 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 pulldowns, and abdominal and lower back exercises would be ideal. This can be done with multi-gym equipment, which is 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 completed 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 very precious. However, this study used a training program that targeted maximum strength with heavy resistance. 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 (1986)[4] 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 (1993)[5]. 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.
Apor (1998)[3] suggests, in making fitness recommendations for footballers, that players need to develop the musculature of a sprinter. Therefore, footballers' training regimes must reflect this need for good acceleration and maximum speed. 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. Taiana 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. Two or three sessions a week during the off-season would bring about much higher gains in maximum strength.
Step by step
Another point is that maximum strength training should be a progression from general strength training with submaximal loads. Heavy maximal resistance exercise, while very useful, 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 at least 75-80%. Both these measures can be tested on 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 (1998)[6] cites soccer as one of the many games where short, explosive power is required. Plyometric training is a valuable complement or alternative to strength training. Once the players are used to it, plyometrics may be more convenient than weights for speed development schedule 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 force production in the muscles, but the movements are performed at faster speeds than weight-training exercises. Thus, rebound exercises are more specific to football's sprinting and jumping activities. 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 are the priority. The other training element 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 to maintain quality. Remember, this training aims to develop maximum speed; endurance should not become a factor. Sprinting done uphill with weighted jackets or towing weights is also helpful because it adds resistance to the sprint movement, placing a more significant 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 needs answering is, how can this training best be scheduled into a complete training and competition program?
Plyometrics and sprint training is usually performed when fresh. However, as football requires being able to sprint when tired, 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 valuable workout once or twice a week throughout the season. Scheduling strength-training activities are more complicated. Suppose the program is only for weekend matches. In that case, 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 midweek fixtures exist, strength training may be sacrificed or reduced to light workouts 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 it 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 vital activities.
With careful planning and careful selection of exercises, keeping sessions short but high quality, extra training should be practicable. However, sensitivity to the training status of the players is essential when prescribing additional sessions.
Article Reference
The information on this page is adapted from Brandon (1997)[1] with the kind permission of Electric Word plc.
References
- BRANDON, R. (1997) Strength training can improve kicking power, sprint speed and jumping ability but how do you fit it in? Peak Performance, 87, p. 6-8
- REILLY, T. (1990) Football. In: REILLY, T. et al. (eds) Physiology of Sports, London: E. and F. N. Spoon
- APOR, P. (1998) Successful Formulae for fitness training. In: REILLY, T. et al. (eds) Science and Football, London: E. and F. N. Spoon
- EKBLOM, B. (1986) Applied physiology of football. Sports Science, 3, p. 50-60
- KOLLAT, E. and QUADE, K. (1993) Measurement of sprinting speed of professional and amateur soccer players. In: REILLY, T. et al. (eds) Science and Football, London: E. and F. N. Spoon
- McNAUGHTON, L. (1998) Plyometric Training for team sports, Sports Coach, 11 (2) p. 15-18
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- MACKENZIE, B. (2005) Strength training for football players [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/football/strength.htm [Accessed