It’s not necessary that you agree, but you should listen to this. Weight training soccer is very essential while coaching the player on sports that needs a lot of strength, and, or explosive power. Strong abdominal and lower back muscles are also essential for players for whom strength and power is not the main issue.
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. The idea is that to train your players to practice in a manner which is similar to that when they play on the fields. Take for example running and swimming, a great exercise for runners and swimmers respectively.
To improve power, speed is an important aspect in training. 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.
Physical conditioning usually requires activities that improve 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. It is necessary to prevent injury although it is not the direct factor to contribute towards to the play however it enables the players to maintain their fitness in order to perform their best at the special times of the season.
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.
So for creating these muscles core lifts, like squats and deadlifts are important exercises. A comprehensive soccer fitness program giving due stress upon these two core lifts should work miracles for leg, hip, back and abdominal strength.
Swimming can also help to add strength to shoulders, arms and back muscles.
Usually strength enhancing programs include heavy weight lifting with few repetitions. Some sports require bulk and strength while some others have to ensure they combine adequate strength with mobility, speed and stamina like a mid-fielder in soccer.
Working on very special muscle groups can also enhance the performance even if primary strength, power or endurance gains are lacking. These muscle groups are the lower back and hamstrings, and the quadriceps muscles that direct knee joint function.
Now having equipped with knowledge always keep in mind that in weight training soccer doing weights might not give much benefit. You are invited to become a member of our youth soccer coaching society 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.
Tags: fitness training, soccer fitness, soccer strength training, Weight training soccer