Football is a relatively complete sport since it involves endurance, speed, and technicality, hence the importance of having a truly adapted bodybuilding program.
It is clear that this bodybuilding work in football will be different according to the positions, in particular between a goalkeeper and the field players, but also between an attacker and a defender, and especially according to the periods of the season, but also according to the objectives sought: gain speed, power, strength, muscle mass gain, etc. But then, what bodybuilding program should be done for football players?
In this article, Niketrainers.com.co will tell you:
A general bodybuilding program adapted to football
As during the physical preparation of football, it is necessary to carry out a work of generic musculation at the beginning on the principle of general physical preparation. As a reminder, this consists of working in a balanced, generalized way, all the muscles and joints.
It is therefore necessary to work the abdominals with sheathing, crunches, rowers, the upper body with push-ups and the lower body (quadriceps and hamstrings) with exercises such as the Roman chair, the front lunge, or even squat work. Without forgetting the calves, especially with work on the stairs.
A specific football bodybuilding program
For goalkeepers, the work around vertical relaxation is interesting with the jump rope, the squat, and always the calves, which are largely forgotten in muscular work when they are often a source of injury. The abs are also to work on a notion of explosiveness like the crunch, for example.
For outfield players, the specificities of the players and especially their position must be taken into account:
- The wingers and full-backs, even the striker, are players who have good stamina and, above all, must be explosive. The explosive force, the explosiveness, is therefore to be worked on as a priority.
- Working around vertical relaxation and muscle strengthening is recommended for central defenders.
- Midfielders must have a good backbone, so liveliness is important with targeted strength work. The type of muscle contraction matters.
Strength exercises to incorporate into a football program
Back
Here are two exercises to do for your back:
- Lying on the ground in a cross position, keep your head on the ground, raise yourarmsas far as possible. Do 2 sets of 20 climbs.
- Lie on your back, hands crossed under your chin, and raise your shoulders above the floor without taking your legs off. This is a kind of upside-down abdo.
If the player has back pain, whatever the cause, he should not perform these exercises.
Pectorals
For the work of thepectoralsin your program, the best exercise remains the traditional push-ups, with the hands oriented in the continuity of the body, the buttocks tucked in.
You can opt for a variant with clenched hands and/or raised feet.
Abdominals
For the abdominals in your special football bodybuildingprogram, we also stick to traditional exercises such as:
- The crunch: lying on your back, knees raised, lower back flat on the ground, chin lifted from the chest, raise your head and part of your torso toward the knees, hold for about 1 second, and lower slowly. Do 3 to 4 sets of 20 to 30 climbs.
- Stand on your elbows and hold the position. Perform 3 to 4 sets of 45 seconds.
- Resting on your elbows and feet, hold your pelvis without touching the ground. Perform 3 to 4 sets of 45 seconds.
Hamstrings
In Par 2, one of the football players is lying on his stomach, thelegto be worked on bent while keeping the knee touching the ground. The goal is to bring his bent leg back to the ground while his teammate breaks it. Do ten repetitions on the same leg.
You can also do a succession of heels and buttocks by putting a weight around the ankle, between 10 and 20 repetitions, depending on the player.
Quadriceps
To solicit the quadriceps, there are several exercises:
- The Roman chair: sitting along a wall, back pressed against the latter, hands along the body, looking ahead. Perform 4 to 6 sets of 45 seconds each with 1 minute of rest between each.
- The calves have a real role for the footballer. The player is on a step, his heels in the void. He rises on his tiptoes and grows to the maximum, then returns to his normal position. Try going for 3 x 8 reps to 5 x 10 reps with 1 minute of recovery between each set.
- Calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings are strengthened with a forward lunge. The player is standing, back straight. He takes a big step forward, while bending the knee of the opposite leg and always keeping his back straight. The angle between the foot and tibia, or the ankle of the front leg, is 90 degrees. If the left leg is in front, the opposite arm should also be in front. Then step forward with the other leg. Go for 3 to 5 sets of 10 repetitions with 1 minute of recovery between each set.
Example of a strength training program for football players
During a physical preparation for football, the work of musculation is important to take into account. The ideal is to have access to specific equipment such as in the weight room, which is often difficult for amateur clubs. You can therefore follow the detailed program below with the basic equipment that any club has.
The players must be between 2 or 4, knowing that there are 8 workshops. Each workshop has its own instructions but the time spent on each is 5 minutes with 1 minute to go to the next workshop. At the material level, you need 1 or 2 benches, 1 to 2 medicine balls or heavy object such as a water bottle, 8 cones, 1 stopwatch and 1 whistle.
Here are the different exercises of this bodybuilding program:
- Abdo figures: the player lies on his back, resting on his elbows. He must be with his legs straight, slightly off the ground, and do numbers with his legs from 0 to 20. He must do this 3 times in the allotted time.
- Calves: you must have access to a step, a sidewalk. Players rest the front of their feet on the step, and the heel, or even the back half of their feet, hangs out. They slowly raise their heel while keeping their forefoot steady on the step, then, once fully down, slowly descend again to the initial position. Do 2 sets of 20 ascents/descents, or 3 sets of 10 if you can’t hold all 20.
- Bench ascent: previously, you installed the two benches (or 4 chairs). The player stands at the foot of the bench. He must place one foot on the bench and climb on it only with the force of the foot on the bench and not with the support of the foot on the ground. Once on the bench, he descends with the same foot, and conversely, he ascends with the other. It is necessary to do 10 repetitions per leg, and the work is to be done 3 times during the allotted time.
- Push -ups : each player must perform 5 sets of 20 push-ups with a large amplitude. Pay attention to the buttocks, which must not be too high. A sheathing position must be respected.
- Ischio: the players are in pairs, one is lying on his stomach, the other puts one leg in the buttock heel position. The other player must, by holding his comrade’s bent leg with his hands, slow down the return of the bent leg. Attention, the comrade must break the leg and not block it. Arrived at 10 cm from the ground, he could let her stop the resistance. It is to be done 5 times in a row on the same leg and on the other leg, then reverse the roles. Each player must do the drill a minimum of 2 times, ideally 3.
- Proprioception: the player stands barefoot, on one leg, slightly bent, and must keep their balance while counting 30 seconds in their head. If the player succeeds easily, he must close his eyes. After 30 seconds, he changes legs and so on until the end of the workshop.
- Sheathing: 1 minute in prone position, 15 second break, 30 seconds in lateral position on one side, 15 second break, 30 seconds in lateral position on the other side. Do the set twice.
- Medicine Ball: always in pairs, the players stand up, back to back, and pass the medicine ball sideways. Perform this exercise for 1 minute with 3 repetitions.
In summary
Football players also need a suitable weight training program to strengthen the muscles used during matches.
Bodybuilding work is used for all positions of football players, and contrary to popular belief, the legs are not the only ones to be used. Try the featured program to improve your strength and build muscles.