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Jul 27, 2016

Bodyweight Training for Football / Soccer Players

So maybe you are trying to make the team or be promoted within the team. Well playing football alone is not going to give you the advantage you need over the other players. The truth is that a dynamic player is always more valuable than a single sided player. So how do you plan to get ahead? Well just think about the way any sports champions train. He or she trains hard, puts in 100% effort and uses various training techniques to stay on top. Bodyweight training is a great way to stay on top!

You don’t need a gym membership to start and it can really help boost your speed, endurance and agility. Bodyweight training is dynamic so you can adjust it to suit any fitness level and various goals. There are also many other benefits to body-weight training including:

Boosts endurance, speed and agility.
Builds strength — bodyweight training uses all muscles of the body to exercises and in turn builds and strengthens them.
Improves physique aesthetics — Bodyweight training produces a lean, yet strong and muscly physique.
Combines aerobic and anaerobic systems — both the strength and cardio aspects of bodyweight training helps train these two systems.
Builds core strength — About 80% of bodyweight training exercises activate all the core muscles, leading to a stronger midsection. This will in turn improve your fitness performance, strength and posture.
Develops stability, flexibility and balance — Because you are not using weights to exercise it’s all about holding and balancing. This actually takes a lot mental power and awareness to be able to control your body.
It is challenging and can adapt to any situation and fitness level — No matter if you are a beginner or advanced, there are exercises for your level and there is always room to grow. All bodyweight exercises can be modified to suit your abilities and all holds have preparation steps to practice.
Prevents injuries — Bodyweight exercises are quite safe and can be adjusted to one’s abilities. Plus many of the exercises actually strengthen muscles, provide balance and increase flexibility which are all leading ways to prevent injuries.
Improves overall health — all forms of exercise are good for your body and so with bodyweight training you can improve your overall health and in turn prevent the development of illnesses and diseases.

Understanding the Necessary Skills

Before we start looking into which bodyweight training techniques are best, it’s important to understand the game you are playing. There are certain skills required and certain skills that are priceless. These skills are what you need to aim for. They should be included in the goals you are setting. So here is a list of some of the most important football skills, check-off the skills you think you already have and then work on the ones left over.

Speed
Dynamic quickness
Responsiveness
Agility
Endurance
Balance
Flexibility
Strength — explosive power
Aggression
Ability to hit and be hit
Dribbling
Understanding the game
Strong ankles

So which skills do you already have and which skills do you need to improve on? Each of these skills can be advanced through bodyweight training. Let’s take a look at how bodyweight training can do this.

Speed / Dynamic Quickness / Responsiveness / Agility

When playing football you need to be quick, nimble and hard to catch, especially if you are playing center or striker. There are some key bodyweight training exercises that you can do to help improve your speed. Sprints and footwork training are some great exercises that can be done in a short amount of time. Plus just 15 minute training sessions can really help you gain an advantage. When training it’s a good idea to always take a ball with you so that you also target your ball skills at the same time.

Example training plan:
3 sets:

20 second sprint
Pushups X 20
20 second sprint with ball
Sit ups X 20
20 second sprint
Star jumps
20 second sprint with ball

Set up 10 cones about 1 meter from each other.

3 sets:

Jumps over the cones
Quick feet around the cones
Zig zag around cones
Bounding over cones
Quick feet around cones with ball

Balance / Flexibility

If you find that you get injured quite often and you want to improve your chances of a no-injury season, then training your balance and flexibility is a must. With training for balance comes full control over the body. You get to know your body better and with that you are always able to know where your feet are. If you know where your feet are then you are able to better recover yourself from a trip or a potential fall. With training flexibility your ligaments and tendons will be stronger and more agile. This will reduce your chances of a possible tear or pull.

Example training plan:

3 sets:

L-sit — 30 seconds
V-sit — 30 seconds
One foot balance with eyes closed — 30 seconds each
Plank — 45 seconds
Opposite arm leg lift — 45 seconds each
Crane hold — 30 seconds
Candlestick hold — 30 seconds

1 set of static stretching:

Neck stretch
Tricep stretch
Shoulder stretch
Torso twist
Side bend
Quad stretch
Touch toes
Hamstring stretch
Calf stretch
Butterfly stretch
Pigeon pose

RELATED: 10 Reasons to Bodyweight Train

Strength — Explosive Power / Strong Ankles

In football you need to have the ability to explode off the ground for a header or make a quick change in direction. Plus you need strong ankles that can survive these kinds of movements and the possibility of being tripped, kicked or rolled. Training to have explosive abilities can be achieved through bodyweight plyometric training.

Plyometrics are explosive compound movements that burn fat, build muscle and increase speed. Bounding, jumping, skipping, sprinting and hopping are just some examples of Plyometric training.
Plyometric training exercises the fast twitch muscle fibers, which are our larger, stronger fibers that are associated with strength and speed. The explosive movements involved build the muscle, while the sudden increase and decrease of the heart’s rate burns more calories than a heart rate that stays constant. So by incorporating Plyometric training you will see results in your weight, speed, muscle power and strength.

Example training plan:

3 sets:

Box Jumps X 10
Bodyweight Squat Jumps X 10
Alternate Leg Bounding X 20
Skipping X 10 double unders
Sprinting X 10 mins of 30 seconds
Skipping X 5 minutes non-stop

3 sets:

Calf raises on step X 30
Single leg calf raises X 30 each
Single leg hops X 30 each

Endurance / Dribbling

If your main position is on the wing then you know just how important endurance training is. Running up and down the wing can be tiring and exhausting, so having a good endurance foundation is essential. Unfortunately there is only one way to train endurance and that is exercising for long periods of time, for example jogging. Yes we all dislike cardio but there are ways to make it fun by using different exercises for long periods of time. Here are some examples:

Example training plan:

Cardio

Jogging — 1 hour
Bike riding — 1 hour
Swimming — 1 hour
Rowing Machine — 30 minutes
Treadmill — 1 hour
Combination training: bike, rowing machine, elliptical, treadmill — 15 minutes each.

Bodyweight Training

4 sets:

Pushups X 20
Crunches X 20
Tricep dips X 30
Pile squat X 20
Pull ups X 10
Lunges X 20

So no matter which skill you are trying to improve, bodyweight training can help you reach that goal. No matter if you want to make the team or be promoted in the team, you have to work hard and go the extra mile. You have to do what other players are not doing, and that’s extra training. So get up early or stay back late. Use what you have learnt here to grow into a dynamic, irreplaceable football player.

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