Few team sports around are as physically demanding as soccer is. The average professional soccer player now covers over 10km in a 90-minute match. At the moment, it’s not just about increasing lung capacity. The pressures of the game have increased so much that being bigger, more powerful and explosive is more important than ever. So if you aspire to any half-decent level of football, you’ll need to work on your stamina.
Soccer is an intense as well as a demanding sport. To be a great soccer player, it is necessary for you to be in top physical condition. While practising with a team and participating in a competitive play can up your level of fitness, it’s also important to undertake some extra conditioning on the side. By increasing your stamina, enhancing your agility in addition to fine-tuning your footwork, you’ll be able to do better during games and even stay fit during the off-season.
Although natural talent certainly plays a pivotal role in a player’s performance on the soccer field, sufficient personal training is also of the utmost importance. While it is no secret that regular gym and field drills are an absolute necessity for players, home workouts can be equally beneficial.
Up Your Cardio
Get yourself on a treadmill or, alternatively, find any open space which you can run in. Interval training is not a traditional stamina-builder however it is what you’ll find most Premier League players doing in order to help them to improve their VO2 Max, which is the maximum rate at which someone’s body is able to consume oxygen during exercise. Hitting maximum sprinting at high tempo prior to jogging, and then going all out once more, allows them to build the stamina and flourish deep into added time.
Find Your Balance
The game of soccer is really a game of balance. Being able to elude defenders, jump over tackles in addition to just controlling your own body can be a difficult challenge. By creating a strong centre of gravity and building abdominal muscles, you can increase your sense of balance and control over movements. Creating a strong mid-section will also benefit your shot. With strong abdominal muscles your shot will be much harder and travel with a greater velocity.
Don’t Forget About The Plyometrics
As agility is so vital to soccer players, plyometric drills should form a part of each exercise routine. These drills usually consist of a lot of:
- Hopping,
- Jumping, as well as bounding exercises.
These are aimed at improving both explosive strength as well as coordination. Even though plyometric boxes can be purchase from any respectable sporting goods store, anyone with a knack for DIY could easily make them at home. The exercises, which involve jumping onto and over the boxes, can boost a soccer player’s performance significantly. Studies have indeed indicated that regular involvement in plyometrics can decrease ground reaction times substantially, which enables players to react to plays at a much faster rate.
Why You Need To Work On Change Of Direction
It’s all very well and good if you’re fast however if that stops at straight line speed then you’ll be confined to the wings. Every soccer player should have the capacity to change direction at any second and do so quickly, without the danger of injury and making sure that the ball is well under control.
Traditional cone drills are a simple way in order to improve a player’s agility, including slalom runs as well as shuttle runs. Don’t forget the ball, either, because the real gamechanger is being able to run as well as turn at full tilt, but still keep the ball under control.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Do you want to learn the ins and outs of soccer coaching? If you do, then you need to study our Soccer Coaching Course. For more information, please follow this link.
