A 90-minute game requires on average a 10 km run, at 80-90% of a maximum heart rate, while performing activities like jumping, kicking, sprinting, turning, etc. You may be asking yourself how to improve your physical fitness and football performance and raise your game?
Increasing athletic performance is a complex task. You need strong self-discipline, a great deal of training at the gym, allowing enough time for your body to recover, and keeping your daily habits on the right track, like proper nutrition and enough quality sleep.
But first of all, there can be no more skipping out on weight lifting in your training routine.
A Fine Line Between Football and Weightlifting
Training off the pitch is just as important as training on the pitch. Finding a balance between the two, and taking the best out of both will take your game to the next level.
Becoming a Better Athlete
What makes a really good athlete? There is a full range of abilities that comprise a great athlete like high levels of speed, strength, power, explosiveness, and bringing them all together when you're on the pitch. Working regularly on your athletic performance will lead to dramatic improvements and shape you for success.
Strength Building
According to Norwegian research, elite football players can achieve squatting 440 pounds. Strength training is considered to be one of the most efficient ways to achieve high levels of speed. Strong squats are of tremendous importance, especially for an attacker. When performing a squat, opt for a high bar set up for superior weight distribution. Squatting with a high bar strengthens the quads and the glutes with a lower risk of a back injury.
According to Professor Ulrik Wisloff, head of Cardiac Exercise Research Group and K.G. Jebsen Centre for Exercise in Medicine, sprint performance and jumping height are determined by maximal strength in half squats. That’s why this internationally recognized researcher emphasizes focusing on maximal strength training. Heavy lifting is an important factor for speed and athleticism.
Power Training
To train like an elite athlete try adding the right explosive exercises to your workout routine or try doing exercises in an explosive motion. Why is this so efficient? It helps you increase power, strength, and explosiveness that will certainly make a difference in the field -kicking the ball more explosively for instance.
Try box squats and box front squats as they build leg strength and explosiveness while taking the pressure off the knees. These squats train you to give your best performance up using hips, glutes, and hams, which is vital for running and jumping. Building your power and explosiveness can make all the difference during a match.
Working on Your Endurance
Endurance training programs are especially important for football players where the last 20 minutes of a match can be crucial. Compound leg exercises including squats and deadlifts increase muscular endurance in the legs allowing you to play effortlessly over longer periods of time. Add squat jumps in your workout sessions to gain tons of power. The barbell back squat is known as one of the big three exercises (along with the deadlifts and bench presses) praised for muscle gain.
Improving Strength to Weight Ratio
Remember: compound exercises are the key. Leave isolation exercises aside, and focus on squats, deadlifting, bench presses, pull-ups, push-ups, and dips instead. There are more exercises to consider and include in your routine to increase your athletic ability. If you are a soccer player you should aim for weight workouts but also focus on working with your own bodyweight. Combining bodyweight and calisthenics is probably the most effective way to become a better athlete.
Find the Right Balance Between Training & Resting
Always allow your body enough time to recover in order to put out your best performance on-field.
To achieve success during the game, you have to put an enormous amount of work off the pitch. Strong work ethic, commitment, and determination are the factors that will your game to the next level. Some of the best football players in the world like Cristiano Ronaldo who has more than 300 trophies and medals under his belt or Sulley Muntari, one of the best players from Ghana, are well aware of all this and use it to their advantage.That is exactly what sets them apart from the rest.