Weight Training Soccer: Tips on Overall Conditioning

You've probably heard it a hundred times that weight training soccer is a major part of sports training these days as it creates stronger and faster muscles. Your players will have a chance to play at a higher level if they develop themselves using this soccer fitness plan discussed as follows.

In soccer weight training, the goal is to have muscles that are strong, fast, and have great stamina rather that to add pounds of muscle mass. Although the lower body strength is more important in soccer but we still carry on with the upper body weight trainings for overall conditioning and strength.

You should start your fitness training with the legs first. Begin with the squatting exercises. This session should be followed by putting the bar to a weight with which the players can perform 20 reps with. Let's say they are pretty strong, so tell them to begin with 220 pounds. The technique is to get under the bar and standing up with it resting it across the upper back.

Now they must stand keeping their shoulders and feet width apart. Then they should come down while holding it till their hips are only marginally lower than the top of their knees. Coming up to this point in weight training soccer, they are supposed to stand up fast and exhale. Encourage them to repeat this for 20 reps even when they are dead tired.

Next is working on hamstrings, but before that have a 5-10 minutes break. They are required to perform 4 sets of 15 reps each. In between each set of Leg Curls, they'll also be doing 4 sets of 15 reps on the Stiff-Legged Dead lift. Hamstrings are vital for players speed, thus we would want them to be strong enough.

The leg exercises will be completed with 3 sets of 25 reps on the Standing calf-raise machine.

The Incline bench press would be used to start the upper body exercises. When they are done with the warm ups, they should continue with extra weights so that the next set of 10 reps becomes tougher. A total of 5 sets of 10 repetitions are required with the weights, while stretching their chest and shoulders, yet pausing to relax for 2 minutes in the middle of each set.

Next are the pull-up exercises in this section of soccer strength training. This exercise should be done with the palms facing their body so that their biceps and back can become strong. Finally the upper body exercises include abdominals and performing 5 sets of 20 or more reps of leg raises. Then finish with 5 sets of 50 or more crunches or sit-ups.

In short weight training soccer is only a small portion of the complete training program required to make great soccer players. You are welcomed to our youth soccer coaching community coming up more information about various weight training exercises relevant to the game of soccer; it also has videos, articles, pod casts, and newsletters available for you.

Andre Botelho is known online as "The Expert Youth Soccer Coach" and his free Weight training soccer ebooks and reports have been downloaded more than 100,000 times. To skyrocket your players' skills and make practice fun in record time, download your free Soccer Fitness ebook at: Soccer Practice Tips.