Publisher's Synopsis
Soccer coaches that are shying away from resistance-based training and strength training are missing out. Going into the weightroom does not mean training like a bodybuilder. That isn't the case. In the weight room, soccer athletes can perform resistance training that will make them faster, more explosive, a little bit stronger, and enhance their capabilities on the field. If you are new to strength training, whether you play soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, or another field based sport, the following principals will apply for your resistance based training.
The first element behind becoming a dominant player is to have excellent speed. Soccer athletes have to be fast. This boils down to what phase of running athletes will be utilizing within the sport. Soccer players typically are going to be starting and stopping and working through acceleration. It is very minimal when soccer players are running full tilt or running at the maximal mechanics phase. This means we need soccer players to be training with a focus on improving the starting positions and acceleration. This might mean we are working on various cuts, jump cuts, starting positions from a unilateral and bilateral perspective, and any other body positional needs that will transfer to the direct speed needed out on the soccer field. Soccer is a game that can last longer than ninety minutes. The game takes place over a long period of time. There is a lot of starting and stopping over that duration. Soccer players have to have strength endurance to help prevent injury.Strength endurance can be trained in the weight room. It can also be trained on the soccer field while out doing technical work. Think about 800 m runners. They are really, really fast. Extremely fast. They also have really solid strength endurance. Soccer players might benefit from training in manners that are similar to the way 800 m runners train. For instance, some of the stuff we can do for soccer in the weight room that is similar is doing single-leg squats with lighter weight for sets of fifteen to twenty reps to be under stress for a longer period of time. We can even do sled pushes for time frames of five minutes. We can even do long-duration isometrics. All of these movements will drastically increase strength endurance. Strength coaches often lack the understanding of the game of soccer to figure out how to train specific positions to optimize athletic performance. We need to train positions in a manner that exemplifies the skills required on the pitch from that position. It is incredibly important to lift weights to improve lower body strength for soccer. Athletes who are more explosive and more coordinated can accelerate quicker and get out of cuts faster. Want to discover more? Read This Book Now
