What Are Soccer Training Exercises for Strength?
The game of soccer demands a lot of hand-eye coordination, speed, agility and aerobic capacity. Another important skill, although less-talked-about, is strength. In competition, you must fend off opponents and change directions quickly, and you need to be able to do this consistently throughout the game. With that in mind, you should make specific strength exercises part of your routine.
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Identification
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When it comes to building strength for soccer, several areas need attention: your legs for kicking and jumping; your body's core, because that is where a lot of power is generated; and your upper body for getting off the ground when you take a tumble. In addition, overall strength is needed. And muscle endurance is key, because it lets you repeat motions over long periods. This type of training is called sport specific.
Legs
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The legs are perhaps the most important muscles to train in soccer. They carry the body the whole game while kicking, dribbling and shifting to left or right. Some exercises to develop the quads include squats, leg presses, step-ups and leg extensions. Other leg-strengthening exercises include lunges, hamstring curls and stiff-legged dead lifts.
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Upper Body
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You use the chest, back, triceps and biceps muscles when breaking a fall and pushing yourself back up again. Exercises to strengthen these areas should simulate a game situation, such as pushups, pull-ups and dips. These body-weight exercises should be done repetitively, in the range of 15 to 20 times.
Core
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The body's core is more than just the front of the abdomen. As a matter of fact, it includes the upper and lower abs, obliques and the area of the back that goes from the bottom of the shoulders down to the top of the glutes. Sport-specific exercises to build strength in these areas should involve rotation, flexion and extension of the trunk. Examples include crunches, medicine ball chops, overhead medicine ball throws, leg raises and back extensions.
Plyometrics
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Plyometrics are performed by shortening a muscle, then exploding into a fast contraction. This type of training builds strength, power and speed. Examples of plyometric exercises include box jumps, stair hops, leaping lunges, standing high jumps and bounding, where you take extra long steps as you run.
Power
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Various power exercises can enable you to explode up into the air, as with jumping. A common power exercise is a snatch, where you pick a dumbbell off the ground and quickly lift it over your head while locking out your arm (see "References" for snatch video).
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