Developing power for football

Footballers are athletes in every sense of the word. All will resistance train. Their training plans will involve body weight, weights and plyometric (jumping) exercises. Weight training will provide foundation strength for more specific football condition, such as speed, to be built on.

Key weight training exercises for football include

Squats, lunges, leg extensions and leg curls (with the latter, concentrate on the lowering phase of the movement to reduce potential hamstring strain). Lift a medium to heavy weight (70-80% of 1RM) using 6-10 reps over 2-4 sets. Everything else being equal a larger muscle will be more powerful and enduring.

Can weight training make you a net buster?

Research has indicated that improving kicking power directly through weight training or other means is unlikely to produce positive results when it comes to greater kicking power. You will get greater returns by working on your technique. However, greater muscle power can significantly improve other aspects of play, such as your leap and sprinting and injury resilience.

Body weight exercises

The dreaded 'burpie' (squat thrust with jump at the end) still has a place in football conditioning, as do other body weight moves, such as press-ups and sit-ups. Put them into a circuit that lasts (with recoveries) 20 minutes and also contains ball skills and you are onto a winner.

Incorporating 'keepy uppy' and short distance passes between players in a circuit will condition specific power and skill endurance - the ability to perform a precision skill under conditions of fatigue is crucial for football players.

The core

Pay particular attention to core strengthening exercises, such as crunches and 'chinnies' (alternate knee to elbow sit-ups), hyper (back) extensions and the plank. A strong and dynamic core is required to maintain player solidity on the ball and reduce injury.

Football specific core strength exercise - sit-up with header

Sit on the floor with knees bent to a 90 degree angle as per normal sit-up. You will need a partner who should carefully toss a football toward you as you reach the top of your sit-up. At this point you head the ball back to him. You then control the descent of your body as it return back to the floor. Complete 10 over 4 sets swapping positions with your partner.

Football specific circuit

Perform at a '20 seconds on 30 seconds' off basis - Press-ups, squat jumps, crunch, keepy-upy, simulated headers (alternating left, double, and right foot leaps from a static or one stride approach), the plank, wall passes over 5m alternating left to right foot strikes, burpies, chinnies, single leg squats, sit-ups with header (see above), 10m sprints (back and forwards), floor ladder drill

Developing football endurance

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