Strength Training For Football

Football is a power of game and it requires lots of strength. The different muscle groups of your body should be strong and flexible enough to give a better performance in this game. Therefore the relevance of strength training in football game is more in comparison to the other game. What I mean to say is that one should do a comprehensive strength exercise to get the real benefit. There should be a structured program of power training for a footballer which should include all the necessary workouts for strength training. If you go by this rule, you may notice a great improvement in your performance.

Phases of strength training for football

Strength training for football consists of different phases. It depends on the football season. Usually there are three different phases of football season; that are off season, in- season and the transition period. The nature of the strength training also changes according to the season of football. In football the off season lasts for 6 months. During this season the objective of power training should be to improve the power, strength and flexibility of the muscles as much as possible. In the in season which lasts for 5 months your goal should be to maintain the power and strength you have gained during the off season. And it is the transition season in which you may take rest to recuperate and cool down. This is the time you should recharge you body to the fullest.

Types of strength training

There are generally three types of strength training for football although all the three have common objective of getting the muscles stronger and resilient. First is the functional power training for football. The main objective of this training is to make your body ready for more exhaustive sessions. This session is aimed at strengthening the ligaments, tendons and other connective tissues so that they can sustain heavy loads in the upcoming workouts. It is started with light weight which is followed by the heaviest one as per your capacity. The second type is known as hypertrophy strength training. It is aimed at increasing the muscle mass. Actually footballers are supposed to have tight muscles and linemen. The off season for a footballer lasts for 6 to 7 months and hypertrophy training is done to train the player so that at the end of the season he may have required strength and stamina. This hypertrophy power training gives the footballer the real explosive power and strength and raises his confidence. The third and most vital strength training for a footballer is maximal strength training. The maximal strength training is done to increase the cross sectional area of the muscles. Basically it is aimed at the contractile filaments inside the muscles to make them more strong and flexible. Under this training a footballer is asked to lift maximum load to develop maximum strength so that he can maximize his performance. After being aware of the types of training football player should chalk out a master plan and divide his different exercises in different phases so that he can watch and feel his gradual development. This is the right way for footballer to go for strength training.