I have played a lot of soccer in my life. In high school I started lifting weights in an attempt to improve my speed, strength and power so that I would be a better soccer player.
It worked.
Why should soccer players weight train?
Despite what people from other sports might think, soccer is a very physical sport. You need powerful kicks and throw ins. You need to be able to out-run your opponents, beat them in tackles and quite often shove them off the ball when they are pulling your shirt.
I’ll give you some examples of why soccer players should weight train:
Beating your opponents
In high school when I started to get bigger and stronger from weight training I found that I was winning the ball much more often on the weekend when I was playing soccer. My team mates thought I must have been working on my tackles and ball skills but in actual fact I was getting more powerful and this was paying off on the field.
Think about it. When you go in for a tackle you are much less likely to go in hard if the guy on the other end is a lot bigger than you. It is just natural to pull out so you don’t get flattened! This gives you a mental advantage over the other players. Furthermore, if you body is more poweful than your opponent you are more likely to be able to shove him away (legally of course), get your foot to the ball more easily and as such win more posessions.
More powerful kicks and throw ins
The other reason soccer players should weight train is that it helps you create a lot more power when you kick the ball. If you are a goal scorer this is of particular importance. Obviously, placement and accuracy are more important but there often comes a time when you need to kick the hell out of the ball and hope it goes in the net. And this is where weight training can help.
Once you start weight training your muscles become used to working with heavy weights. They also become accustomed to doing more work. All of this means that when you get back on to the soccer pitch your legs are going to be able to put more energy, power and force behind your kicks. And if you have the basic skills this will translate into more goals.
The same applies for throw ins. Take this example. Assume that two soccer players have the exact same throwing technique. One of them goes to the gym and lifts weights three times a week. The other doesn’t. After one month who do you think will be able to throw the ball further? The answer is obvious.
Will weight training have a negative effect on my soccer game?
This is a very common question I get asked a lot. Young teenagers who are trying to make it into the big leagues often want to know whether weight training will give them and advantage or whether it will slow them down. The answer is simple:
Weight training will improve your game as long as you make soccer the number one priority.
What this means is that you should never put the gym above practicing your soccer skills. You should never choose pumping iron over working on your ball control. You should never choose squats over shots. Catchy!
I always remember hearing a famous coach for the Brazillian junior squad saying that he looked for basic skills like ball control and dribbling over strength and speed. Why? Because those other things can be developed later. Skills cannot.
Always work on your skills first.
That being said, if you are stronger, faster and more poweful you will win the ball more often and as such have a greater chance of showing off your skills! This means you have to strike a balance between the two. But if you only have 30 minutes to train head down to the soccer goals instead of the gym.
This is my advice.
Weight training exercises for soccer players
Certain types of weight training exercises are inherently better for soccer players then others.
Isolation exercises
Isolation exercises are weight training movements that focus on one muscle at a time. For example, the bicep curls works out your biceps and almost nothing else. These are NOT the types of exercises you should be doing for soccer.
Compound exercises
Compound exercsies are the opposite. They are movements that use lots of muscles all at once. This is important because soccer in itself is compound. A kick does not use one muscle at a time; rather it uses many muscles all over your body in one fluid motion. So this is how we should weight train.
Here is a list of some exercises that you should start doing if you want to improve your soccer game:
1. Jumping squats
I remember when I was playing under 17 state soccer. Our coach was an old guy who loved old-school training methods. Each day he would make us do 100 jumping squats before hitting the pitch for skills training. It was agony. I hated him. But when I looked back on that year I realized that my strength, power and speed improved more than any other year. Jumping squats challenge your legs like no other exercises and improve many areas of your game.
Read more about the jumping squats here.
2. Chin ups and pull ups
The chin up is an exercise most people wouldn’t associate with soccer skills. If you are one of those people than ask yourself this question: how many times have you seen a stronger player use his arms and body to fend off a weaker player? All the time. Upper body strength is so important for soccer as you need to be able to lean on, shove and fend off other player when you have the ball. Chin ups are probably the best exercise for developing this type of strength.
The chin up works your back, shoulders, biceps and abs. When done explosively it works tens of stabilizer muscles which are so important when tussling with an opponent during a soccer game.
You can read more on the chin up here.
3. Decline sit ups
The core of your body (abs, obliques, etc) is so important for a good strong soccer game. You need your abs to turn quickly and keep you balanced when you shoot, tackle, etc. Abs are also really important for punching out a powerful header as you need to wind up from the midsection to get some speed onto the ball.
The decline sit up takes crunches to an all new level as you are doing them on a decline board. It is harder and works your muscles a lot deeper. Add some weight to your chest and a twist at the top of the movement and you will get an abs workout like you have never had before.
You can read more about the decline sit up here.
Conclusion on weight training for soccer
If done correctly weight training will give you a marked advantage over the other players on the soccer field. Professional soccer players have realized this and teams now spend hours in the gym pumping weights to increase their size and strength. However, as stated you must make sure you always put actual soccer training before weight training.
