Strength is the number one leveller in sport. Therefore, strength training is the single most important component of a soccer player's conditioning program.
For too long the world has been focused on aerobic training and endurance activity. Research on the benefits of strength training has been impossible to come by and never conducted on the advanced training methods that the world's elite soccer players employ today. Consequently, strength training was ignored. Instead the world focused on improving aerobic capacity.
Boxing and martial arts use weight categories for a reason. They aim to prevent unfair mismatches between fighters of dramatically different weights and sizes. The basic idea is that a heavier fighter is stronger and more dangerous. Men don't fight women for the same reason.
The reason for this is simple. Strength is the number one advantage in sport. Weight classes and sex categories are simply an attempt to filter athletes into strength classes. However, strength wasn't and couldn't be tested to prove this assumption.
Consequently, a lighter athlete could gain a massive advantage if they had more strength. This makes strength training the most important component in soccer preparation.
Being stronger (as opposed to heavier or bigger) is the number one advantage in most sports. It makes the difference.
Improving strength should be the primary objective in your sports training program.
Still not convinced how important strength is?
Let's look outside soccer for a moment (only because the data just hasn't been produced yet). 40 years ago the average football lineman weighed 250 pounds and ran 40 years in 5.2 seconds. Supposedly this was a human's genetic limit.
And then came strength training.
Now that same lineman runs 40 yards in 4.4 seconds. A 15% improvement when genetic limits had supposedly been reached. And this is for elite athletes. Just imagine the improvements for Joe Average!
Soccer players now have no choice but to lift weights to best prepare their bodies for a long, competitive season.Even now many coaches think that strength training causes their players to become muscle-bound and counterproductive to speed, fitness and good technique. They are wrong.
It has been proven that athletic performance depends on qualities of muscular strength. This is because strength builds the foundation for all other athletic qualities.
The best example of this is in strength's impact on speed.
If you are not strong relative to your bodyweight you will never be able to run fast. This is because all aspects of proper running technique require high levels of muscular strength. For example, if you can't achieve proper arm swing or knee drive then you can't run fast.
Likewise, university studies have found a high correlation between both jumping ability and agility and relative body strength. In other words, a soccer player that is strong "pound for pound" will be able to jump higher and move quicker compared to weaker opponents.
The body has approximately 639 muscles that are all designed to move body parts. Nothing other than muscle can cause movement. In other words, you can only move when muscles contract. Strong muscles equal more forceful contractions which lead to faster running, higher jumping, more powerful and accurate kicking and bone crunching tackling.
These performance benefits should be reason enough. A soccer player who strength trains is less injury prone. The simple reason is that strength training strengthens a muscle's attachments (to bones) and increases bone density. Even if the strong soccer player gets injured, their injuries will be less severe and heal many times faster than a weak player's.
Overall, strength training for soccer is crucial in the success of any soccer player at any level. Strength training should not be overlooked as the sport becomes faster and more competitive, it cannot be stressed how important strength training is.
If you are looking to increase your soccer strength check out http://www.strength-training-for-soccer.com
James Santi
http://www.strength-training-for-soccer.com
"Your success starts here, become faster, stronger & more powerful. Become the best you can be!"
Oregon State Tiffany Desk Lamp
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