Modern science-based strength training in soccer is a set of techniques that, when applied correctly, can improve your game and accelerate progress.
Whether playing for your school, college, or a professional club, the upper-body workout should be as integral to your preparation as ball handling, fighting for, and guarding the ball.
We usually classify upper-body workouts as anaerobic training. This is because they help increase strength and power.
It is based on muscle work, and you need to know that the muscles convert the glucose received from food into lactic acid for energy production.
It is important to note that anaerobic exercise does not require oxygen, but this means that it can only be done for a short period of time, as lactic acid is toxic and causes weakness.
In this article, I’ll go over everything you need to know about upper-body workouts for soccer players.
Upper Body Strength Workout for Soccer Players – Overview
The evidence that strength training in soccer is essential for all players who want to maximize their athletic performance seems overwhelming.
The speed and technique of athletes are important for success in professional soccer. And this means that you must focus on more than just lower-body exercises.
When performing upper body exercises, it is always necessary to take into account the age, gender, physical characteristics, and experience of each athlete, as well as the training season.
Given these parameters, we have shown in this article which set of exercises for developing strength is better to use in that other situation.
But first, let’s understand what is included in the concept of the “upper body.”
Soccer players need to work out not only the pectoral muscles that all men pump.
1. The triceps (muscles in the upper arm), for example, are important for long-range shots.
2. Also, remember the back muscles. It helps to close the ball from the opponent.
3. Strong hips help the soccer player perform strong and agile turns; especially important when you need to turn around and perform a flying shot.
The principles of strengthening all parts of the body are discussed in the video below. Anyone with a garden, a ball, and a bench can do the strength exercises from the video below:
Anaerobic exercises to increase explosive strength or aerobic exercises to increase endurance; upper body, lower body, or whole body workout; weights and other professional equipment or exercises that you can do at home; there is a suitable program for everyone. So, get down to business.
The role of core muscles
Modern uplifting techniques focus on the core muscles. This term refers to the middle part of the body between the hips and shoulders.
In fact, it is the part of the body from which your limbs grow.
As a result, the core region is where the majority of the movements that affect how well a player plays soccer, and failing to have a strong core can result in injuries, particularly knee problems.
The emphasis on building core muscles has resulted in a plethora of training programs for soccer players to strengthen their abs, which are an important component of the core.
Many of these you can do at home, in the garden, or on the living room floor and do not require any special equipment.
Abs exercises are anaerobic strength workouts that should be done in short, explosive sets with a stopwatch or smartphone timer to limit the duration.
Should You Train Your Upper Body with Weights?
If you have the opportunity to go to the gym with equipment and a professional trainer, you will have much more opportunities.
The role of weight in soccer strength training is controversial. Some believe that they do not allow players to achieve the necessary agility and provoke unnecessary risks, but many are sure that only by performing exercises to develop muscle strength an athlete progresses in soccer power.
All risks must be taken seriously. Here are the basic rules:
1. Never lift weights alone to avoid injury or getting stuck under the bar.
2. When using weights in a standing position, your entire skeleton supports you. If you over-exert yourself beyond your fitness level, you will not be able to control your weight; the body will assume the wrong position, which is fraught with serious injuries.
The debate about agility – mostly the product of a misunderstanding between hypertrophy and strength
Hypertrophy is a scientific term for increased muscle mass; simply put, it indicates that a person appears to be larger. It is not the same as power.
Studies have shown that high reps at moderate weights can increase leg strength without significant hypertrophy or loss of agility, while low reps and heavy weights have the opposite effect.
In other words, it’s not about whether soccer players should train with weights but about what type of weight training to choose.
Upper-body workout with weights not only improves running speed, but recent scientific studies have shown it increases the agility needed to maneuver before and after the short, explosive sprints typical of soccer.
In other words, the claim that strength training impairs soccer player agility is nothing more than a myth.
The following video from Reading, an English Football League club, is an excellent example of what is achievable for more advanced indoor players:
Upper Body Workout for Young Soccer Players
Always consider your age or the age of those you train. Strength training for adults, and mass training, in particular, can lead to serious injury if applied to young players.
But that doesn’t mean kids can’t do strength training. They can and should exercise, but according to their age.
Remember that all children develop at different rates, both physically and mentally.
A one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate here, so the coach must always control the individual load, reps, and technique to minimize the risk of injury.
Exercises for developing strength should become more complicated gradually: weight increases, and rest between sets decreases as physical fitness increases.
For primary school children, the emphasis should remain on muscular control, specifically how to build and release muscle tension, as well as low-intensity training to accelerate the formation of the brain-muscle connection.
This is technically known as integrative neuromuscular learning. Older teenagers benefit from more advanced strength exercises.
Studies show that the results of this approach are especially noticeable if the formation of neuromuscular learning in children of athletes is completed before the onset of puberty.
Pre-Season vs. Season Upper Body Workout
Pre-season training for soccer players is different from training during the regular season.
In essence, you gain energy after a period of rest during the off-season. As a result, training should focus on strength, speed, power, and endurance during this period.
The actual curriculum will be determined by the length of the season’s preparation.
It can run up to six months, although calendars in today’s game, particularly in the professional game, are becoming increasingly crowded, with closing and off-season times being shorter.
Trying to accomplish too much in too little time can lead to injury, especially when performing upper-body workout activities.
Therefore, take a sober look at the amount of training that can actually be completed in the allotted time.
The level of seasonal upper-body workout depends on the meeting schedule.
With two games a week, one possible training plan involves a heavy strength workout (performing a whole set of strength exercises) the day before the first game of the week, followed by a lighter full-body workout the day after the first game.
This is followed by a speed and agility workout the day before the second match, followed by a speed and endurance workout the next day.
The Difference Between Men’s and Women’s Upper Body Workouts
It is probably not fashionable to talk about it today, but there are indeed physiological differences between men and women.
For women’s soccer, strength is just as important as for men’s, but men and women need to use different sets of exercises to develop strength.
Compared to men, women have about a third less muscular mass, and this muscle mass has a different composition.
Women have somewhat more “slow” muscle fibers of the first kind and slightly less “quick” fibers of the second type; therefore, their advantage is in endurance rather than brute strength.
This could explain why men tire more quickly during boring workouts.
The third major distinction is the impact of strength training on hormones. Male testosterone levels rise as strength and muscle mass improve, but female estrogen production boosts the muscle’s ability to convert glucose into fuel.
As a result of these physiological variations, women get more upper body hypertrophy than males as a result of resistance exercise, while there is little difference in lower body hypertrophy.
Because soccer requires whole-body development, research reveals that soccer training for men and women should be different.