Simple Fitness Training Tips For Soccer Players

Fredrick Lopez Fitness Training

To succeed as a footballer, you have to make the effort to systematically condition your body, build strength and responsiveness.

Speed is everything in this sport, and you have to have enough endurance to maintain a high rate of activity for a 90 minutes.

Sprinting drills are ideal as they help these you maintain stamina during the most demanding portions of the game. You can drill yourself by sprinting back and forth across a short area with short breaks as needed. Rather than coming to a total standstill, however, it is best to jog at a moderate pace during your breaks instead.

goalkeeper making a save in football

Training To Head The Ball Better

Practice jumping as well. Your horizontal movement across the playing field is important, but how you move vertically will be critical as well. Heading is an important element of the game, and it’s vital that you maximise your height, regardless of whether you are an attacker, midfielder or defender.

Practice your vertical jumps by hopping across the pitch. With each jump, try to get higher and higher. People engage in a lot of special drills to improve their jumping height, but the best thing that you can do to improve any specific skill is to simply perform that skill on a regular basis.

It is also a good idea to practice running, stopping and kicking. The real challenge of this sport lies in moving quickly and fluidly from one activity to the next. In addition to running, you have to know how to slow their movements, alter their elevations and move their bodies through a series of different motions. whilst maintaining balance.

Running drills that require you to move rapidly from one activity to the next will help you issue an instinctive and appropriate response each time the flow of the game changes.

Don’t Forget Your Abdominal Muscles

Conditioning your body will not only improve your performance, but will also help you avoid a range of common injuries. This is especially true when it comes to core muscle groups. This is the one portion of the body that new players often overlook.

It is important to note that your abdominal muscles both oppose and support your core muscle group. Your abdominal muscles will help you run fast, and also help your great balance, which is essential for coordinating your movements and making them fluid.

Assuming and holding the plank position is one of the best ways to engage and build the core muscle group. Unlike crunches and sit-ups, this type of activity does not place any strain on the neck or shoulders. It does, however, engage all of your core muscles at once, including the obliques or the muscles that travel up the sides of your abdomen.

Holding the plank position for at least one to two minutes every training session should produce phenomenal changes in both the tone and appearance of your abdominal region within a very short amount of time.

Working With Trainers

Many footballers work with personal trainers or yoga teachers to help with strength and flexibility. Long, flexible muscles are far less likely to get injured than those that are tight and riddled with stress. This means that a key part of your conditioning is simply stretching out.

Stretching is something that you should do both before and after each and every training session. It will make your muscles loose enough for the required activities and it will also prevent sprains, strains and other similar issues.

Each workout should be started with a rigorous warm-up. This will lubricate your joints, gradually build up your heart rate and increase your respiration. You can do a little light jogging in place, run on the treadmill for a few minutes or perform any other moderate, cardiovascular activity. Your warm-up session should last for at least ten minutes. Then you can perform a series of stretches before engaging in the various elements of your training program.

Although your conditioning and general soccer training may leave you feeling exhausted, it is still vital to cool your body down. The benefits of a good cool down after a rigorous workout are many. If you want to limit soreness and prevent the buildup of lactic acid in your muscles, this is how you can do.

Simply slow down your rate of activity in a gradual fashion, rather than stopping outright. The goal is to bring your heart rate and your respiratory rate down by degrees. Once you are finished working out entirely, you should spend a generous amount of time stretching. This is a great way to pamper your muscles after you have placed them under the maximum amount of demand.

Basic Soccer Warm Up Stretches

Fredrick Lopez Stretching

Football is one demanding sport and requires one to be flexible, agile, strong and of great endurance. However, before jumping onto the pitch, it is important that you stretch and warm up. Doing this comes with a host of benefits to the player, no matter their skill level. As such, if you are a pro or amateur player, it is important that you always take the time to stretch and warm up before getting active on the field.

football tackle

Why Stretching Is Important

Stretching is important as it prepares the muscles and the body for more activity. A recipe for disaster is running into a pitch without having prepared the body well enough. Chances are, getting to hurt yourself or tearing a muscle is very much likely. Why? Because cold muscles are rigid and stiff. As such, sudden turning, twisting, and stretching may cause the muscles and other connective tissues to experience great tension.

At the same time, stretching not only helps prepare the muscles for the activity to come but also prepares you mentally – making you more focused on the activity awaiting you or on what brought you out there.

The benefits of stretching include:
• Lowered chances of injury
• Increases skill, power, agility, and performance
• Prepares the player mentally for the session or game on hand

Basic Warming Up Stretches

Standing Quad Stretches

Quads or quadriceps are a muscle group found along the front of the thigh and are made up of the vastus medialis, the quadriceps femoris, the vastus intermedius, the rectus femoris, and the vastus lateralis. It is this group of muscles that handle extending the leg and straightening the knee, and the muscles are the primary movers when it comes to cycling, climbing and running. Quadricep muscle injuries are normally caused by flexibility or strength imbalance between the hamstring and quadriceps.

How to stretch quadriceps:

Stand on one of your legs (if you need extra support, the grab onto something solid). Bend your knee while bringing the heel towards your buttock before reaching for your ankle with one of your hands. Stand up straight and you will feel a slight pull along your thighs’ and hips’ front. Hold this stretch for about 30 seconds. Release and do the same for the other leg.

Hamstring Stretch

The hamstring is one muscle that often gets injured or torn by most soccer players. As tightness in the lower back and hamstrings is normally brought about by muscle stiffness and pain, chances are hurting or injuring your hamstring in the near future are high. It is, therefore, important that you stretch before jumping onto the field to reduce the chance of hamstring injuries.

Hamstring stretching:

Sitting on the floor, stretch your legs out in front of you with the knees straight and feet lying flat against a wall or box. In slow, steady movements, lean forward at your hips keeping your knees straight while sliding your hands up.

Standing up straight, swing your left leg forward while keeping it straight and then touch your toes with your right hand. As you lower yourself, extend your leg backward to stretch your hip flexors. Drop it down and repeat the same procedure with the other side.

Plant your right foot on the floor and maintain a straight line from the back of the left foot to the back of your head. Lean forward and reach forward to touch your right toes while lifting up the opposite leg as you go down, before returning back up. Change legs and repeat the same procedure on the other leg.

Group Drill Stretches

Another great way to stretch for soccer practice or playing is working out in groups. There are plenty of group drills that could serve as great stretchers. Here is one group drill that could come in handy:

Have your team make a circle that is about 20 yards in diameter and at arms width apart from other players on either side. Place a cone at the center of this circle and have all players jog to the center of the circle before jogging backwards to the edge of this circle. Vary these runs – have them run with their knees high, sidestepping, heel flicks, hopping on one leg or lunge striding, but it is important that you keep the intensity light.

Soccer stretches are essential in ensuring that you stay safe and fit when playing the game. It is important that you always warm up. The above are some of the basic procedures that you should always strive to do. At the same time, there are many more that could be done. Take time and do some research for more soccer stretches.

Simple Training Games And Drills For Skills Enhancement

Fredrick Lopez Soccer Training Drills

As the famous adage goes, practice is the key to success. If you take a look at today’s top soccer players, they are people who have worked hard for the skills they display on the field. To achieve this level of skill, they have to take training levels beyond the team sessions.

If you are looking to better yourself and become a quality football player, then it is imperative that you put in extra time to practice. In this article, I am going to give you a few football training games and drills, and hopefully you will find them useful in your training program.

girls football training

Juggling

This is a soccer drill that falls under the individual training category. Ball juggling may not have any accurate use in a real match, as you will rarely find space or time to do so. However, juggling affects some other basic soccer skills, and it is one of the easiest and fun football drills to practice individually.

Football juggling affects your soccer control ability and by constantly keeping the ball in the air, you can understand how soft or hard the ball needs to be hit to keep it under your control. In the game, it affects your ability to receive and stop balls as well as dribbling skills.

Juggling ideally has a positive effect on concentration, balance as well as the ability to control the ball with both feet. Of all the drills for individual practice, this one proves to be the most effective and beneficial. That being said, it is worth saving up a couple of minutes a day to juggle.

One on One Dribbles

During a match, there are countless occasions where you will have to take on an opponent one to one and so, this practice works best when done in a pair.

When employing this training game, is best that you train with someone you would usually have to dribble against in a match. If you are an offensive midfielder or an attacker, then practice with a defensive midfielder or a defender.

When practicing, it is also good to switch places now and then, after playing the attacker, switch positions and become the defender this time round. This gives you a chance to develop both attacking and defending skills as you practice.

To make this training game or drill more fun, you can hold a score. Whenever the attacker moves the ball past the defender, they get a point, and if the defender stops the attack, they get a point as well. Set a limit also. Whoever reaches 10 or 15 points wins and then you can switch sides and start over.

One Touch Passing

This is a practice game that works well for groups. In this regard, you can find three or more teammates and get this drill going. This practice works wonders to your ball control, agility and passing skills during games. Here’s is how this drill works:

Assuming you have five teammates, split into two groups of 3, aligned face to face. The distance between the two teams should just be a few yards. Group 1 starts with the first player passing the ball to the first member of the second team. After passing the ball, the player in Group 1 moves to the back of the line and the first player in Group 2 passes the ball to the second player of Group 1.

Practice this as fast and accurately as possible without touching the ball more than once. You can play with varying distances between the teams once you get a grip of the system. You can even try passing the ball in mid-air without allowing it to touch the ground and without stopping. This is a bit harder, but it improves your overall ball control skills.

These are just a few of the training games and drills in soccer, as there are many others out there including; Attack And Defend, 1-2-3 Pass, Steal That Ball, 1 vs 1 To Goal and may more. Whether you want to practice individually, with a friend or with your team, you now have three effective drills to help you better your soccer skills.

Keep your training interesting and develop games to master the skills necessary to master ball control and real-game scenarios.

Physical Activities and Sports for Warm Summer Days

Fredrick Lopez Water Sports

cardio2There are many things that you could do during the summer, but some of them involve a sport, some water and some physical activity – in a few words, a great hobby that will fill your time with pleasure, but it will also keep you active and in a good shape.

You don’t have to have too much available time, because even if you do this once per week or every few days, you will have not only a wonderful summer, but your level of fitness will increase, and so will your general wellness.

Here are some water sports that you can practice during the summer, and not only:

Swimming

Swimming is the easiest activity that you can do that involves two words – sport and water. As far as swimming goes, you don’t have to be a professional to do this. Find a swimming pool in your local area banner001_2and buy an access pass for the whole summer, as this will be cheaper. The pool can be outside or inside, in a sport center. Go at least every few days, and by the end of the summer you will see the results – your health will improve and you will be looking even better.

Snorkeling

This is dedicated for those who live near the ocean or near the sea. This kind of activity is more than a 55190011-riddell-deluxereplica-michigansport, because it actually means observing and admiring the surface sea landscape, while equipped with a diving mask, fins and a breathing tube called snorkeler. This will get you as close as you can to observing the underwater life of fishes and sea creatures. It’s wonderful to practice this while you are in a tropical and exotic place, like beautiful islands in the ocean or somewhere where there are coral reefs.

Water Polo

This is a team game, as you can’t play it alone. If you want to learn how to play it, you can join a sports center that has this activity available and who offers classes for those who want to. The game is played in the pool with a smaller ball. It will increase your physical strength, but it will also shape your body. However, to be able to play it, you need to know how to swim, and be able to do it for a longer period of time.

Fishing

In some regions, this is a sport. However, to fish you need a fishing stick and lots of patience. You don’t baseball-ball-sports-equipment-seam-stitcheshave to be a professional fisherman to do this, as this activity can be practiced in any water that is not salted. However, make sure that you have a permit for the water that you want to fish in – some waters are forbidden for fishing. It doesn’t do much for your body, but it will teach you a lot about patience.

 

Parasailing

This is for those who have courage – this water sport involves a fast boat and a parachute. To know bigmama4exactly what to expect, you should know that you would be up in the air with the parachute opened, and the boat will tow you over the water, allowing you to rise above the sea level. For beginners, this is an activity that will be done with a trainer, as you will not be left alone in the air.

Don’t worry if you don’t know how to swim properly. There are special trainers that can help you with that, offering you easy lessons. Once you know how to swim, take it slow and do some swimming or some snorkeling. Keep in mind that it’s advisable to have someone experienced with you, no matter what water sport you practice.