What training goals should be pursued when preparing for football? Part 2
Here is the first part.
In our last article we already discussed training goals that should be pursued when preparing for football. In this context, we have already discussed the objectives in the body's capabilities of passive joint mobility and muscle flexibility.
Today we will discuss additional objectives in the body's capabilities of active joint mobility as well as strength and its sub-abilities.
1. Developing adequate active joint mobility in the area:
- the lumbar spine
- of the hip joint
- of the foot
- the entire leg axis
By active joint mobility we mean the ability to move and stabilize a joint within the entire existing range of motion through targeted muscle activity. Many footballers have various stability deficits in the lumbar spine, the hip joint, and also in the foot. These stability deficits can lead to an unstable leg axis, which can lead to multiple incorrect loads in the lumbar spine, hip joint, knee joint and also in the foot. The result of this can be recurring overuse problems such as groin problems, knee pain, back pain and also foot problems. As already mentioned, this stability deficit can, as already mentioned, lead to instability of the entire leg axis (dynamic X-leg position), which enormously increases the risk of serious knee joint injuries (e.g. cruciate ligament rupture) but also ankle joint injuries (ligament rupture)! For this reason, every footballer should have adequate active joint mobility in the lumbar spine, hip joint, foot and entire leg axis.
2. Developing adequate strength in the area:
- the core muscles
- the hip muscles
- the leg muscles
By strength we mean resistance to fatigue against long-term, repetitive stress during static or dynamic muscle work. In this context, strength forms the basis for all other strength abilities such as strength endurance, speed strength, but also jumping power. Without adequate strength, these three skills can only be improved to a limited extent, as they depend on strength!
Since current football is becoming more and more athletic, faster and more dynamic, the four strength skills (of course in addition to the football-specific skills) are among the key factors that can determine the outcome of any football game.
We can see how important adequate strength skills are in relation to football-specific performance when we look at the following examples.
- Duel
A duel is one of the crucial elements of every football game. Often the team that wins the important duels wins the game! Especially in a duel, adequate core/hip/leg strength is necessary to prevail.
- mileage
As already mentioned, adequate strength forms the basis for solid strength endurance. In this context, football-specific endurance results from strength endurance and the cardiovascular system. If we have deficits in the area of strength, this can in turn have a negative impact on strength endurance and thus on football-specific endurance.
- bounce
A solid jumping ability is also a very important skill on the football field that can make the difference between winning and losing. A good bounce can determine whether the important header can be defended or not. In this context, adequate strength forms the basis for solid jumping ability.
- Speed power
Like jumping power, speed can directly decide whether you win or lose. In this context, speed can decide whether the decisive running duel is won or not. Like jumping power, explosive strength is based on strength and can therefore be dependent on it.
Unfortunately, strength deficits in the four strength abilities not only affect physical and football-specific performance. As the disease progresses, deficits in strength abilities lead to reduced physical resilience, which can lead to an increased risk of complaints/injuries.
Due to the reduced physical resilience, football-specific stress can only be absorbed to a limited extent, which can lead to increased and unfavorable stress on multiple body structures (muscles, tendons, joints, etc.). This incorrect loading can subsequently lead to overloading, discomfort or even injuries. Unfortunately, many footballers (especially amateurs) have severe deficits in their various strength abilities. For this reason, you should use your soccer prep to build adequate strength skills.
Click here for the next article about endurance training as a footballer in preparation for the actual football preparation.
