Physical Training In Football – Part 2

It is important not to overlook cardiac conditioning and speed work to give the athlete the speed training they need for the short bursts and endurance to maintain play throughout the whole game.

Players can intertwine both the road work and strength training to produce a well rounded conditioning program. There are several rules about weight training to help improve the benefits for the players. Use weight training only every other day. In other words, if the player uses weights on Monday morning they shouldn’t use weights again until Wednesday morning. This gives the muscles time to rebuild stronger than they were before.

Players should also intersperse speed work with endurance runs. So while players should run between 5 and 6 days a week they should do no more than 3 days of speed work and 3 days of endurance runs. Players should allow at least one day to rest and recover, and possibly two if they start the conditioning program in poor shape.

Always begin your runs with a warm up to loosen up the muscles and decrease the potential for injuries. Endurance runs can be between 3 and 4 miles depending upon the athlete. Sprint work outs should include 10 X 10 yard sprints, 10 x 20 yard sprints, and 10 x 40 yard sprints with a warm up and cool down jogs before and after.

Physical training in football is an important part of helping players to become more competitive and garner a spot on the team of their choice. With the help of a good coach, and perseverance, players are able to improve the general conditioning and strength making them better candidates for the team and less likely to be injured during the season.

Resources:

National Council on Strength and Fitness

http://www.ncsf.org/

FitDay: 5 Effective Football Fitness Training Drills

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/5-effective-football-fitness-training-drills.html

Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness: Physical Training of Football Players Based on Their Positional Rules in the Team

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9973771

TopEndSports: FItness for Football

http://www.topendsports.com/sport/soccer/fitness.htm

Answers: What are the Components of Physical Fitness Requirements for Football

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_components_of_physical_fitness_requirements_for_football

Journal of Strength and Conditioning research: Physical Fitness Qualities of Professional Rugby League Football Players

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11726256

Journal of Strenth and Conditioning Research: Influence of Physical Fitness, Age, Experience and Weekly Training Load on Match Performance in Elite Australian Football

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22820206

Michigan Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports: Prevention of Injuries in Amateur Football

http://www.mdch.state.mi.us/pha/vipf2/football.htm

NetFit: Football Training and Drills

http://www.netfit.co.uk/football-program-webwen.htm