Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training: Rapid Cycle Circuit for the Best Aerobic and Anaerobic Benefit, Part II

I have been training athletes from all sports for over a quarter of a century and I’ve met few individuals with the mental, and physical, toughness of Brian. Brian is one in thousands, ten thousands, and I am fortunate to have known him. I worked him as hard as he demanded, and he demanded! This is Brian’s first soccer-specific strength and fitness training program leg workout. The strength and fitness training program is a good one, it works! You are free to copy it, tweak it…or discard it. However, before you do anything, please see a qualified medical practitioner and have a thorough physical.

Again, this is a demanding program and you should be checked out before starting it. This is Part II!

Step 1: You guessed it! 20 minutes of stretching. We stretch every muscle, inside out. Biggest to smallest and upper to lower. Any good stretching program will do but we stretched the back and chest ten minutes and the shoulders and arms five minutes. Hanging is an excellent stretch, alternating one and both arms. You may also grasp a vertical pole at shoulder height, and then, with feet shoulder width apart, stretch the shoulders. The arms may be stretched by using dumbbells and a heavy bar, just letting them hang.

Step 1a: Then stretch the legs as you did before the leg workout. Legs should be stretched every day until you can palm the floor! And then some….

a) Quads, hams, calves, rolling the ankles and back up…and down again for ten minutes.
b) Back (lats, traps, lower back), chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, roll the wrists and back in…and out again for five minutes.

Note: If you stretch properly, you should be sweating already! If not, you haven’t stretched with enough intensity. Everything is done at 110%, everything!

Step 2: Yes! Once again, we begin with the Lifecycle (or other stationary bike). Depending on fitness level, anything from random 2 to random 5. Nothing more intense than that, we are warming up with it, not training for a triathlon! Of course, we tend to push it a bit more on off days, so when legs aren’t being trained directly, we increase intensity just a bit.

Step 3: Immediately after you get off the bike, no drinks, no piddling around, straight to the Lat Pullover machine (for the Latissimus Dorsi). The lat pullover is for back muscles, particularly the “lats” but it also works several other muscles. The range of motion for this exercise should be emphasized, with a complete stretch when the elbows are up over the head.

a) Set the seat so the top of your shoulder splits the side pad to the right.
b) Sit back, don’t lean forward.
c) Relax your upper body and legs completely, don’t tighten up as you do the exercise. If your forearms get tight, you are grasping the bar too hard and not doing the exercise properly. The best way to do this exercise is to drive the elbows with little or no grasping of the bar with your hands.
d) Do not hold your breath! Breathe out as you push the weight down into your lap and in as you allow the weight to go back to the starting position.
e) Don’t rock your body and never use inertia, the weight itself, to move the weight.
f) Every movement should be controlled. Up to the count of two and back down in four.
g) Up 1…2…Down to the lap…1…2…3…4…up to a full stretch. Then repeat. Slow, controlled, feel the weight. Feel the stretch, particularly under the arms where the lats tie-in.

Step 4: Get off and immediate proceed to the seated row machine. No hesitating and no stalling!

a) Sit down, face first with the chest against the pad, feet flat on the floor, shoulder width apart.
b) Your butt should never, and I mean never, rise up off the seat, your chest should stay in constant contact with the surface at all times, and the hands should grasp the hand grips just enough to maintain control and not so that the forearms tighten.
c) Pull towards you 1…2…Out to a full stretch…1…2…3…4. repeat. Again, never use the weights inertia in the motion. You should feel the weight and concentrate on what you are doing.
d) Again, breathing is so important, don’t hold your breath! In, breathe in. Out, breathe out.
e) Again, as you grasp the handles, do not tighten your grip! Relax and feel the motion, concentrate, see the muscles in your mind. Feel the stretch!

Step5: Get off the machine and immediately proceed to the seated bench press.

a) Sit and make sure the handles are at mid-chest. You will do one set with the horizontal handles and one set vertical. Two sets of each, four total
b) Again, In…1…2…Out…1…2…3…4. Repeat.
c) You are dealing with small muscles, in conjunction (synergy) with larger ones, and connective tissue. So, be careful and do not use ballistic movement (don’t “bounce” the weight).
d) Give yourself 30 seconds between sets, no more! And again, rotate between horizontal and vertical hand positioning. 4 sets!

Step 6: Get off the machine and immediately proceed to the seated butterfly machine.

a) Make sure you don’t hold your breath, don’t tighten your upper body up, and don’t rock your body! You must use controlled motions or you will not get the proper effect.
b) Again, have the shoulder joint aligned with the pivot point for the butterfly motion.
c) Stretch back and then pull forward on 2. In toward the center line…1…2…Back to the full stretch start…1…2…3…4.
d) Make sure there is a full contraction at mid-line and a full stretch back. The benefit is as much in the stretch, if not more, than in the actual amount of weight used. One set, immediate after the 4 sets of benching.

Step 7: If you did the back and chest exercises properly, you should really feel it in your upper body now. Now, move right to the seated shoulder press, quickly!

a) Set the weight established during your testing. If you aren’t sure, less is better. Your shoulders will already be fairly tired, so forget ego! You can always add weight and we are not in a weightlifting contest.
b) Sit in the press, feet shoulder width apart and your upper body back against the seat (back) rest.
c) Your hands should be grasping the handles…but relax, do not squeeze them and tighten up. You are working you shoulders not your forearms!
d) Keep your head erect, don’t lean forward or back and DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH! You can, quite literally, pop a gasket, just as with the leg press! If all you do is cause a major headache, you are very lucky!
e) Again, Push up…1…2…Back down…1…2…3…4. Slow and repeat.

Step 8: If you’ve done the shoulder presses properly you should be about out of breath and lifting your arms may be a bit of a chore. That’s great! On to the tricep pushdowns.

a) Face in to the weight stack, not out! Make sure the weight is heavy enough to be a challenge but not too heavy. Again, we are training for soccer, not powerlifting! You do not want to stand over and push down the weight with your upper body, this is a tricep exercise only! It should be done to failure, until you can’t do another.
b) Elbows tight against the sides, push the weight down…1…2…back up to parallel with the floor…1…2…3…4, then right back down. Never muscle the weight! Control is most important here, feel the weight.
c) Never arch your back or lean in, and always breath. Never hold your breath. Remember…headaches!

Step 9: A set of standing dumbbell curls. Keep the weight down, hanging, then up in 2 and down in 4, then alternate. Making sure to stretch at the bottom, and now yanking of the weight! No ballistic motion, just pure, controlled effort. Do not stop in between arms! Your arms have been used in virtually every exercise, and forget about big biceps, they’ll get all the work they need without spending an hour on you arms!

Eventually we get to the point where we superset, but not until about four weeks in. There are additional exercises I do with clients that I cannot, for a variety or reasons, describe here. Primarily, it is because without the proper experience, they cannot be performed safely. They do, however, take the athlete to a whole new level in his or her training! For now, we are finished with the upper body, except to stretch and hit the Lifecylce. Eventually, we will add forearm exercises but given the specificity of the program, forearms are already engaged adequately in previous exercises.

CoachZ
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
coachz@ultimatesoccertraining.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training: Rapid Cycle Circuit for the Best Aerobic and Anaerobic Benefit (Part I)

I have been training athletes from all sports for over a quarter of a century and I’ve met few individuals with the mental, and physical, toughness of Brian. Brian is one in thousands, ten thousands, and I am fortunate to have known him. I worked him as hard as he demanded, and he demanded! This is Brian’s first soccer-specific strength and fitness training program leg workout. The strength and fitness training program is a good one, it works! You are free to copy it, tweak it…or discard it. However, before you do anything, please see a qualified medical practitioner and have a thorough physical.

Again, this is a demanding program and you should be checked out before starting it.

Step 1: You guessed it! 15 minutes of stretching. We stretch every muscle, inside out. Biggest to smallest and upper to lower. Any god stretching program will do but we streched the legs ten minutes and the upper body five.

a) Quads, hams, calves, rolling the ankles and back up…and down again for ten minutes.
b) Back (lats, traps, lower back), chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, roll the wrists and back in…and out again for five minutes.

Note: If you stretch properly, you should be sweating already! If not, you haven’t stretched with enough intensity. Everything is done at 110%, everything!

Step 2: Lifecycle (or other stationary bike). Depending on fitness level, anything from random 2 to random 5. Nothing more intense than that, we are warming up with it, not training for a triathlon!

Step 3: Immediately after you get off the bike, no drinks, no piddling around, straight to the leg extension machine.

a) Set the seat so your knees are tight against the seat and the seat back up against your buttocks.
b) Sit back, don’t lean forward.
c) Relax your upper body completely, don’t tighten up as you do the exercise. If your forearms get tight, you aren’t relaxed.
d) Do not hold your breath! Breathe out as you lift the weight up and in as you lower the weight.
e) Don’t rock your body and never use inertia, the weight itself, to move the weight.
f) Every movement should be controlled. Up to the count of two and back down in four.
g) Up 1…2…Down…1…2…3…4. Repeat. Slow, controlled, feel the weight.

Step 4: Get off and immediate proceed to the leg curl (or leg bicep curl) machine. No hesitating and no stalling!

a) Lay down, face first after setting the roll bar to rest at the crook just above the ankles. The knees should be just off the surface, the top of the knee, just touching the surface.
b) Your butt should never, and I mean never, rise up, your stomach should stay in constant contact with the surface at all times.
c) Up 1…2…Down…1…2…3…4. repeat. Again, never use the weights inertia in the motion. You should feel the weight and concentrate on what you are doing.
d) Again, breathing is so important, don’t hold your breath! Up, breathe in. Down, breathe out.
e) As you grasp the handles, do not tighten your grip! relax and feel the motion, concentrate, see the muscles in your mind.

Step5: Get off the machine and immediately proceed to the abduction machine.

a) Sit, crank the machine until you feel your groin region stretch, then begin.
b) Again, In…1…2…Out…1…2…3…4. Repeat.
c) You are dealing with smaller muscles, in conjunction with larger ones, and connective tissue. So, be careful and do not use ballistic movement (don’t “bounce” the weight).

Step 6: Simply reverse the process for the adduction machine.

a) Make sure you don’t hold your breath, don’t tighten your upper body up, and don’t hold your breath! yes, I said that twice!

Step 7: If you did the adduction and abduction exercises properly, you should really feel it in your hips. Now, move right to the leg press, quickly!

a) Set the weight established during your testing. If you aren’t sure, less is better. You can always add weight and we are not in a weightlifting contest.
b) Sit in the press, feet shoulder width apart and your upper body back against the seat (back) rest.
c) Your hands should be grasping the handles…but relax, do not squeeze them and tighten up. You are working you legs not your forearms!
d) Keep your head back, don’t lean forward and DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH! You can, quite literally, pop a gasket! If all you do is cause a major headache, you are very lucky!
e) Again, Push…1…2…Back…1…2…3…4. Repeat.

Step 8: If you’ve done the leg presses properly you should be about out of breath and walking may be a bit of a chore. That’s great! On to the hack squat, after the first two to four weeks, with Brian it was after week two.

a) Face in to the hack squat, not out! make sure the weight is heavy enough to be a challenge but not too heavy. Again, we are training fr soccer, not powerlifting!
b) Release the lever, and slowly let the weight down. In…1…2…3…4….Up…1…2. Eventually, we will work on this and explode up, but not at first, and never without supervision!
c) Never arch your back and always breath. Never hold your breath. Remember…headaches!

Step 9: A superset of seated calves and standing calves. Making sure to stretch all the way through the entire range of motion. D not stop in between exercises! Your calves are used every day in walking, so they are particularly well adapted and it takes a lot to develop them. But if you work you calves diligently, and every day, you will see improvements in quickness, power, and vertical jump (heading!).

Eventually we get to the face in hack with variations, as noted above, and perhaps some squatting and lunges…but not until about four weeks in. For now, we are finished with the legs, except to stretch. When doing a whole body workout, stretching is done after the entire workout. Again, afterwards stretching is done for fifteen minutes…ten and five. Then, the Lifecycle at manual 10! For as long as you can go. Then, 2 more minutes of stretching the legs.

Then? Collapse, shower, and bed!

A soccer-specific strength and fitness workout is done quickly, with as little rest between sets as possible and everything done in a controlled, concentrated fashion. Eventually, variation is integrated into the program and the intensity level increases even more. But at first, we are interested in combining aerobic benefits with an anaerobic workout. The combination produces an athlete stronger, quicker, and much more powerful. Heading, quickness, and kicking power are increased as a result of a properly integrated soccer-specific strength and fitness training program.

Next? We continue on to the next phase, the upper body. This workout, upper and lower, are done in a single session usually no more than 30-35 minutes! You can see why an athlete, regardless of condition, will be fatigued, to put it mildly, when finished.

Again, do not attempt this or any other training program without a thorough physical!

CoachZ
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
coachz@ultimatesoccertraining.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Youth soccer-specific strength and fitness training always demands the utmost attention to the client’s outward appearance and unconscious signals. Failure to pay proper attention when working with any individual, particularly with kids, because kids are so eager to please, they will often go beyond themselves in order to do so, and that’s when injuries occur.

Brian’s Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training Begins

Brian showed up right on time, Lombardi Time, fifteen minutes early dressed and ready to begin. I sat off to the side and watched as he, without prompting, began the series of stretches we’d covered twice now…he did them flawlessly. Up until now Brian was being tested. And, while testing never really stops, Brian showed me he had the heart to do what I was about to demand of him. You see, so many times it’s the parents that want the program, not the player. If I find that to be the case and I determine that the child is just not into it, I find a way to disqualify the individual, always after a heart to heart with all concerned. There are enough athletes out there who want the best training available without having to force some poor kid against his or her will!

After Brian hopped off the Lifecycle, 20 minutes at random 3, the kid was sharp, I grabbed my clipboard (we document everything) and nodded towards the leg extension machine. Brian smiled and was up on it without hesitation. I watched as he began to adjust the seat so the back of his knees were tight against the seat, just like I showed him. This kid will be working out on his own soon, I thought. I then proceeded to explain to Brian the idea behind leg extensions and the proper form for carrying them out. I told him we were not interested in how much weight he could lift or even how many times! “I don’t care and your muscles don’t care. All I want from you,” I told him, “is to give it 100% until I tell you to stop.” Brian nodded without saying a word and proceeded to do just what I told him.

NOTE: As noted previously, I never take a young athlete to failure with heavy weights, it can damage the growth plates and injure muscle and connective tissue. We are not in the business of producing powerlifters, although I have worked with some of the best, some of the strongest men in the world, literally. However, with young athletes care must be given never to risk injury to growth plates, muscles, tendons or ligaments. Let me say that again…NEVER!

Next, we went straight to the leg biceps (hamstring) curl, followed by the abduction and adduction machines. The only rest Brian had was the time it takes to move from one exercise to the next, he was doing what I call a rapid-cycle circuit. After the first couple of times through, I was setting the proper seat position for the next exercise, always keeping a close eye on body positioning and body language, while he finishing up with the previous exercise. So, after the abduction and adduction, we went to the leg press machine, then on to the hack squat, which we do face-in for quickness, power, and explosiveness. By the time we are finished with the legs, the athlete is looking pretty worn out, Brian was no different…but he was still game.

Upper body:

Brian hesitated a bit when we got to the first upper body exercise. I could tell something was on his mind, so I said “What gives?” He hesitated again and I nodded that it was OK to speak up, and he did. He asked why he needed to work his upper body when he was a soccer player. I smiled and asked him if he had watched any professional soccer, men’s or women’s, or any national team matches. He said he hadn’t, except once in a while he watched the US Men’s National Team and that he would rather be playing than watching it. I smiled and thought to myself that I had been the same way when I could play. Why watch when you can be playing? So, I gave him an assignment: I told Brian he had to watch fifteen minutes of professional soccer or national team play I didn’t care what teams, just fifteen minutes, and give me the answer to his own question in a week. Brian winced but he said OK and we continued with the upper body workout.

The upper body workout focuses on big muscle groups down to the smallest, and in…out. The workout begins with the back and then the chest (in), then works to the shoulders and out to the arms and forearms. Finally, after we had moved from back to chest to shoulders to triceps to biceps to forearms, we go back in and work the abdominals and obliques. By the time we finish, and if the athlete finishes, many times the athlete does not finish, at least for the first few times through, we have worked largest to smallest, largest to smallest, and then core. The workout is intense, focused, and usually takes now more than thirty minutes…after the warm-up.

I would love to tell you Brian finished the first time through but I’d be lying.

Brian stopped halfway through the chest exercises. In fact, Brian didn’t make it all the way through the first four times, then he never stopped again. It was as if he made a decision that he was not going to be beaten, and after that, he rarely ever was! After the first workout, Brian was shot. I mean he could hardly stand up for a few minutes. Then, seeing his mother walk through the front door, he got up, went to the locker room, showered, got dressed, and came out looking like he had been on a stroll through the park. He was not going to show his mother how tired he was. I found out much later that he didn’t want his mom to interfere; she still wasn’t sold on the whole idea.

I smiled at Mom, told her Brian did “fantastic,” and set up his next workout for 48 hours later. She smiled, messed up his hair a bit, and they left the gym with Brian walking just a little bit gingerly. I made a mental note of it, would watch the next workout, and moved on to the Rosen twins…6′6″ twin girls who played basketball for the local high school and were being scouted by every major university in the country.

Brian spent the next week watching professional soccer, and a US Women’s National Team match, he said he liked Michelle Akers, said she was awesome. After the week, I asked him if he needed me to explain to him why soccer players should work out their upper bodies. He smiled, shook his head no, and commenced to work harder than ever on his whole body. Brian was that rare kind of athlete every coach dreams of being able to work with, I was just one of the lucky few to actually have an opportunity to work with him…and many more like him.

Brian started to grow, not only up but out. He was growing taller and, in terms of muscle, width and depth, Brian was getting big! Brian, still not even a teenager, was turning head and would have made any football coach’s dreams come true. But Brian was a soccer player, a dominant one in his age bracket. Soon however, Brian was playing two and three years up…making a huge impact. You see, Brian’s strength and fitness gains were incredible and soon the word was out, we were turning away athletes. As a business, we would have loved to sign every one of them. But as an athletic training company, we could only train so many and do it effectively. We weren’t going to hire just anyone off the street to work with our clients. Many have, we wouldn’t.

Next:

Brian makes the jump to premier (club) soccer, and gets an amazing invitation.

Thanks for looking in! We will begin to discuss actual workouts soon, for those of you who would like to have that sort of information. Please, keep in mind that these workouts were conducted under experienced, adult supervision. Do not attempt these or any other workouts without first getting clearance from your family physician. Every athlete we every trained, and train to this day, has had a thorough physical before beginning our program. No physical? No program!

Take care!

CoachZ
216-712-6526
coachz@ultimatesoccertraining.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Brian’s First Workout: Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training and the Making of a Champion!

BUT FIRST: I need to apologize for not getting back to Brian’s Story sooner. No excuses, I just should have and didn’t for a number of reasons. If you stay with me, I promise, it will be worth it. It’s a great story!

If you remember? Brian had finished his soccer-specific strength and fitness training test and was one very shot young man, particularly after his ride on the Lifecycle! But Brian made it, got a slap on the back from everyone, a handshake from his Dad, and his next appointment from me. Dad gave me wink on the away out, Mom kind of shook her head, and Sis was still giggling…yeah, she did that a lot.

Brian’s Appointment: The Next Day

The day after a testing is crucial for a number of reasons but one of the most important is to get them back into the gym and stretching. Why? Well, the story is probably the best answer to that, so here it is:

The next morning early, remember I lived at the training facility so I was there all the time, but it was early, maybe 6:00am, and I got a phone call from Brian’s Mom. No sooner had I said hello, she gave it to me…both barrels! I get a few call like this, and I am never surprised. I can usually tell who is going to call me way before it happens. And it is always the Mom! It is not a knock on moms, I miss mine terribly, but when it comes to protecting their little ones, no matter how big their little ones are, they can be terribly protective. In this case, she was HOT!

Brian’s Mom started with the same script, I could do both sides of the call, I’ve received it so many times. It went like this:

“What have you done to my child?” She just about screamed into the receiver. I should say, we laugh about this call now…but at the time, oh boy!

“What do you mean?” I always play dumb because every call will take a life of its own, and I don’t want to create problems that don’t exist.

“He can’t walk!” Always an issue but never as catastrophic as the moms perceive it to be.

“OK? What do you mean, he can’t walk?” I am trying to find out if he’s sore, in pain or ready for the emergency room!

“Well,” she said, “he’s walking funny and says his legs hurt!” Now, this is a kid who has been playing soccer since he was 4 or 5 and running several miles per match, supposedly.

“OK? Then he is walking, he’s just sore?” I try to put the pain in a different perspective, as soreness and not pain.

“Yeeessss buuttttt!” At this point she was, I found out later, wondering why she was worried about it at all…or as much as she was, anyway.

“OK? Well, he’s due to come in today and I’ll make sure I take extra time to get him loosened up, so he’s not as sore.” Again, I wanted to reassure her and minimize the state he was actually in.

“Well, OK, but I am still not sold on this whole thing!” The truth at last! It is more about her uncertainty with the program itself and what it will do for Brian…and the significant investment involved. Once I get to the truth, I can deal with it. In Brian’s Mom’s case it took time and visible results, nothing more…nothing less.

“I understand, I wouldn’t expect you to be 100% sold until you see for yourself, then judge.”

“OK, what time is he to be there?”

“10:00am but have him here 15 minutes before, so we can talk and he can stretch.”

And that was it, she was fine and Brian was there at 9:30am, not 9:45am!

The First Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training Workout Begins

Brian looked a bit forlorn, even worried, as he stood next to the Lifecycle after stretching for a good 15-20 minutes. Up he went, punched in Random 3 for 20 minutes, and was off.

After 20 minutes he slid off the seat and was, miracle of miracles, walking fine. He didn’t hurt any more! I asked him if he wanted to work out, he hesitated for a moment and then said, “Sure!”

I laughed and told him to hit the whirlpool. The relief on his face and the sigh said it all…Brian was tough enough to have a go if i said he had to but he was also honest enough in his expressions to tell me he was happy to have the day to recover.

I would never have worked Brian out two days in a row like that, never! But I needed him to get in, stretch, and do a little light Lifecycle workout to get the lactic acid that had built up in his muscles as a consequence of the carbohydrates, converted to glycogen and broken down for fuel during the workout, thus causing a build up in his muscles, to be flushed out…at least in part. The lactic acid build up caused at least part of the soreness after a good soccer-specific strength and fitness workout. That, and some micro-tearing of the muscles as they are stressed in a new way, and then under go a process of adaptation and rebuilding, will cause the athlete to experience some soreness. Pain is a different matter and I have known too many strength and fitness coaches who think it’s funny if their charges can’t walk right for a week! They need to be out of the business, now!

Soreness is good! Pain is NEVER good!

Brian’s next workout, the next day, would be more intense. But on the day after testing I needed to see first hand how he was, and if he needed an extra day…Brian did not! He was game for a workout that day, he would be even more so the next….

Brian’s Mom, seeing her boy walking normal again seemed to be happier, and somewhat relieved as well. I knew tomorrow, Brian would be even sorer than today due to something I call the two-day lag principle. Basically, it just means that it is not the day after but the second day that is the most painful. There are a lot of reasons for it but if anyone has ever been in a car accident, they have experienced the same thing…the two-day lag!

In spite of the two-day lag, Brian was in for a real treat tomorrow!

See you then!

CoachZ
216-712-6526
Skype: johnzajaros1
coachz@ultimatesoccertraining.com

Bookmark It

Hide Sites