An adequate warm-up program is an important part of any stretching and flexibility regime. The right balance of warm-up and stretching an integral part of any soccer-specific strength and fitness training program. Injury prevention is a crucial consideration and and important reason for an individualized warm up, stretching, and flexibility program. Prior to initiating a workout program, a routine soccer practice or a match, the soccer athlete must be warmed up and have stretched for a period of between 15 and 30 minutes, not only to reduce the risk of injury, but to improve training results and match performance.

The proper warm-up routine has several important elements. The elements of a properly structured warm-up and stretching regimen must be integrated into a holistic strategy designed to properly engage all of the various muscles of the body in such a way as to be ready for peak performance prior to the workout, practice or competition. Every muscle and muscle group must be working together and fully warmed up in order to reduce the chance of injury, regardless of whether it is due to stress, strain or trauma.

Why is warming up so vital to the overall success of a training program?

Proper warm-up before training is important for a number of reasons and is responsible for a myriad of benefits. The properly designed warm-up routine prepares the athlete, physically and mentally, for peak performance and for strenuous, physical and mental exertion. While there are many reasons for this, the most important may be the fact that warm-up increases the body’s metabolism and core temperature. As a consequence of an overall increase in temperature, there is accordingly an increase in the temperature of the various muscles involved in training and competition. Increased muscle temperature, and the associated increase in blood flow, allows for muscles that are ready for strenuous activity, being oxygenated, fully fueled, and supple. Additionally, the warm-up will also have a positive, overall cardiovascular effect, increasing both heart and lung function and allowing for more complete delivery of oxygen and energy-providing nutrients to the musculature during periods of peak demand. Once again, this has a ripple effect and the connective tissue, so at risk during periods of strenuous activity, to be warmed up and prepared for activity prior to the workout or competition. The latter is vitally important, as many sports-related injuries are connective tissue based, as in ACL injuries!

How to Develop a Warm-up Program for a Soccer-Related Strength and Fitness Training Program

There are several factors and considerations that come into play when designing a soccer-related strength and fitness training program. Along with diet and nutrition, warm-up, stretching, and flexibility are crucial to the overall success of the program. For that reason, we will spend quite a bit of time on the proper warm-up design and integration in this article.
It goes without saying, or should anyway, that it is very important to begin with the simplest and gentlest movements and tasks first. The idea is to move from one motion and movement to the next, an overall build taking place, and once again a ripple effect leading to a fully engorged and oxygenated musculature prior to strenuous activity. The process of easy to difficult, slow to faster motions and activities, each building and compounding upon the other, fully engaging the athlete’s body and optimizing performance regardless of the task involved.

The body, if properly engaged and warmed up, will be at its mental and physical peak prior to strenuous activity and the demands of soccer-related performance, whether for strength and fitness training, practice or match play. With the body at peak readiness, optimally engaged mentally and physically, the likelihood of soccer-specific, sports-related injuries will have been minimized and the soccer athlete can continue into the training or the competitive area fully prepared. The next step, now that we understand why…is how!

The Four Components of an Effective Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training Warm-up

The first stage is a general, overall warm-up program. The second stage is static stretching and differs from the third stage, that of soccer-specific stretching and warm-up. The fourth stage is dynamic stretching, stretching used to engage and involve the entire musculature, synergistically. The four components are equally crucial to the overall success of the program, one building upon the other, all equally vital. The components come together, in very much the same way as muscles do, synergistically, all four working in unison to prepare the body, physically and mentally; and, also preparing the soccer-athlete for whatever is to come. Once again, this process is designed to ensure the soccer-athlete has minimal exposure and consequently risk of sports-related injuries.

Stage One: Overall and General Strength and Fitness Training Warm-up

The overall, general warm-up consists of mild, minimally demanding physical activity. I recommend jogging, no faster that a brisk walk, generally for 400 meters or one-quarter of a mile. We then jump on the stationary bike, increasing the intensity and duration from a low tension setting and a duration 2 minutes, to a high of medium range tension for up to 20 minutes; and, in winter we start off with the stationary bike. The level of difficulty and the length of time on the bike is usually determined during testing and is determined by the soccer-athlete’s overall level of fitness. A good indicator that the athlete is starting to warm-up is a moderate sweat and perhaps an elevated heart rate and respiration. The heart rate and respiration are usually tracked by chart at the onset of the program and then weekly; this will help in establishing overall training results, and also will aid in watching for signs of overtraining.

The primary goal of stage one is to increase the pulse and respiration, an indication that blood and oxygen are being moved at a faster rate through the body. As stated, increased heart rate and respiration will thus increase blood flow to the muscles and provide for oxygenation and energy supply to the muscles during strenuous physical training. The increased blood flow and nutrients to the muscles also helps elevate the overall body and muscle temperature; and, this in turn will provide for a better static stretching stage.

Stage Two: Stepping it Up and Static Stretching

Stage two is the static stretching phase and is really the basis for overall flexibility. Given the importance of the static stretch, and of flexibility in general, it is always interesting how few soccer-athletes engage in it…or any other stretching routine for that matter. Static stretching is slow, easy, and constant stretching of the various muscles groups and is usually quite safe; and, it is a very efficient and effective means of achieving overall flexibility. The biggest issue with stretching is in the form and the carry out, how the stretches are actually carried out. The proper way is in a long, ballistic-free motion, one of constant and applied pressure to a specific muscle or group of muscles. If done properly, the static stretch is very safe and quite beneficial. During the second stage of the warm-up and stretching program, the static stretch must include the various major muscle groups, working from largest to smallest muscles groups and then back again. The entire regimen will generally last from five to fifteen minutes, at first; and, taking somewhat less time as training progresses.

In order to properly stretch the muscles during the static phase of stretching, the athlete’s body must be in a position in which the muscle or muscle group is under constant, applied tension. To begin with, the muscle or muscle group to be statically stretched is relaxed. Additionally, the opposing muscles are also relaxed. The opposing muscles consist of those muscles “in front of” and “behind” the target muscle or muscle group. Then, carefully and with deliberation, the athlete slowly and carefully places the body under pressure, with emphasis on the area to be stretched, increasing overall tension to the muscle, or muscle group. At the point of greatest tension, the stretch is held in place, allowing the muscles, tendons, and ligaments to stretch and, when possible, to lengthen. This stage of the soccer-related, strength and fitness training program is extremely effective in advancing flexibility. Stage two assists in lengthening muscles and tendons, and in a synergistic fashion impacts ligaments too. The static stretching allows for a greater degree of movement and range of motion. This stage is crucial in sports-related injury prevention, as it, once again allows for a strengthening, as well as the aforementioned lengthening of muscles and tendons.

Stage one and stage two form the foundation for what will follow. The first through fourth stages form an overall and effective soccer-specific warm-up and stretching program. The overall warm-up and stretching program thus laying the basis for the training to follow. It is crucial that the first two stages be completed completely and in the proper fashion before increasing the intensity and moving into stages three and four. The correct implementation of stages one and two will provide for safe and effective exercise in stages three and four.

Stage Three: Soccer-Specific Stretch and Warm-up

Generally, if the focus of the warm-up and stretching was on practice and match play, we would now move to paired stretches and various warm-ups designed to be competition-specific. However, because this is primarily focused on strength and fitness training for soccer-athletes, we usually up the level of the stretching to include another round of static stretching, followed by a number of isotonic-related stretches. The primary focus in stage three must be inside out, largest to smallest and back in. That is, for the upper body a series of stretches including the back, chest, shoulders, triceps, biceps, forearms, wrists, and hands. The neck is very important and great care must be taken when stretching the neck for obvious, and not so obvious reasons. The neck has a number of very small muscles and muscles groups but, as Woody Hayes once pointed out to me, “as the neck goes, so goes the body.” While Coach Hayes is obviously a legendary football coach, but his lesson was not lost on his student (your’s truly). The neck should always get special attention and, as a soccer player, the neck plays so many roles, its importance cannot be overstated. After the upper body and the neck, the lower body is next. Included in the lower body are stretches for the gluteus maximus and minimus, the hips, quadraceps, hamstrings, calves, ankles, and feet. Finally, the abdominals must be focused on, and they get special attention because, like the neck, they are a determining factor in the overall performance of the body.

Obviously, the stretching program can and often does take up an entire workout session, particularly at first and until the routine is set. There are myriad stretches available and any number of them will suffice. However, if you would like to have a personalized program, one effective and designed just for you, you must engage the services of an experienced, and knowledgeable (they are not always the same), strength and fitness coach, one experienced in dealing with soccer-athletes, in particular.

By the time the athlete has completed stage three, he or she should be perspiring and their heart rate and respiration should be significantly elevated. The idea is to integrate the warm-up and stretching into the overall conditioning program is such a way that it has a number of cascading affects and effects on the body of the athlete, all with one thing in mind, optimizing overall development and match performance gains. In other words, it is my desire to see them be able to put it on the pitch!

Stages Four: Soccer-Related Strength and Fitness Training, Warm-up and Dynamic Stretching

Ultimately, the proper warm-up must culminate in a series of exercises known as dynamic stretching exercises or simply as dynamic stretches. Significantly, dynamic stretches often result in injury. The main reason for the high incidence of injuries due to dynamic stretching has to do with athletes who are not trained properly by coaches who are experienced in working with soccer athletes, or athletes in general, or the athletes themselves simply do not adhere to training guidelines. For the reasons stated above, dynamic stretching should only be engaged in when training with a competent strength and fitness instructor; and, not just someone who likes to work out and thought it might be a great business to get into! Dynamic stretching has to do with what I refer to as neuro-muscular coordination and is about muscle conditioning, rather than simply flexibility, as the name would seem to imply. The dynamic stretch regimen is usually designed and best suited for top-level amateur and professional soccer-athletes, those individuals who are well-trained, and are highly-conditioned, competitive athletes. A dynamic stretch routine is usually implemented as a final, ultimate step in a flexibility program adhered to for quite some time and it is obvious to trainer and trainee that the “next-level” is appropriate.

Dynamic stretching usually involves controlled movement, a bouncing or pendulum motion, forcing the muscle beyond its normal range of motion. Gradually and over time the degree of bounce and the range of the swing is heightened and increased to achieve an exaggerated range of motion and enhanced flexibility. The best example of this done in an incorrect fashion may be when young athletes attempt to stretch their hamstrings, one foot crossed in front of the other, bouncing up and down to stretch the biceps femoris. Done in this fashion, the young athlete may cause a micro-tearing of the hamstring and risk serious injury. But they see others do it and they model the behavior. A recipe for disaster…or at the very least a blown hamstring! During stage four, it is crucial that the athlete integrate dynamic stretches that are soccer-specific. Stage four the culmination of the soccer-specific, warm-up, stretching and flexibility program and will result in the soccer-athlete achieving peak mental and physical preparation prior to training and/or match play. At this point in the training session, the trainee is prepared for the what will come next, the rigors of an intense soccer-specific, strength and fitness training program.

Finally, the most neglected aspect of any training regimen, the warm-up and stretching, must come first. Without adequate preparation, both physical and mental, the soccer-athlete cannot hope to achieve peak performance and optimal training gains. The four stage training program is a workout in and of itself and will generally take between twenty-five and forty-five minutes to work through. As the trainee becomes used to the routine, its system and its rigors, the amount of time it takes to get through it is lessened. Interestingly, as time lessens, intensity increases…but so does the fitness level of the athlete. So, when integrating and off-season, soccer-specific strength and fitness training program into your training routine, it is imperative you recognize the importance of diet and nutrition, combined with a proper warm-up and flexibility regimen. With the above two components in place, we are ready to move on to the next ingredient, the actual soccer-specific strength and fitness training program.

Should you desire more information or a consultation, please contact me via email, phone or Skype. Leave a detailed message and I will get back to you within 24 hours.

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

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Training for soccer is very different than training for almost any other sport, for a variety of reasons. Soccer-specific, sex-specific strength and fitness training presents some interesting challenges for both the athlete and the strength coach involved in developing and implementing the program. Over the next week, I will propose several alternative programs, both male and female-oriented, that you may use to get ready for the upcoming season.

Summer Leagues, Camps, and ODP

I realize many of you are probably playing straight through the summer, particularly those of you who are playing at the highest levels, going to camps or are involved with your state association’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) state, regional, and/or national team. For that reason, and for others, I will attempt to develop alternative strategies for those of you who may be playing either throughout the summer or for part of the summer, both with an eye toward the next competitive season.

Overall Considerations: Balance and Flexibility

First of all, a soccer-specific training program must balance anaerobic and aerobic activity, combined with a strategy developed to enhance overall flexibility. Flexibility is extremely important, both in male and female athletes, for a variety of reasons. When designing and implementing a soccer-specific, sex-specific strength and fitness training program, overall muscle balance is a key consideration. Therefore, the proper program will balance strength training with stretching, combined with aerobic and anaerobic interval training, along with periods of intense circuit training to fully engage the athlete’s musculature as well as his or her cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary systems. The combination of affects, if and when the overall program is implemented properly, will peak athletic performance in time for the next soccer season.

Nutrition and Dietary Habits

Nutrition is also a vital component in any off-season soccer strength and fitness training program. Because the soccer athlete will be burning a great deal of energy, and consequently calories, it is imperative that meals are taken 4 to 6 times a day, usually 3 hours apart, with adequate amounts of water and nutrients, particularly proteins and carbohydrates, during periods of peak energy expenditure. If nutritional guidelines are not adhered to, an athlete will soon overtrain and/or will reach the point of diminished returns, at which time risk of injury goes up exponentially. While I am not a dietitian, yet I have been training and advising athletes for more than three decades and will make certain recommendations I feel are appropriate. Of course, it is up to you to either follow them or not, but for optimal results, nutritional guidelines and dietary suggestions should be adhered to, particularly as they relate to the frequency of meals and protein intake. You will be breaking down muscle tissue and, if you do not provide your body with adequate resources, it will begin to use your own muscle tissue for fuel, never a good situation. Nutritional supplements? If you are eating properly and taking a multiple vitamin, one I will recommend in an upcoming article, you should have no problems with energy or overtraining. Additionally, the use of protein supplements may of may not be a good thing, with much depending on your individual circumstances. We will discuss the use of protein supplements in an upcoming article, as well.

Medically Cleared: Get a Physical!

To get started, every athlete should have a complete physical. Fortunately, most athletic departments, both at the high school and college level, and particularly at the professional level, require a physical prior to competition. It is also important to be medically cleared before engaging in a strenuous anaerobic and aerobically demanding soccer-specific strength and fitness training program, male or female. We will discuss some of the considerations particular to males and females in an upcoming article but there are myriad differences and there are considerations for one versus the other when implementing the proper strength training regimen, and we will deal with those variations, as well.

Where to Workout: High School Gym to Cushy Health Club?

Finding the right facility is so important! If you do not have access to a high school or college weight room, the YMCA or YWCA is usually extremely reasonable and quite accessible. Many of the commercial training facilities will also have special seasonal rates for students, generally three months in length. Do your homework, find a workout facility you feel comfortable in. Also, talk to the staff and the manager of the facility you are considering, a friendly yet serious training atmosphere is crucial to your success. Make sure they not only sell memberships to young people, particularly athletes, but that they welcome you too. Some gyms will take your money, they are after all in business to make money, but they will make you feel less than welcome. Avoid those places like the plague! One bad trainer or manager can ruin your workouts and your overall training focus.

Training Partner, Accountability Partner, and Spotting Partner

Having a training partner can mean the difference between succeeding and failing. It’s always beneficial to be accountable to and pushed by a workout partner. If all else fails, ask a family member to at least be your spotting partner, because you will be working with heavyweights at times and a spotting partner is necessary. In commercial establishments this is usually not as much of a problem, as there are trainers or employees on hand to help you out. It may also be possible to ask for a “spot” from someone else training there. There is an unwritten code among individuals who train a great deal, particularly strength athletes (bodybuilders and powerlifters) and they will provide assistance in return for a reciprocal “spot,” when needed. It is a good system but you should not count on someone being available. If at all possible, have your own spotting or workout partner, it will also improve the effectiveness of your program and up the intensity.

Coming Attractions!

So, you understand a little bit about what is ahead and what is expected of you. We discussed nutrition and diet, not necessarily the same thing, and we also talked about where you should work out, at least for the weight training. There is always a track and/or a soccer pitch somewhere around. If not? “Got field?” Little “Got Milk?” joke there! In the next article, we will go into a detailed stretching and flexibility program, one that should be integrated into your daily routine, particularly prior to workouts, and hopefully twice a day. The rest is up to you, if you follow the program, by the time the fall season comes around you will be a different player. If you simply go through the motions, you might as well save yourself the time and energy, because you will get little or nothing out of it at all… it is up to you.

Of course, should you ever feel the need to call, to ask specific training questions, please feel free to do so.

Coach Z
216-712-6526
coachz@ultimatesoccertraining.com

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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

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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

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Laying a Foundation and Setting the Pace: Brian’s Introduction to Strength and Fitness Training for Soccer Athletes

The night before had been a difficult one for both of us and I wasn’t sure whether Brian would be up for his testing. The testing for soccer-specific strength and fitness training is not really that different from testing for any other sport, it is demanding and takes the athlete to the limits of his or her strength, fitness, and endurance. Soccer-specific testing, many would argue, should be based more on the lower extremities because soccer is played primarily with the legs, ankles, and feet; this is, unfortunately, the prevailing mindset.

Prevailing? Yes!

Correct and proper? No!

For one thing, anyone who thinks soccer is only played from the waist down hasn’t watched too much soccer. Additionally, there is a secret to working out and getting optimal results.

The secret? No, not the new-age “Secret!” Although this secret is perhaps as revolutionary or at least as controversial, particularly among those less-informed. The secret I am referring to is something discovered years ago by bodybuilders. Yes, those heavily muscled hulks, male and female, who work out for hours and pose in front of the mirror a lot. Another stereotype!

Am I going to get cards and letters, phone calls and emails, IMs and smoke-signals about that one!

Anyway, back to the secret. The common perception regarding working out is that if you work out a particular body part more than any other part of the body it will continue to grow and develop until you look something like Popeye (forearms) or Tom Platz (thighs).

Platz? Google him! My age, actually, and an absolutely dominant force on the bodybuilding stage in the late 1970s to mid 1980s. Platz was known for incredible, some argued too incredible leg development. Google him and you judge. He competed with guys you may remember. Arnold? Lou (speaking of Hulks!)?

Back to the thought behind Brian’s soccer-specific strength and fitness test.

The secret? If you don’t find a balance, a proper ratio in the focus of your workouts, upper body to lower, your development and your progress will not be to the levels possible with a well-balanced routine. Hence, Brian’s testing, and subsequent workout programs, were an overall, holistic approach to development focusing as much on the upper body as the lower.

Now that the theory is behind us, only one more thing must be noted before we continue. No one, and I mean no one, who isn’t experienced working with young athletes should ever go any where near them in the context of a strength and fitness coach. Let me say that again in a slightly different way: Do not attempt to train an athlete, particularly a young athlete, particularly a prepubescent adolescent, unless you have extensive, and I mean extensive, knowledge and experience working with kids!

Brian Arrives!

Brian walked in to the facility at a little after 10am EST on an unseasonably cool morning for Northern Ohio, it was mid-May. Funny thing? Mom, Dad, and Sis…still giggling… were right behind him. Mom and Dad thought they’d stay and watch, just to make sure Brian worked hard and did his best. Not on a good day!

Something I learned almost day one in training athletes: loved ones stay home, especially parents! Why? There are a thousand reasons and, believe me, they are all valid. Two stand heads and tails above the rest. One, I tend to get very intense when I work with athletes and, while another coach or athlete will understand this and handle it properly, moms definitely do not! Two, they are a distraction! Moms, dads, wives, and especially girl or boyfriends are strictly forbidden, they are the kiss of death when it comes to intensity. Case closed! So, Mom, Dad, and even Sis were sent packing. I told them to be back in an hour. Mom looked a bit perturbed. Dad was grinning, I think he had an idea why I sent them away and he wasn’t arguing. Sis was oblivious but somewhat disappointed that she wasn’t going to get to see her little brother get worked out…and over!

Brian by this time had returned from the locker room with his gym shorts, t-shirt (no tank tops/muscle shirts), white socks, a clean pair of Adidas, and two towels. He was also instructed to bring two more towels and not to eat anything for two hours prior to his strength and fitness testing.

It’s funny how big a young soccer athlete looks when on the pitch, challenging for a ball or diving for a save. When with their peers, in uniform and competing, even a young boy or girl looks somehow bigger. However, on this particular day, standing in front of me, towels, fitness survey, and doctor’s release in hand Brian looked all of ten years old…and scared to death!

I took the forms, made sure they had been signed and notarized, and set them aside. I asked Brian if he had any last requests. I laughed! He didn’t. I then took one of his towels and set it on a flat bench half way through the circuit of machines set up specifically for testing, the other I wrapped around my neck. I looked at Brian and nodded towards the Lifecycle…he followed.

I take on a slightly different persona when training an athlete. Before and after the training session I am relaxed, even jovial in tone and temperament. My intentions? Simply put, they are to put the athlete at ease. During the session, testing or training, it is all about the work, the challenge, getting the athlete to step up and even out of him or herself…to strive for something greater than anything they have done before. That’s not to say we don’t have fun, we do, but there is a fire just below the surface, a sort of slow, intense burn, and it is that burn I tap into for 30 seconds to a minute, fifteen to thirty times during the test.

The test is intense, Intense, INTENSE!

After Brian did his 20 minutes of LSD (long-slow-distance), he hopped off the Lifecycle and I could tell what he was thinking. He told me later I was right! Brian was thinking, “This isn’t going to be so bad, I can handle this…no problem!” I have been training athletes for thirty years and you can see it on their faces every time; they all have that same look after the Lifecycle. He was even beginning to get a bit of that strut back in his step, in his talk, his manner.

After the Lifecycle we stretched for another ten minutes. I was beginning to see it on his face, that look they all get, the “When are we going to lift!” look. Brian was getting bored, even a bit aggravated…it was all over his face. After all, he was thinking, it’s been thirty minutes and my Mom and Dad will be back in a half an hour. We haven’t even started lifting yet. He kept looking towards the back of the facility where some of the high school football players were putting each other through the paces. That’s where he wanted to be, with the jocks, not up here with me and all of these sissy machines. Stretching!

Brian’s Soccer-Specific Strength and Fitness Training Test Begins

It was exactly 10:34am EST when I nodded toward the first machine, the Kaiser Cam II leg extension machine. Brian looked at me and the look said it all. He hesitated and then asked, “where are the weights?” I smiled and told him not to worry about it and to hop on. Brian looked at me, still not convinced, took a seat and I turned the knob. Immediately, there was a hissing sound, something like a snake…or a ticked-off Brown fan…a compressor in the back kicked on. I told Brian what I wanted him to do, “We are going to go from machine to machine, as quickly as possible with occasional detours to that flat bench where your towel is resting” He nodded and we started.

I pushed Brian from the leg extension to the leg-biceps (hamstring) curl, to the leg press, then over to the bench in about 4 minutes. Brian was a nice rosy shade, somewhere between pink and fire engine red, breathing heavily, sweating, and a little unsteady. I told him to lie on his belly and to bring his left leg up to his buttocks, now he was really looking at me funny!

A couple of the veterans (12 & 15 years old), they had been through the test the week before so they knew it all, had gathered. The veterans, knowing exactly what was going to happen next, were all grins.

Failure the Ultimate Soccer Training Strength and Fitness Way!

I took the towel and wrapped it around Brian’s right ankle and told him to resist, to not let me pull his leg down. Brian did so. I found him to be remarkably strong for his age. Resist down and then pull the leg back up against my resistance on a six count. We did that until he couldn’t lift his leg on his own. Then we switched to the left leg and did the same thing…to failure! As soon as both legs had been fully exercised, we immediately moved (I moved, Brian kind of shuffled) to the machines for the back, three of them, then on to the machines for the chest, two more, all the time returning to the bench to take the muscle group to failure with nothing more than my hands or a towel.

Finally, we got to the bench for the triceps, it was 10:48am EST or 14 minutes into the actual test, and that was it. Brian was done! Or that’s what he thought! Quite red from the exertion and almost totally out of breath in 14 minutes. Brian bolted to the locker room and made it just in time! It seems Brian figured he would eat anyway. After all, he was in shape, he thought. He’d eaten before practices all the time. Besides, Mom said it was OK, he needed his energy! So, Brian had only himself, and his mother, to blame. He confessed after the test and promised to never, ever eat before a workout again. I didn’t say a word!

A few minutes later Brian emerged from the locker room and you could tell by the look on his face, color almost back to normal, that he thought he was done.

Wrong!

I pointed to the Lifecycle and he groaned. That’s right, he actually groaned! It seems someone had told him about the last part of the test. He figured because he had broken the rules and gotten sick as a result that I would feel sorry for him and let him slide. I told him that almost everyone gets sick the first time, mainly because no one is in the kind of shape they should be in, I don’t care if they run fifteen miles during a match!

Brian hopped up on the Lifecycle; a crowd had formed by then and all of them started cheering and clapping! I told him to start pedaling, that no matter how hard it got to never stop pushing those pedals! Pedal as if your life depends on it, and he did…for 12 seconds at level 10 manual! If you know anything about Lifecycles, level 10 manual is a bit like cycling up Mount Everest, particularly after a strenuous leg workout, even one that only lasted all of 6 minutes, with the “failure bench.”

Brian slid off the bike to rousing cheers and applause…he had made it, he was one of the Ultimate crowd now. Brian had passed, he hadn’t quit, he had lost his breakfast; and, he was on his way to becoming a real champion, he just didn’t know it yet. I, on the other hand, did!

Brian’s Mom, Dad, and Sis walked in just as Brian was pulling himself up off the floor. Mom looked at Dad, who was laughing now, and just shook her head. Brian, color almost back once again, stumbled over to his parents, gave them a big hug, and thanked them “for the best gift” he’d ever received. He loved it!

Next? Soccer-Specific Sex-Specific Strength and Fitness Training: Brian Begins the Ultimate Program and Defines the Word Champion!

NOTE: The testing techniques I use have been developed by watching, learning, and employing the techniques of the very best in the world for more than three decades. I was at the gym working out the day the first Nautilus machine was delivered (1976), and then the entire circuit. I watched and read as Penn State went from almost completely focusing on Nautilus when it first came out to moving back to a mix of machines and free weights. The following year they were NCAA National Champions and everyone in Happy Valley was Papa Joe Paterno’s fan, buddy, and pal! I had the pleasure of having one of Penn State’s best training with us at our facility that summer, 1982, just before the championship season. I have never, and I am including professionals I’ve had the pleasure to work with, ever witnessed anyone work harder than that young man. Ohio State told him that at 6′5″ and 265 pounds he was too small for their program! So he went to play for Joe Paterno, became a national champion, and played in the Senior Bowl. Bravo! And go figure!

ON TRAINING AND FAILURE: When I take an athlete to failure I am aware of several things. I won’t go into all of the conditions here are two: One, he or she is already a conditioned athlete and we are not starting from scratch; Two, I am taking them to failure not with a machine or free weights but with my hands or a towel. In doing so, taking them to failure in such a way, I am in total sync with how their body is reacting and how they are dealing with the stress every step of the way.
One more thing! I never take an adolescent to failure with heavy weights and low repetitions, machines or free weights.

NEVER! Workouts for soccer athletes vary and can range from fast-paced circuit training to high repetition, machine and free weight training; and, occasionally, heavier training is employed with older, mature, and seasoned athletes. The program and the intensity varies from athlete to athlete and situation to situation.

The ULTIMATE result of Ultimate Soccer Training, the Soccer-Specific Sex-Specific Strength and Fitness Testing and Training, is an athlete who is faster, quicker, more powerful, more self-confident, and, probably most important of all, more INJURY RESISTANT than ever before! This can be particularly important when training female athletes, given their increased susceptibility to knee injuries. I have never, I will say that again, NEVER, had a female athlete suffer a knee injury requiring surgery after training with me for a significant period of time! Strength and fitness training is not only appropriate, it is essential for today’s soccer athlete, male or female!

See You in the Championship Circle!

CoachZ
216-712-6526
coachz@ultimatesoccertraining.com

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