The Right Exercises off the Field of Soccer Articles | Soccer

By: Guy Starbuck

Soccer tends to mean that players need speed, stamina, agility, muscle strength and endurance. All this tends to require more than just a few hours of practice on the field every week. Getting your body prepared for the body strength and intensity of the game of soccer requires training both on and off the field. There are a few off-season and pre-season training exercises which can help you get prepared, even if you are the most unfit player and get you field ready for the next season.

Stamina

Cardiovascular endurance is absolutely necessary for soccer and it helps with the constant movement across the field. Aerobic exercises are needed such as cycling, swimming, roller-blading, and cross country skiing and step classes can all help build a player’s stamina off the field.

Muscle Strength:

Developing great muscle strength and endurance can help a player play so much better and then reduce the risk of injury on the soccer field. Athletes that are strong have the ability to run faster and kick the ball a whole lot farther. Resistance training is also a very important way and a great way to build muscular strength and physical stamina.

A few good exercises to help build muscle strength include:

• Walking lunges (for quads, hamstrings and glutes).
• Walk stretches (for hamstrings).
• Ball-based superheroes (to strengthen the spine).

Flexibility Training:

Soccer requires flexibility in order for you move up and down the field and get the ball and drive it towards the goal. All major muscle groups should be emphasized on especially the torso and lower body and flexibility in those parts.

These are the most popular fitness games being enjoyed by most athletes in existence today:

Body Pump:

This workout is a barbell workout and it is energetic when it is choreographed to music and they target every muscle group in your body. The body pump can tone and strengthen muscles without building a lot of bulk.

Spinning:

In order to improve you cardiovascular health you can try spinning, an intense indoor cycling class, sometimes called power pacing or studio cycling. It can be carried out on a stationary bike which is similar to a road bike; you use a knob or lever to change the resistance and intensity during the workout.

Circuit Training:

Circuit training is a good and fast exercise which can be given in a fast-paced class which is given over an hour. It usually includes a warm up, followed by alternating cardio exercises (i.e., stepping, jogging, cycling) and strength-training every 40 seconds or so.

The Ball:

Exercise balls (55 to 75 centimeters in diameter), tend to be rather versatile and they target core strength. They are great for strengthening the lower back, the abdominals, and building better balance.

Pilates:

Pilates features core stability--strengthening the trunk muscles or the torso that focus on the muscles of your back, abdomen, hips and buttocks (your "core").

As clearly evident here, they are a whole lot of exercises which can be used to prepare your body for soccer play whether you are on the soccer field or not. You should take care and find an exercise or training program which will help you build up the kind of muscles and the strength that you need for soccer play.