by Scott Hood, HFC junior coach & O45s player.
Players at all levels (from teens to over 45’s) should regularly strength train to increase injury prevention and improve performance and enjoyment.
Pre-season training is well underway now with less than three weeks until game 1. The danger to watch out for is throwing too much of a step up in training all at once and potentially last minute. Soccer is such a specific game it is hard to replicate in any form of exercise except playing and it is easy to be working hard at exercise but in ways that may not transfer to making you robust for playing.
Scott Hood, a Harbord Football Club parent, under 8’s coach and over 45’s player, knows about strength training for performance. Scott has just launched his new local business VAMOS Strength Training as a new HFC partner and sponsor.
“We have created VAMOS to specifically help people get physically and mentally stronger, for life and I’m delighted to partner with the club close to my heart and be here to support your needs.
We can help personally or on a team level from providing some simple advice right through to full-blown training in our innovative new Gym on Roseberry Street in Manly Vale/Balgowlah.
10 Top Tips for Success for Football Players:
- Pick functional strength exercises that recruit all parts of the body in the movement (e.g. a deadlift with a kettlebell for example is great because it challenges your whole body and the hip hinge movement is a common one used when playing)
- Our knee, ankle and hip joints take great strain playing football so exercises that build the muscles that support them is critical (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves).
- Also try to include movements in multi directions. (e.g. a lunge, typically done stepping forward but consider including reverse and lateral lunges.)
- Include exercises that engage the core as much as possible. (e.g. a standing wood chop/twisting type movement does this and ticks the box on the three points above too).
- Pick a rep range of 8 to 12 for 3 to 4 sets of a specific exercise, especially at this stage of the season.
- Aim for 30 to 45-minute workouts, covering 5 to 6 different exercises.
- Plan workouts effectively around soccer training and games, avoid strength training on the same day or even the day before and ideally the day after playing. If this doesn’t leave many days remaining then you have to listen to your body and be smart about the intensity of your strength training if you do have to workout the day before or after playing.
- Start with weights you can perform the exercises well with and only increase them very gradually otherwise you could increase injury risk.
- Be consistent, it takes a many weeks (6+) of work to create real strength development that will have a meaningful impact for football fitness/robustness and if you miss a week or two, sadly you are back to square one!
- Be controlled and smooth in every movement, and focus as much on the second half of the movement as the first.
Get in touch with Scott via an e-mail at scott@vamosstrength.com if you think we can help you in any way or please check us out at vamosstrength.com and give us a follow @vamosstrength
Scott is HFC juniors coach and plays for HFC 045s
