Why do footballers lift weights?
When visualizing someone exercising at the gym, the first image that almost always comes up is of that person lifting weights. It goes without saying, scientific evidence strongly supports exercise in the gym associated with enhanced health and well-being as well as athletic performance across every possible factor such as age, gender, athletic ability or throughout different rehabilitation processes. Nowadays, along with technological advancement, football training has evolved into a discipline which implies gym exercises in order to gain a complete athletic advantage. However, there are still a wide range of agents (from individual footballers, coaching staff to entire club directives) who remain sceptical regarding the benefits of gym training within football. Why would that be?
Historically, football had been viewed as a sport of agility, endurance and above all, skill thus all training was focused on running and skill acquisition. Basic bodyweight exercises were implemented as a way to increase functional strength and stability though being fully aware that these exercises were of low impact. The following years slight advancements were made establishing exercises focused on injury prevention rather than muscle development avoiding enforcing them on highly technical players. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s where there was the modern integration of the strength & conditioning discipline within football adding exercises understanding the complete benefits of training endurance, power and speed. Nowadays, data analysis and technology have established the foundations of S&C both key for improving strength and injury prevention.
Strength and conditioning training increases football performance improving the muscles on three levels: anatomically, metabolically and neurologically. A stronger lower body increases its force output, thus being able to produce faster sprints and accelerations as well as increasing shot power leading to increased passing range and precision. Furthermore, S&C training increases endurance enabling players to perform for longer and engaging a strong upper body and core facilitates aerial duels or holding off opponents during challenges. A faster recovery can also be achieved through strength training; improving blood circulation enhances nutrient delivery and removal of metabolic waste thus reducing muscle soreness or DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
Critics’ main approach is that strength training could reduce speed; while excessive muscle mass could reduce agility (ability to react to a stimulus and change direction or velocity in a fast and effective manner, maintaining balance and control), adequate strength training improves explosiveness. A lack of certified guidance could hinder this progress highlighting their worry for potential injury or overtraining as well as engaging in outdated training philosophies focused on technical skills rather than resistance training. Training with resistance bands has been included as an alternative to weight training as a way to promote functional strength, mobility and stability. However, lifting weights offers higher resistance and progressive overload leading to a greater muscle strength, power and explosiveness. Including both disciplines would be the optimal solution as resistance bands training is ideal for a safe and stronger joint impact but weight training leads to an increased muscle fiber recruitment and hypertrophy.
Within NYSA, we have adopted the strength & conditioning approach as the pathway for performance optimization for our international football athletes. Entrusting the guidance and world-class expertise of our P3RFORM partners whose proven record of support and excellence applies to athletes within the England national team, Olympic Games and Premier League. Major progress has been identified in our players’ performance both within and outside the field. Stronger, explosive and more agile players in the gym means an improved performance on the pitch, often outperforming other footballers.
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