In any type of strength training for soccer players, building a solid foundation from the ground up is imperative. Exercises in which the athlete is sitting on a bench and extending his leg or lying on his stomach and twisting his hamstrings are of no functional and protective value.
Unfortunately, there are still misleading coaches out there who give misinformation about soccer fitness and building leg strength. In particular, the leg extension exercise is performed to improve kicking power.
Here are three reasons why leg extensions and hamstring curls are poor choices for building leg strength.
1) The game of soccer is mostly played on one leg with one foot in contact with the ground. Neither the leg extension nor the hamstring exercise provide this opportunity. When a soccer player in a game is lying on the ground and bringing his buttocks to the ground or sitting on the grass and straightening his leg? These exercises isolate either the quadriceps muscle group or the hamstring muscle group and place unwanted tension in the hip.
2) Sitting or lying on any of these devices reduces the integration of the deep abdominal muscles as well as the muscles of the buttocks. As you know a strong “core” and strong buttocks lead to strength and power in the lower body.
3) The ligaments that support the knee are either improperly stressed (too much stress on the ACL) or not stressed at all. Remember, these exercises are designed for bodybuilders to isolate these muscles. These guys and girls do a lot of posing and they don’t have to stop and start and change direction.
Here are three exercises to build leg strength to run faster and kick harder:
1) any form one leg. This exercise can be done in many different ways. You can sit with the leg carried in the air either in front of you or behind you.
2) Trigger the kicking movement with resistance. Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Place a strap above or below the kicking leg’s knee. Make sure the belt is secured behind you. Now take one step forward with the leg of the plant and then continue with a kicking motion with the other leg. This exercise stresses both the kicking leg for resistance and the plant leg for single leg strength and balance.
This type of exercise is closely related to the kicking movement in a soccer game.
3) Stability ball curl. Lie on your back and place your heels on a stability ball. Lift your hip in the air and then roll the ball toward you, away from you. Keep your buttocks tight. This combines the core stomach muscles and glutes muscles along with the hamstring muscles.
Keep in mind a few things about these exercises;
a) It includes the muscles of the abdomen and buttocks.
B) Actions are closely related to movements in a soccer game.
c) They protect the knee joint.
So there you have it. Be well informed before you start building leg strength for your ball fitness.