As aspiring Sunday league legends, we all like to go to the gym here and there. And as we all know consistency is key. Except consistency is hard and inconvenient so sometimes inconsistency is key and we just have to make it work! It might be inconsistency in the type of work out, or most likely the number of workouts. We get it. Sometimes you’ve had a big weekend so are too tired to go to the gym on Monday. You can’t go on Tuesday because you have 5-a-side coming up and need to be on form. You’re a bit stiff on Wednesday so it’s best to get some rest. The excuses are endless. Then you finally get to the gym and think ‘what exercises should I be doing to improve as a footballer?’
We’ve got loads of experience training for football and using football-specific workouts to improve our performance. So read on below to find our top 5 exercises for footballers no matter your skill level or dedication to the gym.
Top 5 exercises for footballers
1. Squat
Squat – best gym exercises for footballers
Top of the pops is an exercise we know you’re all doing anyway, squats. Front squat, back squat, overhead squat, sumo squat, any kind of squat. They all work slightly different muscles of course but are all based around the same movement. Squats target so many different muscles in one movement that they are hard to beat. You’ll be building size in your quads, hamstrings and glutes so that’s no more chicken legs for you. More importantly, you’ll also be building the strength in those muscles meaning you’ll be stronger and faster come Sunday morning.
You think Ronaldo, Messi and M’Bappe are skipping leg day? Course they aren’t so neither should you! We recommend doing these at the start of your work-out. Do a light warm-up set, followed by sets of squats ranging between 4 and 8 whilst building the weight up gradually.
2. Nordic hamstring curl
Nordic hamstring curl – best gym exercises for footballers
Injuries injuries injuries. No one likes to be injured. Unless your name is Jack Rodwell and you’ve spent most your career picking up around £30k a week to sit on the physio bed. All strength training is important to reduce injuries and here we’re going to target those hamstrings. How many times have you or a teammate pulled up with a tight hamstring? We’re going to guess that it’s a lot, we’ve got one mate who puts a whole tub of tiger balm on and still pulls up after 5 minutes! That’s because they’re one of the most commonly injured muscles.
Nordics are a great exercise to prevent hamstring injuries. They involve only using the muscle for the eccentric stage of the movement (the down bit). Kneel down and get a teammate to hold your calves. As slow as possible lower your upper body to the ground using your hands at the end to cushion your fall. Push yourself up with your arms and wait ten seconds before completing the next rep. There is no need to go mental with these, 3 sets of 3 reps is plenty to keep those hamstrings strong and you on that pitch.
3. Plank
Plank – best gym exercises for footballers
You know those players who seem too small? Iniesta, Maradona, Lahm, Silva, Messi, Hazard, the list goes on! They may not be tiny but in the context of football these days they’re all pretty short. They’re also all pretty brilliant. And that’s because they are strong as hell, especially when it comes to core strength. They wouldn’t have made it if they weren’t! Yes they have a low centre of gravity which helps them twist and turn. But they do it all without losing balance even when they’re being challenged. That’s because their core strength is unbelievable.
When we say core strength we’re not just talking about your abs, core strength is the whole trunk of your body. One of the best exercises you can do for your core is a plank. If you don’t know it, it’s very simple. Prop yourself up on your forearms and toes and keep your body in a straight line for the allotted time. We normally do 3 sets and hold it for about a minute. You can vary the time depending on your own strength and even throw in some side planks to mix things up.
4. Pull Up
Pull-up – best gym exercises for footballers
It’s not all about the lower body when it comes to being a footballer, upper body strength is very important too. Upper body strength is key to all sorts of aspects of football. Holding off your opposite player when they’re hacking away at your ankles trying to win the ball back. Helping you to maintain full speed and make quick changes of direction. Let’s be honest a bit of upper body size wouldn’t go a miss on a night out either. Maybe you might start to fill those T-shirts!
Pull-ups will help build the upper body strength and size that you want. They will also help in building a strong core, which is the basis for all strength. There are loads of different variations but our choice is the wide grip pull up. Grab a bar with your palms facing away and hands further than shoulder-width apart. Pull your chest up to the bar, hold for a second as you squeeze your back, then lower to the beginning slowly. These are quite hard so find your maximum reps on one set and aim for this number for 3 sets.
5. Glute bridges
Glute bridge – best gym exercises for footballers
They’re the James Milner of the gym. They aren’t fancy and nothing special but god damn it they’re effective. You won’t see a huge change in size but glute bridges shouldn’t be taken for granted. You’ll increase core strength, mentioned a lot in this article. Strong glutes will help support your hamstrings to prevent hamstring injuries, which is key on English pitches. They’re also key for speed so if you wanna be the Kylian M’Bappe of your Sunday league put these in your work-out plan. Here’s how to do it: lay on your back and bring your heels to your arse. Push your hips to the ceiling keeping your shoulders on the floor. Squeeze your glutes at the top and return to the bottom keeping them tensed. Try 3 sets of 15 reps. You can also progress this by adding a weight plate to your belly or doing them on one leg rather than two.
