Principles of Strength Training in Football
Authored by Greg King
Whether you personally like it or not, the use of strength or resistance training techniques have been proven, in peer-reviewed scientific literature, to assist in the mitigation of common injuries in football (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8). As far as I’m concerned, there is no doubt, when considering the quality of research, that every football program, that aims to achieve their highest possible level of performance, should be providing an evidence-based resistance training program for their athletes.
It is highly likely that the majority, of the population of elite and sub-elite footballers will benefit from a resistance training program (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8).
Resistance Training in Football
A detailed guide to resistance training and the varying types of exercises, programs, protocols and parameters is not necessary to achieve the objective of this article. For the sake of providing the clarity required, I will suggest the following, as the best description.
“Resistance training is the use of exercises that stimulate adaptation, primarily in the muscle/tendon structures of the body but also in the bone/ligament structures. These adaptations are specifically related to the human body being able to resist, absorb, move and project an external load or force, more efficiently.”
The Research
I will do my best to provide a very, short summary of the key take-aways from some key, modern research. However, I encourage all coaches, athletes and parents to look further into some of the resources I have provided. This will give you a much deeper understanding of the topic.
An excellent study in elite youth footballers concluded:
“A high level of performance requires well-developed neuromuscular function” (8).
I love this statement. It links closely with my rationale for including resistance training in any program. However, it’s a broad statement, and, as I will suggest in future, resistance training is only one of several methods, for developing neuromuscular function.
The researchers continue. Suggesting that the best methods for improved physical performance in football “impose high intensity demands on the neuromuscular system”. The review concluded that strength & power training methods are an excellent way to impose the demands required (8).
This paper is supported by Emery et al. who highlighted the important issue of injury occurrence in modern youth sports. They suggested that improved neuromuscular adaptation was vital for injury risk reduction in youth sports (6).
Beato et al. provide an excellent review of resistance training methods for reducing injury risk and improving physical performance in football. They recommend the use of traditional strength exercises at relatively high loads eg. Squats, lunges, split squats, deadlifts, as well as eccentrically biased exercises like the nordic lower and fly-wheel training (1). The latter of which is typically, not simple, to implement and shouldn’t be done without appropriate training.
Including exercises that work the key muscle groups for football, in a fashion that has a high eccentric/yielding demand, is clearly supported in the research (1,2, 3, 5). de Hoyo et al. showed that elite U17-19 football athletes had a reduced number of days missed through injury and improved performance outcomes with eccentric focused training (5).
An outstanding review of best practice in modern football by Buchheit et al. highlights the difficulty and lack of research for programming resistance training within the weekly plan. However, they were able to clearly demonstrate that eccentric focused, heavier training should be completed earlier in the week. Suggesting it should be scheduled closer to the preceding match than the following match (2).
For those of you involved in planning the weekly components of training, the above recommendation poses a significant scheduling challenge. An alternate approach in modern football sees resistance training being evenly dispersed, in smaller doses, throughout the week. There is some good research demonstrating that this method can provide the required level of neuromuscular adaptation for performance and injury reduction benefits (4, 7). This method has some strong merit for the programming of in-season, strength training.
Objectives of a Resistance Training Program
A simple and clear objective of a resistance training program in football is to build stronger, more resilient physiological structures to support the high intensity actions of the game.
When working with individuals and teams I implement a simple strategy that is highly likely to assist with physical performance and injury reduction outcomes. Including:
Building the structures around the foot, ankle and calf to support and protect the systems further up the chain.
Increasing the strength and length of the hamstrings to cope with repeated acceleration, deceleration, sprinting and kicking actions.
Building the supporting structures of the hips and trunk with a blend of movement-quality, structural integrity and strength development exercises to support the many actions of the hips and trunk in football.
Increasing the strength and length of the quadriceps to cope with repeated acceleration, deceleration, sprinting and kicking actions.
Programming two resistance training sessions per week of 4-6 exercises (8-12 total sets), which target the above objectives.
Planning eccentric focused training earlier in the week. Ideally before a day-off or evenly dispersed over 2 smaller sessions.
Using the pre-warm up time to teach movements and develop neuromuscular control.
Some other key lessons I have learned along the way
Resistance training is not the foundation for football performance.
As early as possible, develop a clear filter for prioritizing the ‘what, when and how’ of resistance training as it relates to football performance.
Value, highly, the experience and methods of the more senior members of your program (whether you agree or not) and gain experience by working with the appropriate level of athlete for your current level of expertise.
Don’t try to implement every ‘evidence-based’ method you find. This can result in a program with many uncomplimentary methods, avoidable injuries and reduced performance outcomes.
There will always be players who don’t want to complete your resistance training program and they will still be able to perform at a high level and avoid injury. Understand that there are many methods to achieve positive neuromuscular adaptations and that some athletes will benefit more from resistance training than others. If you are sure that they need it, progressively educate them of the benefits.
Youth and ‘lower-level’ athletes will see more significant, positive performance benefits from a simple, evidence-based resistance training program than highly experienced athletes.
Highly experienced athletes, who don’t have clear, strength-based weaknesses in their performance, are unlikely to see significant benefits from a resistance training program. Therefore, for these athletes it is vital to continually review their risk/reward balance and consider other factors like tissue quality, flexibility, and altered dietary needs.
Recommended Resources
https://martin-buchheit.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/SPSR218_Buchheit.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347445383_Implementing_Strength_Training_Strategies_for_Injury_Prevention_in_Soccer_Scientific_Rationale_and_Methodological_Recommendations
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372241603_Eccentric_Resistance_Training_A_Methodological_Proposal_of_Eccentric_Muscle_Exercise_Classification_Based_on_Exercise_Complexity_Training_Objectives_Methods_and_Intensity
References
Beato M, Maroto-Izquierdo S, Turner AN, Bishop C. Implementing Strength Training Strategies for Injury Prevention in Soccer: Scientific Rationale and Methodological Recommendations. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2021 Mar 1;16(3):456-461. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2020-0862. Epub 2021 Jan 27. PMID: 33503589.
Buchheit, Martin & Douchet, Tom & Settembre, Maxime & Mchugh, Derek & Hader, Karim & Verheijen, Raymond. Microcycle Periodization in Elite Football The 11 Evidence-Informed and Inferred Principles of Microcycle Periodization in Elite Football. 2024.
Burgos, Carlos & Cerda-Kohler, Hugo & Aedo-Muñoz, Esteban & Miarka, Bianca. Eccentric Resistance Training: A Methodological Proposal of Eccentric Muscle Exercise Classification Based on Exercise Complexity, Training Objectives, Methods, and Intensity. 2023. Applied Sciences. 13. 10.3390/app13137969.
Cuthbert M, Haff GG, Arent SM, Ripley N, McMahon JJ, Evans M, Comfort P. Effects of Variations in Resistance Training Frequency on Strength Development in Well-Trained Populations and Implications for In-Season Athlete Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2021 Sep;51(9):1967-1982. doi: 10.1007/s40279-021-01460-7. Epub 2021 Apr 22. PMID: 33886099; PMCID: PMC8363540.
de Hoyo M, Pozzo M, Sañudo B, Carrasco L, Gonzalo-Skok O, Domínguez-Cobo S, Morán-Camacho E. Effects of a 10-week in-season eccentric-overload training program on muscle-injury prevention and performance in junior elite soccer players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2015 Jan;10(1):46-52. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2013-0547. Epub 2014 Jun 6. PMID: 24910951.
Emery CA, Pasanen K. Current trends in sport injury prevention. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2019 Feb;33(1):3-15. doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2019.02.009. Epub 2019 Feb 23. PMID: 31431273.
Kilen A, Bay J, Bejder J, Breenfeldt Andersen A, Bonne TC, Larsen PD, Carlsen A, Egelund J, Nybo L, Mackey AL, Olsen NV, Aachmann-Andersen NJ, Andersen JL, Nordsborg NB. Impact of low-volume concurrent strength training distribution on muscular adaptation. J Sci Med Sport. 2020 Oct;23(10):999-1004. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2020.03.013. Epub 2020 Apr 4. PMID: 32371120.
Silva JR, Nassis GP, Rebelo A. Strength training in soccer with a specific focus on highly trained players. Sports Med Open. 2015;1(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s40798-015-0006-z. Epub 2015 Apr 2. PMID: 26284158; PMCID: PMC5005570.