Flexibility

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
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Additionally, Soccergod, you should know static flexibility and dynamic flexibilty are poorly correlated.

You need good dynamic flexibility. Gains made in static flexibility will not carry over very effectively to the dynamic flexibility needed on the field.

Make sure you do your dynamic stretching drills if you want to be more flexible on the field.

A split between two chairs is pretty neat but how beneficial can that be to you if the carryover to dynamic flexibility is only 46%? That’s not much dime for your time.

Put your time where you’ll make the best progress.
Start a resistance training program focusing both on power and endurance.
Start focusing on dynamic flexibility.
Start training the enrgy systems. Approximately 50% of the energy used in soccer comes from anaerobic sources (glycogen, ATP+PC). Doing interval training will help make very good progress - f.ex. jogging at a moderate pace for 90 seconds and alternating with 30 second sprints for 30 minutes will develop the speed you need for the game, the endurance you need, and develop the energy systems so that your body is MUCH more efficient at using both anaerobic and aerobic energy sources during the game.

Doing plyometrics will help tremendously at improving your speed and explosiveness.
Resistance training will prevent future injuries due to weakness in stabilizer muscles or imbalances between large muscle groups.

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Let me put it this way. You have several markers of fitness that may prdeict to a certain degree how successful you’ll be in succeeding on the field:

  1. First and foremost is your soccer skills. Everything else comes second. No skill equals no Pro status. Edgar Martinez could have all the strength and flexibility in the world, it wouldnt make a difference if he had poor baseball skill.

  2. Strength, particularly in your legs, core and lats (if you dont think your lats are involved, just sprint for a little bit and watch how your arms move. The movement is similar to a row and requires a LOT of speed. Speed and power are highly correlated with maximal strength).

  3. Power - how fast can you generate force? strength is no good if it takes you too long to fully apply it. Power is a combination of both speed and strength - and according to Bompa, improvements here will come 95% from Strength gains and 5% from speed gains.

  4. Pure speed and explosiveness. This comes from very light weight activities such as plyometrics (box jumps, medicine ball thrills where aplicable, etc). This will affect your game considerably as you probably already know - but listen to Bompa on this one. You need BOTH speed and strength to make the best gains. There’s a relationship between the two. The stronger you are the more speed potential you have.

  5. Flexibility. Not just static but most importantly dynamic. You won’t suddenly stop in the middle of the field and then slowly do a split for the entertainment of the audience - but you will have to do some pretty amazing stretches ON THE MOVE as you SPEED UP to steal the ball from your opponent.

  6. VO2 max and lactate threshold - both of which are improved by working your energy systems.

  7. Core strength. A weak core will have you flailing like a tree. It’s heavily involved in stabilizing your entire body especially in movement.

These are at least SOME of the markers you need to pay attention to in order to achieve maximum performance. Flexibility is but ONE of them. You need to pay close attention to the whole picture and send your time developing your weakest pointS. There are tests you can do, and if you have a coach he could probably let you know where you stand in each of these markers in comparison to other players. You want a score of Excellent in each of the important markers of fitness to set yourself apart.

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Spectster, Soccer does not require you to bench press 225 lbs for 25 reps.
Maximal strength will help develop Power and Speed on the field, but there’s only so much you need. And it doesnt even come close to that required in Football. As such strength losses should not be a concern.

Additionally, unless the agonist-antagonist muscle group becomes imbalanced and one is too strong whereas the other one is too flexible, you have nothing to worry about. The key is balance. Stretching your quads while strengthening your hamstrings will lead to shortened and tight hamstring and weak/flexible quads. However stretching both Quads and Hammies, and strengthening both quads and hammies will not lead to disproportionately weak quads.

Stretching will actually speed up recovery and improve your form.
If you have tightness somehere in the chain your squat form may suffer. If your form is not optimal strength gains will not be optimal you may be risking injury. Now, how does that make you stronger in the long run?

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Hey everyone,

Thank you for the information. There are a lot of postings here and I guess I should detail my weekly routine.

I do 45 min of plyometrics 2-3 week (Usually Tues/Thurs, sometimes Saturdays). I try to involve the soccer ball in this workout to simulate a game. Also do karate on Tues/Thurs.

Sunday is game day. Therefore, Monday off day (just stretching).

Wed/Fri/Sat - Distance runs or sprints (depending upon which I feel I need to do)

After all of these training sessions, I work on my abs and stretch for at least 20 minutes, usually doing partner assisted streches. The reason for wanting to be so flexible, aside from range of motion/power gains, is that I noticed that when I do any physical activity, my muscles (especially my calves/hammies) tense up immediately and feel that the resulting tightness affects my performance and also my ability to run. Make no mistake, my cardio level right now is extremely high but I feel that my muscles tire/tense up before I become out of breath. Case in point, I was trying to run 5 miles in under 30 minutes and when I got up to about mile 2.5, my lower leg muscles felt like crap and although this was a challenging run, I was not out of breath. The tightness became unbearable though. I dont know what to attribute this tightness/tenseness too, but if anyone has suggestions, that would be great. Basically, I need everything in my lower body stretched out and aligned properly - msucles, hip flexors, etc. (Anyone have pictures of good stretches? - Maybe some yoga stretches?) I also find that my posture could use some work since when I bend, I get a line across my belly button (indicating I bend from there) instead of bending at my waist. I was also told that my psoad (sp?) muscles and lower back muscles are tight and want to be able to stand up straighter and bend correctly. I imagine that my shoulders round too from typing on the computer, etc.

As far as incorporating power/strength training into my routine, I to abs/pushups/and upper body plyos with a medicine ball to strength my upper body. While everyone differs, I feel my performance is optimal when I dont carry excessive weight (in the form of muscle or fat). I am about 165 lbs and optimally I would like to get to around 155-160. I dont have much bodyfat to begin with except in my lower abs, but working on my diet is a separate issue that I hope you guys could help me tackle. Most of the diets on T-Mag focus on restricting carbs and incorporate weight gainers, etc. I dont think this kind of diet is conducive to me b/c carbs are necessary for me to run long distances; aside from the fact that I want to lose weight, not gain (like most of you all do).

You guys have been great in responding to my questions, and hope the extra details I put in this post he you guys assess my problems more effectively and can proscribe specific things to do to solve them.

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  1. Plyos will improve speed and Power, not strength.

  2. Strength training will not make you big. Diet will. Also, doing 5 reps or less is not enough time under tension to cause considerable hypertrophy (muscle gain), but it will lead to tremendous strength gains which will carry over to Power and improve your plyos. Case in point, in a study done strength training alon improved box jumps by roughly 3 inches. Plyos alone improved it by roughly 3 inches as well. Both combined improved it by 10 inches (or was it cm?). You can see the synergistic effect and how beneficial this will be to you.

  3. What good does running 5 miles do to you in a soccer game? Do you run 5 miles constantly at a constant pace? No. You sprint for a few seconds, you jog for a few seconds, you stop for a few seconds, you walk for a few seconds… in other words you get some recovery time, and some sprinting time. You need to work the fibers responsible for sprinting - fast twitch. These will benfit from strength and speed work. You also need to work the energy systems used in the sprinting - ATP+CP and glycongen anaerobic. To do this you have to keep the exercise or activity to no more than 2 minutes, before resting for a bit.
    Remember, Anaerobic sources account for 50% of the energy sources used in Soccer. Only the other 50% are aerobic, and aerobic energy systems will be developed with interval training alongside the anaerobic systems, as opposed to 5 mile runs which focus only on the aerobic systems.

Also, ‘feel like doing’ is not a good marker of what you need. You need a structured program.Heck, sometimes I feel like eating pizza and Ice Cream and work my chest instead of my legs, but I dont. It’s not optimal and if you want results you’ll learn to structure your program a bit more.

If you want to make Pro you have to train like a pro and give yourself a real edge in the systems, skills and physical qualities needed in the sport.

You’re missing the trees for the forest. Flexibility is important and aerobic capacity is important, but they only mean so much to you. Strength does NOT come with muscle gain. Muscle gain comes with strength, not the other way around - not if your diet and routine is tweaked up for you.

Why do you think Pete Sampras is following a very specific STRENGTH routine? Does it look like he’s using anywhere near his maximal strength with his racket? No. It’s because it improves HIS specific game. It carries over to speed, explosiveness, Power, and improves the specific energy systems used in HIS sport.

You should not focus strictly on STRENGTh - you’re not a Powerlifter. BUT, you should have some actual strength (weights) work, alongside your plyometrics - especially if you’re off-season.

I would also think its more advantageous to you to rest the day BEFORE the game, not the day after. Running 5 miles prior to the game will deplete your glycogen stores which can take up to 48 hours to fully replenish. It will strain your CNS, so that the signal from the brain to the muscle will be weaker, your coordination poorer, your strength poorer, and your speed poorer. Your motivation will not be as good either.
It may also dehydrate you to a considerable degree. now, why would you want to risk that? You have to rest the day before, fill up the glycogen stores, and make sure you’re well hydrated PRIOR to the game.

Just my two cents. Honestly as far as conditioning goes, I think you could do a lot better.

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Soccergod, deisel23 had tons of great info for you - worth a lot more than 2 cents. Your additional details helped a lot, too.

I agree with diesel that sprints will help you. Your problem is that, when you try to run a certain speed for a certain time, your muscles “tense up.” This suggests that your problem is not static-stretching related. It is perhaps related to lack of oxygen or other fuel delivered to the muscle fibers that need it at that time. Sprinting will help with that, big time. Sprinting will also do wonders for the dynamic flexibility and power of your calves, hip flexors, and hamstrings.

I also agree you’d be better off resting before a game and working out after. You’re not going to play your best if you aren’t fully recovered.

You are also concerned about static postural imbalances. These may or may not be related to your tightness while running. In any event, I would try to address those imbalances as a separate issue, and sprint to improve the running.

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Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice and I think I should clarify. I am not against strength training at all, in fact I do view it as beneficial. However, my only fear as I mentioned is that I will gain mass (get larger) and consequently lose my speed/agility. I also dont want my muscle to get tighter from this increased strength. Even though I have lifted for a long time in the past, I don’t feel like I am qualified to create an effective program tailored to my goals/objectives. If you guys want to write this program for me, I guarantee you that I will follow it. Before you go ahead and say “read past articles” I feel like most of the routines in the articles are not tailored to soccer players, rather to power lifters (etc). I try to take my approach to the sport as professionally as possible and will do anything in my power to improve myself. If you guys don’t mind, could you please write a soccer specific weight program for me. I will need increased muscular endurance in addition to power (NO Size/mass gains, please).

To clarify about my running routine, I very often incorporate sprints. When I do plyometrics, I do sprint workouts and now I am incorportating sprints in my distance runs (ie run for 12 min then sprint @ 12mph on the treadmill for 2 min, let my HR get to 120 then hit it again -for 35 minutes total). You help will be appreciated and I will post updates in how I am doing with the routine if you guys can help. Do you guys have any suggestions for a running program. I try to do plyos on Tues/Thurs. Please help me schedule a plan. I would also like to improve my flexibility while doing all of this. Thank you all. Eager to hear back from you.

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try full squats, all functional strength, functional mass, and flexibility gains.

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Microstetching: Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

Check that out if you are interested in learning more. Some people have said it works for them, some not. You really have to spend a lot of time every day doing it though. I haven’t tried it enough to verify if it works.

You should also check out AIS, active isolated stretching, I used to have a link for that but it appears to be dead now. Do a search and you should find something on the web about it. It basically involves holding the stretch for 2-3 seconds, not pushing very hard, then releasing and pulling a tiny bit further in sets of 12 or so. It somehow fools the muslce into stretching longer, sort of like PNF.

I personally found that bikram yoga increased my hamstring flexibility by a huge amount in a very short time. When I started I could touch my toes and after 2 weeks of doing yoga every day I could put my palms flat on the floor! I’m not sure about hip flexors though.

There was an argument about flexibility and yoga on www.charliefrancis.com/community. some guys were saying that hypermobility (yogi-style flexibility) was a bad thing while others said it wasn’t that bad. If you want some real technical info about stretching, I’d say charliefrancis’s forum is the best place to go. Good luck!

Nick

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About the program I requested…if someone could list each exercise with the # of sets, reps per set, and percentage (%) of max I should be using to base my numbers, that would be great. The MORE specific the better.

Everyone’s help is appreciated and I can’t wait to begin a program. Please get back to me with one.

J

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First of all, have you read the “Running Man” article?
http://www.tmag.com/nation_articles/
251run2.html
Seems like that training would be great for soccer. There are some differences between that program and what you’re doing now. Anything for 2 minutes is not an all-out sprint. There’s a great deal of benefit from high-intensity intervals – that are really high-intensity. Also, I would recommend running on grass, not the treadmill, for training. This is just my opinion, but the treadmill just doesn’t seem the same.

Also, you didn’t say how long you’ve been running. But you may need to be very patient. If you lifted for a long time, bodybuilding-style, your body will have adapted to those energy demands. Sprinting and running pose very different energy demands, and it will take time, maybe even a long time, of work to adapt to the running.

There are a lot of articles about functional strength and training for sport. Take a look at “The Top Nine Exercises for Functional Strength” by John Davies at Strength Training, Bodybuilding & Online Supplement Store - T NATION. There’s also some stuff on GPP (general physical preparedness) which should be really useful for you. Check it out and good luck!

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Andersons,

Would you be able to write me a specific program for me? That would be great. Please let me know if u can - I would like to follow it. Thx

J

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Soccergod, I really admire your willingness to train and to work on your weaknesses. But I’d much rather see you read a couple of those programs (which I mentioned in my post above) on t-mag and either follow them as is, or revise them to suit what YOU think you need. First of all, I’m not as qualified to design programs for athletes as the writers of t-mag, who have a lot of knowledge AND experience in these domains. I have only designed programs for myself. I have made mistakes and learned from them, and I’m still learning (which is why you’ll see me post my own questions about my own problems). Secondly, there is no substitute for learning and experimenting with your own body.

I have already done some of the work for you by having read a lot of articles and pointed you to a few specific ones that I think would be most helpful in your situation. The most specific I can get is to advise 1) follow the Running Man program as laid out in the article. It is quite specific. 2) Pick several exercises from the “Top Nine Exercises for Functional Strength” and do these several times per week, on the days you’re not running. Or else find one of John Davies’ specific programs and follow it. He seems to be very interested in training that improves athletic performance.

You’ve heard the saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Testosterone is trying to teach us to fish.