Strength training in football - how to improve your athleticism

We use the following player types to show you which aspects are particularly important in training:

• Goalkeeper: A modern goalkeeper, such as Manuel Neuer, must have various strength skills. He must be quick and powerful, be able to jump high and wide and be able to assert himself in the penalty area in set pieces.
• Defenders: Robust defenders for quick transitional play are guys like Upamecano. They need to be assertive and rather bulky. A high sprinting speed is also important. For a positional advantage, top speed is more important than acceleration. This is because defenders usually have a head start at the beginning of the running duel.
• Attacking players: Goal-scoring attacking players such as Christiano Ronaldo are not only quick and powerful, they also have a great jumping height in the penalty area, have a high sprinting speed and are also assertive. Depending on the type, different priorities can be set here.

Gareth Bale shows you the difference athleticism and strength can make in an impressive sprint to goal:

We have not yet mentioned terms such as speed, maximum strength or strength endurance. But that's what we're talking about when we talk about athletic ability. Do you already know what it's all about? Then you can read on right now.

If you want to know more about these athletic abilities, click here for our articles on speed strength, maximum strength and strength endurance.

How and why should performance diagnostics be carried out before strength training for footballers? Quite simply, the more professional your level is, the less you should leave to chance when training. Performance diagnostics show your current condition and at the same time a profile of your strengths and weaknesses. Strength diagnostics will then help you to compare your athletic abilities with the defined requirements for your playing profile. The exact tests that are carried out can vary greatly. There is no uniform standard here. The following tests can also be carried out without extensive technical equipment to create a strength diagnostic:

• Dynamic maximum strength tests in terms of the 1RM for the basic exercises squat, deadlift, bench press, rowing and shoulder press. You should answer the following question: How many kg can I move once in the exercises?
• Jump height from 3 different jump variations: Drop Jump, Counter Movement Jump and Squat Jump (link article)
• Strength endurance test: single-leg knee extension machine with a defined load and reps/min until exhaustion (=when the movement frequency becomes too slow). In addition to reps/min, you can also standardise the movement frequency somewhat more simply by specifying seconds per rep.

All of these methods can also be easily performed by amateurs. The important thing here is that you are given very clear guidelines for the execution. If, for example, the range of motion changes and you squat slightly lower in the post-test than in the pre-test, the diagnostics will not provide a clear result. This is because any improvement observed can be explained solely by the change in posture during the squat and not by more strength.If you have access to good technical equipment at a training institute, there are further possibilities:

• Jump from the force plate
• Isometric maximum strength test with leg press, deadlift, etc. with recording of maximum strength
• Dynamic strength test with defined resistance (80% 1RM) with force recording

These more specialised tests produce a force-time curve from which the rate of increase in force (corresponding to the speed force) and the maximum force can be precisely read.

What do I need to consider before football strength training during performance diagnostics and what are the takeaways?

Strength training football type "Niklas Süle":

You have a super 1RM in the squat, but you are too slow in the 10m and 20m sprints and your jump height could also be better.The solution is then: focus on ballistic training as well as jumps and kicks You can then use the following 3 exercises for strength training in football to train your speed strength, among other things. Important: Warm up well, but try to avoid pre-fatigue! Maximum speed of movement is required for these exercises!Loaded Jumps: Take a barbell and load it with approx. 30% of your 1RM. Do 3 sets of 10 reps, pausing for 3-5 minutes. You should always be well recovered.

Drop jumps: Start by jumping down from a 45-60cm box and cushioning the landing. Start with a low box and then increase the height. First you jump with both legs, then with one leg.

Resistance sprints: Practise the start and acceleration phase in particular, i.e. the sprint should not be too long, maximum 30m. Increase the resistance with a sled or winches, depending on what equipment is available. The simple version: A training partner holds on to an elasticated band. Rule of thumb: 1 minute rest for every 10m sprint. 2x5x30m (10min break between the two series).

You're quick and agile, but not assertive in duels, your shooting hardness could be better and your maximum sprint speed also needs to be increased.Squat, deadlift, rowing, bench press, shoulder press

You're generally not particularly good at athletics - either because you've just come out of youth or because you've always been conspicuous by your absence in the gym. Now you want to progress in football and take your athleticism to a new level. However, the performance diagnostics have ruthlessly exposed your weaknesses. How do you tackle this now? Here are some key points: You're a beginner in the gym, so the first thing you need to do is learn the technique! Since you are fit and have a solid sense of movement from your sport, your goal is to learn complex free weight exercises ("compound lifts"): Squat, deadlift, rowing, bench press, shoulder press. Start with very little weight and learn the movement patterns with a coach or team colleague who can already do it all. Stay patient. If you don't master the technique and put on too much too soon, you risk injury!You've got the technique down? Good! Then start with strength endurance training, i.e. 50-60% of the 1RM and 15-20 reps. After 3-4 weeks, increase the intensity and train in the hypertrophy range, i.e. 70-80% 1 RM, 8-12 reps, 2 min rest. You should continue this training for a few months. You can increase the volume and intensity as you progress. To maximise the training effect, the basic lifts you always perform should vary. What else is important: Every 3-4 weeks, take a deload week (= significantly reduce the volume and intensity) to give your body time to rest and adapt. But be careful: this does not mean that you do nothing more during this time, but that you simply do less.

Fitness training for footballers: taking the off-season and current season into account

In the off-season, you build up your athletic abilities. During this time, you can set intensive and tiring stimuli and have plenty of time available for this in training. All weaknesses identified by the performance diagnostics are tackled from the ground up and specifically trained.