This year for my school team, our coach has required us to be able to benchpress (in at least 3 sets of 10) our own weight. To me, that's been quite a challenge, at one point I maxed out 110, but currently I struggle with 90s and even 85s. Obviously it sucks, but I don't get it, kids who are smaller than me, and have problems for example shielding the ball in the field, can lift more, and even a lot more than me. In my school's team, on the field, I'm probably the strongest on the field, but on the weightroom, apparently, it doesn't reciprocate... Any help would be appreciated, although, I can only get 2 more workout sessions in before we start 'optional' summer practices. Thanks in advance PEace!
Shorter guys have an advantage in the bench press because of leverage and the distance the bar has to travel. If you want to get your bench up then do less reps of more weight. Use free weights and dumbells, no machines. Warm up with ten reps of just the bar. An olympic style bar weighs 45 lbs. The do 3 sets of low rep higher weight. Like 8 reps of 75lbs, rest, 6 reps of 95 lbs., rest, then 4 reps of 115 if you can. Exhale on the exertion (when you push) and concentrate on the muscles you are using. Having to balance the weight with free weights makes both sides of your body get stronger evenly and also allows the muscles and tendons around the sides get stronger too. Machines will cause you to develop one side stronger than the other and the isolation of the muscle makes the muscle strong in a limited range. Sorry I can't explain it better. Do to a gym or a school so you can work out with a partner. Plus they have the proper equipment. Get a trainer for the first couple workouts to get you on the right path. You should look into doing plyometrics and speed training with a goos track coach. Diet and rest are very important also.
that's pretty hard i think... i can't imagine throwing up 180 lbs for 3 sets of 10...we're soccer players, not football players
I'm gonna try and help. I was football player and my max was 350lbs. I am 5'6 and was 250lbs. Now I lost a lot of weight after ballooning up to 300. I'm now 215. Anyways here are some tips. 1) do 3 sets of 10 pushups, this will help your muscle stamina and development 2)try a bench press with dumbells to get into the feeling 3) try the 10-8-6-6 method, start at a low weight and increase 5 lbs-10lbs on eery set. Do this and in 2-3 weeks you'll definately see results 4)Relax, don't put pressure on yourself you'l f-up your technique 5)Practice technique, technique is a big part of liftinl the right way will go a long way!
I know top clubs have weights in Europe, or weightrooms, such as Gala, Real, and Man U. Do you guys know or think those team set requirementes for work outs, or do they become happy as long as their players get strong'er'?
UH. Isn't it better to work with LOWER weight but MORE reps? The idea is not to strain your muscles with heavy weights but to push them to a critical point with lower weight but higher reps. Using a weight, especially free weights, that is too heavy to many reps is not the most effective way of working your muscles and it can lead to injury. I recommend very high reps, with lower weight. Your muscles need time to adjust. Don't go for weight vs. reps.
High weight, low reps will help you gain strength (and, to a certain extent, bulk). Low weight high reps will help you gain stamina (and 'cuts'). On 'heavy' days I'll do: (warm-up) 15 reps @ 135 10-12 reps @ 185 (then) 1 set of 7 @ 215 3 sets of 5 reps @ 225 1 set of 7 @ 215 On 'light' days I'll do: (warm-up) 15 reps @ 135 10-12 reps @ 185 5 sets of 5 reps @ 215 done with as little rest in between as possible. Every other week or so I'll do a max. Right now, the max is 260 for flat, and 310 for decline. The previous poster is correct: Form (technique) is essential in weight training. Make sure that you are going through the full range of motion for each rep. If your form starts to suffer, drop the weight down to something manageable. EDIT: I posted the wrong number of sets on light days.
Ok low weight and high rep cuts you up,it build defination. Going up in increaments of weight and lowering the reps will build strength! Now metrochile needs to reacha certain weight for a strength test. He needs to get stronger not more defined. CUS posted great except the numbers are sorta weird, then again when i lifted heavy it was witha Amer. footbal weight program. I also maxed out squat at 625 and metro...3 sets of 10 at one's weight is pretty tuff even for most football players Any other questions about liftin'?
If you look at Iker Casillas' chest, it's flat as a board, there's no way somebody like him could bench his weight...then again I could see Peter S. doing it for sure. In football, there are a lot of different body types, not everybody will be able to throw up 225 lbs etc etc I
Lower weight, more reps will help in strength to a degree(because you are pushing weight against gravity)but it is a technique designed to help "cut" the muscle. To truly gain size and strength, one must lift heavy. To be honest though, I do not know why you need to "bench your weight" to be an effective soccer player. Just lifting and getting your entire body conditioned so as to not be pushed off the ball and to endure the pounding one takes during a match should ne the main objective of weight program. As for height, a lot of it is true. I am 5' 4" tall and currently weigh about 185. I can press 225 lbs for 4 reps. 9 years ago, I was ten pounds heavier and could press 315 for 5 reps. Damage to my shoulders has caused(from not weight lifting related activities) a drop in my bench press, but not my lifting technique or goals. You will not be able to do this in a week or two, but if you follow the steps from MikeyPez and CUS, you should be able to get to your bench equalling your weight. The last thing you want is an injury, even if it is to your upper body. Good luck.
Other suggestions: 1) Your muscles need time to recover. Do not exercise the same muscle group two days in a row (I do chest & shoulders on Mon & Wed, arms & lats on Tues & Thu). Enjoy DOMS (what they really mean by 'No Pain, No Gain'). And remember--muscle tissue is HIGHLY rejuvenative--the soreness will go away. 2) On days you train more than one muscle group, do the weakest one first. This will give it the attention it needs. 3) Contract ('Flex', although technically you can only flex a joint) and stretch your muscles in between sets. Weight training WILL shorten the muscles--make sure you stretch! 4) Drink water. Lots. 5) When you are leering at the girls at the health club, use the mirrors so that they don't catch you staring straight at them 6) There's two schools of thought regarding which muscle groups to train on a given day: a) Opposing muscle groups->As you know, muscle can only contract. That means that every muscle (say your bicep) has an opposing muscle (in this case, your tricep). So, your bicep contracts to raise your lower arm towards your shoulder, then your tricep contracts to bring your arm back again. Think of your leg (quads, hamstrings). b) Secondary muscles->Every exercise will involve a primary muscle group as well as one or more secondary ones. Say you are doing chest. The secondary muscle groups will be your frontal delts and your triceps. Arranging your workout in this manner will involve all of these muscle groups during the same session. 7) Keep a log--at least initially. Mark down the number of sets, reps, and weight you did for that particular workout. Mark down what you ate, and anything else you can think of. You may see a trend. Although you should have a workout plan, only use it a guideline. For example, plan says: warmup 1 of 15 at 85, 1 of 12 at 100 workout 5 of 7 at 115 Maybe you are feeling good and you can increase the weight by 5 pounds. Or, you are feeling lousy decrease weight by 10. The problem some people have is that when they feel good, they follow the paper and cheat themselves. Train using your body as an indicator, not the paper in your hand. 8) You should see the weight you are moving increase after about 2 weeks (this is the learning curve to train your muscle in the technique to use). (At least while benching) you should be able to gain 5 pounds on your bench every two weeks (I know I did). After 6 weeks you should be able to notice a change in your physique. 9) You'll have bad days when you can't lift a pebble. You'll have days when you are superman. In the end, the biggest tip would be to keep at it.
I weigh 210 pound and I'd have to hit the gym for a long time if I wanted to benchpress that even once. But nobody pushes me off on the field. I think this requirement is pretty stupid - especially if this is the only one. The biggest problem with young athletes and the weight room (as far as I've seen) is that everyone just wants to benchpress and do nothing else. And this coach isn't helping with that.
I'm 5'7'', 175 and I guarentee I could lay a shoulder charge on you that would knock yer A$$ clean off the field. It is not size alone, nor strength, nor skill that makes a winner..... those things are just tools to be used for a purpose. Do you want the best tools you can possibly have? Then hit the weights as often as you can, and make the coach's requirement your goal.... if you can't reach it, even though you've tried, then so be it. Not everyone is genetically engineered to respond that well to workouts, but in endeavoring to get to that goal you will surely improve your strength - sharpening yet another tool for your game.
call me chesty Well i consider myself a decent soccer player and i can easily bench 405lbs and most likely at my next bench press meet will do 500lbs...what to know how i do the weight, i max out take a % and work that for weeks until i am doing more then the last cycle...for you goals you really needed to say how much you cuold do for your goal, how close you were, and then did % work daily or weekly with plenty of rest until you were there....and true triceps and shoulders make the lift (some big benchers never even really work bench they blast shoulders and triceps) and form is important. I mean if your legs arent back, butt flat, and arms in, you can waste a ton of energy....
Neither do I get pushed off the ball easily, like I said before, in our whole school team, strenght-wise, it's the hardest for anyone to take the ball away from me.
I know it's important to lift weights which I do, but I was just saying that only doing (or mostly doing) bench presses isn't enough.
I'm 15, 5'9 1/2, and weighing in 185 lbs. I seem to developed pextorial on my right side and can kinda move it by it flexing and stuff or something its wierd. And my left side I can barely do it how can I even them out? I don't know I how got them in the first place. May be from doing push ups once in a whlie...? I also have a gut and want to transform it into a 6-pack or something wut the fastest and safest way? I don't have a fitness club membership thingy cuz I'm too young I guesse and only have free wieghts. Heaviest pair of free weights I have is 8 pounders :/
There are many proven ways to increase your limit strength try following a 5 x 5 plan, or try a traditional powerlifting cycle. I have had the best results from high sets low reps. Increasing your training volume while maintaining the training weight within 80% of your 1 rep max. I.E. Ten sets of 4 reps with 85% of your max. Try a Russian training cycle where you simply plug in your one rep max into a spreadsheet. WWW.testosterone.net has several good routines by Charles Staley, CHarles Poliquin, and Christian Thibideau all good strength coaches. Just don't listen to anything related to the Westside training program (its all ************************) and a guy named David Tate. BTW, the bench press is an overrated lift. DEEEP Squats (no half knee bends, i am talking about full olympic style squats), deadlifts,cleans, snatches, and millitary presses are better!!!! And being 15 is no excuse. I could bench press (with a pause) 240lbs. Hah. PS. To maximize your results. You have to eat right and sleep plenty and drink plenty of water as well.
Is your coach like, new to soccer? Is the basis of his tactics "that way boys". Strength on the ball and strength in the weight room have little to do with each other. I'm 31 years old, weigh about 230 lbs, but have exceptional skill and ball control. NOTE: I don't play defense But when I play in the ethnic leagues here, I have little 125 lb Mexicans able to shield me off the ball even with me leaning all my weight into them. I guarantee they don't use the weight room at all. As a coach, I think weight training is a good activity for cross training, and range of motion, but you don't want to get too bulky. Think about being ripped and lean, but not bulky. Bottom line, no amount of weight training will teach you to hold the ball. James
I must agree with James... the ability to shield is more based on placement than strength... there have been times when I find it hard to catch a ball in the air (I'm a keeper) simply because another person (In many cases smaller than myself) kept a low center of gravity, dug in, etc.etc. so on so forth, making it harder to push through them to the ball. There have been a few instances where I have been pushed to the ground (note: I am in no way weak. I'm 6'3, about 190lbs., can bench, on average, 180 (10 sets of 10 reps). Hence, building up for massive strength is really, as far as I have heard, not necessary (unless you're playing keeper at a higher level... some developed upper body strength really helps when your opponent blasts a one-pound ball at you 70 mph). Do more reps, slightly less weight... for a field player, stamina is key... if you can keep going while the other team is getting tired, you'll do just fine (obviously). I feel I have rambled on long enough. I'll just leave it at that for now.
seriously, what does pectorial strength have to do with soccer, unless its the goaltender. First of all, you can't (legally) use your arms to shield the ball. Second, the only other time you can use your arms is throw ins. Is your coach centering his attack on throw ins? My college coach has us go to 145lbs, and the way we do it is more of a stamina way. What you need to concentrate is abs, legs, and shoulders/neck. Thats what you use, thats all you need. You don't need 25 inch pythons on the pitch, it would only be a waste of your time.
how important are your wrists in Olympic Lifting? I have bad wrists... I want to start Oly Lifting...i need some explosive power.
Flexible wrists are pretty dang important in Oly lifting.Flexible elbows and shoulders too (especially when executing the snatch). Stretch them daily and begin doing front squats and overhead squats (very light to begin). That should help out. Remember, you need proper footwear to do the oly lifts. Don't oly squat, clean, or snatch in running shoes. Try to get a pair of olympic weightlifting shoes with a wedge heel. I got mine from addidas. Here is a very good oly website. Unfortunately, the website's owner died of cancer this spring. He helped a lot though. www.olympus.net/personal/cablebar Tips on form, some good routines, and incredible descriptions of exercises. ALso try Dr.Squat.com which has a great forum, and www.testosterone.net.