In pre-season, I'd love to improve myself as an athlete. I'm 16, 5ft 6 inches, 60 kilograms. Not a great deal of muscle on me. I want to hit the gym, but not neccesarily for hypertrophy, I want power, balance, and strength. I'd say I'd have a good 3-5 months before the season started again to do so. I've worked out before doing bodyweight stuff, but plateued, and the season came so I stopped. I gained a but of muscle on everything, but I'm still pretty tiny. I don't want to be losing any agility or speed of foot, as those two, specifically agility are big parts of my game. This is why I'm not looking to get big. I've definitely got the knowledge and know what to do in the gym, but I'd like some advice from experienced people, as I've never owend a gym membership. Here's what I'm planning to do, work my legs (pretty much important muscle on my lower limbs), and my core (abss, obliques, lower back), and thats it. This way I won't have any bulk on my upper body, my strong legs and core wil stabilize me, and I might even lower my centre of gravity if I pack on some muscle as well. Should I be looking at low reps for power? 1-3 reps? This way the exercise is based on strength, not hypertrophy. I'm happy if I can have a really strong core and legs, I play with brain not brawn. Looking for the type of strength that Messi has, Tevez has, Aguero. These three stocky (maybe bar messi) have great acceleration form there strong core, legs, and speed of foot and can withstand shoulder jostling because of their stability. Also, an important thing is maintaining strength. In-season I won't have time for lots of work-outs, maybe just one session weekly. But I've not lost a single bit of muscle (and probably strength) from what I've gained from previous strength training, and it's been like 6 months, with no particular attention to diet (1 gram of protein per pound of body mass, this much carb etc.. rules like that), just eating a lot! (nutritiously). That leads me to my fina point, diet! So do I need to be on a bulk (that is, consuming more caloroeis than I burn to suport muscle growth - which isn't even what I'm looking for) whilst working out? Or can I make significant gains without surplus calories. I mean, beign a teenager our bodies are amazing, increased testosterone ect.. Thanks - impossible.
You'd be a fool not to strength train your entire body in all frankness. Tevez and Aguero are all very bulky - similar to CR. Being big doesn't necessarily mean you'll lose agility. Just make sure you do strength and not hypertrophy like me.. Because I'm not strong at all. If you want to put on muscle mass, you need a surplus of calories. If you want to build lean muscle, just eat more protein. Buy yourself some whey protein and take it twice a day. So I'd suggest you just eat more protein. That's what I did and I put A LOT of muscle on.
Do an all around strength training routine. Particularly try to identify your weak areas—if you don't like doing the certain exercise, you're probably weak at it. Diet: more calories, but watch the source of those calories. Protein is ideal for athletes. I'm being vague, but we've covered a lot of this in other threads.
Maybe I should train my whole body on second though.. thanks! If I was to take a supplement, I'd take a weight gainer as they focus on calories, and give a good mix of everything. For example: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/sm.html. Thing is,they're so expensive, so I'm not sure if I could afford getting one of them every two weeks (16 serves in the 12lbs tub). But excess calories may not be required, because I want strength, not mass. Excess calories are used for muscle growth (among popular bodybuilders culture), but all I want is strength gains, whether I pack mucle on or not I don't care. It's controversial whether surplus calories are crucial for strength gains. I'd also like to bump this question: "important thing is maintaining strength. In-season I won't have time for lots of work-outs, maybe just one session weekly. But I've not lost a single bit of muscle (and probably strength) from what I've gained from previous strength training, and it's been like 6 months, with no particular attention to diet (1 gram of protein per pound of body mass, this much carb etc.. rules like that), just eating a lot! (nutritiously)."
Update on that first paragraph: From research on the net I've come to the conclusion that surplus calories do indeed make it easier to gain strength (there seems to be 75% who agree with this). Your thoughts would still be appreciated in regards to this though.
I definately wouldn't neglect your upper body. I work mine and am rather bulky but I've had no loss in speed, endurance. In my opinion I am faster and able to hold off players more efficiently. I think that focusing more explosively (just before season and in-season) is better than performing slower. I focus on complexes where I perform a compound exercise (eg. Squat) whilst performing half the reps I should be able for a certain weight, then going straight into a plyometric movement (eg. box jump) for 10 or so reps. I've had gains in size and in performance. I also eat ALOT though, because my metabolism is like a ferrari. For pre/off-season though, you'd be better off splitting it up into say Strength and Foundation, then Explosiveness leading up to the season with Explosiveness/Maintenance in-season. So you say you have minimum 3 months, I'd probably do half/half with the first 6 weeks being Overall Strength, then tapering off into Explosive Strength. Although 6 weeks probably isn't enough for huge gains, I've seen evident size gain and tone in one month (roughly 2kgs muscle) of doing a bodybuilding split, with regular pick-up games and cardio thrown in. Just some ideas for you, not everyone is the same though, and you might need a different criteria to me.
Vaporisim has the idea. For strength, increase the weight and lower the reps to around 5, for a combination of strength/power find a medium, and when you're pushing out your reps focus on controlling the weight on the way down and explode back up. 1g protein p/lb bw my friend, so if you're 140lb in weight, you must consume at a minimum 140g of protein on your workout today's to ensure your body recover's adequately.
Best results (in strength gains, recovery and general health benefits) come from consuming simple carbohydrates and some protein within 45 minutes of your workout. You don't need to eat a lot for the benefit. As little as 100 calories is effective. It is the timing that is important. (Of course this in addition to your normal balanced diet at other times.) The verdict on special additives is mixed, but eating healthy does work for everyone. So why spend money on additives.
Simple....cross fit. I've trained people in strength and mass building for years, and I can tell you that the workouts in cross fit will do exactly what you want. It incorporates full body workouts with high intensity training and all sorts of plyos to help increase power and agility. Do this in combination with the proper protein and food intake, and you'll be golden. Don't be afraid of a little muscle. Just because you may gain some size doesn't mean you'll slow down. I'm 6'2" at 210lbs and 12% bodyfat and still run by many people on the pitch.
Crossfit is OK, but for really pushing yourself as an athlete, it is not the best approach. For one thing, it doesnt go well with progressions. In additon, compared to a sports performance approach, it will be analogous to a metabolic day, not a strength day. So, while you will reduce your bodyfat, and increase your strength a little, it is not best routine out there for athletic development. There are lots of decent integrated sport performance routines out there that address all the components of being a good athlete.
Dejan nailed it regarding crossfit. I love the concept of racing in crossfit but the exercises and energy system requirements are just different . Maybe here and there as a cross training day sure, but not as a soccer performance training program. There are tons of good strength training programs out there, but remember that your ultimate goal is better soccer performance. Strength and size should always aid your performance and not hurt you. Sure, if you train the legs heavy you will be fatigued for a few days and temporarily "slower", but if you periodize correctly the strength will transfer into power. Many soccer players hate lifting and I have moved to training them with more single leg variations with great success. I love squats, but having a barbell on the back is not a requirement for strength training.
There's this fantastic app on Android (dunno if it has an iPhone version though). Men's Health workout guide or something. absolutely wonderful. should help you achieve the balance you're looking for. will teach you to diversify your exercises so that you'll never get bored with the same routine moves you do ever again.