How to Weight Train and Lift for Soccer Players

Being a successful soccer player requires both strength and stamina, and one of the best ways to gain both is through circuit training. To gain strength without bulk and to build your endurance, exercises should focus on lighter weights, more repetitions and short rest periods between exercises. To gain mass, exercises should use heavier weights and fewer reps.

Instructions

    • 1

      Work your legs on the first day. Do three sets and 12 reps of each of these exercises to keep from adding too much mass to your legs while building stamina: speed squat, dumbbell side lunges, leg extension, leg curl, stiff leg deadlift and calf raises. This weight-training session should be done with one minute rests between sets and two minutes between exercises to keep up your tempo and heart rate of the soccer player. Use weights that are only somewhat challenging: The key is many reps of light weights.

    • 2

      Take a day off, then work your chest, shoulders and triceps on the third day. Sometimes shoving matches happen down in the box and the soccer player with the strongest chest and shoulders wins out. Weight training the upper body also will keep proportion with the lower body to make you a well-rounded and strong athlete. Weights should be heavy and challenging so as to build strength and size in the shoulders and chest. Do three sets of 10 reps of each of these: bench press, dumbbell incline press dumbbell shoulder press, push press, standing dumbbell triceps extension and skull crusher.

    • 3

      Take another day of rest, then focus on your back, biceps and forearms on the fifth day. Much of the core strength of the body is in the back, and strength from the legs won't translate to the rest of the body without it. A strong lower back from deadlifts also will help with speed and vertical leap. Back and bicep work should be done with heavy weights to promote strength increases and balance the chest and triceps. Solid back weight training will also help improve posture. Do three sets of 10 reps of each of these: deadlift, barbell row, dumbbell shrug, lat pull down, dumbbell bicep curl, reverse curl.

    • 4

      Take two days off to let your muscles rebuild, then begin again with step 1.