What Is Functional Training in Soccer?

Soccer takes a lot of speed, agility, quickness and endurance. The way to train for soccer is by simulating an actual game situation. This is called sport specific functional training. Running is only part of the equation when it comes to honing the skills needed to excel on the field.

  1. Cardiovascular

    • The cardiovascular system has to be strong for playing soccer. To make it sport specific, interval training is done. This is where you do a warm-up, then alternate bouts of high and low intensity.

    Speed

    • There are times in soccer where you are standing still then have to run full bore. To ready yourself for this action, sprint drills are performed. They are done for a specified distance or a specified time with short rest periods between them.

    Agility

    • Agility is another important aspect of functional training. To achieve this, ladder drills are utilized. Some drills that are done include hops, skips, shuffles and stutter steps.

    Muscle Strength

    • The legs need to be strong to kick the ball and jump. Exercises like squats, lunges, leg presses and calf raises are done to strengthen them.

    Muscle Endurance

    • Muscle endurance is an important part of functional training because there is a lot of getting up and down off the ground and also jockeying for position on the field with other players. High reps of body weight exercises like push-ups, crunches and pull-ups are valuable.

    Throws

    • Medicine balls are another part of the functional training regime. Exercises like overhead throws, rotations and side chops are done.