A guest contribution from our expert Lasse Ahl about soccer-specific speed training and why you should start our exercises right now.
This amount about “soccer-specific speed training” is part of a complete series on the subject of speed and soccer.
The first three articles on the topics quickening, Change of direction and general rapidity Do you find here.
Sané, Werner and Gnabry - Germany's fast-paced series of attacks often impressively shows that speed in soccer is the measure of all things more than ever.
Dynamic sprints are difficult to defend, even for low-standing opponents. Especially with enough horsepower, the chances of winning one-on-one increase - the basis for getting ahead of the goal dangerously or preventing the goal you thought was safe as a defender.
Today's blog article is once again all about exercises related to speed in soccer. This time, the main focus is on soccer-specific sprinting skills, i.e. those adapted to the characteristics of the game.
Many players are bound to ask themselves the following question due to long-lasting injury problems:
What is the best exercise to avoid back thigh injuries?
This is a frequently asked question because, not least, around 12-24 percent of all injuries in an “athletic context” are related to hamstring muscles (back of the thigh).
Training the back thigh muscles therefore appears to be extremely important for the health and performance of soccer players.
In the various blog entries on “sprinting”, we have already pointed out many times that sprint training can be a significant factor to minimize the risk of an injury to the back of the thigh muscles.
In the following overview, the various demands of the soccer game are broken down in detail:
It is clear that actual sprinting (here: over 19 km/h) takes the shortest time (around three minutes) and the shortest distance (around 290 meters).
At the same time, injury data from the studied college soccer season show that hamstring injuries associated with sprinting were the second most common cause of failure (7.5 percent; the most common are ankle injuries).
One of the derivatives that can be formed:
Anyone who can sprint more often and longer has an advantage in the game.
If you add sprint distance data per 15 minute game intervals, the picture per sprint training session is even clearer.
In the first 15 minutes of the game, players can still sprint at around 80 meters.
If you translate that into actions, that would be two to four sprints with a distance of 20 to 40 meters, for example.
In the last quarter of an hour of a game, on the other hand, players can only sprint a distance of just under 35m.
Of course, good training (e.g. with the B42 training app at home or in a studio) include specific exercises for the strength of the back thigh muscles.
The standard 5-10 km endurance run “through the green” is definitely no substitute for the specificity of soccer training.
Now during the winter break, some players will be playing from December to mid-February — i.e. two months! - would not receive any conditional, soccer-specific stimulus.
Without the implication of running, sprinting and jumping training, this circumstance would be the most linear path to a muscle or tendon injury.
These types of fabric in particular need the specific stimulus of high-speed loads in order to be prepared for them in an “emergency” (sprint in the game).
Get as fast as Alphonso Davies! With the B42 app for soccer players.
In this blog post, we will once again introduce you to a few speed exercises that you can incorporate into your soccer training.
The soccer game is a scenario for your body to control - so your kilometers run are of course not always straight ahead or the change of direction at a pre-marked point.
You can also incorporate a run into your training that varies in speed or imitates an abrupt stop including a defensive movement.
The options for specific “drills” are of course varied and we only provide a few examples here.
The only thing you should ensure is to complete your sprint and sport-specific training once a week - for the reasons already mentioned.
There, starts (1 to 10 meters), stops, changes of direction and high-speed runs can be included.
If you have the opportunity to let these things take place on grass, your tendons would certainly appreciate it.
Why
Because that way you can complete the training in your soccer shoes. The sudden change of footwear can have a serious impact on the various types of fabric.
10 to 20 meters - two passes
10 to 20 meters - two passes
10 to 20 meters - two passes
10 to 20 meters - two passes
10 to 20 meters - two passes
8 to 10 repetitions - two runs
10 to 20 meters - two passes
10 to 20 meters - two passes
10 to 20 meters - two passes
- Mark your sprint route with four to five cones at a distance of approximately 15 meters
- In this exercise, changes of pace between the cones are decisive: one run easy, one run maximum sprint
Three rounds - a full break in between
- Mark your sprint route with two cones about 15 meters apart
- The decisive factor here is deceleration and then “push” backwards
Three rounds - a full break in between
- Mark your sprint route with a square of cones at a distance of approximately 15 meters
- Start with a sprint forward, side steps, backwards and finally turn it up and sprint forward again
Three rounds (each side) - a full break in between
Last but not least, we will now answer the question mentioned above as to what is the best exercise to avoid injuries to the back thigh muscles:
They don't exist!
The context in which we operate is impossible to fully control — and therefore depends on far too many factors.
On the other hand, it is relatively certain that sprint and jump training reduces the risk of an injury.
Jagim AR, Murphy J, Schaefer AQ, et al. Match Demands of Women's Collegiate Soccer. Sports (Basel). 2020; 8 (6) :87. Published 2020 Jun 12. doi:10.3390/sports8060087
Mohr M, Krustrup P, Andersson H, Kirkendal D, Bangsbo J. Match activities of elite women soccer players at different performance levels. J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Mar; 22 (2) :341-9. doi: 10.1519/jsc.0b013e318165fef6. PMID: 18550946.
Chumanov, Elizabeth S. et al. “The effect of speed and influence of individual muscles on hamstring mechanics during the swing phase of sprinting.” Journal of Biomechanics40 16 (2007): 3555-62.
Get as fast as Alphonso Davies! With the B42 app for soccer players.
