athletes performance training strategies

8/12/2019 Athletes Performance Training Strategies

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1 AthletesPerformance.com

Eric Dannenberg, Performance Specialist

Athletes Performance Phoenix, AZ

While some may view the offseason as lost time to help your players and team improve, it offers

a great opportunity to introduce new training techniques and habits that can pay dividends next

season. As you plan your offseason strength and conditioning plans, check out these training

staples that our team uses to support top teams around the globe, including the German

national team, Everton FC, Sporting KC and the LA Galaxy.

Weve broken these exercises into four importantareas that you should incorporate throughout

the year to help create your teams bestperformances while also helping them to decrease theirnon-contact injury potential.

Soft Tissue/ Self Massage:While athletes may associate stretching as a way to relieve sore

muscles and injuries, but this can actually be detrimental to improving performance if that is the

only method used. If you think of muscles like pizza dough, the more you stretch it out the more

small tears you create. But if you were to knead the dough out with a roller you would still

increase the length without creating more damage to the dough. The same benefit can be

attained for muscles by using soft tissue methods and simple tools, such as a baseball, foam

roller, or utilizing a massage stick. By introducing soft tissue/self massage techniques, athletes

can help decrease their non-contact injury potential while increasing daily recovery between

training sessions

By getting your players to begin addressing common areas of the body that are prone to injury

and tightness during the offseason, the more routine it will become for them during the season

when recovery and injury prevention is most important.

Here are some simple and inexpensive tools to help your athletes perform soft tissue self

massage work from the feet on up to the calves, hamstrings, quads, glutes, hip flexors, IT

bands, and back.

Foam Roll:A simple tool that is great for massage of all the major muscle groups of the

lower body.

Tennis Ball/Baseball:Great for arch rolls and for releasing hard to reach trigger points.

Massage Stick:Excellent for activating muscles and increasing circulation before training or

competition.
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Pillar Strength: Pillar strength exercises allow athletes to address common areas of injury and

movement dysfunction while creating symmetry and balance in the body. These are simple

body weight exercises that can be done without access to a gym and have a lot of bang for their

buck. For soccer players especially, addressing the glutes can help decrease the potential for

hip flexor, back, hamstring, and knee injuries. Pillar strength exercises addressing the torso

(hips to shoulders) can help increase speed and power when sprinting, while also helping anathlete to become stronger for shielding the ball from opponents. By incorporating these simple

exercises 2-3 times per week, athletes can see benefits across many different aspects of their

game.

Glute Bridge Marching:2 sets x 8 reps each side

External Hip Rotation Sidelying:1 set x 10 reps each side

Pillar Bridge:2 sets x :35-:60 with perfect posture

Lateral Pillar Bridge:2 sets x :20-:40 each side

Movement Preparation: These exercises help prepare the body for movement through

innovative and dynamic movements that increase core temperature, prepare the nervous

systems and help to strengthen the body. These exercises are a great way to get athletes

moving and prepared for the multidirectional movements of soccer.

Worlds Greatest Stretch:1 set x 3 reps each side

Lateral Lunge:1 set x 3 reps each side

Inverted Hamstringforward:1 set x 3 reps each side

Heel to Buttforward with arm reach:1 set x 3 reps each side

Pillar March Linear:1 set x 10 yards

Pillar Skip Linear:1 set x 10 yards

Strength Training: Many soccer players are afraid to lift weights for fear that they will become

too bulky and become slower. This is a huge misconception. By following a proper diet, training

schedule, and exercise program that includes weight training, athletes can actually improve

speed and decrease their injury risk. Every soccer player knows the importance of winning a

50/50 ball or making that explosive step past an opponent. That initial burst of acceleration and

the 1-5 steps that define who wins or loses that 50/50 ball are directly related to the athletes

maximal leg strength. The ability to propel your body forward has a direct correlation to your leg

strength. By including these single-leg and upper body strength and stability exercises your

athletes will be able to create equal strength, stability and flexibility on both sides of their body.
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Split Jumps: 3 sets x 5 reps each side

Split Squat with Barbell:

12 week sample progression as reps increase, weight load should increase:

Weeks 1-3: 3 sets x 8 reps each sideWeeks 4-6: 3 sets x 6 reps each side

Week 7: Off

Week 8: 3 sets x 5 reps each side



Week 11: Off

Week 12: 2 sets x 3 reps each side, with 2 split jumps/side immediately following each

completed set

2 Arm, 1 Leg Romanian Dead Lift with Dumbbells:

12 week sample progression - as reps increase, weight load should increase:

Weeks 1-6: 3 sets x 8 reps each side

Week 7-8: 2 sets x 6 reps each side


Week 12: 1 set x 4 reps each side

1 Arm, 1 Leg Contralateral Dumbell Row:

12 week sample progression - as reps increase, weight load should increase:



Switch to:1 Arm, 2 Leg Row:Week 7-8: 2 sets x 6 reps each side

Week 9-11: 2 sets x 5 reps each side

Week 12: 1 set x 4 reps each side

While these are sample exercises to include into your offseason training plans, keeping the

overall offseason training simple and short will ensure that your athletes are not overwhelmed. A

successful daily program can be 30 minutes to an hour while including soft tissue, pillar

strength, movement preparation, strength training, and of course sprint/ interval work for

conditioning.

For more information on creating successful training plans for your team, stay tuned for jointNSCAA/AthletesPerformance education courses and contact the Athletes Performance team

today [email protected] more information on customized offseason training

packages for your team.
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