Every type of sport is difficult in its own right, but one of the more demanding games is football. It requires agility, strength, stamina, coordination and endurance, which means footballers must undertake an extensive and conclusive workout to keep them in shape. 

If you’re looking to shake up your routine, engaging in a football gym workout programme is a good way to try something new and challenge yourself. 

Why Choose a Football Gym Workout?

You might be wondering why you should try football training in the gym, especially if you’re not a footballer or don’t have much interest in the game, but you don’t need to be an avid fan or participant of the game to reap the benefits of a gym workout. 

As mentioned, footballers need to work on several aspects of their overall fitness, and that means their workouts are beneficial for your whole body. They tend to be highly intensive and burn lots of calories and build muscle quickly, making them great for those on a weight-loss or strength-training mission. 

Almost everyone can achieve results with a football workout, so if you’re looking for new ways to break up your workout routine but still make progress towards your fitness goals, it’s a good route to take. 

Professional Footballer’s Fitness Programme 

The way one professional footballer trains will be different from the way another one trains because each player has a different position which will require different training. The difference in skills needed means there is no single football workout, but that’s not to say there aren’t common exercises you can do when looking at how to get fit for football in the gym. 

Football Workout Warm-Up

Before you start your workout, you’ll need to do a good warm-up which should be at least 15-20 minutes. This is to boost the heart rate and get the blood pumping around the body in anticipation of the workout that’s to follow. 

Stretches 

To workout safely, you first need to stretch. Footballers have to take great care of their muscles which means stretching forms a very important part of the workout. Static stretches that should be undertaken include:

• Calf stretches
• Hamstring stretches
• Shoulder stretches
• Upper back stretches

Jogging

A good football warm-up should always include jogging. This will raise the heart rate and get the blood pumping effectively. Jogging is a good way to start every workout – football-focused or not – as is cycling. 

Leg Workouts

When you’ve warmed up, you can begin your workout. As you’d expect, leg workouts form a big part of football fitness in order to build strength and power. There are a number of ways footballers do this, including: 

• Box jumps – these strengthen all of your leg muscles and work on your core, as well as improving your cardiovascular health. You can start off with small boxes and increase the height as you advance.
• Squats – another good exercise for strengthening and toning legs, squats are also useful for working on core strength and boosting overall athletic ability.
• Split lunges – it’s imperative for footballers to have good leg and hip mobility, and split lunges are excellent for improving hip flexor muscle mobility. They’re also good for stability and balance which is key for footballers trying to control the ball and cover ground at the same time.
• Hip thrusts – these mainly work the glutes and hips, but they also work the quads. Hip thrusts are another exercise that are good for maintaining balance and building general muscle strength.
• Leg press – leg presses are used for resistance training and to build strength in both the calves and the quads, making it an essential workout for footballers.

Agility Workouts

There’s more to football than just having strong muscles; agility is key when it comes to keeping control of the ball and having a strong defence. Agility exercises footballers commonly undertake include: 

• Side to side lunges – lateral lunges are a core component of agility training, especially for footballers who often find themselves moving side to side rather than the standard motion of moving backwards and forwards which is what most workouts focus on. Lateral lunges will work the inner thighs, improve balance and build strength.
• Ladder drills – footballers have to have quick feet, and one way to develop this skill is through doing ladder drills. Agility and speed will be worked on through ladder drills, as well as general motor control which is key when you consider footballers need to use their feet and not their hands.
• Forward hops – no matter what position you play, you need to have fast feet and good balance. A lot of football is played on one foot when you consider the other foot should be on the ball, especially near the goal. Forward hops are exceptionally simple but effective and can be paired with running and ladder drills for extra precision.

Cardio Workouts

In addition to strength and agility, footballers need to be able to stay active for an extended period of time which means they need extensive cardio exercises incorporated into their fitness routines. Here are some cardio workouts that footballers typically do: 

• Skipping – it’s not just boxers who skip, footballers do too. It’s great for fast feet and burns more calories than running! It’s very intense and requires constant movement, making it excellent for building up stamina.
• Running – the obvious workout for footballers is to run since that’s what they spend most of their time doing, so running is a key part of footballer training. It’s a good idea to practice both sprinting and long-distance running for football training.
• Boxercise - boxing is the ultimate assessment of your body's fitness levels and this provides the perfect HIIT-style workout that footballers, who are expected to maintain the ability to perform multiple sprints over the course of a 90-minute match.

Full Football Workout 

A full football workout should comprise a mixture of the above workouts to cover all bases. You can use equipment like rowing machines, resistance bands, weights and medicine balls to enhance your workout which is something footballers often do.  For more information on football workouts, sport-specific workouts and equipment, please contact us