Upper Body Workouts For Soccer Players

When you think of soccer players, many people overlook the importance of upper body strength. All soccer players know that you need to have strong legs and glutes, endurance, and core strength. But where does upper body strength come into play?

Soccer is a full-body sport and a soccer player's body needs to perform and function as a cohesive unit. The upper body plays an important role when changing direction, running, and kicking. The upper body also helps to move the body forward and aids in maintaining balance, which will help increase overall speed. Not strength training your upper body can have negative effects on your overall development as a soccer player by decreasing your ability to reach maximum velocity and change directions quickly.

When you think about it, forces from the ground (aka ground reaction forces), travel up the leg, through the core, and across the upper body with each step you take. Also, any elite soccer player will tell you that matches are becoming more aggressive with players constantly struggling for position against one another by pushing and pulling with their upper bodies. Upper-body strength training is a necessary component of your program in order to improve your overall skill set.

Here is an upper body workout for you:

• Overhead press - 3x10

• Dumbell bench press - 3x10

• Ring rows - 3x10

• Pullup - 3x10

• Chin Wup - 3x10

  To go even further, let’s break down each exercise and why it is important.

• Overhead press - In addition to working the shoulders, chest, back, and arms, the overhead press is a full-body exercise. And when done correctly, the exercise improves overall shoulder health to protect against injury.

• Bench press - The bench press can be done with dumbbells or a barbell. The bench press involves so much of the upper body musculature and is a great way to work your chest, triceps, and core.

• Ring row - Ring rows are a great bodyweight exercise. This movement is fantastic for upper back strength and helps improve the range of motion in the shoulder blades.

• Pullup - When performing a pullup, you have to make sure your palms are facing away from you and when you go down, your body is extended fully. Pullups are a great way to increase arm and shoulder muscles, and they work to improve grip strength. The pullup is considered a more advanced exercise.

• Chin up - When performing a chin up, you have you make sure your palms are facing you and when you go down, your body is extended fully. Chinups have similar benefits to pullups, but they are slightly different based on shoulder rotation position. Chin-ups are generally considered easier to perform than pullups.

  Check out the video below to learn more about strength training benefits.