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If football was war (not that it is not), a defender would be canon fodder. Weathering wave after wave of attacking and counter-attacking football, the physical and mental makeup of a defender can determine the outcome of any match.
From bone-crunching tackles and explosive clearances to key headers, a defender has to go the distance day in and day out and put his body on the line for his team and for ultimate glory.
To come out on top, it becomes really important that a player who plies his trade in the ‘back-four’ conditions his body to gain the perfect mix of strength, speed and stamina (this is apart from the fact that you need to be able to judge the movement of the ball as well as the player).
Thus, a modern defender is one who is strong, fearless and is the go-to guy when it comes to trouble-shooting the team out of a tight corner. A player, whose mere presence can strike fear in the heart of any opposition.
Not everyone is born with the strength of a Carlos Puyol or a Nemanja Vidic, and this series aims at helping you overcome the physical requirements of being a defender and make you indestructible in the face of an attack.
We shall start with a set of exercises for our proverbial back line.
Level: Beginner
Number of Days: 6 days a week
Number of Sets: 3 for each type of exercise
Number of Reps: 5 (min.) – 20 (max.)
Exercise (Type 1): The Bodyweight Crusher
Our body weight is usually the best type of weight available to start any form of weight training. Remember that you may bench 20 – 30 kilos but you can push up nearly double that amount.
1. The push-up: Assume normal push-up position with your feet slightly wide (this helps maintain balance). With the palms of your hand placed at shoulder width, lower your body till your chest touches the floor, hold for half a second and then push back up to the initial position. Breathe in while going down, breather out while pushing up. This exercise helps strengthen the chest, shoulders and biceps.
2. The pull-up or the chin-up: Majorly strengthening a player’s back and arms, the explosive movement of this popular body weight based exercise helps develop the intimidating size that dwarfs any attacker. Breathe in while pulling yourself up and breathe out while letting yourself go down.
3. The squat: A defender without strong legs is like a building with a foundation. The squat is an exercise that helps develop your quads and hamstrings and strengthens your knees. Long distance running can improve your stamina but the squat helps you develop monster thighs like Ronaldo or Roberto Carlos. Place your feet slightly apart and lower your body as if sitting down on a chair, pause when your butt is in line with your knees and then push up to resume normal standing position. Breathe in while going down and breathe out while going up. This exercise helps strengthen your thighs, knees, calves and lower back.
The above exercises are warm-up sets which a defender should do to help prepare for actual weight training. Follow the regime for a minimum of two weeks before moving on to our next section – Weighing Your Options .
