Reebok Fit2Kick: Workout for Striker Position – Strength & Speed

#1 Why does a striker need a special workout?

The beautiful game has and will always be about putting the ball between the woodwork. And with two teams of 11 vying for the goal, the major goal scoring responsibility lies on the shoulders of the strike force of the team.

That makes the striker one of the target men for opposition, and the aim usually is to neutralize the threat possessed by the forward man as quickly and as brutally as possible.

Football does fall under the dreaded category of contact sports, and the game changer for any team can be the physical fitness of a striker or a forward.

So today we continue with the striker exercises of Reedboks Fit2Kick series, which is a training programme designed to hone the fitness levels of players who aspire to play football.

Before we start with this level of exercise, do remember to go back to our firstarticle and understand the various warm up exercises that you, as a striker, can do.

Once you are done with your basic warm-up session, the physical attributes to focus on are Strength & Speed, and thats precisely what Workout 1 for strikers aims to develop.

#2 The Strength & Speed workout

A few of you may wonder why you should concentrate on the attributes of strength and speed when you can do a ‘catch-me-if-you-can’session with the opposition, if you are fast enough.

In reality, however, a striker faces a lot of pushing, manhandling and rough-housing. And with defenders of the opposite team generally being the strongest/rowdiest of the lot, you need to be able towithstand their onslaught.

This workout session aims at giving you a solid core as well as total body strength. It can be done with or without weights and can be done anywhere, be it your home, gym or on the field.

Number of Exercises: 3

Time Duration: 20 minutes for the entire set

No. of Reps: 10 each

#3 The Split Squat (with / without weights)

Target Muscles: Quads, Hamstrings, Gluts, Knees etc.

Remember when you were punished in school and the teacher asked you to do a hundred squats while holding your ears? If you do, then you’ll probably also remember that though your thighs, butt, calves and knees pained to the high heavens after this ordeal, they felt considerably stronger too.

A squat basically helps make your legs and lower back stronger, while working simultaneously on your quads, hamstrings, butt and knees.

A basic squat is where your feet are place side by side but a split squad is slightly different.

A split squat has three different steps:

Step 1: Place your legs one ahead of the other as if walking; the distance between your feet can be about 2 to 2.5 feet.

Step 2: Try and concentrate your body weight on the leg that is ahead and then bend your other leg so that the knee touches the ground. The leg forward should also bend till your thigh is parallel to the ground.

All this while, remember to try and focus your body weight on the leg in front.

Step 3: Push back up to your initial position. Here, remember to interchange the leg in front with the leg behind after every 10 reps.

Breathing: Inhale while pushing up and exhale while going down. Remember to breathedeep and through your stomach; this helps tighten your core muscles and helps improve balance.

Levels: To begin with place your hands on your waist and do this exercise without any weights; this will help you understand the correct form and balance.

The next level would be where you start with 5 kg or 7.5 kg dumbbells or kettle-bells in each hand. Subsequently, to increase difficulty you can keep increasing the weight.

#4 The Box Jump (with / without weights)

Target Muscles: Calves, Ankles, Lower Back etc.

As the name suggests, this exercise is one where you jump up and down on a box.It may sound simple but the way in which you do it decides how difficult or easy this exercise will be for you.

To do this exercise you require a sturdy wooden box which is approximately 2 ft. * 3 ft. * 3 ft in measurement.

This move has two basic steps:

Step 1: Explode up straight in the air and aim at landing on the box. You should land on your toes and NOT flat on your feet.

Remember to brace for impact, this way you land on your toes easily and maintain your balance. Also, try and keep your body slightly loose.

Step 2: Jump back down on the ground, and remember to land on your toes.

Breathing: Inhale deeply while jumping down, exhale hard while jumping onto the box.

Level: To begin with do the jumps without any weight till you have understood how to do this correctly. The next level would be to pick up a 10 kg ora 15 kg plate with both hands and do this exercise again.

It is very important that as a striker you remember to run, jump and land using your toes; doing any of these actions while keeping your feet flat on the ground can mean long term and extensive damage to your ankles.

#5 The Push Up

Target Muscles: Chest, Arms, Back and Shoulders

The push up helps develop a range of upper body muscle groups while using an individual’s body weight.

This exercise has two basic steps:

Step 1: Assume the push-up position; keep your hands at shoulder width and your legs slightly apart (helps maintain balance).

Lower your body till your chest touches the ground. Remember not to let your body sag in the middle; tighten your stomach and your abs.

Step 2: Push back up to the initial position.

Breathing: Exhale while going down; tighten your stomach while exhaling (which essentially means you breathe using your stomach). Inhale deeply while going back up.

Level: To increase the difficulty, increase the reps in each set and the speed of each rep.Do this exercise faster, longer and harder for better results.