Reebok Fit2Kick: Workout for Midfielder Position

Today we look at the last midfielder workout – bulletproofing.

#1 The need for bulletproofing

Regardless of what position you play for your team, you will have your share of knocks and bruises.

Getting your ankles and your knees ripped out from under you can be a particularly painful experience, irrespective of whether it happens at a practice session or a full blown 90 minute match.

Strong ankles and knees are the weapons which can help you achieve football glory.

Many footballers at the highest levels have suffered greatly and not been able to realize their potential due to the fact that they never actually worked hard to strengthen these two significant body parts.

#2 The Bulletproofing Workout

The last workout session for midfielders is a set of three exercises which helps you bulletproof your ankles and knees.

Number of Exercises: 3

Time Duration: 20 minutes for the entire set

No. of Reps: mentioned ahead

#3 The Squat Walk

Target Muscles: Ankles, Hamstrings and Knees

Hamstring tear is a very common injury that footballers face. The biggest downside is that this injury can render not only your hamstrings but also your knees useless.

The first exercise in this series helps you strengthen both these body parts to enable you to avoid injury and also become stronger.

The steps of this particular exercise are:

Step 1: Mark a starting and an end point; the distance between them should be about 50 feet.

Step 2: Squat as low as you can and at the lowest point hold this position. Start walking while in this position towards the end point. It will be more of a shuffle for the first few rounds after which you should be able to find your rhythm.

Step 3: Turn around and come back to the starting point.

You have to do a total of four such rounds.

Breathing: Breathe in and out in rhythm with your steps. Remember to inhale and exhale as deeply as possible.

Levels: To make it difficult, increase the number of steps in each set.

#4 The Squat on Toes

Target Muscles: Gluts, Hamstrings, Lower Back, Knees and Ankles

The squat is one of the most complete exercises which a person can do to train the lower body. Our current exercise is a very basic variation of the same and helps you strengthen the muscles mentioned above as well as increase the power with which you jump and the speed with which you reach.

The basic steps to this exercise are:

Step 1: Stand with your legs slightly apart and lift your hands up till your shoulder level. Relax your body and take a few deep breaths. Now stand up on your toes.

Step 2: Lower your body as if trying to sit down on a chair, stop this motion the moment your thighs are nearly parallel to the ground, this would mean your butt is in line with your knees.

Step 3: Pause for about half a second and go back up. Stop when you are at your initial position

Step 4: Repeat the above 3 steps.

You need to do 10 reps and a total of four rounds before you move onto the next workout.

Breathing: Inhale hard when you explode up and exhale deeply when you go down into the squat.

Levels: Pause for a longer duration to make this exercise harder. You can also hold a 7.5 kg dumbbell in both hands to make this exercise a bit more interesting but you have to be able to do this perfectly without weights first.

#5 The Crab Walk

Target Muscles: Hamstrings, Quads, Lower Back, Knees and Ankles.

Ever seen a crab scuttling across the beach? Carbs are said to have some of the most formidable claws and legs among marine and amphibian creatures.

The next workout tries and emulates the movement of the crab and thus, fittingly, is called the “Crab Walk”.

The basic steps of these exercises are:

Step 1: Lie down flat on your back. Fold your knees and push your lower body up in the air. Place both your palms flat on the ground and in the same manner as your lower body, try and push your upper body in the air. You can start by pushing yourself on one arm and then the other.

Step 2: Now in this position (for better understanding, check out the images) start walking on all fours. Take as many steps as you can before lowering your body back down on the ground.

Your set ends after you have done a distance of about fifty feet. You have to do at least four sets.

Breathing: Breath in and out in rhythm with your steps. Remember to inhale and exhale as deeply as possible.