Reebok Fit2Kick: Workout for Midfielder Position - Warmup

#1 The role of the midfielder

The midfielder in any team is the football genius – the brain that keeps the whole team ticking.

The one thing that is common between all the great midfielders in world football today is the fact that they are some of the fittest individuals on earth.

As a midfielder, you usually face two scenarios while playing:

• - The Position: There are many dynamic and varying positions that a midfielder can choose to play in. You can be a central attacking or defending midfielder, a playmaker, or a winger.
• - Style of play: The style of play you would have to adapt to depends on your position. Whether it is as a box-to-box midfielder or as an attacking right or left midfielder, you need to adapt to the formation of your team and the game plan in hand.

So you need to be at the peak of your physical fitness day in and day out. It is very important that you prepare your body for the wide range of movements that it goes through during a match.

Our series of workouts help you do just that and prepares you to overcome the physical as well as mental challenges of the physicality of the game.

#2 The Warm-up for the Midfielder Workout

We start with the warm-up. This can determine how your workout and subsequently your game will go. It prepares your muscles for the rigours of the game.

A warm-up is all the more important since it not only gives your muscles flexibility and basic strength but also shields your body from injuries during a game.

Number of Exercises: 4

Time Duration: 20 minutes for the entire set

No. of Reps: mentioned ahead

This warm-up session is basically one where you do all the four exercises mentioned below in continuation. Once you complete the entire list, your round ends. You need to do a total of FIVE such rounds.

Always remember to do a bit of stretching before you start the warm-up session.

#3 The Glute Bridges

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

A strong lower body is the foundation that a midfielder works on. Twists, turns, stepovers, dribbles and pin point passes are the bread and butter of a midfielder, and having a strong lower body helps you play and perform better on the field.

The basic steps to this exercise are:

Step 1: Lie down flat on the ground, place both your hands beside your body with the palms pressed down on the ground.

Step 2: Fold your knees so that the soles of both your feet are now flat on the ground.

Step 3: While keeping your palms flat, push your groin area up in the air. Pause at the maximum possible height. Make sure that the weight of your body lies on your lower back and your legs.

Step 4: Lower your body back into the position it was at Step 2.

Step 5: Repeat the above 4 steps.

You have to do 10 reps before you move on to the next exercise.

Breathing: Inhale while going up and exhale while going down.

Levels: Pausing for longer durations while at the maximum possible height will help make this exercise a little more difficult.

#4 The Squat Jumps

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

The squat is one of the most complete exercises which a person can do while training his or her 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.

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, which would mean your butt is in line with your knees.

Step 3: Pause for about half a second and explode back up. Do not stop at your initial position; rather, continue and convert this upward movement into a jump. Jump as high as you can and remember to land on your toes.

Step 4: Repeat the above 3 steps.

This variation helps strengthen nearly all the muscles of your lower body as well as tells the body how it should brace for impact. It also improves the way you land after a jump.

Like the last exercise, you need to do 10 reps 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. Remember though that you have to be able to do this perfectly without weights first.

#5 The Plank Hold

Target Muscles: Core, Abs and the entire abdominal region.

A personal favourite of every person trying to work on that ‘six-pack’ look, the plank hold is a very basic exercise which helps maximize the strength of your core and your abdominal region.

The basic steps to this exercise are:

Step 1: Lie down flat on your stomach.

Step 2: Push your body up so that the upper region rests on your elbows (as if trying to read a book) and the lower body on your toes. Spread your legs slightly for better balance.

Step 3: Hold this position for as long as you can. Remember to not let your body sag in the middle. The perfect posture for this exercise is one where your spinal cord is absolutely straight. Keep your eyes on the ground and concentrate on keeping your abdominal muscles as tight as you can.

Step 4: Repeat the above 3 steps.

This exercise helps tighten your abdominal muscles as well as gives you a rock strong core.

You need to hold on to this position for a minimum of 30 to 45 seconds in each round.

Breathing: Inhale and exhale as deeply as possible, try and keep your abdominal muscles as tense as possible.

Levels: To increase the level of this exercise try and hold the position for as long as possible.

#6 The Push Up

Target Muscles: Chest, Arms, Back and Shoulders

This movement helps develop a range of upper body muscles and it does so 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.

Levels: 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.