Bigger, Faster & Leaner for Football!

KeeganSH.com received this question recently from reader, Chris Rowland from Australia:

Hi Keegan,

I’ve been trying to get into some gym work because I’m really slow at soccer (football) and I’d rather be slow and a bit strong than just slow! I’ve been doing mostly 3-4 sets of 15 on a few different movements and I’ve lost weight so far even though I wasn’t too fat to start with. What do you recommend?

I’m 30 years old, 76kg and I play in the local soccer league.

Chris

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Keegan’s reply:

First let’s be clear about your goals. Are we getting you big? fast? lean?

For soccer you need great relative strength and power. That means being very strong compared to your body weight. Getting stronger comes faster when you’re working mostly on two legs so squats, snatches  and jumps will be your best friends.

Looking better will come down to diet more than anything else (nutrition basics). If you’re strong as well then you won’t look like shit once you get lean.

When you’re in the gym you need to always try to move quickly on your upward movement (concentric) especially on lower body movements, if you do that you’ll get faster. Even when the weight is heavy try to move it quickly. I want you to test your power before you start with either a standing long jump or a standing triple hop / jump.

On the soccer field, acceleration comes down to pushing your body weight as far as possible /step. The first 5-10m of acceleration is more about how much force you can put into the ground than frequency. This capacity is a key for success in most sports. Mobility, turnover and technique become more important once we get closer to top speed.

Here is a simple program to get you started in the gym providing you have a doctors clearance and someone who knows what they’re doing in the gym to watch you. Send me some videos so I can double-check your form. Once you’ve done this for a month and you’re getting comfortable with the technique we can build up the intensity and evaluate your elastic strength.

Day 1: Squat 3×5,  Glute Ham Raise 3×6, overhead press 3×6 and chin-ups x30 -total.

Day 2: Deadlift 3×3, Lunge 3×6, press horizontally (bench press, push ups,DB’s) and row 3×6.

Marty Kennedy in action

Good to hear from you.

Stay strong!

Keegs