Physicist Footballers
To date - also thanks to the high media attention (and not only) reserved for the world of football and for athletes who are part of it - more and more people aspire to a similar physical form (even better if identical) to that of the well-known world-famous champions, many other people consider it an impossible goal to achieve and inaccessible from an economic point of view; with this article I will try to provide some advices to easily reach the goal and disprove many of the thoughts e common places that mark this ambition as unattainable by an ordinary athlete / person.
As in all sports (of duration and not), thesupply,training (albeit diversified) and the rest they are essential for a correct "physical construction" (muscle growth) and for performance always high without significant drops during important moments.
Nutrition and Integration
The nutrition of a football player is usually divided into two different periods: the feeding during the period of athletic training and that during the championship period (which in turn is divided into before, during and after the game).
As it is easy to guess, the first period is the one where the more intense work due to the frequency of training sessions and the loads applied aimed at increasing muscle mass, it therefore follows an increase in protein requirement (on average 1.8-2.0 grams per kg of body weight) while the energy intake from carbohydrates must be kept around 55-60% of the total contribution; at this stage it is also necessary to integrate some minerals, including iron and magnesium (The first intervenes in energy metabolism, the second in muscle contractions).
In this period (but not only) it also becomes essential to pay attention to fluid loss (which can reach high values) and it will therefore be necessary to balance the daily losses with approx 2-3 liters preferably using water but also low-sugar fruit juices.
During the championship period the energy requests they are less than those of the preparation period and once the optimal weight level has been reached, the occurrence of oscillations must be avoided.
The recommended daily protein quota is approximately 0.8-1.2 grams per Kg body weight and should be increased by approx 0.2-0.5 grams on days with a higher workload; the energy intake obtained from carbohydrates can be kept at approx 60% of the total contribution.
There is no need for supplementation with vitamins and minerals but it can be useful in those subjects with symptoms that indicate a specific deficiency; instead, branched amino acids should be taken to avoid muscle breakdown during aerobic training sessions (prevalent in the championship period).
The necessity of water integration it must be calculated by evaluating the weight variation caused by each training session.
Before, During and After the Game
It is easy to understand how, during the championship, it becomes essential to make a further subdivision of the day into: before of the match, during e after; one of the most committed mistakes in the amateur field is precisely that of not giving the last two "phases" the importance they deserve, focusing only on the pre-match, very wrong behavior!
Prima of a match, it is important that the diet already guarantees a high intake of simple carbohydrates (mainly sugars) and liquids from 1-2 days before in order to optimize stocks in the body.
The meal consumed 3-4 hours before should provide approx 200 grams (but varies from person to person!) of rich foods instead complex carbohydrates and a low amount of protein, they go avoided high-fiber foods.
During a game, a player engages muscle groups in high intensity exercises for "short" but repeated periods of time; this leads to a consumption of the reserves of glycogen in the muscles used, it follows the reduction of physical capacities.
To avoid this, it is important to administer liquids containing carbohydrates (mainly maltodextrin or fructose) during the race, this allows the body to have both immediate and long-lasting glucose availability.
After the match, proper nutrition is responsible for restore water and energy supplies and facilitate the disposal of slag metabolic.
The meal must be rich in liquids, carbohydrates (Pasta, bread, potatoes, etc.) and a substantial portion protein (preferably from sources such as white meats, fish, whey).
The recovery also continues on the day following the game, for the total restoration of glycogen stocks and to favor the riparazione of damaged muscle tissues through an "increased" protein intake.
Types of Training and Performance Improvement
Il improvement of every performance (not only in football) is obtained through the strengthening of the various skills involved in that particular discipline; a training, to be defined complete, must meet specific scientific and methodological criteria, only in this way can it be achieved Develop of the various abilities such as strength, speed and endurance.
In the world of football, four types of training are used (which is usually a must) (each of them is essential for improving overall performance), namely: training aerobic, "force", lactacid e anaerobic underacid, however, to stay on topic with the article and not go too far we will focus more on training force (as it plays an important role in the "construction" of the physique unlike the other three types, used mainly for the increase of resistance, speed and reactivity).
"Strength" and Muscle Strength Training
Strength training is, as we have seen, fundamental for the muscle strengthening of a football player and has various objectives including that of improving the effectiveness of all actions muscles usually performed during a game; the "strength" exercises can be divided into two groups: load natural and with resistance.
All the exercises with the body in support (such as lunges) and those in motion (such as jumps), the exercises of this group are among the most used since they do not require special equipment and are easily performed in a group.
The group of exercises with resistance on the other hand, it includes all exercises performed with the aid of additional equipment such as in the case of dumbbells and barbells (“free” resistance) or guided trajectory and range of motion machines (“constrained” resistance).
As mentioned before, the main objectives mainly concern: the rinforzo of the muscles postural (such as back and abdominal muscles) to prevent injuries and various pathologies such as low back pain, the strengthening of the muscles of the torso and upper limbs avoiding imbalances (which I personally find aesthetically hideous) between the lower limbs, continuously stressed during training, and those of the trunk "never" used, as if that were not enough, the strengthening of the muscles is necessary to make the strongest and most resistant player in tackling, another goal is to strengthen the limb muscles lower especially those groups with little stress on the pitch.
How to Set Up the Workout? Some Examples ...
In our example we will perform a number of repetitions around 10-12 with a workload of around 60-70% of the maximum and a recovery time equal to one minute between the series (3-4 series), the advice is to always start with progressivity and gradually using a weight that allows you to feel fatigue (without, however, leading to total muscle failure) towards the end of the repetitions.
È important remember that the strength training of a football player is different, both in structure and in the number of sets and repetitions, from the homonymous training of a bodybuilder.
1. Exercises for the muscles of the upper limbs
- Forward wide grip lat machine (lats and biceps), 4 sets of 12 repetitions.
- Vertical Row, Pulley or barbell / dumbbell rowing (lats and biceps), 4 sets of 12 reps.
- Chest press or dumbbell thrusts (pectorals and triceps), 4 sets of 10 reps.
- Lateral raises (shoulders), 4 sets of 10 repetitions.
2. Exercises for the muscles of the lower limbs
- Leg Curl (femoral), 4 sets of 12 reps.
- Standing gluteos (glutes and hamstrings), 4 sets of 12 repetitions.
- Leg press (quadriceps) or squats, 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
- Abductor and Adductor Machine, 4 sets of 10-12 reps.
3. Exercises for the abdominal muscles
- Bench crunch, 5 sets to failure.
- Oblique abdominals, 2 sets of 25 reps per side.
- Leg raises on bench, 5 sets to failure.
- Abdominal machine, 2 sets of 30 reps.
A tip not to be forgotten
If you intend to undertake this training with the advent of the summer season, it is important to remember to provide the body with a correct integration of liquids and mineral salts, for example you could evaluate the reintegration of essential salts at the end of training through powdered electrolytes, in fact, maintaining the right electrolyte balance allows you to prevent any cramps and dehydration, while preserving mental clarity and the ability to repeatedly perform muscle contractions.
