Becoming a world champion is not something that happens overnight, and football is no different. Football requires speed and agility, and places a lot of demand on the lower body.
In order to reduce the risk of injury, it’s very important to warm up before a game, as well cool down afterwards. Choosing the right equipment and gear is also a must, as it helps to improve training results and recovery.
In the major European football leagues, each player covers an average of 11 km of more per match, with the record standing at almost 14 km. As a high-intensity sport, football has the potential to cause leg cramp or even torn muscles.
In addition to warming up, footballers also need to train regularly in order to strengthen their leg and core muscles. Regardless of how intense your workout is, it’s always important to do a proper warm up and stretch your muscles.
This helps to reduce the risk of injury so that you can continue to train regularly and achieve new goals.
1) Decathlon’s football agility ladder features a portable design and helps to improve leg and hip flexibility.
- It’s also great for increasing your heart rate before returning to the pitch after half-time.
- It can be used to perform a number of different drills, including forwards sprints, single leg hops or sideways shuffles, and can be combined with a shot on goal.
- Each drill helps to train a different skill. Although speed is important, maintaining a good posture is even more critical to achieving your best performance.
2) Featuring an adjustable height, Decathlon’s speed hurdles are another great way to improve your football skills.
- For example: to improve your dribbling skills, you can dribble a football back and forth between the hurdles for a set time (e.g. 60 seconds).
- To increase the difficulty, look ahead (avoid looking at the ball).
3) The speed hurdles can also be used in combination with markers.
- For example: by jumping from one side to the other in order to strengthen the quad muscles.
- If this is too easy, you can try hopping. Whichever exercises you do, always remember to ensure that both feet are evenly trained (don’t neglect your weaker foot).
Speed hurdles 3 heights
Football agility ladder
Flat markers - 4 colours
In addition to the usual stretching exercises, it’s also a good idea to introduce dynamic stretching to your pre-match warm-ups in order to activate the muscles and boost your performance on the pitch.
Remember: After the final whistle, do some dynamic stretching exercises before going home.
- Improve your performance and prevent injury, listen to your body and focus on stretching fatigued muscles!
