We introduced the 11+ warm up a few months ago here, and strongly advocate its use in any sport not just in soccer. While the aim of the warm up is in trying to reduce the rate of injury among athletes, a new study published in The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine has demonstrated that the warm up induces [...]
Strength training has never been more important in (professional) soccer. We’ve commented before on squat training protocols for youth soccer players and on the fact that UEFA Champions League players combine strength, speed & aerobic power training. A new study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research has looked at the effect of a 10 week strength training [...]
When pre-season is over, most players in a team will have pretty high fitness levels but some variations will be seen from the fittest to the rest. Players get fit with the aim of playing, and those playing matches regularly will maintain their speed, endurance & power by virtue of competitive matches. But for players [...]
Our previous posts on the sports science of tennis discussed the success and decline of top 10 players since the open era began. In part II, we discussed a hot topic among tennis coaches and sports scientists in general, the concept of early specialisation. In part III physical preparation for tennis, two themes run concurrently: the first theme is the annual [...]
The link between aerobic fitness and diabetes prevention or management has been well established. Most Diabetes associations recommend getting at least 150 min /week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise. Grontved et al 2012 took a look at weight training and its effects. Over the course of the survey they determined that men who weight trained [...]
The hamstring muscles are uniquely prone to injury in field athletes, where high intensity running and sprinting often lead to strains and occasionally tears. While the aetiology of hamstring injuries is complex (and will be discussed in a further post), thigh injuries were highlighted in The UEFA Injury Study 2011 accounting for 17% of all injuries, with [...]
There is a growing body of evidence highlighting the positive effects of both plyometric and strength training for youth athletes. A little earlier this week, we posted that plyometric training in youth soccer players improves many physical performance indicators including, speed, strength & peak power. And a more recent study by Keiner et al. (2012) has demonstrated [...]
Rest periods continue to be a highly debated aspect of strength training. We received some feedback concerning our last post on rest periods so here is a follow-up. Willardson and Burkett 2005 performed a study using a squat and bench press protocol. After determining the athletes 8 rep max, they were asked to perform the [...]