The Sports Life

Improve your Football Fitness

Many people like to call football a game of inches. However, I believe that in order to turn these inches into touchdowns, many aspects are necessary in order for this to take place. This article is an in-depth guide to improving your abilities as a football player. You are going to learn how to increase your speed, acceleration, agility, balance, and the most important, strength.

There are three ways in which to practice increasing your speed: Improving running mechanics, improving technique, and strengthening your legs. Most players don`t have great running mechanics and if they would just improve their technique, they would run alot faster. Leg strength is important because the more force applied to the ground, the faster you will run. You simply cannot reach your full speed potential by just running sprints. A number of elements must coincide with each other if you want to reach your maximum speed potential. From a scientific standpoint, speed is the by product of two elements: Stride length and stride frequency. Stride length is the distance you cover during each step of your run. Stride frequency is basically the number of steps you take per socond. By using the following training methods, you can increase your stride length and frequency; hence, increase of speed.

*Shuttle sprints- Start in your preferred position, run 10-15 yards, run backwards to starting postion, and then repeat.

*Pylometric circuit- Use this drill no more than once a week and not on days before the big game, since this circuit may take a couple of days to recover from.

Speed and acceleration go hand-in-hand. To improve your acceleration, repeated sprints of more than ten seconds, performed with a standing start will be most useful. This will help the neuromuscular and metabolic qualities of the muscles involved. Another way of improving acceleration is to practice accelerating as fast as possible during practice. A slow acceleration topped with a quick burst is another good method that can be used. One of the best utilities you can train with to increase acceleration is using the PowerBlast gauntlet. Practice with this equipment and you`re well on your way to increasing your acceleration.

Ladder drills are best performed in increasing your agility. In sports competition, the body is constantly asked to perform movements from unusual angles. The main purpose of the agility ladder program is to promote a wide range of different foot and movement patterns. These movements become second nature, and the body is able to quickly respond to the various angles required. You can improve your agility by practicing the movements in training and the agility ladder is a useful tool in a good agility program. The common ladder is roughly ten yards long with eighteen inch squares, but you can make your own ladder just using tape or even sticks. When you start the agility ladder program, introduce your body to two to four different movements. Once you get good at these movements, introduce yourself to new patterns to keep your body guessing.

Many of today`s athletes are using balance training as a crucial part of their overall training program. Balance is needed by runners in wooded areas, soccer players need balance when taking the ball on a volley from just behind themselves, and even tennis players need balance when reaching for a drop shot. Each of these situations requires the exercise of just the right amount of flexibility at the right time. With balance training, the idea is to recreate and manipulate what you would do in a game situation. Maintaining balance means having the center of your mass within the middle of your base for support. In the past, people believed that perfect balance was best illustrated by standing on one leg and staying as still as possible for as long as possible. This method still works but there are also other methods in which are useful. Exercises such as the one-leg punch and jump steps are both perfect for improving your balance.

Another point to remember is that maximal strength training should be a progression from general strength training with maximal loads. Heavy maximal exercise is only used for advanced strength trainees. Good abdominal and lower back strength is crucial if heavy lifting exercises are going to be used. Pylometric exercises are classified into bounding, hopping, and jumping movements. These exercises demand a high force of contraction in response to a rapid loading of lengthening the muscles. For this reason, they should be renamed rebound or reversible action exercises. The training effort increases the force production in the muscles, but the movements are performed at faster speeds than that of weight-training exercises. Rebounding exercises are more common to the sprinting and jumping reps on each leg, with at least one minute of rest between sets. Endurance should not be a factor. Running with weighted jackets and sprinting uphill are also useful exercises because it adds resistance to the sprint movement, which places greater load on the muscles.

Football is not an easy sport by any mean, but being physically prepared of its tough demands is half of the battle. The other half is using what you know and a little of bit of luck as well. You have learned the five most important areas of physical fitness needed to be a good football player. Make sure you pay me a visit after you win your first Super Bowl ring. Until next time, later.

Author owns a website, where you can find volumes of info on Anabolic Steroids.... You can visit his website for complete information on Legal Steroids - Buy Steroids Online, and tips to Anabolic Steroids For Women

MORE ARTICLES:

Soccer Fantasy Pro Launches Game for Second Season
Unofficial MLS fantasy game website SoccerFantasyPro.com returns with Fantasy Pro and Survivor Pro. Both games are free to play. SoccerFantasyPro.com is the only unofficial MLS fantasy game website to offer two distinctly different competitions.

GG.com's Free Premiership Football Betting Tips And Statistics: First Goalscorer Betting
One of the most popular areas of football betting in the first goalscorer sector, despite the fact that bookmakers are less than generous via the compiling of the relevant odds. There is still money to be made however, though the following FACTS might surprise a few readers.

American Football Gaining International Popularity
In most parts of the world, if you say the word "football" people assume you are referring to soccer, the most popular and most widely followed sport in the world. However, American football is starting to spark more interest overseas. The National Football League actively promotes American-style football out of the country, sending players as ambassadors and holding pre-season games in Europe, Mexico and Japan. Games are broadcast in many countries and the Super Bowl is broadcast to almost every country in the world.

Super Kick Soccer Training Aid Tested in International Soccer Scientific Laboratory
Super Kick, the world renowned product proven to advance a soccer player's kicking technique by automatically locking their ankle to achieve a perfect kick with both feet. Currently being tested by French Premiere Club Bordeux to be used by their soccer academy as well as many others.

Unc Basketball Tickets - See A Living Dynasty Add To Its Legacy
UNC basketball tickets are cherished by college basketball fans both in North Carolina and around the world, as the Tar Heels have a winning tradition that?s nearly unmatched in college basketball. When someone even mentions the phrase ?college hoops,? North Carolina is one of the first teams people often think of, and that?s not going to change any time soon. Below we?ll take a look at the Tar Heels? prospects for the upcoming season, and it looks like they could be adding to their legend come spring of 2007.

The Road to March Madness with NCAA College Basketball Conference Tournaments and NBA Action Highlight February Sports Betting Coverage on Tony T's S
Tony T's Sports Bets Sports Betting TV Show airs 7 days a week on Gamblers Television. Tony T breaks down the big TV Games from College Basketball and the NBA on this week's series of shows. Here is the preview for this week's shows and few of the big College Basketball and NBA games that will be covered from a sports betting perspective. Tony T's Sports Bets is a Sports Betting Information TV show that focuses on sports betting on College Basketball and the NBA airing with a new episode each day seven days a week on http://GamblersTelevision.com.

Fantasy Football at its Finest; Maximum Fantasy Sports is Now Open With its Fantasy Football Leagues, No-Cost Survivor, Confidence and Pick 'em Pools
Are you rabid fantasy football fan? Tired of boilerplate fantasy football offerings? Maximum Fantasy Sports leads the industry in innovation and customer service.

Getting the Most out of Summer Soccer Camps
EduKick soccer expert offers tips for parents on how to choose the right soccer camp.

Beijing Olympics Credited With Chinese Bible Sales Increase
The demand for Chinese Bibles and Chinese Language Bibles has dramatically increased as the Beijing Olympics moves the world's attention to China.