Friday 28 September 2012

Light Muscle Group Exercises for Soccer

Now in this post we will discuss about the light muscle exercises which helps you in building them and improving your abilities and skills for playing better soccer in the field. So here are some of them you all will be definitely looking for.

Light Muscle Group Exercises:

1. Bench press:
The player lies supine on the bench with feet apart and supported on the ground on either side. Two spotters are used for precautionary reasons. The bar is taken from supporting stands by the spotters and handed to the athlete on his/her upper chest. This exercise is very popular with all athletes that use weight-training programmes.



       Taking the bar in too high near the throat is to be avoided on safety considerations. Normally a wide knuckles-up grip is adopted. A wider hand hold is used to handle greater weights, though this defeats the purpose of imposing greatest resistance on anterior deltoids and triceps. The wider grip promotes strength in the pectoral area, the narrower grip favoring a contribution from the triceps muscles. However, care must be taken that the grip is sufficiently wide not to jeopardize security and continual concentration is required of the spotters as 40 kg is sufficient to lacerate the facial bone from a fall of half a meter. The weight is pushed vertically from the chest. Prior to the movement it is necessary to have the chest full of air to provide a rigid base from which the weight is moved. The performer exhales after the weight ascends. The bar should be lowered slowly so as to permit complete control of the weight throughout. Altering the hand spacing affects the pattern of muscular involvement.Dumb-bells may be used to replace the barbell and, though this change means a lower resistance, it allows movement through a greater range.

An alternative procedure is to have the assistants lift the barbell, the player’s task being to control its lowering by eccentric muscle contractions. In this way,the limitation of performing only unidirectional work is overcome. Whilst heavier loads can be handled than in concentric work, the benefits of the training programmes are enhanced when both concentric and eccentric actions are employed.Bench pressing is ubiquitous in the weight-training programmes of athletes. It has been widely accepted by runners, jumpers and games players. It would seem appropriate for soccer players attempting to improve upper-body strength,making it more difficult for opponents to master them in physical challenges.The main muscles involved are the protractors of the shoulder girdle, the abductors of the scapula and the elbow extensors.

2. Overhead press:
Overhead press can be performed standing upright or sitting on a bench. The starting position can be from the chest but usually the weight is pressed vertically from behind the neck until the arms are at full stretch overhead, an inflated chest acting as a platform from which the action takes place. In the standing posture heavy weights may produce compensating movements in the legs or trunk to allow the action to be completed. In younger individuals acquiring the technique, an assistant can apply light pressure at the scapulae to prevent swaying. 



     Alternatively, it may help if the action is performed with immediate visual feedback from a mirror. If dumb-bells are used the line of action of the specific competitive performance can be employed. Goalkeepers, for example, may use one or both arms alternately or simultaneously at an angle of release in the sagittal plane of approximately 30 degree.

3. Pull downs:



This exercise is best performed using a pulley system. The bar to which the weighted pulley is attached is held overhead but to the front of the body. The task is to pull it down in front of the head to approximately chest level. It can be released under control and the exercise repeated. The exercise is sometimes described as a ‘lat pull’ due to the engagement of the latissimus dorsi muscle.

4. Rowing:



A rowing action may be performed from an upright or a bent-forward posture. Activity should be restricted to the arms and shoulders, with careful attention given to the exclusion of movement in the back and trunk. In both forms, the downward movement of the bar should be controlled. An observer can ensure the posture does not get progressively higher with each succeeding effort in bent-forward rowing. This deviation can indicate the performer is tiring and when fatigued the player is most likely to handle weights incorrectly. Again, the use of a mirror in learning the technique is recommended. A partner may be used to exert light pressure on the upper back to prevent accentuation of the lordotic curve.

    If performed in a quick jerky manner with the knees locked, damage to the inter vertebral discs can occur with pressure on the disc forcing its fluid-like center, the nucleus pulposus, to project posteriorly causing medical complications. This possibility can be avoided either by resting the forehead on a padded table while the lift is performed or bending the knees to about 15 degree flexion. This posture releases tension from the muscles of the posterior thigh and back and allows the lumbar spine to retain a normal curvature. The muscles isolated in this exercise are the latissimus dorsi, teres major and rhomboids.

    In upright rowing a narrow grip is used with the elbows pointing upwards. In bent-forward rowing the elbows assume a more lateral orientation. Both procedures are widely used by individuals seeking an increase in upper-body strength.

5. Overarm Pulls:



This exercise may be performed with the individual lying supine on a bench and feet supported on the ground. The arms may be held straight or flexed. A mild flexion is recommended to reduce strain on the shoulder joint. The weights lifted should not be unduly heavy, otherwise they will be difficult to control at the outer ranges of movement. The barbell may be taken from a position on the ground in a circular motion forward to a position over the chest or continued further to rest on the thighs. The serratus anterior muscle is stretched as the weight is lowered to recommence the movement. Correct timing of breathing is important, inhalation occurring as the weight descends towards the ground and exhalation as the load is taken back up.


6. Bicep Curls:



Curls implicate elbow flexion and may be performed with barbells or with one or two dumb-bells. It is difficult to operate at maximal loads in standing without other muscle groups being introduced to assist fatiguing elbow flexors. Again, care should be taken so that loads are not so heavy as to accentuate lordosis of the spine. The elbow flexors may be isolated by supporting the limb being exercised on a bench or table. The other limb should then be exercised to ensure symmetrical strength development.


7. Triceps Curls:



Triceps curls may be done with dumb-bells. These are held with the arms overhead, elbows pointed forward. From a position with the elbow flexed, the weights are brought forward as the joint is extended. This action has some similarity to the throw-in if two light dumb-bells are used together.
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