I have recently signed a semi-professional football contract and I’m now looking to make it pro, however I believe that to make this step I need to be stronger and quicker. Do you know of any workouts or tips which could help with improving power and strength?
Answer
Strength is not a difficult aspect of fitness to improve, a good well planned weights routine in which you start with lighter weights but higher repetition gradually working to lifting heavy weights and lower repetitions backed up with good supplementation to ensure muscle growth, should do it. Power on the other hand is much harder and requires a longer time frame. Once you are in the later phases of your weights routine and are lifting some heavy weights try alternating one set of very heavy weights with a set of plymetrics. Essentially the only way to become more powerful is to be stronger and faster. Try and bare this in mind when ever you train. For the short term, there are certain supplements that will give you an immediate improvement. Creatine is probably the single best supplement for your needs and is a must for any power athlete.
Question
Hey Pat, I’m 19 years old and a soccer player but I’m not satisfied with my looks. My height is good enough but I want to put on 7-9 kilos of muscle so that I can gain my victory in the ground. What is your should I do?
Answer
Firstly you must not worry too much, you will naturally put on 2 or 3 kg's over the next couple of years. The extra weight on top that you want you will have to work for though. Football is largely a running based game so it is important you don't neglect that aspect of your game. With this in mind, what you eat is going to be hugely important. The basic building block of muscle is protein so try to increase this in your diet, I would normally take two or three protein shakes a day during phases in which I'm trying to increase muscle mass. The other major factors are known muscle builders, such as creatine, HMB, l-glutamine, BCAA’s and a testosterone booster. Sci-MX’s new Omni-MX all in one contains all of these so it is an easy way to cover all aspects. It is also important that you train heavy, low reps (between 5 and 8) and that you only do weights 3 times a week while doing football training. Any more than 3 days of weights plus all the football / running will reverse any muscle anabolism that occurs because it’s just too much. Ensure that you sleep loads as well.
Question
Hi Pat. I need to put on about 6-8 kilograms of muscle for a chance to get selected for the senior 15. I'm a specialist number 7 and I'm very busy on the field like you. I eat like a horse and take whey protein 3 times day. I'm 19 years old and weigh 88 kgs and the senior coach wants to give me a go if I am heavy enough to cope with the big boys. During training I can stand my ground with the seniors for the first 30 minutes of contact but I take strain after that and get pushed around. Thanks, Hank
Answer
Firstly you are only 19 and you will put weight on naturally over the next two years so long as you maintain your weights and nutrition, but it is possible to speed things up a little. During the season taking supplements that stop the breakdown of muscle due to all the running you'll be doing will help such as HMB and tweaking your training. You may have to sacrifice your fitness levels short term in order to concentrate on power, strength and speed training which will in turn add the extra few kilo's you need. Hope this helps. Pat
