Exercise Plan for Football Players Essay

Football, being a very energetic sport, means the players should stay fit and healthy. To do this they have a specific exercise plan, this will ensure that the players will not get tired throughout the ninety minute game. In this assignment I am going to devise a possible exercise and fitness plan for this sport. In it I will include, gentle exercise, low level stretch, curl ups for abdominal muscles and mobilising exercises for shoulders and hips. I will include plans for exercises with and without the use of weights. I will add an exercise regime table. I will then evaluate my work. At first the players will have to do a Gentle exercise to warm up. This will help to try and prevent any injuries that may occur, whilst completing the rest of the exercise plan. At first the players will have to stretch their muscles, starting from the top of their bodies. Head and Neck Rotation. * Begin by tilting head back slightly. * Draw chin forwards and level the head. * Keeping head level, return to upright. * Tilt chin forwards, towards the chest. * Ease head backwards, leaving chin downwards * Finish by slowly raising the chin and head back to the upright position. The deep stretch – Stand upright with feet hip width apart. Lock fingers together behind back. Gently ease the elbows up and away from the body, until the stretch is felt. Hold this for 20 to 30 seconds. Press-ups – Start with your hands flat on the floor, underneath shoulders. Support body on toes, keeping legs straight. Pull in stomach; bend elbows out 90 and lower chest towards the floor. Inhaling at the same time. Press back up to the starting position whilst exhaling. Keep head level. Do not lift it too high as this places a strain on the neck and can result in injury. Repeat this for 2 sets of 10. Latissimus Dorsi Stretch – Stand with feet hip width apart pulling in the abdomen muscles. Hold one arm straight over the head, lean sideways from the hip joint, ensuring you keep the hips level. Extend arm until a stretch is felt. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds breathing easily throughout. Repeat this stretch on the other side. Repeat for 2 sets of 10 on each side. Triceps Stretch – With abdominal contracted and back straight, place the fingers of one hand in between the shoulder blades. Support this arm by placing the other hand on the elbow. Apply gentle pressure by pushing the elbow down the spine with the supporting hand. Feel the stretch in the back of the arm. Breathe evenly throughout. Hold this for 10 to 20 seconds. Repeat on the other side. Basic Crunch – Lie on back with knees up. Feet hip width apart, abdominal sucked in and hands at side of head (Not at Back of head). Exhale, squeeze up raising shoulders a little way off the ground. Hold for a moment then slowly ease down inhaling. For a more advanced stretch, lift legs off the floor whilst raising shoulders. Repeat this for 2 sets of 10. Oblique curl – Lie flat on back with knees up, feet hip width apart, keep right shoulder and lower back pressed tightly into the floor. Whilst exhaling contract the abdominal and with left arm reach over to the right knee, until a stretch is felt, in the midsection whilst lifting the left shoulder slightly off the floor. Hold for a moment, then whilst inhaling lower back to floor. For a more advances stretch raise feet off floor and reach for toes. Repeat this for 2 sets of 10. Calf Stretch – Standing with feet facing forwards, hip width apart, take a step forward with the right leg, keeping the knee slightly bent. Press the heel of right leg into the floor until the stretch is felt in the rear calf muscle of this leg. Hold this for 20 to 30 seconds, keeping weight centred over the hips, step backwards with the right leg to return to start position. Repeat using the other leg. Squats (Quads, Hamstrings and Gluteals.) – Stand with abdominal contracted and feet hip width apart, arms should be stretched in front. Bend at knees lowering the body and inhaling while doing so. Thighs should remain parallel to the floor and head should be kept in line with the spine. Do not lean too far forward as this places stress on the lower back and makes the exercise less effective. Hold momentarily at the bottom position then whilst exhaling return to the starting position. Repeat this 10 times. This completes the warm up exercise. For the aerobic workout, the players should jog for a minimum of thirty minutes. In this jog they should include side stepping and also skipping. After thirty minutes the pace should be reduced to a brisk walk, this should be done for five minutes. Following the brisk walk, the pace should again be reduced to a relaxed walk; this should also be done for five minutes. When the players have completed their aerobic work out a warm down should take place. In the warm down, some stretches that were used in the warm up, should be used again. Warming down is very important. If warming down does not take place, it will make the muscles feel sore and tender. It could also lead to injury. When using weight machines for exercise, you must always check that it is on the correct weight for you. Flat Dumbbell Press (Chest) – This exercise can be performed on a flat of inclined bench, keep abdominal contracted and lower back flat onto the bench, take a 5kg dumbbell in each hand and hold tem in a 90 angle to your body. Lift the dumbbells in an arc above the chest until they almost touch. Return to start position. Repeat this 10 times. Seated Row (Back) – Take an elastic band and sit on the floor with legs extended in front. Make sure back is straight and abdominal are contracted. Pull elastic with arms until there Is a slight tension in the band. Squeeze elbows slowly backwards increasing the tension in the band. Exhale as you do this. Return to start position, inhaling while doing so. Lateral Pull down (Back) – Before starting this exercise; check the weights are at 5kgs and adjust the seat level. Sit with feet flat on the floor. Abdominal contracted and back straight. Lower body is stabilised by the leg pad which rests on your thighs. Use a wide over hand grip, pull down bar, to level with upper chest, exhaling. Squeeze back muscles at bottom position. Slowly return bar to the starting position, inhaling while doing so. Repeat this 10 to 20 times. Timing: 4 seconds up. 4 seconds down. Biceps Curl – Take a 3kg Dumbbell, in your right hand, stand with feet, hip width apart and abdominal contracted. Straighten arm holding the dumbbell towards the floor. Squeeze the dumbbell upwards until level with the shoulder, exhaling while doing so. Momentarily squeeze your bicep at top position. In a slow controlled movement lower the arm to starting position. Repeat this 10 times and then swap arms. Leg Press – Again check weights are at 5kgs and adjust the seat. Start with the hips and knees at 90 to your trunk with your feet flat on the foot support. Keep lower back and head in contact with the back support and grip the bars. Push your lower body up and away from the foot support slowly breathing out, make sure feet stay flat on the floor support and a stretch should be felt in the whole of the upper leg. Hold this momentarily in the top position before slowly returning to start position, inhaling as you do so. Repeat this 20 times. This completes the warm up exercise for the exercises using weights. For this aerobic Exercise, the players should spend 15 minutes jogging of Hill walking on a treadmill followed by 15 minutes on a cross trainer. After this they should then spend 10 minutes on a rowing machine, gently rowing to ease the pace. When the players have finished their aerobic workout, a warm down should take place. Again in this warm down some stretches from the warm up will be used, this will help prevent muscle soreness or any injuries.