Circuit Training For Football Essay, Research Paper

What is circuit training? Circuit training is a method of training. A circuit

usually has 8 to 15 stations, where at each station a different exercise is

carried out for a certain amount of time. Circuit training can improve muscular

endurance, cardiovascular endurance, aerobic fitness, muscular strength, speed and

agility. A circuit-training program may also be designed for

a certain sport. Circuits for this purpose will include exercises to improve

all the muscles and skills associated with the sport.? Example: A circuit training program for basketball should

include skills ??????????????????????????????? like jumping, catching or throwing. Specificity My circuit-training program is for football and it

is based over a six-week period. The 10 stations are specifically suited to

what is needed to play football. The Circuit is specified for an outfield

player as there are no goalkeeping skills involved in this circuit. My circuit is aimed to improve the following over a

six-week period: muscular endurance, muscular strength, speed, agility,

cardiovascular endurance, and ball skills. These are all needed for

an outfield football player. For example: ·

Muscular

Endurance ? To keep the muscles contracting for the full length of the match

without them becoming tired or weak. ·

Muscular

Strength ? the force your muscles exert when they contract. This is an

important part of football as it is a contact sport and it is also very physical,

players need to be able to guard the ball and hold other players off when they

are challenging for the ball. Also muscular strength is useful when taking a

throw-in, good muscular strength in the abdominal muscles is required to throw

the ball higher and further to reach a player that is a long distance away from

the touch-line. ·

Speed

? the ability to perform a movement in a short period of time. This is

essential in football, for example to be able to sprint after a through ball or

tackle an opponent who is through on goal. ·

Agility

? the ability to change direction quickly and control movements of the whole

body. This is needed to be able to change direction quickly while dribbling or

to collect a loose ball. ·

Cardiovascular

Endurance ? the ability of the heart, lungs and circulation to deliver oxygen

and remove waste during exercise. This is essential for the player to keep a

constant pace all the way through the match. This is hard to perform in a

circuit, so it would be better to improve this by running long distances or

cycling. ·

Ball

Skills ? the skills in football are all open skills. This means that the

movement will change in a different environment. A skill is a particular action

or set of actions. These are essential for football as they cover everything

from a simple pass to a more complicated skills of dribbling the ball in

different directions. These are all motor skills as they are skills involving

movement. Overload To improve the fitness of a part of the body, you

need to overload it. That means you need to make it work harder than usual.

Over time, it adapts to meet the increased demand by getting fitter You can overload your body in three ways : ·

By

increasing the Frequency of exercise- how often you

do it. For example start by exercising

twice a week, then move up to three or four times a week. ·

By

increasing the Intensity of the exercise- how hard

you work. For example run faster or lift

heavier weights. ·

By

increasing the Time you spend on the exercise. If

you are very unfit you might start off jogging just for 5 minutes a session,

and work your way up week by week to 30 minutes a session. Progression Your body takes time to adapt to the increased

demands on it. So you should build up your exercise level gradually. But once

it reaches a certain level when it can comfortably deal with the level of

exercise, it will not improve anymore. This is called plateauing. To

prevent this from happening the exercises must be made progressively harder to

ensure that the body continues to improve. Equipment ·

20

Cones ·

3

Hoops ·

10

Soccer Balls ·

1

Measuring Tape The Circuit The order in which the exercises are to be done are: Warm

up >> Stretches >> The Circuit >> Warm DownWarm up & Stretching ? The warm up is very important, as the exercises you will

be doing are very demanding. The warm up will increase the blood flow and heart

rate, warm up the muscles, warms and loosens joints. This will prevent any

injuries to the muscles or joints. Start by lightly jogging for approximately 10 mins. DO NOT SPRINT!!!. Then move on to some dynamic stretching. For example,

rotating hips and arms. Then stretch all the major muscles used for football,

each stretch should be held for a period of 8 ? 10 seconds. Diagram Key Your movementsBall movementsConesHoops ??????????? The

muscles that need to be stretched are: 1.Hamstrings ??????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

2.Quadriceps???????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

3.Gastrocnemiuis ?????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????4.Triceps ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

5.Deltoids ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

6.Trapezium Station One On this station you have to start

at the line, sprint to the first cone then sprint back to the line then sprint

to the second cone, then sprint back to the line then

sprint to the third cone, then back to the line. Then sprint to the second cone and back

then to the first cone and back to complete the exercise. This will improve

your speed, agility and muscular endurance of the quadriceps and hamstrings. Station Two This station is a sit up exercise.

Perform as many as you can in one minute. These will improve muscular endurance

in the abdominal muscles; this comes in handy when a throw-in needs to be

thrown over a long distance. This is explosive strength because it is done in

one explosive movement. Station Three This exercise concentrates on a

player?s chipping ability and accuracy, the hoops should be placed 5m apart.

Place a ball behind the line and chip it so it bounces in the first hoop, then

chip a ball so it bounces in the second hoop. Then chip it so it bounces in the

third hoop; next chip it so it bounces in the second hoop, then the first hoop.

Station Four This is a shooting exercise. Place

two cones 5m apart, then line up five balls 10m away from the cones and one

cone 2m behind each ball. Strike the first ball then turn around and sprint

around the cone and strike the next ball then turn around and sprint to round

the cone etc. this will improve muscular strength and accuracy. Station Five Use this time (1 minute)? to rest and relax. Some light stretching can

be done to remove the lactic acid that has built up in your muscles during the

first four exercises.? Station Six The exercise on this station are

burpees, burpees are squat thrusts and star jumps mixed together. Do a squat

thrust then stand up and do a star jump and then another squat thrust then

stand up and do another star jump. This will improve your agility,

cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance and strength of the quadriceps

and hamstrings. Station Seven Place six cones 1m apart then

dribble a ball in and out of them and sprint back to the start, repeat this for

1 minute. This will improve ball skills, speed and agility. Record how many

complete runs are done. Station Eight The exercise on this station is

kick-ups. Do as many as you can in one minute. This will improve ball control,

and muscular endurance. Station Nine This exercise is passing; make a

rectangle with cones 5m by 2m, then pass the ball back and forth using both

feet. See how many complete passes are done in 1 minute. This exercise will

improve the ability to pass the ball accurately and ball control. Once the circuit is finished it can

be repeated or a warm down will take place, the warm down will consist of

gentle jogging and stretching to remove the lactic acid that builds up in

muscles while they are being worked. The warm down should help you perform

better next time you exercise. The

muscles that were stretched in the warm up should also be stretched in the warm

down. The stretches should be held longer then they were in the warm up to

prevent stiffness and soreness. The table below displays results

for one week of this circuit. Exercise Amount Shuttle runs 3 Sit-ups 30 Chipping ball into hoops 2 Shooting 4/1 Rest – Burpees 14 Dribbling 7 Kick ups 27 Passing 50 In six weeks time these results

should improve, below is a results table set over six weeks. Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 3 30 2 4/1* – 14 7 35 50 2 3 31 2 4/2 – 15 8 39 53 3 3 30 3 4/3 – 15 8 43 54 4 2 28 3 4/2 – 14 6 40 53 5 4 33 3 5/4 – 18 8 48 56 6 4 36 4 5/5 – 19 8 56 56 *On target/Scored Evaluation In general my circuit program was successful, it

tested each area of fitness that I wanted it to. Although it was successful,

because there were so many people doing their own circuit program there wasn?t

enough equipment, groups had to be formed so the equipment could be shared. Station 1, shuttle runs, this

station was very successful by the end of the six week period I had improved my

speed as I did more runs in one minute. It also improved my agility and the

endurance of my quadriceps and hamstrings. Station 2, sit-up exercise, this

station was very tiring, after each time I performed this exercise I could feel

my abdominal muscles becoming stronger. I improved throughout the six weeks,

there was a slight glitch in the results, which was in week 4 I?d had a cold

that week and that, was why I was under performing. But as a whole I improved

the strength and endurance of my abdominal muscles. Station 3, chipping balls into

hoops, I found this exercise very difficult my accuracy and chipping ability

improved drastically. Station 4, shooting this station tested my shooting and

accuracy ability. This was one of the easier stations as shooting isn?t a very

strenuous work out, although I did improve in the six-week period. Station 6,

burpees, this I found was the most difficult as it was very tiring and I had

already done 4 other stations. This did improve my agility, cardiovascular

endurance, muscular endurance and strength of the quadriceps and hamstrings.

Station 7, dribbling, this was a fairly easy exercise I have improved on my

speed and ball control, I noticed this in week five when I wasn?t as tired as I

was the weeks before. Station 8, kick-ups, I am fairly good at kick-ups already

but by the end of the program I was able to keep the ball under control at a

lower height than what I started with. Station 9, passing, this station tested

my right and left foot, my accuracy and my speed, my left foot has improved a

lot by doing this exercise, my right foot has slightly improved. During week four my results

decrease, the reason for this is I had a cold that week and was unable to

perform to my full potential, as my results show. I found the circuit to be very

intense and tiring, but very effective as my circuit tested all the areas I

wanted it to. I was very tired though after completing each week of the

program, my muscles were aching and my heart and breathing rate had increased

drastically. If I were to perform the circuit program again I would start by

having a recovery time between each station, also I would make the exercise

time slightly less at the beginning of the program so I could get use to doing

the exercises gradually. Although I had improved during the

six-week period I had only improved slightly, so if I were repeating this

program I would make it last 12 weeks so improvements could be seen more

easily. Once the circuit becomes to easy I would have to make it harder to

affect plateauing. If the circuit is not made harder the body will stop

improving in the areas of muscular endurance and anaerobic respiration. The

body must also train to prevent reversibility. This is when the affects of

training decrease and the benefits are lost.