Category: Sport. Title: Planning Training Sessions in Football. The Affects of Muscle Damage.

Planning Training Sessions in Football. The Affects of Muscle Damage

learn how to plan your week of training to improve your development. This article looks at the types of training such as technical, tactical and physical furthermore, how to reduce the effects of exercise induced muscle damage

For many teams at a semi-pro and amateur level training days are dictated by when players are available, this is not the case in the pro game however, selecting what type of training to perform at which stage of the week is still as important at both levels. Types of training that a team may perform include technical which involves aspects such as shooting, passing and moves/skills. Tactical is another type of training which entails work as a unit (defence, midfield, attack), team or individual on such things as positional roles, player movements and patterns of play. Physical training is also a key aspect involved in modern football, this can include gym work, field based activities such as sprints, or endurance activities.

With regards to how to plan training the most important thought in a coach’s mind should be preparing the players to perform to their best in the upcoming match. Therefore, knowing that the players are at their peak fitness levels is vital. Eccentric exercise involves the muscle contracting and getting longer at the same time, this type of action is used when kicking a ball hard, jumping, sprinting and lifting weights. Eccentric exercises cause damage to the muscles by overstretching the weakest sarcomeres and disrupting the muscle fibres. This causes a decrease in the amount of power and strength produced by the muscle furthermore, an impairment of voluntary force and position sense, meaning that players will not only be slower but also find it more difficult to control precise foot placement. These negative effects of eccentric exercise peak around 48-72 hours after exercise and therefore should be positioned accordingly in a training plan to avoid affecting the players during the match. Around a week after eccentric exercise the muscles will adapt by adding more sarcomeres which makes the muscle stronger at longer at lengths.

The amount of exercise induced muscle damage caused by eccentric activities depends on factors such as prior eccentric and concentric exercise. Concentric exercise is the when the muscle contracts and gets shorter at the same time. In pre season when the muscles have not been used eccentrically for a while they will react with lots of muscle damage, you may have noticed the pain and stiffness for days after. During the season when the muscles are more used to eccentric activities they react better and can handle the workload with little pain. However caution is still needed as a heavy training session can leave the muscles damaged.

Taking all of the information above into account, training should be planned so that the most physically taxing eccentric exercises are positioned furthest away from match day for example on a Tuesday before a Saturday game. As the week progresses the volume (time spent training) of work should be tapered down while keeping the intensity high. The spare time can then be filled with looking at the opposition’s tactics and planning your own teams set pieces, formation etc.

James Ryder

Visit www.wineverything.co.uk to find out more about sports science in football

Date written: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:42:13 +0100

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learn how to plan your week of training to improve your development. This article looks at the types of training such as technical, tactical and physical furthermore, how to reduce the effects of exercise induced muscle damage