When it comes to defence for your team, you’re the single most important player. Your role is nothing short of crucial, but it requires a unique set of skills. If you’re going to be at your best, you need to be agile, explosive, and have great reflexes. Those skills are what make a specific fitness training routine absolutely essential for any serious goalkeeper. What are the requirements of a good fitness routine for goalkeepers? What kind of training plan should you build for yourself? What muscle groups need the most attention? What drills should you include? This guide can help.
Understanding The Physical Demands of Goalkeeping
If you’re going to be successful in every match, you need a combination of good physical and technical skills. You need a strong core, good hand-eye coordination, great agility, solid reflexes, and a good overall level of fitness. That’s not all, though. You also need to have great ball-handling skills, be able to stop shot after shot, and have the ability to dive and recover quickly.
This combination of skills and physical power set the goalkeeper apart from every other position on the field, and a specific fitness routine can help you develop these attributes that can ultimately lead to improved performance on the pitch.
What Kind of Training Plan Should You Build?
As you begin to work on the right training plan to help build your fitness level, you’ll want to create an option that focuses on several areas. The first of those is agility. Goalkeepers need to be able to move quickly and change direction rapidly to make saves. Agility training can improve footwork, reaction time, and coordination.
Another key component of goalkeeper fitness is explosive power. Goalkeepers need to be able to jump high and dive quickly to make saves. Plyometric exercises, such as box jumps and explosive pushups, can help develop explosive power.
Endurance is also critical for goalkeepers. They need to be able to maintain their focus and physical performance for the entire match. Endurance training can improve cardiovascular health and increase the amount of time a goalkeeper can perform at a high level.
Finally, strength training can help goalkeepers improve their overall physical performance. Strength training can increase muscle mass and improve bone density, which can help prevent injuries.
What to Include in Your Training Plan
Ready to put pencil to paper and create a plan you can follow? These tips can help.
- Start with a Solid Warmup and Stretching Routine
Your goal here is to prepare your body for the physical demands you’ll put on it during your workouts and while you’re on the pitch. Begin with a light cardiovascular warmup like a light jog or skipping rope. You’ll want to do this for about five to ten minutes, as it will help warm up your muscles and increase your heart rate.
Once you’ve done that, do some lower body stretches. Choose dynamic stretches that target your hamstrings, quads, and calves. If you’re not familiar with dynamic stretches, they involve active, slow movements that help stretch your muscles through their full range. While static stretches can help you extend certain muscles, dynamic stretching simulates the movements you’ll be using during your workout, and that can help your body prepare for a tougher workout. Be sure to focus, too, on stretches that will help activate your core muscles to begin to build your stability and balance, as well as those that prepare your shoulder and chest muscles.
After you’ve stretched, do some light goalkeeper-specific moves that mimic what you do in your position. This would include some diving to the left and right as well as jumping to catch those balls. You’ll also want to do some light footwork at this point just to get your body ready.
Move On to Work Your Core
Core strength is essential for goalkeepers as it provides stability, balance and power when performing dynamic movements such as dives and jumps. Because of that, there are several things you can do to work on your core.
- Planks: There is no single better way to strengthen your entire core than with a plank. When you get tired of a traditional plank, move on to variations like the side plank, a plank with a leg lift, or a walking plank.
- Russian Twists: If you’ve never performed this movement, it’s one that you’ll feel immediately, but it’s a great way to strengthen your core. Sit on the floor with your feet flat and your knees bent in front of you. Lean back at a 45 degree angle, then twist from side to side. As you twist, be sure to touch the ground with your hands on both sides.
- Medicine Ball Sit-Ups: You’ll need a medicine ball for this one. It starts like a Russian Twist does, with you on your back and your knees in front of you. Hold the medicine ball above your chest. Sit up, then throw the ball to a partner. If you don’t have a partner for this exercise, you can just throw it against the wall.
- Leg Raises: Lie on your back again for this one, but put your hands under your hips and have your legs straight out in front of you. Lift them up to a 90 degree angle, then slowly lower them back down.
- Focus on Plyometrics
You need strength, power, and agility when you’re on the pitch. Incorporating plyometrics into your workout can do just that for you. Many goalkeepers use ladder and cone drills to help improve in all of these areas, and while those drills are a great way to improve footwork and speed, there’s so much more you can do.
- Box Jumps: Choose a box that is about 40 to 50 centimetres tall. Stand with the box about a step in front of you. Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Bend your knees just a bit, almost into a quarter squat position. Use that momentum to jump on top of the box. Step back down, then repeat the movement.
- Lateral Jumps: You want to be in a spot with a line on the floor. Then stand with your feet slightly apart, and your knees bent into a squat. You want all of your weight on your heels. Jump quickly up and sideways toward the other side of the line, then land in a squat position. Repeat toward the other side, and perform the movement in 60 second intervals.
- Medicine Ball Throws: Grab a medicine ball, then drop into a semisquat. Drop your arms down so the ball is near your feet. Thrust with your hips and extend your legs, swinging your arms up in the process. Throw the ball as high as you can above the head, then catch it. Take a moment, then perform the exercise again
Add Reaction Drills
Reaction drills target your reflexes, which helps to enhance those sudden movements and unexpected changes in direction you must make in the middle of a match. They can also help improve your hand-eye coordination. Here are a few you may want to try, but it’s best to work with a partner on all of these.
- Tennis Ball Drill: This drill involves throwing tennis balls. Why are football goalkeepers using tennis balls during training? It means a much quicker reaction time. Have your partner grab a bucket of tennis training balls, then stand several feet from you. Your partner should quickly begin to throw a ball in your direction. You want to react quickly and catch the ball before it hits the ground. As soon as you catch one, your partner should have the next tennis ball in the air.
- Reaction Ball Drill: Now more than ever, many different sports use reaction balls in training drills. These rubber balls are covered in knobs and lumps that help them bounce erratically when they hit a surface. This makes them perfect for football goalkeepers. Have your partner throw a reaction ball toward the floor in front of you. You must react quickly and catch it as it bounces in strange ways off the floor. It works particularly well if you have more than one reaction ball available so your partner can always be ready with another one.
Finish with Cool Down and Recovery
Cooling down after a solid workout is a key component for a number of different reasons. It can help bring your heart rate slowly down and prevent blood from pooling in your muscles. It also helps remove lactic acid from your muscles, which could go on to create muscle cramps if you don’t properly deal with it. Fortunately, these additions to your cool down routine can help.
- Jogging or Walking: After your training session, start with a light jog or a fast walk to gradually lower your heart rate.
- Static Stretching: Stretching can help prevent muscle soreness and improve flexibility. Stretch all of your major muscle groups, including the hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and back.
- Foam Rolling: Foam rolling can help reduce muscle tension and improve blood flow to the muscles. Use a large foam roller to roll out your legs, back, and other areas that feel tight or sore.
- Ice Baths: Some goalkeepers use ice baths to reduce inflammation and aid in muscle recovery. This involves submerging the body in cold water for between five and ten minutes.
Remember, every goalkeeper is different and may have different recovery needs. It’s important to listen to your body and adjust your cool down and recovery routine as needed.
A Few Last Words
Goalkeeper-specific fitness training is essential if you’re looking to improve your performance on the field. By incorporating exercises that focus on strength, power, agility, and reaction time, you’ll develop the physical attributes needed to make game-changing saves and keep your team in the game.