Five Best Exercises to Improve Your Leg Strength in Soccer

Playing soccer involves the use of the legs 95% of the time. It is a game that is almost hands-free for the players except for the goalie whose role is to catch the ball from entering the goal. With the legs being used for dribbling, kicking and maneuvering the ball all the time, it's exceedingly necessary that players develop strong legs to last longer in this game. The following are five of the best exercises to improve leg strength in soccer.

1.    Squatting – One of the best exercises to work out the muscles on your legs is to perform a series of squats. Squatting primarily targets the muscles in your thighs, hips, buttocks, quadriceps and hamstrings. It is a vital exercise to perform if you wish to improve the strength and size of your lower leg muscles. You can perform your squat exercises without weights, or for better results, do it with a dumbbell or a bar. When doing your squats with weights, it is important to maintain a correct stance, or else, you may end up injuring your lower back or knees.

2.    Leg Press – Doing leg presses is also another great exercise to help you improve the muscles on your lower legs. This exercise routine specifically targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus and partially the calves. The excellent thing about doing leg presses is that the person pushes the weight away not in a vertical manner and this helps to ease the stress off the lumbar muscles. You can perform either a seated leg press or a 45-degree inclined leg press.

3.    Running – Playing soccer requires significant energy and stamina to run back and forth in the field. To maintain strong soccer legs, the players must incorporate frequent running or light jogging in their exercise routines. Once or twice a week, soccer players should perform jogging, sprints and running up and down the hills or steps in order to add strength and speed into their legs.

4.    Bounding – is a form of plyometric exercise that is done in combination with running. This routine involves taking over-sized steps and being suspended in the air for an extended period of time before landing. Bounding is an exaggerated motion with emphasis on push off and landing to help condition the legs. Be careful when performing your bounds as it is rather a high-impact exercise.

5.    Jumping – Doing jumps is another excellent exercise to strengthen the lower legs. Players can do box jumps wherein they jump up from the floor to the top of the box and then back on the ground, or perhaps, they can do lateral jumps over a cone or a box. Jumping exercises is one of the quickest ways a player can increase leg power.