Usually, soccer players undergo various forms of fitness exercises to achieve stamina and strength on the pitch. And many would argue about the need for some of these exercises involved by soccer players.
For instance, deadlifts; why should a soccer player be lifting weights? Are deadlifts even good for soccer players? For a long time, there have been discussions around lifting deadlifts and how much should be lifted within a period by soccer players.
While many soccer players are not the most muscular and robust in sports, many lift heavy weights to get the stamina needed to excel. Let’s examine the benefits of deadlifts and how long these benefits can go. Plus, we will also highlight the disadvantages that come with exercising with deadlifts.
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Are Deadlifts Good For Soccer Players?
The usefulness or otherwise of deadlifts depends on the individual lifting them. However, there is much use of the deadlifts to the human body.
But, it all depends on getting the correct procedure of carrying out the exercise and ensuring that you do not overdo it. And for soccer players who are interested in doing this exercise, deadlifts have so many advantages for the game.
Here are some of the benefits of deadlifting to soccer players:
1. Reduce lower back pain
At times, we go through pain in our lower back which seems not to go away. So we, like soccer players, play through that pain, thinking running, kicking, and sliding will take it away. But we were wrong. Well, deadlifts can help in reducing lower back pain.
The action of lifting a deadlift involves bending down with a braced neutral spine, lifting the weight, then coming up straight. Maintaining this form until your hands with the weight are all above your head.
This activity allows for movements and strains that would work the affected joints and cause some relief. However, you must consult a professional before taking deadlifts as the solution.
2. Improve jump performance
Studies have shown a link between the strength gotten from deadlift and improved jump performance. The deadlifts help strengthen the thighs and the arms. In addition, it enables soccer professionals to jump as high as possible.
Why is this very important to a soccer player? The soccer game involves using both legs and head for outfield players and the hands within the box by the goalies.
However, you cannot successfully use the head if you can’t jump high enough to connect with the ball, which will direct it to or away from the goalpost. This is because many people are jumping simultaneously, and only those with high jump performance would have an added advantage.
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3. Improve the bone mineral density
Bone mineral density is one of the factors that affect aging and causes significant health issues. And the loss of it results in many health issues.
Generally, soccer players wish to grow and play beyond their prime. As no one wishes to stop playing soccer, because they want to play for as long as they can. But, one of the things that can stop them from playing as much as they want to is the loss of bone mineral density.
This is because it causes many health issues. However, deadlifts help improve the legs and hips where increased bone density will be located. This is because the bone density gets raised in a location where external resistance is involved.
4. Burns your fats
It is essential to burn fat as a soccer player because this sport requires agility and speed. Typically, a player becomes sluggish because of their individual weight, which causes them to tire quickly before the game.
You have to burn fats to increase your endurance and ensure your agility and paciness are at their top. To achieve this aim of burning your fats comes in many ways, with lifting deadlifts one of the surest ways to do so.
Even when you are not running, building your muscles and lifting deadlifts will ensure that you are burning fats and calories all day long.
5. Increases cardiovascular workout
The lifting of deadlifts by a soccer player helps in increasing the player’s cardiovascular rate and efficiency. The exercise which happens with the arms grabbing the weight causes strain of the body.
This is because it requires more blood and oxygen for the forearms and the hands to carry out the exercise successfully. And this increase in demand for blood and oxygen will increase the cardiovascular function of the heart.
Moreover, this will allow the heart to grow stronger and lower the chances of having a heart attack. Plus, it also helps the perseverance needed to run around the field for 90 minutes for soccer players.
5. Prevents Injury
Deadlifting does not only strengthen the muscles; it toughens them up. That way, it ensures slim chances of a frequent carrier of the lifts to have hamstring injuries. In addition, deadlifting toughens the ligaments around the arms and the legs.
For a soccer player, this is important as less injury will mean more playing time. Soccer players will give anything to get more playing time on the pitch. And deadlifting is a way to do that as it increases endurance and toughens the tendons, ligaments, and supporting joints.
6. Increasing endurance
Deadlifting increases the soccer players’ endurance and stamina, putting them under a strain that helps develop their muscles and strength. However, Deadlifting is not an easy fit as it involves being under the heavy strain of lifting the bar and the weight.
You lift the weight up from the ground to your knee, then to your waist. Then to your chest and around your head, and, lastly, over your head without dropping it. This requires some level of endurance.
When the individual does it over and over again, such a player becomes accustomed to activities like that. And this causes the individual or soccer player to go round the field agile and untiring for the whole 90 minutes without needing a rest.
7. It is cheap
The components of a deadlift are simple – the barbell and some plates. This signifies that deadlifts are less expensive compared to other workout equipment giving the same benefits.
In fact, some other workout equipment might require more effort and strain to train with. For an aspiring soccer player who is not financially buoyant but would still love to develop himself, the deadlift is one of the exercise equipment first to consider.
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8. Improved body posture
Deadlifting helps increase your core strength and stability. When you lift the barbells and the plates correctly, you work your body for a better posture. All the parts of your body responsible for your posture are also affected by deadlifting.
Plus, deadlifting also stabilizes the spine, which is majorly responsible for how straight your back will be. And the frequent lifting of the weights allows soccer players to straighten their back where it has bent and keep it straightened.
When should soccer players do a deadlift?
There are many times when soccer players should deadlift. Let’s see some instances:
- Soccer players discover they are going through some lower back pain, and a physiotherapist recommends doing some exercise. Deadlifting will aid reduce the back while strengthening the soccer player’s muscle.
- When soccer players wish to improve their jump performance.
- A soccer player who has gotten some fats and would love to burn them as quickly as possible should start deadlifting. The fats will burn while you are deadlifting and even after the rest of the day.
- A soccer player who wishes to learn about endurance should try deadlifting. While you may hear above endurance theoretically, deadlifting will push you and show you how much you can endure strain.
- When a better posture is the aim, deadlifting is the game. Deadlifting deals with the exercise and movement of the spine, which determines the body posture. This means you can correct your body posture with some deadlifting.
Is Deadlifting Bad For Soccer Players?
Deadlifting has its disadvantages as much as it has its advantages. Generally, the effects of deadlifts on soccer players depend on the care and style used in carrying out the exercise.
In addition, deadlifting is a risky exercise that has the capacity of injuring a person gravely. This is why you should carry out the exercise correctly and ensure guidance and help when lifting the deadlifts.
Here are some of the harmful effects deadlifting could have on soccer players
1. May cause injury
The exercise involves lifting the weight from the ground up above the head. While there are no exercises without risks, injuries caused by deadlifting may be worse than many other exercises.
A strain may cause a tear to the hand, or the weight may slip and cause damage to the legs. Therefore, soccer players must be careful whenever they go on this exercise to ensure that they do not leave the gym with more pain and injuries than they got there.
Moreover, deadlifting is seen as a dangerous exercise by some people because of the many potential injuries you could have from it. While it has several advantages, these advantages can turn into dangers in no time when the person exercising does not know when to stop.
For this reason, a soccer player needs to know when to stop training with the deadlifts. Since soccer does not require absolute strength and is not similar to the powerlifting game, a player does not need to lift weights like those professionals.
2. It may affect your shoulders adversely
Frequent or excessive deadlifting would affect the shoulders adversely and make the shoulders uneven. This is because many people lift the deadlift by putting up one shoulder higher than the other. This, over time, causes a strain in the shoulder and makes them go out of the posture.
Also, frequent deadlifting will lead to constant pain in the shoulder, causing a tear. A soccer player who wishes to have more playing time should moderate the exercise and maintain a healthy relationship with the barbells.
3. Too much pressure on the muscles
If a soccer player lifts much more weight than the muscles can carry, it will lead to a ligament tear. This is because the muscles will be strained past their capacity and would only lead to ligament tears with continuous strain.
Soccer players who wish to gain more muscles and reduce fats should do so while watching the weights. This is because any damage to the body will lead to being out of the game for a period, making them lose form.
4. Increases lower back pain
An individual who has lower back pain but fails to see a professional physiotherapist before going to the gym to deadlift may regret the action. This is because the causes of lower back pain are numerous, and not all of them can be solved by deadlifting.
In fact, instead of getting better, straining such pain would aggravate it and provide no recourse. A soccer player should see a physiotherapist before going to the gym to solve a problem that needs another solution.
5. Strains the joint
Deadlifting, if not done correctly, may strain the joints. Too much load will be placed on the joints causing pain and injury. Plus, it could also lead to changes in the walking gait of soccer players due to the pain and injury gotten from the exercise.
It is imperative to ensure you know the proper use of the barbells and plates and carry out the exercise correctly. In addition, soccer players should ensure they carry out the exercise rightly with the proper movements to avoid straining the joints.
6. Bad body posture
An individual who didn’t learn how to lift the deadlifts properly would do more harm than good with the deadlifts. This is because deadlifts only work when they are routinely done to target some specific muscles and joints.
Where the individual carries out the exercise without this routine, it may lead to bad body posture. The spine is the central body part that controls the body posture.
However, where much strain is placed on the spine instead of directing and correcting the body posture, it will only worsen the bad body posture.
7. Bulky body
Most soccer players are slim because of the agility and speed the game needs. However, a soccer player who takes too much to deadlifting and builds a bulky body may find it difficult to compete with other players while running.
When shouldn’t soccer players do a deadlift?
There are some cases where a soccer player shouldn’t be deadlifting. And these cases include:
- When they have lower back pain that they have not seen the doctor or physiotherapist. This is because instead of getting well, deadlifting can aggravate the pain.
- Soccer players should also not deadlift when they know nothing about the exercise or process because it adversely affects their bodies.
- When you discover that the deadlift is weightier than you can manage, you should stop and reduce the weight. Trying to lift such weight may lead to ligament tears and may other injuries.
- A beginner weightlifter who is a soccer player should not lift the weights without a guide. This is because all beginners need to be guided on the proper manner of lifting and dropping the deadlift.
Does Ronaldo Do A Deadlift?
Ronaldo has maintained a strict regime of food and workouts throughout his soccer life. Early on, he discovered what he needed to do to get to the top of the game. But, first, he knew he had to be disciplined.
Ronaldo has a routine, and he does deadlifts during his Ab Workouts. He does the One-Arm Side Deadlift, five reps each arm per set for three sets, and the Dumbbell One-Legged Deadlift, ten reps per set for two sets, periodically.
While Ronaldo understands the importance of the deadlifts, he also understands that soccer is not powerlifting. Of course, it would help if you were fit and strong for soccer, but you do not need to be bulky. Why? Bulkiness may limit your movement and agility during games.
Conclusion
Are deadlifts good for soccer players? Yes, but as a soccer player, you’d have to be mindful of how you lift frequently. Earlier on, we examined the benefits and disadvantages of deadlifting as a soccer player.
As you know, deadlifting is a complicated exercise for soccer players because while it has several benefits, there are high possibilities of getting injured. So, it is necessary not to overstretch exercises whenever a soccer player takes to deadlifting
Hi there, I’m Jay.
Soccer is everything in my life! My friends and I have created this blog with all our enthusiasm, passion, and understanding after years of playing pro soccer. Hope you will enjoy it!