28-Days-to-Lean Meal Plan
With the right plan and the right discipline, you can get seriously shredded in just 28 days.
Read articleSoccer is one of the most intense and demanding sports out there. With 11 players constantly chasing the ball across a 110-120 yard field, you need endurance, strength, and a whole lot of leg power to stay competitive throughout a 90-minute game.
With the recent Team USA Women’s World Cup victory, how can we not be inspired by the most popular sport in the world and to team’s accomplishment and physical prowess?
We reached out to Jim Liston, MEd, CSCS, former strength and conditioning coach for Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy and co-founder of Competitive Athletic Training Zone to get his tips for developing quad definition akin to a soccer pro’s.Â
“Soccer players have large quads because the sport demands powerful leg muscles,” says Liston, “Add these exercises to your routine, and you’ll feel the effects of stronger legs after just eight sessions.”
Dumbbell High Pull/Backward Broad Jump
Note: Immediately follow this movement with a set of backward broad jumps, where you jump backward on two feet and land softly with slightly flexed knee and hip joints. Perform 12 of these jumps.
Step Down
Speed Lunge
Precede these exercises with a dynamic warm-up that includes skipping, shuffling and short, explosive sprints.
QUAD-KICKING ROUTINE | ||
---|---|---|
Exercise | Reps | Sets |
Dumbbell High Pull (superset with backward broad jump) | 8 | 2-4 |
Backward Broad Jump | 8 | 2-4 |
Step Down | 5 per leg | 2-4 |
Speed Lunge | 8 | 2-4 |
*Beginners do two sets of each; after six sessions, progress to three sets; after six more sessions, progress to four. |