I’d Be Mad For Soccer Too…

It’s alright to be mad in a crazy world, perfectly sane I’d say. Italians have found a way to curb the effects of mental illness through soccer, and it seems to be working just fine for a group of mentally ill patients. Therapeutic benefits from football are inherit in physical exercise, it’s a simple fact. During intense activity the body releases natural endorphins that stimulate the body to relax and get through the pain. It’s funny to see that you can give the mentally ill 1001 different medications, but play a little football and it can soothe the mental anguish away. I remember training young and old patients at the Priory in Roehampton, London. These people had eating disorders, schizophrenia and numeous other illnesses, but put them in an aerobic boxing class or a half hour relaxation class, and they would find themselves again. That’s the power of exercise. I hope you enjoy the story and the video that is attached to it through the link.  

The Goalkeepers Lot: When You’re Hot, Sometimes Your Not

Like being under a magnifying glass? Andy Gray wrote up a great little piece about in form, and sometimes out of form England goalkeeper Paul Robinson.  I was watching a re-run of the England World Cup 2006 qualifying game against Croatia the other day on You Tube, and cringed at Robinson’s mistake. It happens, but it does not mean the world is over. What this means for the goalkeeper is that you have been given a role, your actions (mistakes included) are amplified, but one mistake does not mean that you should be alienated, or given up on, nor should you give up on yourself. I believe that the high levels of injury and mistakes seen in the English Premiership are a result of high training loads and even higher expectations placed on goalkeepers to be the "best"…can you imagine the pressure?

Unfortunately, even the best goalkeepers make mistakes as we saw with this video the other day. Another reason for the high levels of incompetence by some world class goalkeepers are the fact that high injury rate, means less playing time. Game practice is pivotal to the success of the goalkeeper, even reserve goalkeepers should get game practice as it solidifies technique, boosts confidence and keeps the goalkeeper match fit throughout the season. One part of a periodized training program entails that the goalkeeper utilize game practice as a vital part of their fitness regime, this extends beyond basic fitness and allows the goalkeeper’s mind game to be at their peak at all times. Having said this, goalkeepers (starting and reserve) must be allowed to have match practice on a regular basis.

Following is the video I spotted on You Tube. You make your mind up.

 

Then you see something like this video below, and wonder what all the fuss is about:

Getting Repped Up. What Repetition Ranges Are Best For The Competitive Goalkeeper

I have been clanging about with the dumbbells the past few weeks and it has been a cool experience after a long hiatus. For some morbid reason I like the pain? Weird, I know, but it means that I’m getting back to shape, and I feel great throughout the day. What is the best rep range for strength training? I’ve been scouring through many scientific journals over the past few days and I decided that there is no "best" rep range. It depends on what you are trying to achieve, your training age and your goals. Following are some very quick thoughts as to what rep ranges and training goals go together for the best strength and power training results:

Muscular Endurance: Lighter weights, circuit classes, 20-40 repetitions, 10-20 sets, shorter rest breaks.

Muscular Growth: Heavy weights, super sets, compound exercises, shorter breaks, 8-12 repetitions, 5-10 sets.

Muscular Strength: Very heavy weights, compound exercises, 1-3 reps, 1-2 sets, long recovery (sometimes up to 7 days). 

The above is just a very quick overview of what kinds of exercises and rep ranges a goalkeeper can utilize depending on what they are trying to achieve from their training plan. Each of the above points allude to different phases of the training cycle. Each one is also highly dependent of each other, this mean that if you are trying to go all out with maximum reps, you may well push yourself over the limit to soon, gain nothing and give up on your training regime. This means, we should start with muscular endurance and work our way down the chain. Though I also tend to think that muscle growth should not be a large part of the goalkeepers training regime. Plyometrics for goalkeepers is the next step in the chain, and is extremely important for goalkeeper specific strength and power.

Even Great Goalkeepers Get The Boos!

I stumbled across this video tonight, and I could not help but laugh, and feel sorry at the same time! The funny thing is we tend to beat ourselves up when we make mistakes as a competitive goalkeeper, but believe me even the best in the world should sometimes wonder why they woke up in the morning and donned their gloves. No glory, all humiliation and great fun, the following goalkeeper blunder compilation is hilarious! Enjoy.

Enhanced Muscle Performance & Mighty Mouse

What’s faster than a moving train, more powerful than a locomotive…a genetically enhanced mouse? Scientists have uncovered a new liver gene that may enhance muscle ability. It’s significant on two levels.

1. Supposedly I don’t have to do anything to enhance my muscle fitness…great?

2. I can switch on this particular liver gene and have my muscles pre-loaded with glycogen to fuel my goalkeeping performance without carb loading?

The gene is called AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) , which when activated genetically loads the muscles with muscle glycogen to fuel performance. That’s a huge development, that already has gene-doping implications. Therefore, I can be in a perpetually trained state and run three times longer than I ever have, before I reached exhaustion, Orwell-esque indeed. There are already talks about creating drugs that would give the same effect, and as always there is a question mark as to its use for highly competitive athletes.

Now I’m an old schooler who feels that the competitive goalkeepers best bet is solid nutrition principles. Yes, you may need a little extra from your diet as you are competing intensely, but it always seems easier to pop a pill or scoff down a shake. It’s convenient and a busy world…and all that jazz, but it is lazy too. Good nutrition is a discipline in itself. That is why fad diets don’t work. We set an expectation that the shortest route to creating your best goalkeeping (or athletic) performance is via taking on some "new improved" exercise or diet fad. Try planning your nutrition just like your exercise regime. If you have periodized your training year, try doing the same for your diet and you will see great gains in your muscular performance.

The Most Talked About Goalkeeping Video On The Net Today

Well, I’m literally talking about the best goalkeeping video…"today", not of all times. This guy had some very cool prowess, and thought that it may be something you would like to discuss amongst each other. I think there were literally 4 or 5 shots in a row. The video, as amazing as it seems, really gives a good insight into the power of good positioning, razor sharp reflexes and tonnes of luck. Hope you enjoy it!

What A Goalkeeper! – video powered by Metacafe

Caffeine Pushed Me Through My Pain!

Well it didn’t really, but after I read a great piece of recent research it made me think about caffeine as a good supplement to use to reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) for the competitive goalkeeper. The other day I decided to ramp up my workout by training my arms, which I had not done in quite some time as I am getting back into the training after my injury, and have been focusing on building my core fitness. The next day they almost fell off! Could caffeine supplementation have been a good way to increase my performance, and reduce the pain of intense exercise? Let’s take a little look at this current piece of research and how you can (with caution) use caffeine to enhance your training regime.

So these lab rats at the University of Georgia tested some girls using the real deal (caffeine) against a placebo (fake caffeine) in a testing environment. The results were cool:

"One and two days after an exercise session that caused moderate muscle soreness, the volunteers took either caffeine or a placebo and performed two different quadriceps (thigh) exercises, one designed to produce a maximal force, the other designed to generate a sub-maximal force. Those that consumed caffeine one-hour before the maximum force test had a 48 percent reduction in pain compared to the placebo group, while those that took caffeine before the sub-maximal test reported a 26 percent reduction in pain."

Now I can just hear stories on Google News citing a lone goalkeeping fitness website which stated that you should consume tonnes of caffeine to become a goalkeeping monster! No. Just like with any supplement, use caffeine sparingly. Or, another way to use caffeine is if you know that you will be starting a strength training program that utilizes heavy eccentric actions which could cause muscle soreness after exercise. Food for thought?

Update: We had some response from one of our readers John which you can find in the comments box below. A recent study by G.J Olcina (et.al) suggested that for first time exercisers, caffeine can increase time to exhaustion, workload, maximum oxygen consumption with the ability to decrease their respiratory exchange ratio. What this means is that the study points to caffeine being a suitable supplement for first time trainers or goalkeepers who have not trained for some time, to help increase their performance intensity, but at the same time, decrease the after effects of intense exercise. But it should always be used with caution.

Like Dad…Maybe? Introducing Kasper Schmeichel

You don’t usually dedicate videos to someone so young, at only 20 years of age it is great to see young Kasper Schmeichel, son of Peter Schmeichel, progressing so well. The slideshow you see here are from games played for Bury FC (the same club I trained with only a short few years back), funny to see some familiar faces too! Enjoy:

5 Key Steps In Planning Goalkeeper Fitness Success

It’s funny how the fitness industry chops up and carves out 1001 niche fitness crazes, take interval training for example. Interval training is now a "cool" class to take at your local gym? We look for short term solutions to lose weight or increase performance, I’m not saying that interval training is not effective, it should not be a fitness fad, but it should be part of an overall plan. What most people who sign up for a gym class do not understand is that one training prescription alone is not "the" solution. What happens next can be grizzly, as the person involved in the class reaches a plateau, becomes disillusioned and inevitably gives up.

We don’t plan. I’m a sucker for it too. Well laid out plans entail that you will succeed in your goalkeeping, and life in general. When you plan, you have set a series of goals that take you where you want to go, it’s that simple. Therefore, to get fit, and not hit a constant wall, plan your goalkeeping fitness routine for the year. Here is a general prescription:

1. Break It Up: Write up a weekly plan, that is broken down into days. Each week, will progressively increase in intensity, with the fourth week a period to cut down your training intensity by 40-50% so that you do not overtrain.
2. Select Your Weapons: One period of your training plan may be to increase muscular endurance, which is a very different training methodology than gaining strength. Think about different training methodologies and select your weapons of mass destruction.
3. Get Specific: At a competitive level, goalkeepers need to "tweak" their performance specifically. Too many footballers think that keeping fit "generally speaking" is important…yes, but maximizing your kicking game will entail leg strength and plyometrics, gaining aerobic power to attack your oncoming opponents means training at your anaerobic threshold…two totally different training methodologies. You see how specific you need to get? General fitness is one small part of the overall training plan, for the start and the end of your training regime. Whereas, plyometrics, strength and maximizing your anaerobic threshold are totally unique and specific training guidelines, and part of the overall plan.
4. Get The Right Fuel: Got unleaded but using diesel? Doesn’t work does it? Competitive athletes get tested on a regular basis, so why shouldn’t you? You can get a special DNA test done and sent to a sports science lab for a couple of hundred dollars. It will give you a full analysis on what  you need to do to maximize performance. In my opinion,  a couple of hundred dollars is money well spent for those committed to being the best in their chosen sport. Invest money in a nutritionist and find out what foods you need to maximize your performance. Take a walk down the road to your local GP and get a blood test, find out whether there are certain facets to your diet (vitamins/minerals) that you may be lacking?
5. Put It Down On Paper: Got a pen and paper? Nuff said. Get your training plan down so that it is tangible and visual.

So before you think, one training methodology is right…it isn’t. Not one fitness craze, or special diet is going to give you the password to unlock your success. What will enable you to be the best goalkeeper, is to create a detailed annual plan of achieving the goalkeeping success you deserve.

Around The Net In Goalkeeping

Much speculation running around the net regarding goalkeeper moves during the January transfer window. Let’s take a stratospheric view of goalkeeping around the net:

• Jerzey Dudek seems to be wanting to move on from Merseyside, especially with a very bad performance against Arsenal. His replacement seems to be Itlay U-21 Daniele Padelli.

• Aston Villa still suffering a goalkeeper drought, as on loan goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly will be finishes his loan spell. Thomas Sorenson may be fit to be able to play soon.

• Petr Cech may be back in action soon for The Blues.

And that’s that from the goalkeeping front lines for this week. Enjoy!

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