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Strength training for soccer players: what to lift and how often

Strength training can help soccer players build force for sprinting and jumping and maintain lower-body strength in season. Evidence is strongest in highly trained male players, and the classic squat finding is a correlation, not proof that squats make a player faster. Pair lifting with soccer and running work, and include appropriately progressed power and single-leg-control work when your level and coach make it suitable; the evidence supports those qualities as useful options, not a universal jump requirement. Complete starts from your long-term goals, counts every workout that reaches Apple Health and gives you a daily recommendation without requiring a plan.

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What soccer asks of your body

A soccer match is mostly lower-intensity movement with short, hard actions mixed in. You jog, walk and position yourself, then accelerate, decelerate, jump or turn for a few seconds. The mix changes by position and level, so strength training should support the work you actually do rather than replace the ball, the pitch or your team sessions (Bangsbo and colleagues, 2006)[1].

For this guide, use four qualities as a practical framing. You need force and power for the first steps, jumps and changes of speed. You need an aerobic base to recover between hard efforts. You need hamstring capacity to tolerate repeated sprinting. You need single-leg control to keep your ankle, knee and hip organised when one foot supports you. Strength supports force, while plyometric and balance drills train other pieces. Conditioning and soccer practice still own repeated running, reactive turns and ball decisions.

What strength training can change

A review of 24 papers involving 523 soccer players found that high-intensity resistance training improved strength and power. Jump performance improved more consistently than running actions, and the authors saw only small running gains in professional players. The review focused on highly trained players, so it is useful evidence for the training problem, not a promise for every recreational player (Silva and colleagues, 2015)[2].

A study of 17 international male players found a strong relationship between half-squat strength, sprint performance and jump height. That is a cross-sectional correlation: the researchers tested players at one point in time. It does not show that adding squats caused faster sprinting. A separate 6-week trial in 30 adult semiprofessional players compared full squats at about 45 to 60% of one-repetition maximum with or without jumps and sprints, twice a week. Both lifting groups improved strength, jumping and sprint tests, but the trial found no significant between-group difference. The sample was male semiprofessionals, so treat it as a useful example, not a universal dose (Wisløff and colleagues, 2004; Rodríguez-Rosell and colleagues, 2017)[3][4].

QualityUseful strength emphasisWhat the evidence can and cannot say
Force for accelerationSquats, hinges and single-leg workStrength is related to sprinting in elite players, but the relationship does not prove cause.
Power for jumps and fast actionsSquats with or without jumps and sprints (Rodríguez-Rosell trial)The trial measured jump and sprint tests; match transfer depends on the programme and the player.
Hamstring capacityNordic curls and controlled hingesNamed Nordic programmes reduced hamstring injuries. Generic lifting has no such guarantee.
Single-leg controlSingle-Leg Balance and single-leg strengthBalance drills train control. FIFA 11+ evidence concerns the full programme, not balance alone.

Power and single-leg control belong beside strength

Plyometrics are jump and hop drills that ask you to produce force quickly. A 2020 review of 17 randomized trials in adult male soccer players found improvements in jump height, 20 m sprint speed and endurance, but not sprint speed over other distances or agility. The authors flagged low-quality, mixed studies. A separate review pooled 33 studies and 1,499 young male players and found better vertical jump and linear sprint tests. Together, these findings support appropriately progressed plyometric work when it fits the player, while not setting a universal jump prescription (van de Hoef and colleagues, 2020; Ramírez-Campillo and colleagues, 2020)[5][6].

Single-leg control means keeping your ankle, knee and hip steady while one foot supports you, then regaining that position when you wobble. The FIFA 11+ manual places running, strength, plyometric and balance work in one warm-up. In a small 6-week study of 20 young players, doing FIFA 11+ three times a week improved static balance and left-leg dynamic balance, but not kicking accuracy. That result describes the whole programme and a balance outcome. It does not show that balance alone prevents injuries (FIFA 11+ manual; Dunsky and colleagues, 2017)[7][8].

For a worked library example, Pogo Hops are low, fast rebounds from the ankles; a Box Jump is a jump onto a box followed by a step down; and Single-Leg Balance is a quiet one-foot stance with a soft knee and small ankle and hip corrections. The library’s Plyo Power (Jump Day) groups Pogo Hops and Box Jump with other jumps, and its beginner scaling skips depth jumps. This names the available movements without inventing an app dose or a complete soccer prescription; a coach can choose what fits alongside soccer practice. The library coaching note treats jumps as a fresh, low-fatigue session with full rest, never after to-failure lifting; stop when jump height or landing quality drops, and count the jumps in your weekly load alongside matches and lifting.

How often should a soccer player lift?

The soccer strength review found that two weekly sessions were enough to build force and power during pre-season in highly trained players. It suggested one weekly session to avoid in-season detraining[9]. A small trial in professional players supports the maintenance idea: after a 10-week preparation period, one strength session each week held strength and 40 m sprint performance over the first 12 weeks of the season, while one session every second week did not (Rønnestad and colleagues, 2011)[10].

Those studies do not establish the right frequency for a beginner, a youth player, a goalkeeper or someone who plays once a week. They also do not tell you where to put a session around your match. Start with a load you can control, leave room for your soccer work and adjust with a coach if your legs stay heavy. More sessions are not automatically better.

Strength does not replace repeated running

Soccer fitness is not a squat test. In a randomized study of 19 elite male junior players, four 4-minute runs at 90 to 95% of maximum heart rate, twice a week for 8 weeks, improved match running, sprint count and ball involvements. The same study found no change in strength, sprint speed or jump height. That result makes the boundary clear: strength work and conditioning solve different problems (Helgerud and colleagues, 2001)[11].

Complete’s library has a Norwegian 4x4 Run with four 4-minute efforts and 3-minute jogs between them. It is a real interval session, not a soccer practice, and it does not add short shuttle runs, reactive changes of direction or ball work. Keep those sport-specific pieces with your team or coach.

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Hamstrings and injury claims

The clearest soccer-specific strength evidence concerns the Nordic hamstring exercise. In a cluster-randomized trial of 50 Danish men’s professional and amateur teams, 942 players followed a progressive 10-week Nordic programme and then a weekly seasonal programme. The intervention teams recorded fewer acute hamstring injuries than the usual-training teams (Petersen and colleagues, 2011)[12]. A meta-analysis of 15 studies across sports reached the same narrow conclusion: injury-prevention programmes that included Nordics reduced hamstring injuries. That evidence is about a named programme and a specific exercise, not every squat, hinge or calf raise (van Dyk and colleagues, 2019)[13].

The FIFA 11+ is another named programme, not a generic gym session. Its manual combines running, strength, plyometric and balance exercises. A randomized trial across 61 US collegiate men’s soccer teams found lower injury rates when teams used the full programme weekly[14]. That trial does not isolate balance, jumps or any other single component. Do not turn it into a promise that a library workout prevents injuries. If you have pain or a recent injury, get an assessment before loading it.

A lower-body session from Complete’s library

Lower Strength is a real 55-minute library session. It trains a squat, a single-leg hinge, anti-rotation and a loaded carry. A Single-Leg RDL is a one-leg hip hinge: keep your balance while you lower the weight beside your shin. A Pallof Press is an anti-rotation press: hold a cable or band in front of you and resist being pulled into a twist. The 31X1 tempo means 3 seconds down, a 1-second pause at the bottom, a fast lift and a 1-second hold at the top. It is the library’s strength block, not a soccer plan; use separate library power and balance movements when those qualities fit, and keep sprint, turning, jumping for the ball and team practice in soccer.

BlockLibrary prescription
Warm-upBack Squat: 2 sets of 5 reps, ramping to the working weight. Groove the pattern without fatigue.
MainBack Squat: 2 sets of 5 reps, 180 seconds rest, 31X1 tempo, to failure by about 5 reps. Single-Leg RDL: 2 sets of 8 reps per side, 90 seconds rest, to failure. Keep your hips square.
AccessoryPallof Press: 3 sets of 10 reps per side, 60 seconds rest. Brace and resist the twist rather than chasing failure.
FinisherFarmers Carry: 3 sets of 40 m, 75 seconds rest, heavy. Stay tall with your ribs down.

Scale the session to your level

The failure language in the table is the library’s demanding example for an established lifter, not a first prescription beside a match. The library’s beginner scaling keeps two working squat sets to failure, drops the tempo and swaps the heavy carry for a moderate load. Its open version follows the prescription above, including 2 squat sets to true failure. Its pro version takes both squat sets to real failure at a load where 5 reps is the ceiling and carries a load equal to your body weight, as the library puts it. If you are new to lifting, choose coach-guided technique practice instead of this to-failure prescription. Do not force a painful rep.

The library has no ready-made soccer session for straight-line acceleration, repeated sprints, planned or reactive change of direction, or a FIFA 11+ warm-up. It has separate power and balance movements, but they are not a soccer team plan. Use the strength session for strength, choose other library movements only with a progression that fits you and your coach, then get the soccer-specific work from your sport. Do not mistake a general movement for a tested injury-prevention programme.

How Complete fits a soccer player

Complete starts from your long-term goals, not from a fixed training plan. You can choose goals such as get stronger, improve cardio or become an athlete, and they steer the daily recommendation. A soccer player can train their own way and still use the app.

Every workout that reaches Apple Health counts toward your score and the recommendation for each day, from any watch that writes to Apple Health. You can also log a gym session in the app. Complete does not write sport-specific soccer training today, so it will not invent your sprint drills or team schedule. It gives you a place to capture the work you do and decide what fits your goals and recovery.

When your recovery data has a baseline, a red recovery day can turn the day’s recommendation into rest or an easy session. That is a safety adjustment, not a diagnosis. Start with the goal you care about, record the soccer and strength work you actually do, and let the next recommendation respond to the load.

Corrections

If a study or product fact here is wrong or out of date, email support@ccomplete.app and we’ll correct it.

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Frequently asked questions

How often should soccer players do strength training?

A review of highly trained players found that two weekly sessions can build force and power in pre-season, while one weekly session can maintain gains in season. A small professional-player trial found that one session each week held strength and 40 m sprint performance better than one session every second week. Plyometric reviews used varied programmes, so they do not set a universal jump dose. Those findings do not set a universal dose for beginners or recreational players.

Does squatting make soccer players faster?

Strong squat strength and sprint performance were related in 17 international male players, but that was a correlation, not a training trial. In Rodríguez-Rosell’s trial, squat-only and squat-plus-jumps-and-sprints groups both improved and had no significant between-group difference. Add appropriately progressed jumps when your level and coach make them suitable; the trial does not show that every player needs them.

What should a soccer player lift?

Build the lower body with a squat, a hinge and single-leg work. If your level and coach make it appropriate, library examples include Pogo Hops or a Box Jump for power and Single-Leg Balance for one-foot control. A real Complete strength session uses Back Squat, Single-Leg RDL, Pallof Press and Farmers Carry, with beginner, open and pro scaling. Add soccer-specific sprint, turn and ball work separately.

Can strength training prevent hamstring injuries in soccer?

A progressive Nordic hamstring programme reduced acute hamstring injuries in a trial of 942 male players across 50 Danish teams, and a wider meta-analysis supports programmes that include Nordics. The FIFA 11+ is another tested whole programme that combines running, strength, plyometrics and balance. That evidence does not show that balance alone or any generic strength session prevents injury.

Should I lift during the soccer season?

The evidence in professional male players supports keeping some strength work in season. One session each week maintained strength and sprint performance in one trial after a preparation block, while one session every second week did not. Your match load, training age and injury history still decide what fits.

Does strength training replace soccer conditioning?

No. A trial in elite male juniors found that 4x4 running intervals improved match running and sprint counts without changing strength, sprint speed or jump height. Lifting and conditioning train different qualities, and soccer practice adds the turning and ball decisions a gym cannot provide.

What is a good app for soccer players who lift?

Choose an app that lets you keep your own sport. Complete starts from long-term goals, counts workouts that reach Apple Health and lets you log a gym session. It gives a daily recommendation without requiring a plan, but it does not claim to write soccer-specific sessions.

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By Paul Schmidt, founder of Complete · Last reviewed 31 Oct 2026

Strength training for soccer players | Complete