Building stronger legs is essential to excel in football. Kickers and punters significantly benefit from leg strength, which accounts to boosting distance, power, and accuracy of the kick.
What’s more, the need to decelerate quickly can often be a crucial difference. Kickers take 2 to 8 controlled steps approaching the ball, plant, and decelerate. To gain control over this momentum, it is vital to have a tremendous amount of mobility through the hips and dynamic trunk control (the ability to control your core and spine while moving).
With the right mix of exercises and control, you will be able to apply a ton of force to the ball whether it is a punt, a kick-off, or a field goal. At the same time, you’ll gain stability to kick straighter and higher.
Here are the top four ways to enhance your leg strength through targeted kicker strength training.
1. Squats for Explosive Power
Squats are a cornerstone of any leg strength program.
During this exercise, when you lower into a squat, focus on engaging your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. These are the primary muscles involved in kicking. Keep your upper body as vertical as possible.
Start with a barbell on your shoulders and feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body as if sitting in a chair. Drive back up with power, engaging your core and glutes. In this way perform 4 sets of 8-12 reps. Do it with a weight that challenges your muscles with 2 reps in reserve. It will help you become a stronger kicker.
Squats not only build muscle but also help with explosive power, which is the key to kicking longer field goals. Over time, you’ll notice your increased leg strength adding distance and height to your kicks.
2. Lunges for Stability and Balance
One kicking exercise that every professional football kicking coach suggests to their students is lunges. Lunges target your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, thereby providing a comprehensive workout for your legs. However, the real benefit for kickers comes from the stability and balance these exercises can develop in them. Proper balance is crucial when you’re planting your non-kicking foot and transferring power from your body to the ball.
You start with a set of dumbbells in each hand. Step forward into a lunge, making sure that your knee stays aligned with your toes. Then, push back to the starting position and your alternate legs.
Incorporate three sets of 10-12 reps per leg into your routine.
3. Plyometric Training for Explosive Kicks
Plyometric exercises are all about developing speed and power for kickers. This means increasing the rate at which you can generate force in your kicks. Exercises like box jumps, depth jumps, and broad jumps train your muscles to contract more quickly than ever before. This gives you that explosive burst required for powerful kicks.
It will be best if you start with box jumps. Stand in front of a sturdy box. Bend your knees and swing your arms to jump explosively onto the box. Now, step down and repeat this exercise. Perform four sets of 8-10 jumps. To enhance specificity, you may also add depth jumps. In them, you drop from a box that is approximately 24-36 inches high, land, and immediately jump as high as possible.
Plyometric training should be done on non-consecutive days to allow for muscle recovery. Over time, this will translate into faster leg swing speed and greater power for your kicking. Every professional football kicking coach like Filip Filipovic, recommends doing plyometrics all year around – more in off-season, much less during the football season. Timing of workouts has to fit in perfectly with kicking and weight lifting. Make sure to consult with your strength coach or your kicking coach about when to insert it into your routine.
4. Deadlifts for Posterior Chain Development
Deadlifts are essential for kickers because they target the posterior area of their body. This includes your hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and calves. A strong posterior region is crucial for the stability through of your kick. It helps you to make sure that your kicks have both power and control.
To practice this exercise, you can begin with a barbell on the ground in front of you. Keep your feet apart from each other (hip-width). Bend at the hips and knees, and grip the barbell. Now lift by straightening your hips and knees while keeping your back straight. Perform four sets of 8-12 reps with a weight that challenges you with 2 reps in reserve.
Incorporating deadlifts ensures in your exercise regimen will help you develop the necessary strength in your posterior chain. This leads to more powerful and controlled swing. As you build strength, you can also slowly consider adding variations to this exercise – like Romanian deadlifts. These will further target the different muscle groups involved in kicking.
Conclusion
Strengthening the legs with targeted exercises is essential for improving your kicking power, control, and consistency. Incorporating these training techniques to your routine will help you build a solid foundation and elevate your overall kicking performance on the field.
If you are searching for a kicking coach, contact us and our coaches will guide you in your journey to kicking excellence. The Kicking Coach focuses on skill building and leg strength development, guiding young kickers to become college kickers or beyond.
