Heavy legs in sport

boardzie

I'm just wondering how to find a solution to this problem...

I train a lot maybe 5-6 times a week between football and the gym. Obviously I do pretty much all running in football then i go all upper body weights with the exception of hamstring curls during the week the other 3-4 workouts during the week.

I would be one of the fittest people on my team, but What I'm finding then is when I get to my football match on saturdays my legs feel like they have lead weights attached to them from the warm-up, and im pretty fit at the moment, but im just knackered from the outset.

I know the obvious thing to say is I train too much, but I find i train in the gym sun,mon,tues, then have my heavy cardio football training wed and im flying during that, despite all the training before. I didnt do anything last night & my legs are feeling heavy, so i dont know whether to go to the gym and take a chance that doing some excercise will loosen then up or just rest and hope they'll be better.

anyone got any suggestions/suffer from this?

leggit

boardzie wrote: »

I'm just wondering how to find a solution to this problem...

I train a lot maybe 5-6 times a week between football and the gym. Obviously I do pretty much all running in football then i go all upper body weights with the exception of hamstring curls during the week the other 3-4 workouts during the week.

I would be one of the fittest people on my team, but What I'm finding then is when I get to my football match on saturdays my legs feel like they have lead weights attached to them from the warm-up, and im pretty fit at the moment, but im just knackered from the outset.

I know the obvious thing to say is I train too much, but I find i train in the gym sun,mon,tues, then have my heavy cardio football training wed and im flying during that, despite all the training before. I didnt do anything last night & my legs are feeling heavy, so i dont know whether to go to the gym and take a chance that doing some excercise will loosen then up or just rest and hope they'll be better.

anyone got any suggestions/suffer from this?

Usually the simplest explanation is the correct one

I'd say rest up and see if it makes any difference for your next match

AntiVirus

I'd agree with leggit. Have a few days off and see how the legs feel during your next match on Saturday. If they still feel heavy you may need to do some strength training for your legs.

Barry.Oglesby

Put up your actual programme. I think you probably just have weak legs and tired hamstrings.

Hanley

All things being equal, heavy legs are fatigued legs.

If you feel good mid training week, and tired at the end, that's probably a sign your structure isn't working.

boardzie

Well take for instance this week,

On mon & tues I did the same thing...

10mins warm up on cross trainer,
3 x 10 reps Bench Press 45kg
3 x 10 reps Pull-ups
3 x hamstring curls 48kg

i then do 3 different types of dumbell excerises, one overhead(seated). then using flat bench bring them out to my sides for chest, then over behind my head for triceps. I again do 3 x 10 reps of each of these using 12.5kg dumells.

then my training on wed was 2 hours on and off sprinting and jogging, my legs felt heavy at the start but got better as it went on, but a lot of times in matches they stay heavy the whole time.

my legs feel heavy right now & i didnt think i really over did it on them on the mon and tues it was mostly arms and chest.

do i need to start taking up squats again, i had been doing kettlebell classes maybe that had been helping out my leg strength but its on thurs night was worried it would effect me on sat, but since ive given it up its almost been the opposite.

BlueIsland

boardzie wrote: »

Well take for instance this week,

On mon & tues I did the same thing...

10mins warm up on cross trainer,
3 x 10 reps Bench Press 45kg
3 x 10 reps Pull-ups
3 x hamstring curls 48kg

i then do 3 different types of dumbell excerises, one overhead(seated). then using flat bench bring them out to my sides for chest, then over behind my head for triceps. I again do 3 x 10 reps of each of these using 12.5kg dumells.

then my training on wed was 2 hours on and off sprinting and jogging, my legs felt heavy at the start but got better as it went on, but a lot of times in matches they stay heavy the whole time.

my legs feel heavy right now & i didnt think i really over did it on them on the mon and tues it was mostly arms and chest.

do i need to start taking up squats again, i had been doing kettlebell classes maybe that had been helping out my leg strength but its on thurs night was worried it would effect me on sat, but since ive given it up its almost been the opposite.

By no means an expert but your weights programme is fairly pointless IMO.Your doing a lot of good exercises...bench press,pull ups,flyes...but there is no structure and no scope for serious progress.

You need to firstly decide what your goals are. If you are lifting weights for football you need to work in more lower body work.

Others will give you more clear direction with an actual programme but the lack of structure is your biggest issue in terms of your training progress-wise.

On a sidenote considering your only lower body exercise seems to be the hamstring curls I dont think the gym is making your legs heavy on a Saturday. Im gonna take a shot that when pitches are wet and soggy this time of year it takes an awful lot out of you!

taltyc2

It could also be a mental thing. Are you nervous before matches.?? i know of people who get tired or heavy legged before matches because of nerves or just thinking too much about it.
If you are flying during the week for training i wouldnt be too sure if over-training is the problem.

boardzie

taltyc2 wrote: »

It could also be a mental thing. Are you nervous before matches.?? i know of people who get tired or heavy legged before matches because of nerves or just thinking too much about it.
If you are flying during the week for training i wouldnt be too sure if over-training is the problem.

no not at all ive prob been playing my best stuff this season when i get to sat and my legs feel fine cause i am prob fitter than ive been in ages cardio wise its just like im feeling now its like running from first minute with ankle weights on.

maybe the ground is the issue yeah cause i was flying in training and that is some running on grass followed by running on astro.

to be honest my gym work is mostly based around looking well not really designed to help my sport i just try to not do anything that will leave me tired for sport. i used to have proper squats in their maybe i should bring it back see if i can increase the leg strength.

its very frustrating when i know i wont be able to give proper performance tomorrow if i get out there my legs still feeling like they do now and i havent done anything since wed night! praying to wake up feeling better.

nice_guy80

to be honest, the exercises you are doing are pretty pointless for playing football (or any sport)
Almost all actions in football are done off one leg (kicking, sidestepping, running) and using one arm (passing the ball) and involve using your core muscles - so most of your training should focus on single leg exercises and single arm exercises while engaging your core muscles



ever hear of SAQ? speed, agility and quickness
that is the key to quick, light legs

boardzie

nice_guy80 wrote: »

to be honest, the exercises you are doing are pretty pointless for playing football (or any sport)
Almost all actions in football are done off one leg (kicking, sidestepping, running) and using one arm (passing the ball) and involve using your core muscles - so most of your training should focus on single leg exercises and single arm exercises while engaging your core muscles



ever hear of SAQ? speed, agility and quickness
that is the key to quick, light legs

no never heard of this. what does it involve?

nice_guy80

boardzie wrote: »

no never heard of this. what does it involve?

using ladders, hurdles, twisting, turning drills, chasing games to improve your footwork and speed of movement.

also, one of the most important things about training is rest and sleep. do you get enough sleep? is it regular?
do you take days off training completely?
do you do lots of stretching away from the field?

I'll return to my first point. nearly all actions in football are done using one leg while engaging your core muscles or upper body muscles.
so why are you training your body with two leg movements? (hamstring curls - how will they help your football?)
what upper body training are you doing? it is pretty redundant unless you are also training the core and lower body correctly.
also, the soreness of DOMs (development of muscles) after training can last for up to 72 hours. is that a factor?