In the world of athletes, soccer players are some of the fittest athletes. They need to keep up strength, stamina, and overall endurance to achieve the level of agility and power they need to be successful on the field. Building up strength is proven to decrease the risk of injury so more time can be spent on the field instead of recovering.

The strength training these athletes to go through seems unachievable by everyday people, right? Wrong! It is possible to get to the same level of endurance and strength that these pro athletes are at. Try these workouts from Daily Burn that can build you up to World Cup standards. This exercise is meant to work the glute muscles for acceleration and deceleration.

1. Mini-Band External Rotation

This exercise is meant to work the glute muscles for acceleration and deceleration.

How To:

• Lace a mini band around your legs, just above the knees and stand in an athletic position, knees slightly bent, hips back.
• Keeping your chest up and feet firmly planted, bring both knees inward and then outward.

3 sets, 10 reps

2. Lateral Lunge with Reach

This exercise is made for lower body stability, to improve hip mobility and increase power.

How To:

• Start by stepping back with your right foot into a lunge, right hip directly over your right knee, left knee directly over your left foot
• While contracting your right glute, reach your right hand over your head and laterally crunch your torso to the left, touching your left hand to the ground
• Return to starting position and repeat with opposite leg

3 sets, 5 reps each side

3. Linear Hurdle Hop

This move improves overall body mechanics when landing and changing direction rapidly. This will decrease the risk of injury around the knee area.

How To:

• Set up five small hurdles or cones in front of you, each about 16 to 18 inches apart. Balance on one leg in front of the first hurdle
• Hop over the hurdle, landing on the same foot, and continue over the remaining hurdles, landing softly to absorb impact through the hips and glutes

*** Be sure not to allow the knee to collapse to the inside upon takeoff or landing.

3 sets, 5 reps each leg

4. Dumbbell Push Press

This exercise is meant to teach lower and upper body unison for an all-out workout. You can strengthen quads, deltoids, and triceps all in one move.

How To:

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a pair of dumbbells in front of your chest, elbows bent at your sides, palms facing forward
• Keeping your heels grounded, chest up and shoulders back, lower into a quarter squat
• Come to standing, driving through your legs to help push the dumbbells overhead, locking your arms out at full extension and bracing your core
• Lower the weights back to the start position and repeat the motion

3 sets, 10 reps

5. Romanian Deadlift

Used to build strength in the glutes and hamstrings, this exercise is important for acceleration, deceleration, and rapid change of direction.

How To:

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, barbell in front of you on the floor
• Keeping your back flat, shoulders back and chest up, hinge at the hips and lower down to grasp the barbell with an overhand grip
• Contracting your hamstrings and glutes, slowly rise to a standing position without bending your legs or rounding your spine, ensuring the barbell stays against your body throughout the entire movement
• Lock your knees and hips out fully at the very top of the movement, barbell resting against your hips

4 Sets, 6 Reps

Congrats to France for their win in the 2018 World Cup! Bien joué! Be sure to follow us on social media to see more content like this, on Facebook @Anytime Fitness-Lake Geneva, WI and on Instagram @AnytimeLG.