Twice a week. No weights — just your own body, slow and clean. This builds the trunk, hips and legs that keep you upright in a duel and protect your joints from football’s loads. At your age this training is safe and good for you — the danger is speed and sloppiness, never the work itself. If the form goes, the set is over.
The moves, in order:
- plank — straight line from head to heels, hips level, don’t sag
- side plank — each side, hips stacked and lifted
- bridge — feet flat, lift the hips, squeeze at the top — the big muscles in your seat do the work
- single-leg bridge — one foot down, keep the hips level, each side
- dead bug — on your back, lower opposite arm and leg slowly, low back stays flat
- squats — slow down, controlled up, weight through the heels
- reverse lunges — step back, drop the back knee, drive up, each leg
- calf raises — slow up, slower down, all the way through
- single-leg balance — stand still on one foot, then the other
- superman — face down, lift arms and legs, hold, lower
progression. hold the planks longer and move to the single-leg versions before you add anything else. when a plank passes a minute easily, don’t just hold longer — make it harder (slow shoulder taps, a lifted foot). slow tempo is a progression on its own: take three seconds to lower every rep.
background: is strength training safe for kids?