What Muscle Groups Are Targeted When Playing Football? Which Body Parts Benefit the Most?

Football for fitness and strength building

What muscles are we training when playing football?

Depending on the sport you play, certain areas of the body will be worked harder than others, but what about when you play football? Will you tone and refine your figure by playing football? Below is a list of the muscles and muscle groups strengthened and sculpted by football!

Upper limbs (shoulders, arms and forearms)

Football requires very little effort from the upper limbs.

Trunk and pelvis (Chest, stomach and back)

• Abdominals: These are made up of several layers of muscle(rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transverse) whose function is to flex and rotate the trunk.

Lower limbs (buttocks, thighs and calves)

• Buttocks: Located at the intersection of the lower limbs and the trunk, the gluteal muscles (gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus) are among the largest and most powerful muscles in the body. In particular, they provide mobility for the thigh and support for the pelvis.
• The quadriceps: These are located at the front of the thigh. The quadriceps are each made up of 4 muscles (the vastus femoris or rectus femoris, the vastus lateralis, the vastus medialis and the vastus intermedius). These muscles facilitate flexion of the thigh on the hip and extension of the leg on the thigh.
• The hamstring muscles: Located on the back of the thigh, there are four of these muscles(biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semitendinosus). They ensure flexion of the leg and extension of the thigh.
• Calf muscles: Also known as the sural triceps, the calf muscles are made up of 3 muscle groups, including the soleus and the gastrocnemius. These muscles help the foot to extend down the leg

Sprinting, jumping, changing direction, duelling – football is an intense physical activity that mainly works the lower limbs and the cardio-respiratory system.
As well as the aerobic work that trains the heart, football encourages explosive thigh muscles (quadriceps, psoas, etc.), hamstrings, adductors and peroneal muscles.