Soccer
Try Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s full-body home workout for football players
The Indian national football team goalkeeper describes five exercises that can be performed without equipment, and how they help your body.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is the best goalkeeper in India and was awarded so recently.
He was given the Golden Glove award for the 2019-20 season of the ISL, voted as the Players’ Player of the Year by his teammates at Bengaluru FC and kept 11 clean sheets throughout the season. He celebrated with his fans by inviting questions on social media and answering as many as possible.
While he is home during the football off-season – a period when he usually hits the gym and works on his body – Gurpreet is taking the time to hangout with his family, do household chores like cooking and cleaning, and watch some old movies he enjoys.
He is also using the time to work out and hopes to maintain his physical shape for when he gets back in the gym. While he wants to keep up his strength and endurance, he is finding it challenging to do so in indoor settings that have limited space. But he is enjoying the fact that with his current set of bodyweight exercises, he can jump into his backyard, living room or bedroom and just about any open floor for a workout.
Here are some of the exercises he has been practicing regularly while working out at home.
Squat jumps
Start by standing in a neutral position with your feet about a foot apart. Drop down into a squat with your knees not closing in more than 90 degrees. With one fluid motion, jump up into the air, driving your arms up above your head. Gurpreet loves this exercise because it helps build explosive power in your muscles and also burns a lot of calories.
Push-ups
Performed with your palms and toes to the ground handling the weight of your body, slowly lower your chest till it is four-five inches above the ground, and then slowly push yourself back up to full arm extension. Gurpreet says that this exercise is essential to keep your upper body fit and strong just by using bodyweight. He also likes the variations to a push-up that can give you an added challenge.
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Split squat jumps
The split squat jump is a variation to the regular squat jump but differs greatly because it utilizes the lunge. Start with a lunge position where your right leg is in front and left leg back, drop low till your left knee is a few inches above the ground, then jump high into the air while driving your arms upwards. When landing, interchange the positions of your legs so your right leg is at the back, and repeat. This is one of Gurpreet’s favourite exercises because it works on your whole body and helps improve your balance.
Plank routine
Gurpreet loves to perform a plank routine because it works on his entire core and builds strength. One plank routine you could try is to start with the high plank, move into plank hip dips, followed by plank shoulder taps, and finish with plank up-downs. For the high plank, keep your arms at full extension with body balanced on palms and toes. For the plank hip dips, stay balanced on your forearms and toes, and twist and lower your body so your right hip rotates near the floor; return to starting and repeat with your left hip. For plank shoulder tap, start with a high plank, balance on your left palm while tapping your left shoulder with your right fingertips; repeat with other arm. For plank up-downs, start with the high plank and transition into forearm plank one arm at a time, and keep repeating.
Stretching
There are various stretches that you can do, each targeting a different muscle group in your body. Some examples are the figure four stretch, lunge with spinal twist, side-lying T stretch, lunging hip flexor stretch, lying quad stretch, butterfly stretch, etc. Gurpreet says it is very important to perform stretches because they work on the mobility and flexibility of your muscles, and help you move comfortably.
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