4. Discussion
The declining physical fitness of football players is a concerning trend in the current landscape. In light of this, the present work aims to investigate the impact of functional strength training on the physical capabilities of football players. By exploring the relationship between functional strength training and the physical fitness of football players, this research seeks to shed light on potential strategies for improving and maintaining their physical performance levels.The experimental findings provide evidence that functional strength training is effective in enhancing the strength and sensitivity of football players. The observed improvements in strength can be attributed to the training’s ability to target and strengthen the players’ core muscles. Functional strength training stimulates the core muscles, particularly when there are imbalances in other body parts, resulting in improved utilization of athletic abilities and increased core strength during exercises. This, in turn, contributes to improved overall performance. However, the immediate impact on speed is not as evident. This could be due to the fact that speed performance improvement is closely tied to specific speed training, which may not have been explicitly included in the functional strength training program. Both the experimental and control groups likely had similar speed training components, resulting in comparable speed outcomes after the experiment. It is worth noting that the athletes may have already possessed a higher level of speed quality prior to the experiment, which could explain the lack of significant differences in speed improvement between the two groups. Previous research has examined the effects of functional strength training in various contexts. For example, a study focusing on weightlifters aimed to improve snatch performance through functional strength (strength-strength-balance) training [In this work, the focus is on the analysis of kicking actions in football players. The analysis of football movement serves as a training aid, providing timely feedback to players when their kicking action deviates from the desired technique. Functional strength training has been a subject of investigation in relation to its impact on the effectiveness of football practice sessions. Previous research has explored the efficacy of functional strength training in injury prevention for adult male football players. The research has also examined the actual outcomes of implementing functional strength training when teaching football skills. The results have consistently demonstrated that functional strength training methods effectively enhance athletes’ abilities and performance, supporting its application in football training [This article investigates the relationship between functional strength training and physical ability in soccer players. However, it is critical to acknowledge the limitations of this work, including the exclusion of speed training and the lack of clear conclusions regarding speed performance. Therefore, future research should consider incorporating speed training and expanding the sample size to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the developed program’s impact on improving the physical fitness of soccer players.