Diego Costa, Benni McCarthy, Gonzalo Higuain and Wayne Rooney.

They were all players who played at big clubs for big money. All of them fell victim to being dropped, abuse from fans and public comments regarding their weight or body fat.

Evidently from these names, footballers don’t have to be shredded to be effective, however, there is an expected standard of body composition and a limit to what will effect the potential performance on the pitch.

What Is Body Composition?

Fat, muscle, bone and water all combine to make up a humans’ body composition. These are usually provided in percentages which make up your overall bodyweight.

A players’ body composition can vary widely depending on age, gender, height, weight, activity level, nutritional intake and even their genes.

The number football players and coaches are usually most interested in is the body fat % and the weight.

Should I Focus on Body Fat % or Weight?

Often, players put emphasis on their weight before looking at their body fat.

However, they both must be taken into consideration.

Two people who weigh the same could have a different bodyfat % which drastically changes the make-up of their body composition and of course the way they look.

For example:

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney roughly weigh in the 80-85kg category.

BUT…

By the same token, weight also has to be taken into consideration.

A 15-year old youth team player who weighs 60kg with a body fat % of 8% may be delighted because he has less body fat than the 80kg first team player with a body fat % of 10%.
But, in reality, the first team player has a fat free mass of 72kg (90% of 80kg) whereas the youth player would be closer to 55kg (92% of 60kg) in fat free mass.

The first team player in this instance would have more lean muscle which would provide him with more strength and potential for speed, power and resilience to injury.

The main point being that there must be context behind the stats to begin to form a picture of someones physical readiness.

How Do I Measure it?

There are several ways and there is a lot of discussion with regards to just how accurate each method is but in terms of simplicity and accessibility, there is 3 methods we’d recommend:

• Skinfold measurements using callipers (these have to be tested and re-tested by the same person and by someone who is trained to accurately record results)

• DEXA. This is a method which is also used in medical research. It uses low level X-Ray beams to give you all your body composition % breakdowns

• The US Navy Neal method. This is the simplest, cheapest and less accurate than the DEXA and Skinfold measurement. But, it can give an approximation bodyfat to give you a start and monitor progress.

All you need is scales and a tape measure. Get weight, height, waist and neck measurements. Input these results into a US Navy Seal bodyfat calculator online and you’ll get an estimate of your bodyfat.  

What’s the Goal?

We have to say it depends on position, age, playing level, style of player and personal preference.

However, before you start convincing everyone your preference is to be an overweight centre half who likes to let the ball do the work, we do like to think as a footballer there is general guidelines to stick to if you want to give yourself the best chance of maximising your physical performance.

For most adult players who aren’t playing at professional level but take their performance seriously, we give a target of aiming to get to 10-12%.

As an upper limit for lower level amateur or older players we suggest being no higher than 13-15%.

A lot of professionals are between 7-10% (any lower than this is unnecessary and can actually impair performance).

If you are not in these ranges and you’re healthy, you feel great and perform great then you may be quite happy to continue as you are.

When it comes to weight, most players we work with tend to be between 65-85kg range depending on position and the type of player they are.

A small, agile number 10 is usually less than the 6ft 3” goalkeeper. Like everything, you will quickly be able to tell when a player is looking slow and overweight to their norm, as opposed to a player who has bulked up slightly and looking strong and powerful.

How do I change Body Composition?

You can either drop body fat or you can add lean muscle. It is very tough to do both of these at the same time. Focusing on one or the other will change your body fat % percentage.

Regardless of the route you take, to lose bodyfat you must be consuming less calories than your body requires. Even if you are eating nothing but natural, whole foods, too much of it will add body fat.

In addition to this, proper recovery, resistance training and of course football training will be essential to reaching your goals.

It doesn’t require a gung-ho, all or nothing approach. You simply need to be consistent with the basics of fuel, train and recover consistently.

What Are the Benefits on the Pitch?

Stick a 10kg backpack on and go play football. How quickly do you tire compared to normal?

The 10kg backpack is unnecessary weight.

When bodyfat is too high it also becomes unnecessary weight resulting in a similar negative effect.

Summing Up

• Take bodyfat % and weight into consideration when measuring yourself

• Too much body fat %? Drop some bodyfat % to get rid of useless weight

• Be consistent with a calorie deficit, resistance training, football training and recovery

If you want to improve your body composition and performance on the football pitch, we have our High Performance for Footballers plan (in-person and online) which includes individualised training, testing and programming PLUS access to Choose Football Nutrition (used by professional English Premier League and Championship Clubs).

More information on our High Performance for Footballers plan can be found by contacting us here: https://90minutes.com.au/contact-us/