Ahead of Euro 2025, I contributed to Women’s Health for a feature examining the strength training Lucy Bronze was using as part of her preparation for the tournament.
The article was published on 24 June 2025 and centred on how one of England’s most experienced players was training to develop three qualities that matter enormously in football: strength, speed and power.
Strength is the foundation
For a footballer, strength training isn’t about simply getting stronger for its own sake.
The useful question is whether that strength can support what happens on the pitch.
Players repeatedly accelerate, decelerate, change direction, compete physically for the ball and produce force from awkward positions. A strong foundation helps support all of those actions.
That’s particularly important for a defender like Bronze, where strength has to work alongside speed, balance and the ability to react quickly.
Turning strength into power
Strength and power are related, but they’re not the same thing.
Strength is essentially the ability to produce force.
Power adds a time component: how quickly you can produce that force.
In football, that distinction matters.
You rarely have several seconds to generate force. You need to accelerate, jump, tackle, turn or react quickly.
That’s why a well-designed athletic programme won’t only include traditional strength work. It will also include faster, more explosive movements designed to help the athlete express that strength at speed.
Speed is more than running quickly
Football speed isn’t simply about who can record the fastest straight-line sprint.
A player needs to accelerate quickly over short distances, slow themselves down under control and then often change direction immediately.
That places very different demands on the body from simply running at top speed.
For experienced athletes, the ability to decelerate well can be just as important as acceleration.
You need sufficient strength and control to absorb force before producing it again in another direction.
Why core strength matters
Core training for an athlete also goes beyond simply trying to build visible abdominal muscles.
The trunk acts as a link between the upper and lower body.
When a player accelerates, strikes a ball, changes direction or competes physically with an opponent, the body needs to transfer force efficiently while maintaining control.
That’s why exercises that develop trunk stability, anti-rotation and control can be useful alongside more traditional strength and power work.
Training has to reflect the sport
This is something I learned early in my own coaching career working with competitive athletes.
A gym programme should not exist separately from the sport.
The goal isn’t to make an athlete brilliant at gym exercises.
It’s to develop physical qualities that support what they actually need to do when they compete.
That means considering the athlete, their position, training history, injury history and the demands being placed on them elsewhere.
For an elite footballer preparing for a major tournament, recovery and load management matter just as much as the individual exercises.
More training isn’t automatically better training.
What recreational gym-goers can learn from elite athletes
Most people reading the article aren’t preparing for a European Championship.
But there is still a useful principle to take away.
Your training should reflect what you want your body to be capable of.
If you want to remain strong, train strength.
If you want to move quickly, include appropriate faster movements.
If you want better balance and control, practise those qualities too.
And rather than collecting random exercises, give each part of your programme a reason for being there.
That principle applies whether you’re preparing for international football or simply trying to become fitter and more capable in everyday life.
It was a good opportunity to contribute to Women’s Health during the build-up to the Euros and discuss the physical qualities behind elite-level football preparation.
Joseph Webb
Expert coaching. Entirely personal.
Chartered Personal Trainer | FRSPH | FCIMSPA
