Have you ever noticed or admired the legs of a soccer player?

Their function is to produce force and cause motion. There are 2 types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers contract for long periods of time but with little force while fast twitch fibers contract quickly and powerfully but fatigue very rapidly.

The story of muscles so to speak, can be traced back to the Olympics in Ancient Greece. An Olympic wrestler by the name of Milo was regarded as the strongest man of his time.

Milo wore the Olympia crown on six occasions and was undefeated and undisputed. He competed until the ripe age of 40 and became a legend in Ancient Greece.

Many Greeks at the time questioned where he got his strength from and the tale that still circulates today goes something like this.

Milo grew up on a farm and spent his early days helping his father. Milo’s father placed a new born bull in his care and told him to protect the bull at all cost.

After these initial instructions, Milo’s father asked him

“How big is the bull today?”

Milo not wanting to disappoint his father quickly ran out and picked the calf up and carried him inside to show his father.

Each day, Milo’s father asked him the same question and each day Milo carried the bull to his father. This continued every day for a number of years. As the bull grew, so did Milo’s strength and muscles. After several years of this Milo could carry a full grown bull on his shoulders.

The legend was born and the rest is history.

So what’s the point to this tale?

Firstly, Milo didn’t begin to try and lift a full-grown bull. He began slowly when the bull was young and small. Not only that, he carried the bull every single day for years.

Could the legend of Milo carry a full-grown bull from the start? I strongly doubt it.

What would have happened if Milo attempted to lift a full-grown bull from the start? Chances are he would’ve got injured and frustrated only to give up.

So today’s tips is this,

You should always begin slowly and gradually work your way up. Don’t tackle the impossible from the start. Instead, establish a reasonable goal and then keep progressing towards it at a pace that is suitable to you.

Also, Milo became progressively stronger because he lifted a heavier weight each day.

Could this be achieved if he lifted the same weight every day?

Had he lifted the same sized bull ever day, he would not have become stronger because there would have been no need for his muscles to adapt to make him stronger.

To effectively strengthen your muscles you need to gradually overload them with more weight over time. If you want to increase your soccer performance, you need to ask yourself if your muscles have received a new stimulus in the form of more repetitions, drills, sprints, weights or even exercises.

Don’t get impatient with your strength or your soccer training results. Remember the words of Milo’s father,

“How big is your bull?”

Is your training today hard enough to prepare yourself for tomorrows training?

Stop wasting your time and get the elbow grease out, roll the sleeves up, grit those teeth and work your arse off.

Before you know it you could be at the steps of Anfield or Old Trafford carrying your own bull.

“May the winds of destiny blow you to the stars”.