- Intense Soccer Fitness Program Schedule
- Intense Soccer Fitness Program Reviews
- Intense Soccer Fitness Program Workouts
For more than 10 years, my job has been observing, following, and sharing the stories of some of the fittest people in the world. The one problem: most of their workouts have been edited by magazines to make them more “doable” for the average person.
It makes sense, but also can be a little deceiving. Year after year people ask me, “What are the hardest workouts you’ve seen?”
- Soccer players need lower body and core strength exercises and even arm strength to balance well. Certain exercises rely only on your body weight for resistance, so you don’t need any special.
- Basic Soccer Conditioning Program: Day 1: 20min strength circuit, 20-30min fartlek running, 10min stretching: Day 2: Rest: Day 3: Rest: Day 4: 20min strength circuit, 20-30min minute speed running, 10min stretching: Day 5: Rest: Day 6: Match: Day 7: Rest.
Soccer is a running sport combining both Aerobic and Anaerobic Endurance. This program focuses on both developing the Aerobic and Anaerobic thresholds as well as building Speed and Muscular Endurance.
That’s the purpose of, “The World’s Hardest Workouts.” They are slice of life from the greatest athletes, performers, and trainers, in the world. Remember, these are just a snapshot and piece of an entire training program, but they are unedited and authentic. Try at your own risk, and make sure you have doctor approval for extreme exercise because these workout routines are the real deal.
The World’s Hardest Workouts: David Beckham’s Cardio Gauntlet
If you're looking for an abs workout, sprints are the secret weapon of all athletes.
While he’s still a global icon, it wasn’t that long ago that David Beckham was widely considered one as one of the best soccer players in the world. I alway respected Beckham, but it wasn’t until I interviewed him in 2008 and tried his cardio workout that I realized what it takes to be a professional soccer player.
This cardio workout (most of which are sprints) left me needing about 24 hours of sleep and 72 hours of recovery. And if you’re looking for an abs workout, sprints are the secret weapon of all athletes. Don’t be deceived by the lack of crunches. This will burn fat as well as any high intensity interval training workout.
Before you begin, determine your maximum heart rate using the equation: 220-your age. The percentages below refer to maximum heart rate (max HR).
Intense Soccer Fitness Program Schedule
Each sequence is it’s own workout. Either try at the end of your weight training session or as a standalone workout. Whatever you do, do not underestimate the degree of difficulty.
My personal favorite: Challenge #3. Good luck with that.
Beckham’s training challenge 1: 5-minute run at 80% of your max HR. Rest 4 minutes. Repeat for 5 sets.
Beckham’s training challenge 2: 2-minute intervals running at 95% of your max heart rate. Rest 1-minute between sets. Repeat for 8 sets
Beckham’s training challenge 3: Run a 20-second sprint as fast as you can. (Think running for your life.) Rest 1-minute. Repeat 30 times. (Yes, 30 times.)
Beckham’s training challenge 4: Run 60 yards and return back 60 (120 yards total). Complete each set within 20 seconds. Rest 100 seconds and complete for 10 sets.
Beckham’s training challenge 5: Sprint 60 yards. Rest 10 seconds. Repeat for 8 sets.
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Soccer or football as it's called in most of the world is a game that requires a wide range of fitness to play at an elite level. You need not only good cardiovascular fitness; you need core strength, speed, agility and stamina. All of this in one player who can play a full 90 minutes or more, at as close to peak level as possible. How do you reach this goal? Simple, hard work and dedication to being the best you can be.
The components of soccer fitness training include the following: proper warm up, sprint training, Power training, agility training, speed training, and recovery.
Proper Warm Up
You need to start your soccer work out by doing light jog to warm the muscles up. This is followed by a dynamic (active) stretching of your muscles. Stretching is especially important for the optimal performance of your body. The warm up is an area of sports that is most commonly overlooked when it comes to performance enhancement training.
Sprint Training
Sprint training should mirror the game. You should sprint for 30 seconds and then jog or run lightly for 60 seconds. Why, because this is how you run in a game. How many times does a soccer player sprint the field for more than a 30 second burst? Almost never, so why train that way. Some coaches for example, have their players jog for miles at 50% intensity. Do you want your athletes chasing the ball at 50% of what they are capable during a game? Then why would you have them train at 50% intensity, rather than at the intensity level they will experience in a game. It makes no sense. Train the way you play. Two important notes: never start sprint training or a game, until you are properly warmed up and stretched: and Do not do sprint training the day before a game. Always allow 48 hours of recovery before a game.
Power Training
Let's start with Power. I define power as the quick and strong movement of the leg; starting from the hip, to the knee, and ending at the ankle. Olympic (Power) Lifts and Plyometrics help to develop these areas.
The Olympic (Power) Lifts include: the push jerk, split jerk, clean, clean pull, clean high pull, and Dumbbell Snatch.
The Plyometric exercises include: jumps, hops, and bounds. These exercises use the body's weight as resistance.
Power also includes strengthening your upper and lower body. Lower body exercises include: squats, single leg squat, step ups, and lunges. The upper body exercises include: Bench press, push ups, pull ups, lat pull, shoulder raises, curls, extensions, and wrist rolls.
Agility
Next is Agility. Agility is the ability to change direction while running or moving. Sometimes we call agility 'quickness.' We've all been at a game and heard someone say, 'that guy's quick.' Quickness should not be confused with speed, it's related but it's not the same thing.
There a variety of agility drills that can be done, including: running around poles, working with an agility ladder, or even jumping over step hurdles.
Speed
The final aspect to consider is Speed. We've all heard the old saying, 'Speed kills.' In soccer this is probably truer than in almost any other sport. The ability of a team to have the endurance and stamina to run the pitch successful for the complete game is critical to success at the highest levels. It's one of the most important attributes of any player. Speed comes to play everyday, and speed never goes to be coached. The faster, and quicker you can become, the better all around basketball player and athlete you will become.
Speed exercises include: sled pulls, band runs, and hill runs.
Recovery
I cannot stress enough the importance of recovery. Too often I see coaches destroy players with their 'No pain no gain mentality.' When you push your players 100% you need to give them a day off or at least do an active recovery day. The key thing to remember about recovery is that during the workout all you are doing is breaking down the muscle and the muscle fiber. When you are recovering or sleeping, that is when the rebuilding process occurs, this is when we are in essence getting better. So keep that in mind the next time you choose your post workout meal, and deciding what time to go to bed. You should ask your self this question “How good do I want to be?” Then make some of those tough decisions that come up in life.
I hope this article helps you get started on your own fitness program. I know if you use it you will improve not only your performance but also your enjoyment of the game.
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Thanks for reviewing our Soccer Fitness Section. We look forward to seeing you on the field. Below find some additional articles that you may find interesting.
Jeff
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