Fitness Training for Soccer

There are new ways and old ways to training. I would agree some training things may never go away like bench press and squat. But in this regard its time for the new to outshine the old. This article will discuss what the new is and why we need to get rid of the old for soccer.

Before I go into this concept it is important to realize that some of these concepts I am calling new in fact have been done for years.

What is the old method of Fitness Training for Soccer?

The old method is long distance running. There is no set time or distance to it. It’s basically going out and running straight or around a track for prolonged periods of time. Why is this bad? That is the million dollar question. Here are the reasons its bad:

• There is some evidence that has shown negative effects of long distance running on power.
• It does not prepare muscles or your body for soccer.
• Reduce injuries

Affects Power

I am going to keep this basic. Power is one of the key factors that makes you fast. You know what speed is when you see it. Landon Donovan is fast. Its gives you an edge over your competition. But what if your training reduced that edge? What if you did long distance running year after year? What is it doing to your speed, agility and jumping ability?

If you still don’t believe me read this next section. The body has knack for adjusting to the demands put on it. The coach potato loses muscle, speed, power, and gets fat. The athlete that lifts heavy will get strong. The athlete that does bicep curls gets big biceps, but what good are those for soccer. The ladies might like them. So if the body gets stronger by lifting heavy, gets weaker by doing nothing, isn’t fair to say the muscles will get good at running long distance running. It is the slow twitch fibers that are needed for long distance running. It gives you are great chance to go out and train those slow twitch fibers. That is every soccer athletes and coaches dream to have a team full of slow twitch athletes ( sarcasm).

Wont prepare the muscles for soccer

If you want to become a marathon runner do it. Marathon runners don’t need to cut, sprint, stop, jog then sprint again. What message are you sending to your muscles when most of your fitness training is straight forward?

I am going to get on my soapbox for a second and discuss soccer athletes doing cross country to get into shape for soccer. Theoretically on the surface it seems like a good idea. We all think to ourselves, soccer is an aerobic sport, right? So why not go out and perform cross country to get into shape for soccer? The reasons mentioned above. You won’t prepare the muscles for soccer, you prepare them for long straight running and you possibly decrease speed and power.

Reduce Injuries

Reduction of injuries should happen on two fronts. First, and the one we all think about is our training should be done in a way so that when the athlete gets on the field, his or her chance of an ankle sprain or ACL tear are reduced. The second method is during training. Theoretically speaking, running mile after mile can predispose people to overuse injuries. The pounding and banging your body takes by running just 5 miles is tremendous. This does not mean everyone will get injured but some definitely do. How many steps do you take running a mile? Let’s just say 1600 steps per mile. Times that by 5 miles. That is 8000 steps in one training session. In other words that is 8000 times in one training session pounding the body.

Compare that to tempo runs. One tempo running session could possibly be 2000 meters (depends on the age). Let’s say one step per meter. That is 2000 steps per training session. We just pounded our body 6,000 fewer times plus we ran about 4 miles less.

First of all, that is a great trade off. Second, those 8000 steps done 5 times a week really start to add up. 40,000 times the body gets hammered each week. Some of you reading this article today have felt the knee pain from long distance running and know exactly what I am talking about.

I know it is hard to change. But we have a tendency to do what we find comfortable. High intensity training can be hard. But, let this article be your impetus for change. Let it sink in and really decide now that you will stop doing long distance running like you are training for a marathon.

What is the new method of fitness training?

I would say modern soccer fitness training uses short bursts ranging from 75% max speed and up. These shorts bursts can be really short like 100 yards and up depending on who you ask. Mostly, and what I have recommended to soccer athletes is starting at about 110 yards, while sometimes doing 220 yard runs. These runs very in type and speed. Some of these runs definitely include cuts to train the muscles. Here is a good way to progress:

• Because we don’t want you to get injured start your training using submaximal speed running straight with no cuts but using a short distance like 110 yards. This place starts at tempo runs.
• After a few weeks up the intensity and start adding cuts to the routine. At this phase you are probably running ladders or something similar. These runs can be very tough.

Summary

I don’t recommend long distance running for soccer. Use the modern methods of fitness training for soccer. Apply short bursts of running 100 yards up to 200-300 yards. This will help preserve your power and thus your speed. You are not a marathoner you are a soccer player.

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