Soccer Fitness Plan

J

Jicmic

0
Hi, I am a 16 year old soccer player. I'm around 6' 2", weigh 155lbs and I am in all right shape. Next year is my senior year and I DO NOT want to spend it on the bench. How can I improve my speed, endurance, and power by August 2010? Some sort of weekly plan would be great. I know it's a lot to improve but I am dedicated and have time.


Additionally, I am looking for some tips on some healthy snacks and drinks I can purchase, so I can try to steer away from junk food. I'm really open to try anything. Specific products would be greatly accommodating.

Thanks,

Jake
 
Training wise are you aiming to focus on skills or fitness? Also what position are you?

Anyway, I would recommend two endurance sessions, so going for a jog for an hour or so but if you can include some sprints in their as in soccer you do not just jog everywhere you'll need to sprint at times and what-not. Also, include some sprint sessions later in the week to work the an-aeerobic system but remember to have rest periods. REMEMBER TO WARM UP AND WARM DOWN - DRINK DURING EXERCISE.

Food wise some snacks are not going to harm you but a good idea would be to hide the crisps ect. in a cupboard and have some fruit in a bowl where you can see. If you can getting some protein powder would be great.

Good luck - if you tell us what position and if you are aiming to focus on skills or fitness we can help more :D
 
I'm pressuming that you train with your team so that should take care of the skills front. Fitness I would recommend this - but remember to be flexible, if you don't feel great then skip the session :p (ill put your team training as saturday but you can change it if it is not on saturday)
Monday: jog - 1 hour

Tuesday:rest day

Wednesday: jog - 1 hour with sprints - 15 second intense effort - 2 min jog and repeat

Thursday: weights (include all main muscle groups) (if you dont own weights then bodyweight exercises)

Friday: rest day

Saturday: team training

Sunday: jog - 1:30 to 2 hours - slow effort

If you dont feel great then skip the session as it will most likely have negative effects rather than positive effects - for example i carried on and did my session and now ive been out for a week and a bit due to shanghai flu - you need rest which is why i have the rest days in there. Remember improvments in fitness happen during rest, after the stimulas, i.e. the exercise your body will then adapt (get better). :p - Good luck
 
Do you recommend running on a track or the street? I know for the sprinting a track would be better.. but? And have a two hour skill session on Friday and games on Saturday, Sunday and sometimes Wednesday but they're usually not till late at night.
 
Jicmic,
I suggest you to focus on developing strength and power first.
Spend at least 3-4 months in the gym lifting weights to build muscle, build strength sand develop power.

Stay away from any type of continuos run or jog. That is outdated conditioning from the past. This will lead you to becoming weaker, slower and possibly injured!

Once you have developed a good power and strength base you can build your endurance through interval training and your speed through sprints.

Ideally your conditioning interval runs and sprints should be on the same surface you train and play on:)

Good luck!
 
Soccer Power said:
Jicmic,
Stay away from any type of continuos run or jog. That is outdated conditioning from the past. This will lead you to becoming weaker, slower and possibly injured!
Click to expand...

I don't understand, how is conditioning outdated? Could you explain more?

Also I've never really worked out in a gym. I've always just stuck to what I could do with just my body. So even more specifics would be fantastic.
 
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personally i dont agree with it being 'out of date'. You need to be able to run about for that duration of time. Weights would be a good idea but for 4-5 months is a bit extreme. I'm a cyclist and triathlete primarily and i do around 2-3 months of weights tops as pre-season training.
A track would be great but running on the streets is fine - especially if you can time a lap so that your total recovery time leads you just up to the sprint.
 
4-5 months is not extreme if you are on a proper strength training program.
Soccer has developed into a power and speed game. It is a game of walk-jog-sprint.
Going for steady state runs does not nervous system, the energy system or muscular system for the way the game is played.

I 've been the health care field as both an Athletic Therapist and conditioning coach for over twenty years. Players that stick to sprints and interval runs have hardly any injuries. I'm always busy with players that go on continuous runs with overuse injuries.

Jake,
If you want to do body weight exercises focus on squats, lunges ( variety), single leg squats, push ups, and planks.

Here are some things you can do
10-10-10 yards
20-20-20 yards
30-30-30 yards

Walk-jog-sprint these distances until you no longer carry on. This more related to the way soccer is played

Here is a simple body weight circuit for

Push up
Squat
Plank
Lunge L
Lunge R

Option 1:Do each exercise for thirty seconds as fast as posible
except hold the palnk for thirty seconds. then rest after the last exercise for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 more times

Option 2: Do one exercise for thirty seconds as fast as possible then rest 30 seconds -then do the next one etc. Complete this 3 more times for a total time of 20 minutes

Blindside:
The pace and play of soccer has changed over the last ten years. Hour jogs are outdated for conditioning. I deal with over use injuries and many ankle sperains because soccer players are not properly conditioned. When during an hour jog do you have to stop quickly and change direction? It doesn't happen.
In the last ten ten years since I started implementing strength, power, speed and interval exercises into any of my programs I saw a significant drop in overuse and acute injuries.
Les than ten complete ACL injuries.

While you do not agree with the hour being outdated my experience has shown otherwise.
 
yeah fair play mate your stuff does sound better :D The running stuff I suggested was to try and work his aerobic system as I thought that he was either pre-season or early season and I might have been looking at this from a bit too much of an endurance point of view.
 
Jicmic said:
Hi, I am a 16 year old soccer player. I'm around 6' 2", weigh 155lbs and I am in all right shape. Next year is my senior year and I DO NOT want to spend it on the bench. How can I improve my speed, endurance, and power by August 2010? Some sort of weekly plan would be great. I know it's a lot to improve but I am dedicated and have time.


Additionally, I am looking for some tips on some healthy snacks and drinks I can purchase, so I can try to steer away from junk food. I'm really open to try anything. Specific products would be greatly accommodating.

Thanks,

Jake
Click to expand...

Jicmic said:
Hi, I am a 16 year old soccer player. I'm around 6' 2", weigh 155lbs and I am in all right shape. Next year is my senior year and I DO NOT want to spend it on the bench. How can I improve my speed, endurance, and power by August 2010? Some sort of weekly plan would be great. I know it's a lot to improve but I am dedicated and have time.


Additionally, I am looking for some tips on some healthy snacks and drinks I can purchase, so I can try to steer away from junk food. I'm really open to try anything. Specific products would be greatly accommodating.

Thanks,

Jake
Click to expand...


There's really no easy way to just GET endurance or power or speed.

I know it sounds corny, but you just gotta grind it out and focus on finding a group at your school who can help you benefit. Even if you don't like a certain sport, join it and workout with them. There's really not a downside to this method, and like you said, you have the time to do it, so why not?

As for specific routines:

-Start with VERY LIGHT warm-ups, do some lunging along a track, jog around in small areas for only 10 or 15 seconds at a time, do some high-stepping, and just loosen up.

-Speed- Speed is the result of your ENTIRE body foving together in a burst, so your body will respond to plain old sprints. Start off on your stomach, push-up, then sprint to a mark about 5 seconds ahead of the starting point. Walk out your sprint slowly on your toes to avoid shin splinting. Also, it sounds odd, but upper body workouts as well as core workouts are very important to getting faster.

-Endurance- This is pretty strait-forward, no? Run alot, never walk, and never give up until you reach your destination!

-Strength- You'll get much strength from being in the weight room. Technique is very important to your strength development though, and I would suggest finding a partner to do it with, and DEFINATELY don't feel timid if it's your first time lifting weights! Everybody starts at some point, so just find a time after/before school to go with a buddy and do some squats, lunges, or whatever you think will help you play soccer stronger.

-Nutrition- This is critical to your fitness. I eat regular lunches and dinner, and about 30minutes before I workout, I eat a Powerbar, and mix a powderized Propel packet with a bottle of water, then drink in small amounts DURING my workout. ALWAYS stay hydrated, and be sure to eat protein. If you want to buy a protein shake, buy one that has the most amino-acids. The more, the better, and nobody likes to waste a workout. Oh yeah; and if you're gonna drink coke/pop/soda, prepare for pain.

That's what I do.
 
Jake,
Endurance:
Interval runs will be suited for you to do. If you do al ot of running you will end up slower, weaker and injured!

If you trulywant to build speed you need to develop base strength and power. It is possible to do it with body weight. It is more effective weights.

you need to have base strengthbefore you have power or endurance.
good luck!
 
Speed and Speed endurance by August -- It's March and you have a solid four months...no problem. I've had success with this many times with my athletes at every level of soccer.

Speed training is an all out burst / sprint followed by FULL recovery. Let's keep this under 60 yds, anything more is close to changing energy systems and would not be considered SPEED training. As everyone says...do your movement prep, warm-up and make sure you're good to go (there is a ton of stuff on dynamic warm ups and the like). As was posted earlier you could do 10 yds X3, 30 yds X3, and 50 yds X3. This is not "THE" formula, just a place to start. You may also rest 2-5 minutes in between sprints, but as I said, you need full recovery between sprints (it's a nervous system thing).

Speed Endurance: I've used this with athletes from football, lacrosse, soccer, tennis...anyone that needs to be "conditioned" to change gears on the field or court.
The length of the run is 100 yds. Your total time is 1 minute: For the first 10 runs you have 25 seconds to get there and 35 seconds to recover and get back. If you get back at 50 seconds you would have another 10 seconds to rest before you sprint again. At run 11 you start reducing the "sprint" phase of the run by one second, so you'd have your sprint at 24 seconds and recovery jog back at 36 seconds (staying within the 1 minute). This is called the Man U Fitness Test...at least that's how it was introduced to me years ago.

Long-slow distance (LSD) running will get you slower...no question -- if this is your only means of conditioning. However, there is a place for LSD, but not the crazy stuff I see coaches make their athletes do like 5 mile runs or even testing your 2 mile time...honestly, who cares how fast you can run 1 or 2 miles...ya never and I mean never run (jog) 1 or 2 miles in any game. Get good at running 2 miles and you'll be a good 2 miler. There are always exceptions to the rule, I've had some of my pro players that ran marathons and were still some of the fastest players in the league, but they were some of the top players in the US. You may or may not be one of those players, but if I were you I'd opt for the two training methods I've suggested above.

Speed training 1x per week (maybe 2) and Speed endurance 2x -- it all depends on what else ya got going on. And ya gotta lift...find a coach that knows what he or she is talking about and learn a few essential lifts. I've seen way too many knuckleheads in the gym doing it way wrong. You initial question was conditioning, but if you leave lifting strength training (doesn't have to be in the gym) out of the program, you'll never be your best.

Nutrition was also mentioned by someone else...HUGE component. The best training system in the world is useless without a nutritional support system.

Let me know if you have any questions-

Cheers,

JT
 
hey jake, im also a 16 year old 6' 4'' 155 pound striker, and i agree with your desire to not sit on the bench, most of this info is good for me too, however i do have a tip for the nutrition, antioxidents in things like blueberrys help cleanse and restore your bodys energy, i find eating them allows me to focus and have more energy for training, also anaerobic workouts are more suited as endurance doesnt help if u cant get to theball in time, let me know if u get off the bench man
 
Start with a sensible periodization plan so your training methods don't interfere with each other, and you don't train the wrong systems at the wrong time of the year.

This article gives a pretty good intro for soccer:

Good luck!
 
The article "How to get fit for soccer" is very good. The only part I question is the distance running for aerobic conditioning.
You may wish to read the folowing articles at ezinearticles.com





Cheers!
 
I am 18 (and a striker) and was in the same situation a while back, what I do now is:

2 small sided games a week (these are training, I do other skills at training but this is the conditioning component of it)
1 fartlek session (lasts roughly 25-30mins)
and
1 game on a Sunday
and
EVERYDAY I do ball skills, no matter what, doesn't matter if it's 30 mins even
Sometimes these skills can go for 2 hours if i feel i need it.


On top of that I do 4 lifting days, with an upper and lower body split.

So I will do Lower one day, Upper next, rest a day from lifting, Lower the next, upper next.

I find this helps me alot, and I'm currently always in my starting 11, I have scored on every start as a striker.

I also eat very healthy, splitting my meals into 5-6 portions so I get a steady intake all day, I eat alot of protein and carbohydrates as well as healthy fats.

Protein from: Low fat meats and dairy, breads, nuts, protein shakes (only after training)
Carbs from: Fruits, Breads, Pasta, energy drink (when needed)
Fats from: Healthy oils, Nuts

This has all been very expensive because I myself have to work and purchase all of this because my family never understood. I suggest you ask your parents if they can start purchasing healthier (non-processed or artificial) foods, if they already don't. Stay away from preservatives, Junk food is bad, but in small portions here and there does not drastically affect your progress, but opt for low fat or anything without preservatives and artificial ingredients. I know that is hard but I searched and actually found a lemonade without any artificial ingredients.

On top of all this you do need mental strength also, perserverance, determination, dedication and the likes.

It will not be easy, but when you get there, it is a great feeling.

Best of luck, if you need to know some weight exercises, let me know.
 
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