To prepare your body to repeatedly sprint up to the 90th minute of a soccer game requires significant time spent in exercise training. Researchers such as Jens Bangsbo at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark study soccer players down to the level of their muscle fibers, blood oxygen levels and arteries to correlate training to performance. Conditioning coaches, including Greg Gatz who trained five national champion soccer teams at the University of North Carolina, try to translate that lab knowledge into practical training approaches for a sport that demands exceptional fitness.
Flexibility
In his book "Complete Conditioning for Soccer," Gatz outlines the need for flexibility exercises that prepare you for a game that involves awkward movements, backpedaling and contact with opponents. Flexibility allows you to complete motions such as follow-through on a kick through your entire range of motion. Work on flexibility by setting up thigh-hurdles in a row. Step over hurdles one at a time carefully and without rushing. Vary the routine by stepping over them sideways and backwards. Follow with the Spiderman crawl on all fours. Get into a pushup position and bring one foot to the outside of hand on the same side of the body, elbow bent, knees above off ground, and continue crawling forward as though you were Spiderman climbing a building, except horizontally, with five reps on each leg.
Balance
Striking the ball requires balance, because without balance you can't plant your leg properly. Gatz recommends a soccer-specific single leg squat to work on this skill. Stand on one leg, knee slightly bent. Raise your other leg with the knee at a 90-degree angle and go as low as you can without falling over. Have a teammate toss a ball in the air so that you straighten up and kick the ball back. Complete six to eight squats for each leg.
Total Body Strength
Agility, quickness and speed arise from total body strength, Gatz notes. Try activities such as the body row to train for strength. Set up a bar in a power rack about three feet above the floor. Get below the bar so that your eyes are even with the bar. Grasp the bar with an overhand grip keeping your body straight. Lower yourself without touching the floor and pull yourself back up to the bar. Start with eight reps and work up to 12 reps. Follow with a bench rotating pushup. Place your hands behind your head and lie on your side with your hips off the edge of bench. Have a partner lightly sit on your lower legs. Roll into a sit-up so you are facing your partner at the top of the motion, twisting your core as you rise up. Complete 10 to 12 reps on each side.
Game Conditioning
Conditioning allows you to fight through fatigue and perform at a high level. Prepare yourself with shuttle runs. Set up cones or flags every five yards up to 25 yards. Sprint to first marker and back to the start. Continue to each of the four other markers, returning to the start after running level with the 10-, 15-, 20- and 25-yard markers in turn. Make sure you plant and accelerate quickly at each marker, Gatz stresses. Your goal is to complete the entire shuttle in 35 to 45 seconds. Take a 90-second rest per set; start with five reps, and then work up to 10.
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