Three ways players are staying football-fit during lock down

1: Endurance training - long-distance running/cycling etc. 

Maintaining endurance is key to being able to last the full length of a match at any level of football, and reduces the risk of injury and fatigue during matches. While we appreciate this is difficult to do at home, there is always a way to achieve this! 

The average footballer in the premier league runs 10.5km per game, as opposed to 7.5km on average for amateur footballers. Are you match fit?

Endurance exercise

Start on the touchline with a ball at your feet and get set to run across the width of the pitch. Dribble the ball as fast as you can until you are parallel to the centre spot, leave the ball there, run at 80 per cent speed to the opposing touchline, run back to the ball at the same pace and dribble it back to your starting position as fast as you can. Your rest time should be the time it takes to complete this cycle – so if it takes you 90 seconds there and back, take a 90-second break. Repeat this six times.

2: Sprint capacity training - short sprints with quick changes of direction and acceleration.

Improving upon your short sprints and agility is a sure-fire way of staying fit and healthy, as well as using up some energy, from inside your own living room. Just find some objects if you don’t have cones (bowls, cups, boxes, you can be creative), and get to work with some small sized drills. 

Ask one of your coaches for ideas, or check the Bloomsbury Football social media and Youtube channels for inspiration.

Sprinting exercise

Push-up starts will balance out the strength in your lower body by enhancing your leg drive, developing your leg start mechanics and improving the power provided by your hips.

Set up:

Simply place two cones onto the ground 20 yards apart from one another.

How to execute:

Assume a box push-up position. Your head should be pointing towards the other cone 20 yards away. Jump up and sprint to the second cone. You should aim to keep your body as low as possible for as long as you can during this part of the exercise. Once past the second cone, slowly jog back to the starting position. This counts as one rep. 

3: High-intensity interval training - Sustained high capacity training, running at half your capacity, and then running at around 90% capacity for sustained periods. 

This helps to maintain your ability to run at high tempo in different parts of a match, for a prolonged period of time. Working on this during lock down will ensure you have an advantage and are ready to go after your opponents in transition, and break away quickly for counter attacks. It also improves your reaction time during a match which is an essential skill.

Think about some of the great box to box midfielders, what makes them stand out? How do they manage to cover so much ground during transition phases to help their teammates?   

Enhance your ‘HIIT’ training by adding a football to improve your dribbling and ball mastery and decision making at high tempo. It is really important to still be able to make the right decisions even after the fatigue kicks in during a match. 

Agility exercise

Using four cones, mark out a square measuring two by two metres. Number the cones 1 to 4. Stand in the middle of the square, facing a partner on the outside. When your partner randomly calls out a number between one and four, dart to the corresponding cone, touch it with your hand and return to the middle. Your partner calls another number immediately, and you react. This drill challenges your ability to turn and react quickly, enhancing acceleration and deceleration.

Combine these three ways of staying football-fit with daily challenges, live strength and conditioning sessions, ‘Play Aways’,  and much more from Bloomsbury Football during the lock down, all from within your own home.