Building your football muscles without equipment

Wall sits: squat with your back against a wall or fence, with your hands beside your body (not on your thighs). Look forwards. Four to six 45-second sets followed by a minute's recovery.

Extension work that involves making a high stride, then when landing on the other foot, reaching a semi-flexed position and taking another stride.

Steps: often overlooked, calves are very important to football players. Stand on a step with your heels hanging off it. Lift yourself up onto your tiptoes then lower yourself back down. Between three to eight reps and five to ten reps with a minute's recovery.

Run with a weighted vest or carrying a teammate on your back. If doing the latter, run no more than 30 metres.

Forward lunges: to strengthen the calves, quads and hamstrings, i.e. the lower-body muscles. Stand upright with your back straight and take a big step forwards while also bending your other knee (which is close to the ground so your leg is tense). Remember to keep your back straight. Your shin (on your front leg) should be at right angles to the ground. You should have the opposite arm and leg forwards. Repeat with the other leg. Do three to five sets of ten reps with one min of recovery.

The back

Players suffering any kind of back pain should not do these exercises.

Lie on the floor with your arms out to the side, keep your head on the floor and lift your arms as high as possible. Do two sets of 20 raises. Works the muscles between the shoulder blades.

Lie on your back with your arms crossed on your chest. Lift your shoulders off the floor without raising your legs. It's a sort of reverse crunch. Works the quadratus lumborum.

Pectorals

Press-ups: conventional style, hands in line with the rest of the body, buttocks clenched.

Variations with hands clasped or feet raised (on a chair, for example).