Fitness training football:

What are the best training drills and programmes for getting and staying fit for football? We've got some examples for you of fitness drills you can do pre-season and over the winter break and for working on your speed and explosiveness throughout the year.

1 Fitness training: the essentials (getting fit again, staying fit in the close season, return to playing)
2 Fitness training for football: cardio and strength training exercises

Fitness training for footballers: the essentials

Football players need to be physically fit and possess excellent technical and coordination skills. To achieve those goals and do their coaches proud, they need to train all season long to stay fit and perform well on the pitch.
Fitness training is essential for players. It is recommended that they train at a steady pace with their team and on their own and also do fitness exercises (with and without the ball) to work on their cardio, speed and strength and to guarantee a good level of performance.
Here are some examples of how you can work on your fitness for football and improve your all-round fitness (without a fitness coach) during the pre-season. We also have some fitness drills for the winter break for you, and drills you can do with your team or on your own to work on your speed and explosiveness all year round.

Getting and staying fit during the winter break

Circuit training programme:

The football fitness training drills presented here are more effective if complemented by a running programme.

Fitness training for football: training drills and programmes

Running programme:

If you're a football player and you're looking for a football-specific fitness training programme to help you stay fit during the winter break, then you've come to the right place. Stay right there! Let's go!

Staying fit during the festive season so you can perform on the pitch

The winter break has come around and like lots of football players, you're wondering how you can limit the impact of the festive celebrations on your fitness, without taking things too seriously. Here are a few things you might like to think about.

Fitness training during the winter break or close season

How you get back into fitness training will depend on what you've been doing while you've been off.
If you haven't been playing sport during lockdown, the summer holidays or the festive season, you'll need to work your way back in gently to reduce the impact on your body and the risk of injury.
If you've done some jogging, a few HIIT sessions or some strength training work, then you should also take things gradually, albeit at a quicker pace. Here's our advice on how to start your pre-season fitness training without picking up an injury.

What are the advantages of continuing to train during the layoff?

During lockdown it's been difficult to find the motivation to stay in shape.
Is it really worth it to go running, do strength training and work on your core fitness? Find out some of the advantages of continuing to train and being match fit for when football starts up again.

How to look after yourself during the close season.

This is a key period in terms of the season ahead and you need to manage it properly.
The way you organise yourself depends on the standard of football you play. Here's a model that lends itself well to amateur football (local/regional leagues).

Making sure you don't get injured after a long break.

So you’re missing your football and feel a bit like a smoker who’s just been told to quit (OK, maybe not, but you know what I mean)?
Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Have you been waiting for months, telling yourself: “When football comes back I'll be playing every day”?
Then, you need to make sure you don't get carried away and jump straight back into things because you might end up with an injury. Here’s some advice on what you need to do to stay injury-free when football starts up again (and it will, one day).

Fitness training for footballers

WORKING ON YOUR CARDIO AND MUSCLE STRENGTH TO GUARANTEE PERFORMANCE ON THE PITCH.

Football-based cardio workouts at home

So you're a football player who's looking for tips on how to work on your fitness without a coach and do cardio work at home so that you can be at your best as soon as the season starts?

Working on your fitness at home with five strength training drills that work your whole body

So you're a football player who's looking for a complete body workout programme without a coach so you can build up all your muscles? All from the comfort of your living room or garden? Don't go away because I've got just what you need.

What is the best five-minute cardio session for football?

The resumption of football is just around the corner and you want to work on your cardio fitness but without it taking up too much time?
After all, the holidays are there to be enjoyed. You can find five minutes to keep your cardio fitness going, can't you?
Here's a little cardio routine to get you started.

Emphasis on weight training: a five-minute strength training session that will work your lower body.

Are you up for a five-minute strength training session that will work your lower body, without a coach?
Before we get into the details, I should tell you that it will allow you to maintain your muscle mass but nothing more. This programme won't help you squat 180kg. It's very effective but it's not a magical short cut.

Emphasis on weight training: building up your muscles for football without equipment

This is an early-season session that focuses on muscle development and which you can dip back into over the course of the season. Football players need to use all their muscles. They work more than their legs. You can do these drills in small groups to make them more fun and switch them up during the session.

Make your return to the pitch successful with a bespoke strength training programme.

Football players are technicians who express themselves as part of a system thanks to their physical and mental abilities. Here's strength training programme just for you.

Jogging for fitness training or how to be quick on your feet

Running, stamina work, pace, speed of reaction and explosiveness: what is the best bespoke programme for football players?
If you want to be at your best when the new season starts, you need a special close-season programme (from mid-July). Here's a circuit-training programme I've come up with so you can work on your speed of reaction, pace and explosiveness.

How to position yourself on the pitch

If a player always gives the impression of having plenty of time to do what they want on the pitch, they're one of the rare footballers to have mastered the art of positioning. Knowing where to position yourself gives you the upper hand over your opponents, and even allows you to compensate for a lack of speed or explosiveness. We're here to help you save time and space based on the position you play in.

Goalkeeper: a unique position

There's no other position like it in football. An essential but isolated figure on the pitch, goalkeepers are often seen as special and unique. But how do you spot a good goalkeeper?

What are the advantages of playing in different positions?

Forward, defensive midfielder, wide midfielder, central defender, full back ... there are so many positions and roles to play in football and, with them, opportunities to develop as a playerWe reveal all the benefits that footballers can reap from playing in different positions.

The good things about being a substitute

You’re gutted! You're on the bench for the next game or, even worse, you haven't even made the squad. Don't panic! We show you the advantages of being a sub and how to come out stronger.