Unlike football or other sports in which there is a lot of stop and go soccer has very little to no downtime during game time so an athlete has to be in great physical condition. Running isn’t the only way that a person should get in shape when wanting to play competitively. There are many strength training exercises that are just as important to help with the endurance an athlete will need to play this sport.
These exercises are not only important for FIFA or MLS (Major League Soccer) players but for any player wanting to compete in this sport. It doesn’t matter if you are in a league, school team or traveling team, being in shape will only make you a more successful and competitive player. Make sure while you are getting in shape you wear apparel that will breathe such as apparel that is made with moisture wicking material. Wearing apparel with moisture wicking helps pull the sweat away from your body which will help keep the temperature of your body down which results in being able to work out for longer periods of time. You also don’t end up with a gross, wet t-shirt sticking to your body when you are done with your routine. You can purchase a moisture wicking shirt from pretty much any apparel store and even an online vendor. If you really want to feel motivated while you are getting in shape you could even get a sublimated shirt that will look pretty cool and when you feel like you look cool it gives you the confidence to push through the tough workouts. You could even get your entire team to invest in some sublimated shirts so while you are all practicing you can all look united as a team.
Make sure before you being any exercise regime that you warm up for at least five or ten minutes before starting so you can get your heart rate up. You should spend the five or ten minutes with doing light jogging and stretches. Once you spend five to ten minutes doing light jogging and stretching and you feel you have gotten your heart rate up you can begin your 30 minute warm up by loosening up and doing some strengthening of your lower body and some balance exercises. These would include things such as squats, straight leg walking with band around your ankles, single leg toe touches, jump backwards, sideways and forward and you can do single leg hops.
The most obvious of exercise would be cardio. Make sure you are not straining your muscles while you are doing your cardio. It is important to take long steps and make sure you get your heart rate to about 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Running doesn’t just mean running on a treadmill or running for miles. You can run an obstacle course. This will not only build your cardio endurance but it will build your agility while working your abs. A type of obstacle course that would be beneficial for training for soccer would be to set up six to 10 cones five to ten yard apart making sure they are parallel. Start at the first set of cones and using shortScience Articles, quick steps move to the second cone. Stop very suddenly and jog backward to the first set of cones. Then jog forward to the third set of cones and then jog backwards to the second set. Continue to do this in a two cone forward one cone backward session until you have reached the last set of cones. Two times is what is recommended to do this exercise in a session.