Sun, summer, shin splints — shimmering heat and dust-dry soccer fields.
It is not only the already maltreated lawns that are now suffering again. Many players are trying to take advantage of the summer break and want to prepare themselves for the new season in the best possible way with endurance runs. Very common on asphalt. Or in the coming weeks, their trainers will once again scare them off trotting across training grounds or forest meadows.
What could be better than an honest and tough endurance run? A lot!
In today's blog post, we show why endurance runs should only be chosen carefully, why they can easily develop shin splints and how you can train your soccer fitness much more effectively.
An exhausting second half has just come to an end. Your team may have had to go through further additional games in the relegation for promotion or relegation. Now the legs are tired, so is the head. Just now would you like to get back into basic training?
We'll show you what you as a soccer player should consider for your training during the soccer-free period so that you can easily get through the preparation and impress with top performance in preparation and for the new season.
A short soccer break is important — physically and mentally.
Of course, that doesn't mean that you should seamlessly get back into training ad hoc from a tiring playing time. You need a short break to recover.
Physically, your mitochondria, i.e. the power plants of every cell, must be repaired again. Mitochondria supply cells with the energy ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is needed to protect themselves against external attacks and to regenerate. If this physical “reset button” is not pressed, you can quickly become overtrained — including constant infections and a feeling of tiredness.
But in our athlete experience, it also makes sense mentally to switch off for 5 — 10 days. I also like sports that involve movement.
Important: Performance motives have no place here — just-for-fun is the keyword here.
After these first days of rest and when your magic feet are already itchy, it's time to prepare yourself optimally for the new season. The topic of effective endurance training is particularly important during break time; basic work is the credo. Anyone who asks the referee after the first five minutes of the game when it will finally be a half-time break should do some work on their game fitness.
Do you value long runs across forests and meadows? Unfortunately, a trotting endurance run through your home village only gives you minimal effects. Maybe your coach sees you and is proud of you. Maybe you're out in the fresh air and clear your head. However, it is of little use to you for your performance on the pitch.
Quite the opposite.
Extended long runs on asphalt or hard surfaces increase the risk of shin splints. The shin splints are a classic symptom of overload that can have a multifactorial origin. The shin splints are often associated with a sudden increase in training intensity, training volume, changes in footwear or a change in background.
In this blog article, you will find out exactly what this is all about, which factors promote this injury and which exercises can help you with this injury pattern.
A game is 90 minutes long and consists of high-intensity exercise and rewarding relief. It is important for you to understand that you don't have to simulate the length of a game with your runs, but its speed. And this simply means: sprinting, changing direction, break, running duel, duel, break — and so on.
During ninety plus X minutes, your endurance requirement is an alternation between brief, intensive exercise and rewarding relief. Research has shown that around 450 of all movements performed involve a change of direction of over 120 degrees — that's around 50% of all player actions in a game.
Do you still think that a long endurance run on asphalt or on the soccer field will optimally prepare you for your soccer game?
Our training programs in the app were developed by sports scientists and real experts from the professional sector - such as Oliver Schmidtlein (former athletic trainer of the German national soccer team).
An increased degree of individualization was particularly important.
- Which phase of the season are you in right now?
- What is your current fitness level?
- How many days a week would you like to train?
- What goals do you want to achieve and where would you like to improve?
- Would you like to train in a position-specific way?
Yes, you read that correctly. We've even incorporated position-specific workouts into your training plan.
The Gamechanger This provides you with everything you need for perfect training during a play-free period.
It is obvious that in soccer, a one-hour endurance run at the same pace will help you a little. After all, in soccer, it is important that you can also complete the umpteenth deep run on the outside track or close any gap in the center, however small. To do this, you must have a specific endurance capacity.
Studies show that there are correlations between maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and running performance in the game. And the good news for this point: VO2 max is very good and also time-saving to train — with higher intensity in interval training.
At B42, we have designed football-specific endurance runs for this purpose — with GPS tracking or a link with your own tracker. B42 Running is a special endurance program to improve your running performance — developed specifically for soccer players. Select “Endurance” as your training focus in our app and we'll create the perfect training plan for you.
For endurance training, we have brought on board an absolute professional in the areas of endurance performance and training control with Hosea Frick.
And the best part: You can now also connect your Apple Health data, various fitness trackers from Garmin, FitBit or Polar to the B42 app. Your activities are also saved to your B42 profile. On the one hand, you can record runs without your mobile phone and receive additional data, such as visualizing your pulse values.
You lay the basis for the new season during training during the summer break — we have EVERYTHING you need for it. Just get our free app for IOS or ANDROID and start working on the best season of your life today.
Be fearless. Be focused. B42
Bringe dich und dein Team aufs nächste Level! Trainiere mit der ganzen Mannschaft oder dem Verein.
