Getting Season Fit With Soccer Superstar Lauren Barnes

by Lauren Barnes, 10 October 2016

The last month of training before the season starts should be dedicated to getting season fit. Even if you are not on a sports team and preparing for a new season, you can follow this professional soccer player's guide to getting season fit.

Getting season fit means training at soccer match intensity with a focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

This is often referred to as the specific preparation phase of training. During this period, your gym training should focus on speed, power and plyometric training.

A period of general preparation should be completed before the specific preparation block to ensure your body is ready to train at a high intensity.

Below is an outline of the differences between the general preparation period and specific preparation period.

Mesocycle

Length

Objectives

Session design

Training intensity

Gym emphasis

General preparation period

2-3 months

Aerobic power & base endurance training

Long work intervals and shorter rest

65-85%

Local muscular endurance, hypertrophy & max strength

Specific preparation period

(Getting season fit)

1 month

HIIT with sprint, acceleration & repeat sprint

Short work periods and long rest periods

85-100%

Speed, power and plyometric training

Soccer ‘Season fit’ training plan

Each training session should include the below warm up and cool down.

Your warm up should consist of:

5 minute jog
5 minutes of dynamic stretches, running drills and activation exercises
4 x 50m run throughs to get your legs up to a high running intensity

Your cool down should consist of:

5 minute walk or jog
Stretching
Nuzest Clean Lean Protein
Adequate fluid replacement to balance sweat loss

Below is what your 4-week training regimen should look like:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 1	Sprint session 4 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute 5 min rest 4 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute	Gym	Acceleration session Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 1 minute rest Repeat x 4 5 minute rest Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 1 minute rest Repeat x 4	Rest	Repeat sprint session 6 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest 5 minute rest 6 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest	Gym	Recovery
Week 2	Sprint session 5 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute 5min rest 5 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute	Gym	Acceleration session Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back three times 1 minute rest Repeat x 5 5 minute rest Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 1 minute rest Repeat x 5	Rest	Repeat sprint session 7 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest 5 minute rest 7 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest	Gym	Recovery
Week 3	Sprint session 6 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 90 seconds 5 min rest 6 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 90 seconds	Gym	Acceleration session Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 90 seconds rest Repeat x 6 5 minute rest Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 90 seconds rest Repeat x 6	Rest	Repeat sprint session 8 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest 5 minute rest 8 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest	Gym	Recovery
Week 4	Sprint session 7 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 2 minutes 5min rest 7 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 2 minutes	Gym	Acceleration session Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 2 minute rest Repeat x 7 5 minute rest Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times 2 minute rest Repeat x 7	Rest	Repeat sprint session 9 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest 5 minute rest 9 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest	Gym	Recovery

Happy training!