By the time a player has run up and down the soccer field multiple times, it becomes obvious that to play at his optimum level, he has to be fit.  But what level of fitness is essential to play at an elite level of soccer?  The best way to find the answer to this question is to check out the best players in the game, and consider their physical attributes and fitness.

Before starting a soccer fitness training programme, however, you need to work out where you are now – set yourself a beginning benchmark.  This is probably best done before the soccer season commences, but it’s not obligatory.  You then need to redo the testing on a regular basis, perhaps both mid-season as well as at the finish of the season, to see how you’re progressing.  This can either be a way to give yourself positive feedback by highlighting your progress, or a reason to improve your fitness programme if progress is minimal.

The other advantage of doing some preliminary fitness testing is that it gives you an idea of what areas are your strengths, and which need more work.   Taking a good look at the game’s best players, it becomes clear that there are 4 main areas that combine to provide peak physical fitness for soccer :

- Speed & Agility
– Endurance
– Strength
– Flexibility

By watching top players, it becomes clear that speed and agility are essential elements in the game of soccer.  Soccer seems to be quicker than ever nowadays, so you need to have enough fitness to keep running for a long time.  While top soccer players don’t really need to be able to to beat the best sprinters in the world, it’s still the case that being quick off the mark helps to give them a competitive edge.

Soccer games are definitely not short – and if you’re on the field for a considerable part of a match, then endurance, or stamina, is vital.  Top players may be taken off the field to rest when things are going well, but in a tough game the coach is going to want them out on the pitch for as much of the game as possible – and he doesn’t want them winded and struggling to play.   So it’s important to develop a good aerobic base to your soccer fitness training. 

Strength is another key element in total soccer fitness.  Bulking up with big muscles is not going to help you, because it may interfere with your agility and sprinting capacity.  In this area it’s more important to work on the strength elements that are specifically required for soccer.  So working on your leg muscles is likely to be beneficial.  The quadriceps is certainly a muscle that is well developed in top players, so it’s a good idea to focus on strengthening these and the opposing hamstring muscle group.

In closing, one of the beauties of soccer is the speedy changes of direction.  Excellent flexibility is required to do this, and improving your range of motion will definitely be of use in your soccer fitness training.  It doesn’t just improve your game, either – increased flexibility can help prevent injuries.

If all of this sounds a little overwhelming, don’t panic!  Total Soccer Fitness is a great resource to help you plan your soccer fitness training to ensure you cover all the major areas required. 

Suggested preliminary fitness testing :

- Timing yourself over a standard spring distance from a standing start will give you a base measurement for your speed and agility.  Generally it’s best to run 3 or 4 times, and take the average time.  Make sure you rest between sprints.
– Running a set distance or for a specified period of time is a good way to determine a base measurement for endurance.
– You can obtain a base measurement of your strength by performing leg presses in the gym.
– Measuring flexibility is usually done by either a groin flexibility test, modified sit and reach or a rotation test. 

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