When it comes time to start pre-season training everyone is guilty of making a few mistakes. Here are four to avoid to help you get started:
1. Going too hard too soon
When pre-season arrives the first thing that comes to mind for most players is to get some sprints in.
It’s important to realise that running at maximal speed is one of the most intense physical activities you can take your body through. On top of that, you then have to be able to stop yourself from that maximal sprint.
You need to build tolerance to this work otherwise you may increase the risk of injury.
Build your running speed up gradually as you train each session by building up the speed slowly but surely and finishing with a 5-10m deceleration phase. As your body gets used to the speeds you can increase the build up speed and decrease the deceleration phase until you are close to a short stop.
Use the off-season or early pre-season to work on landings, decelerations and gradual accelerations to get the body used to the work ahead.
2. Thinking more is better
Many players have the mindset that ‘I’ll have a good pre-season and be fine for the rest of the season’.
This often leads to a lazy off-season and expecting to be able to rush physiology to be magically fit in time for the new season.
Rushing physiology usually has two outcomes:
- You do too much and overtrain, burnout or get injured and underperform.
- You get fit really quickly but plateau after the initial improvements and fitness drops as the season goes on.
Remember you should be looking to get maximum effect from the minimum amount of work to get the job done. Why do two sessions when one could probably get the same outcome?
Train hard, but more importantly, train smart.
3. Starting with no preparation for it
Piggy backing off of number two. Depending on where you are playing your football your off-season can range from 4 weeks to 16 weeks.
Off-season is a great opportunity to:
Refresh and regenerate via holidays/rest with introduction of different activities other than running or football (2-4 weeks)
Any time after these 4 weeks should start to have a plan that will lay the foundation for your pre-season AND in-season.
Hopefully the 4 weeks prior has enabled you to be mentally and physically fresh and ready to work on any weaknesses in your physical and technical game. This part of the season should be planned and individualised just as well as pre-season and in-season.
Taking too long off will lead to one thing come pre-season; regret!
4. Not assessing your fitness at the start and end of your program
If you’re not assessing your guessing.
If you’ve been working your hardest day in and day out for the whole of pre-season? Have you got fitter?
Is your training having a positive effect?
How do you know?
If you don’t have access to equipment you can run through some simplified tests with a stopwatch, tape measure, some cones and your smartphone:
- Leg Power: Standing Long Jump for distance
- Endurance: YOYO IR2 : Download the app on your phone to test
- Speed/Acceleration: 30m Sprint
- Upper Body Strength: Maximum Chin Ups
- Core Stability/Endurance: Front Plank for time
With the meat and bones of pre-season just around the corner you still have time on your side.
Prepare, test, train smart, train hard and then re-test!
Good luck!
