Anaerobic Training in Soccer
"If a team wants to intimidate you physically and you let them, they've won." Mia Hamm
Anaerobic training in soccer involves intervals of intense activity and rest which is very specific to playing soccer. This type of training is also great for burning calories and decreasing your body fat. Anaerobic training in soccer is more intense comparing to aerobic training but the main difference is that anaerobic training is more shorter in duration.
Due to this, you will often hear that anaerobic training is often referred to as quality training. Anaerobic training will need a lot of energy in form of glycogen and it is therefore crucial to eat properly. In this process lactic acid is formed in your muscles and you will feel fatigue and discomfort.
The lactic acid is the reason to why anaerobic training cannot be performed long in duration. Anaerobic exercises are usually performed in intervals like these:
Sprinting 20 sec
Rest 1 min
Sprinting 25 sec
Rest 1 min and so on
The main fitness advantages you will receive as soccer player from anaerobic training are:
Ability to change your speed over long distances with less fatigue
Easier to maintain your top speed for a longer period
Easier to maintain your soccer skills (passing, heading, shooting, receiving, trapping)
Ability to maintain your concentration because of the absence of fatigue
Besides increasing your soccer fitness there are also other health benefits of anaerobic training. Some of the most common are:
Your muscle mass will increase which means better fat burning
Your muscle will get stronger and your stamina will increase
Your tendons and ligament strength will also increase
Improved flexibility
Your blood pressure will decrease
Improves your blood cholesterol levels
My experience is that anaerobic training should be performed with a ball. This is because you will both practice on your soccer fitness and increase your ball skills. Some people may not agree with this and will probably clam that anaerobic training should be a separate part of soccer where the ball is not involved.
Well, this may be true but I know that it is much easier and fun to run with a ball than performing sprints without it. I dont know about you but my worst soccer nightmare is the pre-season running where you run, run and run again. I mean, it must be the most boring soccer activity on earth and the practice with ball seem to be so far away.
So, lets make your fitness training more fun by involving the greatest item on the earth; a soccer ball :-)
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