Have you ever wondered why preseason training is so important?

Trust me, I’ve asked myself this very same question a thousand times while running around in the cold and even with heavy snow coming down.

There are serious consequences to skipping a good preseason training phase. For starters, your performance on the field is going to be pretty bad.

In addition to bad performance, you’re at risk for more injuries than if you condition your body properly.

How Often Should You Do it?

Now, when you know why preseason training is so important let’s continue to look at how often you should participate in it per week.

The answer on this will depend on which level you are playing on. Now that you know why preseason training is so important, we can move on to other important topics.

For example, do you know how often you should train per week? The right answer will depend on what level you’re playing at currently. Be honest with yourself 😉

If you are reading this I can assume that you are new to soccer or have played for a while. However, I don’t think that you are professional (yet) and I will therefore adapt my advice after this assumption.

My advice is to practice at least twice but not more than 4 times per week. The reason for this is that you muscles need rest between your practices to recover properly.

Keep in mind that when you are training you are not actually building up your muscles, you are breaking them down. It is during your rest period that your muscles are growing.

The Importance of Nutrition

Proper nutrition during your pre-season is crucial. Without eating the right food you will not help your muscles recover.

And soon or later you will cause yourself a serious injury which may sabotage your whole pre-season.

If you are serious with your soccer game (which you surely are, otherwise you would read this) you should try to eat at least 3 big meals per day.

Also, try to eat a fruit (bananas, apples, peaches and so on) between your meals.

Do Your Best

Try to perform at your maximum during the exercises even if they are pretty boring. If you want to benefit maximum from your pre-season training you will need to focus maximum on the exercises.

The more you put in, the more you will get from it. I know by experience that many soccer players love to cheat when it comes to soccer fitness (especially during the pre-season).

However, if you want to achieve bigger goals you need to take every soccer training session, whether it is boring or fun and focus on it 100%.

Do Not Participate if You Feel Sick

Don’t participate in your pre-season training if you are sick. You may cause yourself a serious injury which could keep you off the field for several months.

Instead, rest 2-3 days because you will not lose performance from that. Keep in mind: To perform at your maximum you need to be both physically and mentally 100% fit.