Soccer Fitness - What Is Soccer Circuit Training?

In soccer fitness, soccer circuit training involves the participation of various activities in succession. All these activities are conducted at different stations all around the soccer field. The team is usually divided into an equal number and then assigned to different locations. The circuit begins when all players perform their best at the different tasks given to them.

The groups rotate in a specific time interval to the next station. All successive stations should ideally be different from each other in their physical and technical demands. The appropriate age for starting circuit training is 15 years and above.

Children below this age have difficulty in fulfilling the requirements of the training and working independently. Even the coaches cannot control and observe the players who are scattered around the field. Though, the circuit training if used properly can prove to be a valuable component for kids of all ages.

The Proper Usage Of Soccer Circuit Training

• Circuit training is extremely good for general fitness. Players are required to go through a variety of cardio vascular and resistance exercises. The lifting program soccer weight sessions 3-4 times a week would be an effective way to gain all-round soccer fitness.

• Athletes and soccer players can develop their basic strength through circuit training. Ensure that there are increased rest intervals in between stations, so that the training does not prove to be very intense.

• Circuit training increases the endurance levels in soccer players. The cardiovascular element is developed in the players when they alternate the muscle exercises and the plyometric exercises.

Overload In Soccer Circuit Training

Overload can be produced by

• Increasing the number of stations in the circuit.
• Increasing the exercise time at each station.
• Building up the work intensity at the stations.
• Decreasing the recovery time between stations.

The players get many opportunities to get more flexible and simultaneously enhance their soccer skills. They can even undergo aerobic soccer training for further building of stamina. The players have to ultimately be fit enough to run around the field for at least 90 minutes.

The rule is that a fitter team will always win. The footballer has to sprint, accelerate and even have the strength to keep the ball. The warm-up and the cool-down exercises would help in injury prevention and increase agility.

Soccer players can register themselves with circuit training classes in gyms or at soccer clubs. Though circuit training is not a form of exercise, it can still be called a form of structured exercise program. Circuit training can be designed by determining the load and the number of exercises.

You have to know the time assigned to each station. When improving the soccer fitness of your players, determine the number of circuits per session and the rest interval between circuits. The speed of execution can be ascertained from anything between medium to very fast and the frequency of soccer circuit training sessions should be around 3-4 times per week.