Getting Season Fit With Soccer Superstar Lauren Barnes
5 min read

Getting Season Fit With Soccer Superstar Lauren Barnes

Author_Lauren-Barnes Exercise

The last month of training before the season starts should be dedicated to getting season fit. Even if you are not on a sports team and preparing for a new season, you can follow this professional soccer player's guide to getting season fit.

Getting season fit means training at soccer match intensity with a focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT), according to professional soccer player Lauren Barnes.

This is often referred to as the specific preparation phase of training. During this period, your gym training should focus on speed, power and plyometric training.

A period of general preparation should be completed before the specific preparation block to ensure your body is ready to train at a high intensity.

Below is an outline of the differences between the general preparation period and specific preparation period.

Mesocycle Length Objectives Session design Training intensity Gym emphasis

General preparation period

2-3 months

Aerobic power & base endurance training

Long work intervals and shorter rest

65-85%

Local muscular endurance, hypertrophy & max strength

Specific preparation period

(Getting season fit)

1 month

HIIT with sprint, acceleration & repeat sprint

Short work periods and long rest periods

85-100%

Speed, power and plyometric training

Soccer ‘Season fit’ training plan

Each training session should include the below warm up and cool down.

Your warm up should consist of:

  • 5 minute jog

  • 5 minutes of dynamic stretches, running drills and activation exercises

  • 4 x 50m run throughs to get your legs up to a high running intensity

Your cool down should consist of:

  • 5 minute walk or jog

  • Stretching

  • Clean Lean Protein

  • Adequate fluid replacement to balance sweat loss

Below is what your 4-week training regimen should look like:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Week 1

Sprint session

4 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute

5 min rest

4 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute

Gym

Acceleration session

Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

1 minute rest

Repeat x 4

5 minute rest

Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

1 minute rest

Repeat x 4

Rest

Repeat sprint session

6 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

5 minute rest

6 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

Gym

Recovery

Week 2

Sprint session

5 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute

5min rest

5 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 1 minute

Gym

Acceleration session

Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back three times

1 minute rest

Repeat x 5

5 minute rest

Accelerate hard to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

1 minute rest

Repeat x 5

Rest

Repeat sprint session

7 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

5 minute rest

7 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

Gym

Recovery

Week 3

Sprint session

6 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 90 seconds

5 min rest

6 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 90 seconds

Gym

Acceleration session

Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

90 seconds rest

Repeat x 6

5 minute rest

Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

90 seconds rest

Repeat x 6

Rest

Repeat sprint session

8 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

5 minute rest

8 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

Gym

Recovery

Week 4

Sprint session

7 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 2 minutes

5min rest

7 x 10 seconds sprint, rest 2 minutes

Gym

Acceleration session

Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

2 minute rest

Repeat x 7

5 minute rest

Accelerate to the 18 yard line and run up and back 3 times

2 minute rest

Repeat x 7

Rest

Repeat sprint session

9 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

5 minute rest

9 x 40 yard sprint, 30 seconds rest

Gym

Recovery

Happy training!