Stamina training in soccer

Soccer is increasingly defined by its dynamics. It is therefore not surprising that there is hardly a game in which the absolute running performance, intensive runs, sprints and other performance data of teams or individual players are not discussed.

But what role does endurance in the form of running performance play in modern soccer and how can it be trained?

Are there correlations to individual or team performance?

Anyone who saw the match between the ball artists from Spain and the physically strong Moroccans will undoubtedly say "YES".

Even after more than 120 minutes played, the Moroccans still managed to double, mostly even triple, the Iberian wingers. Sofyan Amrabat stabbed forward, sideways or doubled back from his central position a staggering 50 times – he was everywhere on the pitch. Achraf Hakimi drew tempo run after tempo run on his right wing, providing relief for his team and at the same time restraint for the Spaniards, who did not want to catch a counter-attacking goal as the game wore on.

Now the question is, how can you take your stamina to the next level?

You'll find the answers in this article – and maybe one or two myths about endurance training in soccer will be dispelled.

In modern soccer, running performances of more than 14km over a game duration of 90min are recorded. As an example, the current Bundesliga record of 14.34km in 90min on the 29th matchday of the 2019/20 season by Vladimir Darida.

Now this is by no means synonymous with success, yet other running data also show that the running performance parameter is steadily gaining relevance in modern soccer.

Scientific analysis of the data shows that midfielders run the greatest distance in a match (Bradley, 2009 & di Salvo, 2007), while central defenders run the least. A decrease of the running performance in half time 2 was determined for all positions.

This immediately raises the question:

How can this decrease be minimized? More on this later.

Endurance is not always endurance

This simple sentence can be explained in more detail using the example of the marathon in comparison to soccer.

While the marathon runner has the goal of running at as high a constant pace as possible over the distance of 42.195km, a soccer game over 2x45min presents a completely different demand on endurance performance.

Here, the individual load is sometimes significantly more intense at a much shorter duration.

To go a bit further, can you still talk about sprinting performance during the umpteenth sprint on the outer track? Or is it rather an endurance deficit which makes us miss the three steps to the ball in the 80th minute?

The answer is quite clear, it is a specific deficit in the endurance area.

How can soccer-specific endurance be trained?

Endurance training is certainly more than the widely popular forest run in the offseason.

Simply put, you could hardly train more non-specifically than completing a constant forest run.

We think briefly of the marathon running example above. Time is often a limiting factor in training, so why waste time on unspecific sessions that are unlikely to result in adaptation and improvement?

A large number of studies show a direct correlation between maximum oxygen uptake (Vo2max) and performance in the game.

And the good news at this point: the Vo2max is very good and also time-saving to train.

This is because the key training stimulus is the turnover of oxygen per unit of time, and this in turn is synonymous with intensity in training.

Apart from physiological principles and scientific wisdom, interval training with higher intensities also appears to be much closer to the target load when simply considered.

Now, the answer can't be to focus exclusively on short maximal loads either, because training management is, as it so often is, about finding the right balance between load and unload to prevent injury and not provoke overload.

During a steady relaxed run in the woods, the energy turnover per unit of time and thus the turnover of oxygen per unit of time is quite low. Therefore, the mere expansion of the circumference as a footballer can even be considered counterproductive.

Runs with a circumference of more than 30min serve much more to train fat burning and undermine the goal of adjusting Vo2max.

Simply put, a purely volume-based approach to training in soccer tends to make you slow down and this is certainly not conducive to performance on the field.

Ultimately, there will be no black or white, because training must be optimally adapted to individual needs.

However, since in soccer, as in other ball and team sports, there is often a trade-off between different contents, their necessity and the available time budget, the available time should be used as wisely as possible.

This is exactly what our training, which is geared to the requirements of soccer, offers you.

Together with our expert Hosea Frick from the HYCYS Institute, we have always further developed our endurance training and equipped it with the latest technology.

The result: soccer-specific endurance runs with GPS tracking.

In our endurance area, players can specifically hone their running performance, improve sport-related parameters, and finally be in top physical shape towards the end of the match.

Hosea is the managing director of HYCYS, a training institute for systematic, holistic, scientifically based performance enhancement for endurance athletes. Hosea, who completed his master's degree at the Sports University of Cologne, is in charge of the Munich location at HYCYS, which is ideal for him as a mountain bike and bicycle racing athlete.

Whether cycling, triathlon or soccer, Hosea Frick has years of experience in the professional field. Now amateur players can also benefit from his know-how.

Hosea knows what efficient, well-structured training in soccer looks like, and not just from his training support of the Bundesliga team Fortuna Düsseldorf. For him, it's all about a sensible balance of stress build-up and regeneration phases.