Exercises soccer players use to improve speed, endurance & agility

Soccer is a physically demanding sport. It takes a well-rounded athlete to excel at the combination of agility, speed, and endurance, this unique game demands. 

If you’re a soccer player or are just a soccer enthusiast, this article will help you understand how soccer players get and stay in such excellent shape.

We’ll break it down by the best exercises for speed, endurance, and agility. 

Exercises for speed

Soccer player Kylian Mbappe is a force to be reckoned with. Not only is he the youngest World Cup winner in history, but he’s also crazy fast. In fact, he’s earned the title of the fastest player in 2020 with an impressive speed of 36km/h. 

Here are some exercises soccer players use to improve their speed:

Rowing machine

First up: the rowing machine romaskin test! These machines offer a great low-impact form of cardio exercise. Running outdoors or on the treadmill, every day is hard on the knees and feet. Using a rowing machine is a great alternative.

In order to row in a way that will improve your speed, you’ll need to row fast, at a rate of 28 to 33 strokes per minute. Start with a five-minute warmup, then do 8 sets of “sprints,” rowing fast for 400 meters. 

Recover for 1 minute between sets and cool down for five minutes when you’re done. 

Sprint drills

Soccer players don’t just need to be fast. They need to be able to gain speed very quickly. This helps them go from backpedals into full sprints with ease.

One great sprinting drill is the lean, fall, and sprint. To do this exercise, stand very rigid with your feet hip-width apart. Then, lean forward as far as you possibly can without falling over. Be brave! You can lean farther than you think you can.

Rise up on the balls of your feet without bending at the waist. At the last second, push your feet off from the ground running with your elbows bent and hands open. 

Sprint 20 yards, then walk back. Do 8-10 sets for maximum results. 

Exercises for endurance

Depending on their position, some soccer players run as many as 9.5 miles per game. Soccer isn’t just about speed. It’s about endurance.

Endurance allows you to cover more ground on the field and stay one step ahead of your opponents. 

Here are some exercises that help with endurance:

Shuttle runs

This exercise is straightforward but effective. All you’ll need are two stationary objects to run between, such as cones. Simply run back and forth between the cones. Since soccer is a high-intensity stop-and-go sport, this exercise mimics the gameplay nicely. 

Stairs

Soccer is high-intensity, therefore taking a jog will not be a particularly helpful training tool. You need to push your body a little harder to get into soccer player shape. 

Running up and downstairs as fast as you can is a great way to improve not only endurance but foot agility as well. Try climbing the stairs quickly, skipping two or three steps at a time. You should always keep intensity in mind when doing endurance training for soccer. Keep your workout intense, and you’ll see results. 

Exercises for agility

Soccer is ranked as #1 for sports that require agility, above basketball, and tennis. Soccer isn’t a linear game. It requires a lot of quick starts, stops, and direction changes. 

Great soccer players move quickly and crisply, making their impressive level of balance and control look easy. This is something that anyone can get better at with these agility exercises:

Change of direction dribbling drills

All soccer players need to be effective dribblers, which requires agility. Practice changing direction quickly by dribbling between two cones. Each time you get to a cone, quickly change your direction by 180 degrees.

Hurdle drills

Line up five hurdles in a straight line. Go over the first hurdle with a high step, then pause on one foot. Run back to the start and go over just the first two hurdles. Then repeat, adding in the third. Continue until you’ve jumped over all five hurdles.

Conclusion

A training regimen that focuses on agility, endurance, and speed is sure to improve your soccer skills.

Exercises soccer players use to improve speed, endurance & agility