Conditioning for Non-League players: everyday fitness

Despite their skill and passion for the game, players outside of the main leagues do not enjoy the same luxuries as their league counterparts. Aside from the fame and money, non-league players don’t have the same access to rigorous training plans, nutritional guidance and physiotherapy as those in the divisions and premiership.

However, players should at least try to stay fit and healthy despite the demands of a day job. Fortunately, we’ve partnered up with Maxinutrition, one of the UK’s best sports nutrition companies, to bring you a guide to everyday fitness routines and habits a non-league player can incorporate.

Nutrition

You don’t have a nutrition coach or someone monitoring your food intake, but you should still take some care when eating if you want to perform well. These tips should be kept in mind:

• Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet – you should consume at least 5 types per day, of which veg should take up the majority since they don’t contain as much fructose (sugar) as fruit.
• Replace your morning bacon sandwich or toast with wholemeal or seeded bread – or ditch the bread entirely and go for omelettes and smoothies.
• Try to consume ‘good’ carbohydrates to help increase energy levels, especially pre-training. Look at foods such as brown rice, bananas, sweet and white potato, wholegrains and starchy vegetables.
• Protein should make up around 30-40% of a meal and should be increased post-training sessions. Try to eat more chicken, turkey, fish and nuts as opposed to steaks, sausages and bacon.
• Help your body recover by consuming a protein shake after hard training sessions. These aren’t just for bodybuilders and weightlifters – a protein shake helps your muscles repair and recover and takes a few minutes to make and drink.

Training

Although extra training outside of football itself is often ignored by players, it can add a vital boost to your performance and help to prevent injuries.

Cardiovascular endurance is arguably the most valuable trait in a football player (even for a goalkeeper).  You’ll be running back and forth across the pitch and breaking into sprints and dashes at short notice. Building the right kind of cardio will make this as easy as breathing.

Cardio routines: Build your routine around the same kind of activity you’ll be doing on pitch. Running for distance should be broken up by frequent sprint sessions. For instance, in a 4km run you should add a 100 metre sprint at each 500m interval.

Alternatively, you can work your cardio by doing hill sprints. These are as simple as they sound but will get your lungs working. Head to a steep hill or staircase, sprint up then jog back down.

If the above don’t appeal due to time constraints or family life, you still have no excuses. You can perform a 10 minute routine at home that will greatly enhance your cardio endurance – just rep 3 sets of 10 burpees interspersed with 3 x 20 star jumps and 3 x 10 high knees.

Lifting weights

Hitting the gym is an important part of building explosive power if you’re serious about bringing your game on. Just one session a week slotted in to your schedule can help revamp your entire footie game.

Deadlifts

Not just for powerlifters, deadlifts are actually one of the best ways to build muscle in your legs and lower back – an area known as the posterior chain. Check out this video on how to deadlift. To build strength, reduce the amount of repetitions you do. 3 sets of 6 once a week will build serious power.

Squats

The barbell squat is the king of lower body exercises and will build your quadriceps, hamstrings, calfs, glutes, abs and also help develop a more stable posterior chain. Watch a tutorial here. Again, 3×6 is the ideal amount for power.

You should also incorporate front squats, which are slightly trickier but focus more on your quadriceps and core. 3 x 6 at a lower weight than your squat is recommended.

Plyometric box jumps

These can be done in or out of the gym but can be an intense boost for your kicking power. Watch this video for an example and try to get 3 x 5 jumps out, which will be tough if you’ve already squatted.

Recovery

If you’re performing all your lifts on one day, allow a day for recovery afterwards. Up your protein intake and consume protein supplements post-gym to help aid muscle recovery and regrowth.