Treadmills enable us to exercise at home and maintain our cardiovascular fitness levels whatever our circumstances but can they go beyond that and help build sport specific skills. The treadmill is the ideal piece of equipment to complement your sports training.
Soccer is a sport that requires stamina, strength, endurance and a high level of cardiovascular fitness. Ball skills are of course important but if you can’t be the first to the ball you wont get the chance to shine.
The ability to out sprint, outrun and out last your opponent can win you the game. You can give yourself an edge over your competitors with treadmill based workouts that complement your on-field training. Let’s look at the key skills required and how using a treadmill can improve your soccer performance.
Stamina
A soccer game lasts for a minimum of 90 minutes., 2 halves of 45 mins. This is the amount of time you need to be able to maintain a steady jog. Running for extended periods on a treadmill will build your stamina and help your legs stay fresh until the final whistle. Start by aiming to jog for 45 minutes at a 1% incline.
The incline will replicate running outdoors with wind resistance. Record the distance you achieve and next session try to pick up you pace to run further in the same amount of time. As you improve increase the incline to make the run more challenging. Tracking players during soccer matches has shown that, on average, a player covers 10-12kms on the pitch during a game so this is the distance you should aim for.
Distance running improves stamina and cardiovascular fitness and is a straight forward workout on a treadmill but running at a constant speed does not replicate the realities of a soccer game. Stamina counts and it will get you through the game but the reality is you also need pace.
Change of Pace
The ability to quickly change your pace allows you to accelerate away from your opponent or close them down. An explosive change of pace like Cristian Ronaldo or Mo Salah can wrong foot your opponent and create opportunity in front of goal. Maximising your treadmill workout for soccer is easy with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). HIIT training increases endurance, improves conditioning and builds muscle for strength.
A simple workout example is:
• Warm up: 5-10 minutes on the treadmill at a light jog. Run slightly faster for the last minute of the warm up to prepare for sprinting.
• Intervals: 45 sec flat out sprint followed by 90 sec light jog for recovery. This is one cycle.
• Repeat: repeat cycle 8 times.
• Cool down: 5 minutes light jog.
Directional Change
Soccer is not a linear game. The direction of the ball is constantly changing and players must always have an eye on the ball and the direction of play. Practicing running sideways and backwards on treadmill is great conditioning for a game. When running sideways always make sure you run the same amount of time for each side of the body. When running backwards it is tempting to hold the hand rails for balance. Do not do this as it negatively impacts your body alignment.
Ball Skills
Yes you can also practice your ball skills on a treadmill. On a flat treadmill start out dribbling the ball at different running speeds. You can also try some ball manipulation skills with the treadmill moving at a slow speed. Toe taps on the ball, kick ups, 360 rotation around the ball whilst keeping one foot on the ball. As your skills and confidence improves increase the treadmill speed.
Strength
Strength is power and a strong player is hard to move off a ball. Good core strength gives stability and poise to your play. Running will help with core stability, especially if you regularly run on an incline, but just running is not enough. You can have your treadmill double up as a gym. Use the handlebars to support your body weight for leg lifts, support for pistol squats or incline pull ups.
You can do mountain climbers on a stationary treadmill and try incline push ups or tricep dips on the edge of the treadmill. All these exercises will assist with core strength and overall conditioning.
