Soccer Conditioning
Program
Conditioning exercises are a crucial component of a soccer player’s training regimen, as they help to enhance both physical endurance and overall performance on the field.
Soccer demands a combination of explosive strength, agility, and stamina, making conditioning essential for maintaining peak performance throughout the game. Well-rounded conditioning programs focus on developing cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, flexibility, and injury prevention, all of which are vital for a player’s success.
By improving endurance and recovery time, conditioning exercises enable athletes to sustain high-intensity efforts, reduce fatigue, and minimize the risk of injuries, ultimately allowing them to perform at their best throughout the entire match.
< Evidence-Based Practice >
- Strength training programs can significantly improve physical performance and reduce injury risk in soccer players.
- A 12-week maximal strength program enhanced physical fitness and decreased injury burden in semi-professional players (Durán-Custodio et al., 2023).
- Incorporating eccentric, balance, and core exercises into regular training improved strength and postural stability (Dafkou et al., 2021).
- The Nordic hamstring exercise, even in a shortened 4-week program, increased eccentric knee flexor strength (Trevisol de Oliveira et al., 2020).
- Iso-inertial resistance training during semi-squatting enhanced hamstring eccentric performance compared to free-weight training (Fousekis et al., 2021).
- A combined resistance and plyometric training program improved sprinting and jumping performance in youth players (Magallanes et al., 2022).
- Additionally, a 20-week corrective exercise program enhanced functional movement patterns in youth players (Campa et al., 2019).

< Exercises & Trainings >
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- Warm-Ups
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- Treadmill Backward Walk: 5min
- Leg Swing (Front-Back, Side-to-Side)
- Feed the Chicken
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- Upper Body & Core
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- Bench Press
- Shoulder Press
- Pull Ups
- Dips
- Jack Knife
- Russian Twist
- Copenhagen Side Plank
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- Lower Body
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- Box Jump
- Barbell Squat
- Deadlift
- Single Leg Calf Raises
- Nordic Curls
- Kettlebell Hip March
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- Warm-Ups
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< Reference >
- Durán-Custodio, Roberto, Daniel Castillo, Javier Raya-González, and Javier Yanci. “Is a Maximal Strength-Training Program Effective on Physical Fitness, Injury Incidence, and Injury Burden in Semi-Professional Soccer Players? A Randomized Controlled Trial.” Healthcare 11, no. 24 (December 18, 2023): 3195. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11243195.
- Dafkou, Konstantinos, Chrysostomos Sahinis, Athanasios Ellinoudis, and Eleftherios Kellis. “Is the Integration of Additional Eccentric, Balance and Core Muscles Exercises into a Typical Soccer Program Effective in Improving Strength and Postural Stability?” Sports 9, no. 11 (October 25, 2021): 147. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9110147
- De Oliveira, Nathalia Trevisol, Thales Menezes Medeiros, Karoline Baptista Vianna, Gabriel Dos Santos Oliveira, João Breno De Araujo Ribeiro-Alvares, and Bruno Manfredini Baroni. “A FOUR-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM WITH THE NORDIC HAMSTRING EXERCISE DURING PRESEASON INCREASES ECCENTRIC STRENGTH OF MALE SOCCER PLAYERS.” International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy 15, no. 4 (May 2020): 571–78. https://doi.org/10.26603/ijspt20200571.
- Fousekis, Andreas, Konstantinos Fousekis, Georgios Fousekis, Vasiliki Manou, Yiannis Michailidis, Charalambos Zelenitsas, and Thomas Metaxas. “The Effects of Free Weights and Isoinertial Resistance during Semisquatting Exercise on Amateur Soccer Players’ Physical Performance Indicators: A Randomized Controlled Study.” The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 62, no. 5 (April 2022). https://doi.org/10.23736/S0022-4707.21.12281-9.
- Magallanes, Adrián, Andres Parodi, Carlos Magallanes, and Andrés Gonzalez-Ramírez. “Strength Training in Youth Soccer Players: Towards an Optimal Relationship between Load Magnitude and Performance Enhancement.” SPORT TK-Revista EuroAmericana de Ciencias Del Deporte, October 9, 2022, 2. https://doi.org/10.6018/sportk.536181.
- Campa, Francesco, Federico Spiga, and Stefania Toselli. “The Effect of a 20-Week Corrective Exercise Program on Functional Movement Patterns in Youth Elite Male Soccer Players.” Journal of Sport Rehabilitation 28, no. 7 (September 1, 2019): 746–51. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2018-0039.