Anaerobic training involves intervals of intense activity and rest which is very specific to playing soccer.

This type of training is also great for burning calories and decreasing your body fat percentage.

Anaerobic training is more intense when compared to aerobic training but the main difference is that anaerobic training is shorter in duration.

Because of this, you will often hear that anaerobic training is often referred to as quality training.

Anaerobic training will need a lot of energy in form of glycogen and it is therefore crucial to eat properly.

Eating complex carbohydrates after your training helps, and will only lead to better body composition as you play.

In this process lactic acid is formed in your muscles and you will feel fatigue and discomfort. The lactic acid is the reason to why anaerobic training cannot be performed for very long periods of time.

Intervals are Popular

Anaerobic exercises are usually performed in intervals like these:

• Sprinting 20 sec.
• Rest 1 min.
• Sprinting 25 sec.
• Rest 1 min. and so on…

Advantages of Anaerobic Training

The main fitness advantages you will receive as a soccer player from anaerobic training are:

• Ability to change your speed over long distances with less fatigue.
• Easier to maintain your top speed for a longer period.
• Easier to maintain your soccer skills (passing, heading, shooting, receiving, trapping).
• Ability to maintain your concentration because of the absence of fatigue.

Health Benefits

Besides increasing your soccer fitness there are also other health benefits of anaerobic training. Some of the most common are:

• Your muscle mass will increase which means better fat burning.
• Your muscle will get stronger and your stamina will increase.
• Your tendons and ligament strength will also increase.
• Improved flexibility.
• Your blood pressure will decrease.
• Improves your blood cholesterol levels.

My Opinion and Experience

My experience is that anaerobic training should be performed with a soccer ball. This is because you will both practice on your soccer fitness and also increase your ball skills.

Some people may not agree with this and will probably clam that anaerobic training should be a separate part of soccer where the ball is not involved.

Well, this may be true but I know that it is much easier and fun to run with a ball than performing sprints without it.

I don’t know about you but my worst soccer nightmare is the pre-season running where you run, run and run again.

I mean, it must be the most boring soccer activity on earth and the practice with ball seems to be so far away.

So, let’s make your fitness training more fun by involving the greatest item on the earth: a soccer ball 🙂