Strength and fitness are important for any football player. You need not start off being the fittest, but conditioning your body and making your legs stronger should definitely be on your agenda as you learn this sport. We will primarily cover circuit training exercises that are specially devised to be performed in groups.

A word of caution before we describe the drills. It is not advisable to try these on artificial turf as the ground is hard and can damage your knees and ankle if you apply too much pressure. Instead, see if you can practise on a soft/muddy ground or a grassy knoll or even the beach. Sand is usually the best medium in terms of a soft landing, putting minimal pressure on your knees.

There are three types of jumps we practise – knee jumps, sideways jumps, twist jumps. These are self-explanatory in terms of technique. In groups you can rotate and decide which player is doing which exercise at each drill station. Recovery is as important as the exercise itself. So, remember to factor in a recovery time of around 1 minute 30 seconds, for every 25-30 seconds of this drill. This will prevent injury, by giving your body a sufficient break between the high-intensity workout.

The second part of this tutorial is to be done with the football. Practise this in groups of 2 players. One player passes the ball, while the other completes a certain exercise and then heads the ball. One sequence could be push up -> jump -> heading downward. Another sequence could be sit up -> heading upward. We also have a ladder exercise where one player speed walks, receives the ball from the partner and kicks it back in one touch, continuing back down the ladder.

Keep rotating the pairs of players between 3 different exercise stations, so that every player gets a chance to train or try out all the conditioning drills. To strengthen your body, you need to incorporate these drills into your regular practice sessions. We would recommend at least 2-3 times a week to see optimal results.

Now that you have gone through 24 posts in this series, there’s only one final post remaining. In that, we talk about a crucial aspect of any football training – cooling down and recovery between sessions. This is extremely important for your long-term health as you take up the sport. Continue reading to know more about this.