Keeping fit during the off-season

Bar those people who have spent all their time recently living happily under a rock, you couldn’t have failed to have heard about the remarkable season that Leicester City have managed to put together by successfully claiming the Premier League title after looking certain to exit the division a little over twelve months ago. The question everyone wants to know the answer to is just how far will they manage to go next season. Well if you enjoy playing football or any other sport for that matter that isn’t played all year round then you will know just how important the off-season is. 

When you are competing week-in, week-out, it often feels like you don’t even have to think about your training. You get into your routine and then find yourself on autopilot for nine months, right? So any footballers out there will be reading this knowing that their season is over and that they have the summer off. Chance to hop on a plane somewhere warm and put the feet up, right? Well a holiday might be well deserved but that doesn’t mean that you give up completely just because the season is over.

And this isn’t just about footballers. Most sports will have an off-season at some point during the year and it is important that you know how best to use that time so that you haven’t got a lot of catching up to do by the time next season rolls around.

The first thing to do is reflect. What didn’t you do well last season? Could you have been a little bit faster or a little bit stronger? Speak to your teammates, speak to your coach. Find out what needs a bit of fine-tuning over the summer. So if you were short of a yard of pace then you know that you need to be working on HIIT cardio to get those fast-twitch muscle fibres into action. And if you were getting pushed off the ball to easily you might be best off putting a bit more emphasis on hitting the weights and building up that strength.

No matter what you did well, I can guarantee that by the time pre-season is here you will all wish that you worked on your fitness a bit more during the off-season. Granted, whatever you do over the next couple of months is unlikely to save you from the shuttle runs in July and that ‘wanting to vomit feeling’ but you might as well give yourself the best start. If you have been playing every weekend then the last thing you want to do is stop cold turkey and then just try to get straight back into it. You’ll feel about 10 years older, trust me! So keep up with your cardio and make sure that you remain sharp.

I’m not saying that you don’t deserve a break. If you have worked hard for the whole season then no one is going to begrudge you a couple of weeks off. But if you have been stuck in a routine all season then use the off-season to try and mix it up a little. Use the nice weather to get out of the gym and try some outdoor activities. Or if you were struggling with the intensity of in-season training then look to incorporate some jogging just to take the edge off.

Finally, the end of the season does not mean the start of the binge. Just as you need to ensure you keep up with the right amount of exercise, make sure you maintain your nutrition too. All of it will be wort it by the time pre-season comes around! If you’d like the help of a professional to encourage you to hit your goals, talk to Ollie Lawrence Personal Trainers in Manchester today to find out what we can do for you.