Fartlek Soccer Fitness Traning

The Fartlek (Swedish for "Speed Play") Training method is a great fitness tool that is excellent for soccer specific conditioning. It is less monotonous than the normal interval training and can be easliy customized to focus on the needs of the team. It only requires 20 to 30 minutes including warmup and cooldown where the player trains at varying speeds and intensities. Below you will find a Fartlek Training session that would be suitable for soccer.

1. Warm up with a steady jog for approximately 7-10 minutes
2. High intensity sprint, for aproximately 60-75 seconds
3. Light Jog for approximately 130-150 seconds
4. High intensity sprint, for aproximately 60-75 seconds
5. Light Jog for 120 seconds
6. Repeat 3-4 times
7. Cool down with a steady jog for 7-10 minutes

You can also mix in any number of the following activities:

1. Run hill or stairs
2. Vertical jump from crouch position, 15-20 times
3. Burpees: squat down, place hands on floor, kick legs back so that you are in the top of a pushup position, do a pushup, kick legs forward again, and jump up as high as you can (that's one rep), 10-15 reps
4. Push-ups
5. Sit-ups
6. Lunges