How to structure a week around Football Training and Games

Arguably one of the toughest elements of training is trying to maintain/develop attributes during a season where you are running a different schedule almost on a weekly basis. Especially if you play in a country where seasons can effect your schedule. So how to we keep progressing.

There is potentially two options we can use to keep moving forward.

Option A - Microdosing

Microdosing is a concept of keeping your training within a space where you can train hard but your volume is very low and your frequency is potentially quite high. Imagine it like training hard in a session that lasts 30 minutes and only prioritises Compounds with high amounts of effort but no where near your fatigue/tipping point whereby your training and games suffer.

So in a case like this 3 sessions a week of Upper Body close to being on pitch, Lower Body when you have a bit of space and a full body when you have a middle ground of the two.

The wonder of this is you can play the sessions off from how your feeling aswell, if your very fatigued the session can be adjusted or adjusted from a high impact session, to a very low impact session.

Option B - Options.

Your session length or focus can shift on a week to week basis, especially when you can change the training load accordingly to where you have played games, had a game on the bench OR had a game called off. Your training load can be added or taken away and simply use a Match Day + or - system.

This system can typically work better to mode modalities of training when conditioning comes in. When you look at microdosing it can be quite difficult to microdose conditioning due to the fatigue is acrues (Sprints may be a better option for you BUT super short). But with an options plan you can create your training around promixity to training, games and other sessions.

This can include everything between:

Mobility Work

Upper Body Sessions

Zone Work for Aerobic and Anaerobic Work

Lower Body Sessions

Strength Sessions and Power Sessions

Speed and Plyometric Sessions

Obviously trying to figure out a system with all of these can be very tough, something would have to give. BUT to go back to what we said at the start, in the winter months where games are called off, is that your chance to build on your endurance etc.

What would I go for?

Typically, microdosing is easier but limits what you can work on. I would ideally aim to make a plan with a second option to utilise time where you may not be training, playing as much.