How to Get Soccer Fit Again in Your 20s and 30s

Soccer fitness isn't general fitness

Being able to run five miles doesn't prepare you for repeated sprints, decelerations and turns. Soccer fitness is intermittent, and you have to train it that way.

The three things to build

Repeat-sprint capacity, lower-body strength, and change-of-direction control. Everything else follows from those.

• Intervals: short, hard, with incomplete recovery
• Strength: squats, hinges, single-leg work, calves
• Deceleration and cutting mechanics

Stay available

Hamstring and groin issues end more adult seasons than anything else. Consistent strength work and a real warm-up are the cheapest insurance you'll buy.

Or let the club program it

Every Houston Soccer Club session opens with a strength and conditioning block before soccer training, so members don't have to design their own athletic development.