The most gruelling part of becoming a professional soccer player is that there’s little opportunity to rest. As long as the ball is still rolling, players need to get ready to sprint, block and shoot accurately. There are only brief moments to rest, such as after a goal or when the goalkeeper long passes the ball to the midfielder. At this situation, you muscle will simply scream in protest. If you understand the hardship that you need to face as a soccer player, you should build up endurance, so you can keep up with the intense pace on the field. Your performance is based on your ability to move consistently at steady pace. Average soccer players need to run five miles during a match with a speed of six miles per hour, while strikers and attacking midfielders will need to run much faster.
If you want to perform well on the field, make sure that you are able to run at a consistent pace for about six miles. You need to have the stamina to keep on going. If you can’t perform at this level, it’s very likely that you will play poorly. If you can run six miles at about five miles per hour for 90 minutes, then it’s likely that you will be able to perform acceptably. If you want to have proper endurance, it’s important to start exercising and progressing slowly, until you can achieve the distance with consistent pace. You should reach this endurance goal, months before the season starts, so you have enough time to solidify your endurance further. Running a couple miles with mild pace can be a good starting goal and steadily add one mile to the goal.
If you think that running two miles is intimidating, then you need to take it easy by breaking up this early goal into smaller tasks. As an example, you should try to run 20 minutes with steady pace. So, instead of focusing on the distance, you will concentrate more on the duration of your exercise. It means that no matter how fast you run, you simply need to run for 20 minutes. It’s better to move in a baby jog than not moving at all. As you achieve one task, it will be easier to achieve another. Again, if you find that running for 20 minutes is still intimidating, you need to try a shorter duration, such as 10 minutes. Then, you can steadily improve your progress and after a few months, you may finally reach the six miles
After you find it comfortable to run for two miles or 20 minutes, then it’s time to extend your goal a little farther. In general, it takes about three weeks for you to become accustomed to a new fitness achievement. So, if you reach the 2 miles or 20 minutes goal today, it may take up to three weeks, before you become fully conditioned and repeat the achievement comfortably. Add 1 more mile or 10 more minutes to your current goal, do it continuously, until you reach six miles.