Jakub Blaszczykowski: Outlast the opposition

“I’m a winger and often run out of steam about an hour into the game. How do you maintain your energy levels from start to finish?”

Steven Moore, via Twitter

Jakub Blaszczykowski says:

 

“Playing out on the wing is very demanding – you have to sprint up and down, attacking and defending, for 90 minutes.

 

Work on your conditioning once or twice a week. I prefer to go to the weights room and build up strength in my legs – that gives you both power and speed. I leave cardio for training sessions, but I do like to run during the off-season.

 

The best way to build fitness for football is HIIT, high intensity interval training: repeated sprints with short rest periods in between.
 



If you have two or three games in a week, you need to give your body a little break, otherwise you’ll either pick up an injury or feel extremely exhausted during a game.

 

Build the foundations of your fitness during pre-season, then monitor your performance during the campaign. 

 

Keep track of the ground you cover using a GPS device and also maintain a wellness diary to record how you are feeling, mentally and physically."

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