Gym memberships are expensive and we’re still skint after Christmas and New Year, so we thought we’d head to a scrapyard and pick up a spare tyre for a full throttle workout. Perform each of these exercises for 30 seconds to form a simple circuit. Once you’ve completed them, rest for two minutes and repeat the circuit. That’s if you can, of course…
Flips
Wait a minute - tyre flips are for 20-stone Scandinavian strongmen aren’t they? Wrong, they can help you on the pitch. “This is a full body exercise which will work on your explosive power,” says Goff. “The aim is to crouch down nice and low and drive the tyre up as fast as possible before pushing it forwards.”
Pushes
Oi, hard men, why not practice pushing and shoving your opponent with this move? “You’ll need a team-mate for this one, which will add a nice bit of competition to the exercise. By kneeling down and just using your upper body, you can really target the chest. This is similar to an explosive bench press exercise.”
Deadlifts
If you’ve got chocolate hamstrings then it’s high time you strengthened your legs. “This exercise really targets the posterior chain – the muscles on the rear of your body – and particularly the hamstrings and glutes. By using an underhand grip to pick up the tyre you’ll strengthen your wrists and forearms.”
Lateral jumps
If you often find yourself leaping out of the way of two-footed tackles from Sunday League Marcos Rojo’s – this jumping movement is perfect for you. “All you need to do is jump in and out of the tyre, from side-to-side, as fast as possible. Football is a multi-directional sport, so you need to be good at moving in different directions quickly.”
Press-ups
Whether you want to look better on the beach or throw opponents around like rag dolls – we all want a nice strong chest. “This is more of a power exercise. By getting down into a press-up position and propelling yourself into the air, you’ll really work your chest, triceps and core.
Squat thrusts
We don’t care if you’re tired after a hard day of work – you need to train your body to be able to do repeated bouts of high intensity exercise on the pitch. “Squat thrusts performed at speed will really raise your heart rate and get you sweating, as well as testing the ability of your core to maintain the correct technique.”
Explosive squat jumps
You don’t have to be the size of Peter Crouch to win an aerial battle. You can boost your jumping ability with this simple exercise. “These jumps from a sitting start work on explosive leg power. This will help you to win headers and jump in front of defenders and get first to the ball.”
