Inter Miami - Ep 3: Wattbike sessions

Introducing the third and final part of our three-part Wattbike Soccer Mini-Series with Ben Young, Inter Miami Head of Strength and Conditioning.

In this episode, Ben gives us some example sessions across a range of aspects of soccer fitness from aerobic-based sessions through to explosive peak power outputs.

Let’s find out more…

Ben, tell us about your sport specific training and strength and conditioning sessions?

Soccer asks a lot of its athletes. Not only do they have to be fast and agile, but they have to be strong and able to repeat maximum efforts over and over again without tiring or becoming injured.

It is important their football fitness training matches and exceeds these demands of the game.

When we decide to take a player out of training, I like to programme various types of fitness sessions on the Wattbike to replicate specific qualities from the pitch.

I have put together 4 classic sessions below which we use at Inter Miami for both the injured players and also players for which we are managing their running load.

WATTBIKE AEROBIC SESSION
40-60 minutes steady state ride maintaining 70 – 80% of your maximum heart rate.
I consider aerobic training the ‘base’ of all fitness qualities. It allows you to repeat and recover from high-intensity efforts as well as maintain your intensity through-out the game. This session will develop fundamental aerobic qualities such as cardiac output and maximal oxygen uptake, excellent for thriving for the whole game.

WATTBIKE AEROBIC / LACTATE SESSION
20-minute time trial (*Competitive*).
This session is HARD. It requires grit and determination to complete as much distance as possible in the 20-minute allocated time.
This session will take the rider to 90-95% + of their maximum heart rate for a sustained period and utilise their aerobic and lactate systems. Once adapted to the Wattbike, riders are targeted to achieve between 13,500m – 14,200m.


WATTBIKE LACTATE SESSION
6 x 2000m stints with 90s rest in between.
These sessions are intense. The rider cycles as hard as they can and completes the 2k distance as fast as possible. They will likely feel sharp, almost cramp-like pains in their quads, hamstrings and potentially calves during the workout if they are really pushing.

The common times to complete each interval are between 2 minutes 20 seconds and 3 minutes. I would consider 2 minutes 30 – 2 minutes 40 per 2000m a good time for a light weight soccer player.

WATTBIKE POWER SESSION
12 – 15 x 100m stints with 40s rest in between, followed by a single and maximal 2000m time trial effort.
These are all-out bouts of effort. Maximal intent and maximal intensity for every rep. This improves power and repeat power, perfect for team sports such as soccer and rugby.

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Ben Young is a professional physical performance specialist and strength and conditioning coach from the UK as well as a founder of E-Perform Football, a specialist training company from the UK.

Website: E-Performfootball.com
Instagram: @benyoung01
Twitter: @benyoung01