How Soccer can make you a better runner

Today was my son’s very first soccer game. He is turning 5 this month and we did enroll him into a soccer league. He is totally excited about soccer and wanted to leave for the game several hours early just to make it in time to the game (12 minute drive from our house). The game went great for his team and they won 5:1 – it was fun. However, for the parents it wasn’t as much fun because even though it was sunny, it was very windy, too. With the wind chill the temperatures felt like in the lower 30s. I was glad that I had brought my favorite Hoodie to keep me warm and protected from the wind.

Speaking of soccer (since this is a fitness website). Soccer is a great sports activity. Lots of running and many short sprints, too. Besides soccer requiring a good eye-foot coordination, the actual physical exercise is awesome and it really helps to build up strength and endurance. Think about, experts recommend sprint training intervals for runners to build up strength for long runs. I personally find this boring and maybe even interrupting my runs and their effects, but keep in mind everyone needs to find his or her own style for running and training. This is where soccer comes into play. For one it is a team sports activity, it includes ball game, and it provides me with the same training effect for my runs. The main difference: it is so much more fun!!!!

I am not a marathon runner or so, but having the strength and endurance going long distances without being totally “dead” at the end is what I like. Yes, I want to feel that I have exercised, but there is no point in being totally exhausted and done for the day. I want to be able to play with my son at the end of the day and do fun stuff with him. Training the way described above through soccer feels like a good way to go for me. How about you? Are you into soccer at all?

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