Pre pre season - the 5km run

Now the season is done for most players, we now await for the annual surge of pre pre season social media posts, that mostly describe players doing 5 km runs and an overload of isolated (often non contextual) basic action exercises, notably with 1 to 1 coaches. For an explanation on football actions v basic actions please click the link below as it is explained in another article.

In this article I would like to address the thinking for most coaches and players behind 5km runs, and to discuss whether running for 5km is actually helping players or not to prepare for pre season, as there is a suggestion that players need "an aerobic base" in order to be ready to get fit to play football.

We should first ask the question - what is football fitness? How would you answer this question if I was sat across a table from you and I asked you?. Can you as coaches actually answer this in an objective way? Here's an explanation based on the Football Periodisation Model from Football Coach Evolution -

Football fitness is the ability to perform and maintain football actions (passing, heading, pressing, covering, marking, creating space, calling for the ball etc) at 100% for 90+ minutes.

If a player performs any of the football actions above at 100%, we then want that player to perform the next football action at 100%, explosively as possible, and so on. But this isn't always easy, as a player needs to catch his breath between each (explosive) football action. If you think about a lion who is hungry and on the hunt for food. He waits for his prey, and then he will explosively try and catch his prey, going all in at 100% to succeed as he is hungry. The lion is not always successful, and after trying to catch his prey, he needs to lie down in the shade to recover and get ready to try again as soon as possible.

So after a player has performed a football action, he needs to catch his breath as quickly as possible in order to go and perform the next football action. Football players therefore need to inhale oxygen as quickly as possible to catch their breath. They need oxygen to recover.

If we now think about long distance runners, whether they are elite marathon runners or just park run participants., these runners generally run at one pace, they keep a steady rhythm. They want to keep running and not stop to catch their breath. They are using oxygen to work. A steady pace and plenty of oxygen helping them. They are not performing explosive actions and are not short of breath.

The next question to ask yourself is .... do I want my players to perform and maintain many (explosive) football actions during the match, or do I want them to plod around for 90 minutes at one pace? Football is not an aerobic game. Players walk, jog, run, sprint, and even stand still.

The definition of aerobic is ... physical activity that conditions the heart and lungs by increasing the body's demand for oxygen. Because the intensity is moderate, your body can continuously supply enough oxygen for extended periods. Examples include brisk walking, jogging, cycling and swimming.

So do we need that "aerobic base" after all? Are aerobic activities preparing our players for the demands of football? Is the 5 km pre pre season run really helping our players? Players will do these 5 km runs and then report their times on social media, fuelling a need for dopamine because they have either achieved a personal best or they are applauded by others on instagram.

Imagine if that lion I mentioned earlier hunted only at one pace.. he would be able to hunt for long periods, but his chances of catching any prey are massively reduced.

So how do we help players catch their breath quicker with regards to their pre pre season? Why not design simple exercises where players walk, jog, run, sprint (accelerate and decelerate)? Exercises that they can do on their own or with a friend? Make it more aligned to the game, and even better design something around their playing position and the teams possible playing style? Even consider a gradual build up. When a player has had some rest time, do we want them sprinting, accelerating and decelerating on day 1? Or should we gradually build towards that?

We could even be more smart and consider quality days (improving football/basic actions) and quantity days (overload to provoke fatigue).

So to conclude - ask yourself do we want a player to be conditioned to be one paced (5km running) or do we want to develop players that can perform football action after football action after football action for 90 minutes in the most explosive way possible? Players that can recover quickly between each football action so they can go and perform the next football action at 100%. Are you ticking boxes re distances (this is for some of the sport science coaches) or can you really help your players to prepare for the season ahead? Remember you don't have to be fit to play football. Anyone can go outside and start playing football. The more football you play the more football fit you will become - the less space and time to adapt will help you become football fitter.