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How to improve your stamina for football
Football demands more than just skill. For most big games, your stamina and endurance are what will keep you going and can be the difference between a win and a loss. Whether you're sprinting down the pitch, making a quick defence, or pushing through the final minutes of a tough match, stamina is what will keep you on track for a successful game.
However, stamina isn’t just about going for runs and hitting the gym every now and then, building your stamina is a balanced combination of training, nutrition, recovery, and mindset. If you’re looking to really push yourself and your abilities, our blog is going to break down the strategies to help you build your stamina, boost your performance, and outlast your opponents every time you step on the field.
Why is stamina important in football?
Stamina enables players to maintain high-intensity performance on the pitch through long 90-minute matches - so even down to the last few minutes, players are still able to perform at their best. Having high stamina in football offers a wide range of benefits to players such as:
- Allows them to run faster
- Allows them to recover quicker
- Allows players to make better decisions even in the latter stages of the game
- Helps to prevent injuries
- Allows players and their teams a competitive advantage
- Helps benefit overall performance
What's the difference between stamina and endurance?
Before we delve into how to increase your stamina, we need to understand what the difference between stamina and endurance is so you don't get the two confused during your training. Stamina refers to the ability to sustain high-intensity effort for a shorter duration, while endurance refers to the ability to sustain low-to-moderate intensity effort for a longer duration.
Endurance is typically more suited to those who want to run a marathon as they need to pace themselves, whereas stamina is more suited to football players who want to sprint faster, for short bursts.
How to increase your stamina for football?
Now we know the benefits and what stamina is, it’s time to discuss how you can improve your stamina so you can enjoy a competitive edge and bring your team to victory in your next game. Below are some of the best football drills for building your stamina.
Cone dribbling
This exercise will require a bit of space, and you’ll need a ball and some cones. You’ll need to create a rectangle with 4 cones (50 meters x 25 meters), and you’ll want to manoeuvre around them in a Z shape.
This means you’ll dribble from A to B, you’ll cut through the centre of the rectangle to get to C and then to D. When you get to the last cone, you can go back the way you came by heading back to C, then B, then A. You’ll want to do this at top speed to build your stamina, with small one-minute breaks in between.
Circuit training
Football is more than just running across a pitch. There’s a lot of running, jumping, stopping, shooting and passing. Circuit training will not only build your speed, helping you react faster but build your stamina so that you’re still able to react quickly down to the last few minutes of the game - which could be crucial for winning.
There are many ways you could do circuit training, and you can change the different exercises to suit your preferences, but below we’ve included some great drills for working on your stamina:
- Box jumps - 60 seconds
- 30-second break
- Mountain climbers - 60 seconds
- 30-second break
- Lunges - 60 seconds
- 30-second break
- Burpees (alternating sides) - 60 seconds
- 30-second break
- Wall kicks (alternating sides) - 60 seconds
Once you’ve completed one set, take a 2-minute break and then repeat the cycle three more times.
Stop and go drills
One of the best high-intensity football drills, stop and go combines sprinting and jogging for about 30 to 45 minutes. This drill helps your body adapt to the constant stopping and sprinting during your games, which can also help prevent injury.
For this drill, you’ll want to:
- Do 5 minutes of jogging
- Do a 30-second sprint
- Do 5 minutes of jogging
- Do a 30-second sprint
If you want to make it a bit harder, you can try doing this same practice while dribbling. Doing intervals of slow dribbling and fast dribbling to work on your stamina. Over time, you can also minimise the jogging time and add the extra time onto your sprint time to improve your stamina.
Hill climbing/stairs workout
Hill and stair climbs provide challenging cardiovascular workouts that engage major core muscles. This combination of cardio and strength training helps improve your body's ability to sustain physical activity over a period of time.
For a successful workout, you’ll want to do 30 seconds of fast climbing, then 5 minutes of a slower climb to help you build your stamina. You can increase the time of your fast climb slowly over time to help increase stamina.
Other tips for building stamina
Although exercise and drills are a great way to improve your stamina, this alone won’t be enough to see the results you want. Increasing your stamina is a combination of exercise, dieting, resting and other factors that can help you move faster for longer.
Below, we’ve included some of our top tips for things you can do outside of training to ensure your stamina gets the boost you’re looking for.
Adjust your diet
Our bodies need the right fuel in order to perform well, especially when we’re pushing ourselves and doing intense training. No matter how many drills you do, your body can’t perform its best if it hasn’t got the right nutrients. Below are some of the best ways to fuel your body to support stamina:
- Fuel with carbohydrates - Carbohydrates are your body's main energy source, especially during high-intensity activities such as football matches and training. So fuelling up on things such as wholemeal pasta, rice and bread before matches can be great for boosting stamina.
- Protein intake - Protein helps your muscles recover and grow stronger, which will support your training. You can include more protein in your diet with foods such as chicken, fish or beans or even enjoy a protein shake after your training session.
- Eating healthy fats - Found in things like avocados, nuts and seeds, healthy fats provide slow-burning fuel, meaning they can give you a steady supply of energy during your matches.
Consistent training
You can only build your stamina if your body is consistently undergoing training for it. It’s not always about how far or fast you can run for, it’s about how much you’re doing it. Make a routine, whether you’re training twice or four times a week, and stick to it for the best results.
Lots of rest
Your body will adapt, repair and grow muscle during recovery, so taking rest days (we recommend at least one full rest day per week or between workouts) to relax and getting plenty of sleep will provide you with more energy for your big games.
Strength training
Strength training isn’t just for bodybuilders; it’s a crucial part of building your stamina. Your muscles will get stronger and will be able to endure the fast sprinting and boost your stride, and also reduce the chances of getting injured.
Hydrate
Dehydration can kill stamina, so make sure you drink plenty of water before, during and after your games to prevent fatigue and support your stamina. You can also try adding electrolytes to your water or drinking sports drinks for a boost in performance.
Performance supporting kit
You can’t perform your best, whether in training or during a big game, without a kit that supports your needs. You’ll want something lightweight that supports movement for boosting your stamina, as this will boost quick movements from the first to the last minute.
We’d suggest this Evolve Pro 3 jersey. Complete with sweat-wicking materials for optimal comfort. The lightweight materials mean it won’t hold you back during those quick sprints, and the high-quality materials promise durability.
Complete your outfit with some breezy, lightweight shorts that are perfect for working on your stamina. These focus classic shorts are suited for a wide range of motion, making them great for both training and match days. Secured with a concealed drawcord, they can be tailored to a fit that is perfect for you, allowing you to perform at your best and support stamina.
Get ready to improve your stamina with Avec Sport
Improving your stamina for football isn’t just about logging miles; it’s about consistent training, proper nutrition, hydration, rest, and mental focus. When your body can keep up with the demands of the game from the first minute to the last, your decision-making stays sharp under pressure, and you get a competitive edge that could be the deciding factor between winning and losing.
To help make sure you’re staying supported during those important matches, here at Avec Sport, we supply high-quality team kits that will help boost your performance and support your stamina with lightweight and sweat-wicking materials.