When you examine the daily routines of professional athletes like soccer players, you start to notice that their entire schedule revolves around their chosen sport. Even during the off-season, soccer players spend the majority, if not all their time, making decisions that are dictated by their health. Choices pertaining to when they wake up, what products they use, and how often they train, are all centered around soccer and being the best athlete they can be.
Mornings
Professional soccer players, like many professional athletes, wake up early compared to a lot of people. They choose what they wear, what they eat, and even their toothpaste all with one thing in mind: their health. So when it comes to the best toothpaste for healthy gums, you know an athlete is going to take it seriously because something as seemingly innocuous as gum health can actually affect heart health.
Since most pro soccer players train twice a day, they need to make sure that they eat an energy fuelled breakfast to start their morning. The diet of pro soccer players is all about giving their body what it needs to create the strongest muscles, quickest reflexes, and fastest recoveries. The key to this is to track their macronutrients. Macronutrients include protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Protein is what will eventually create strong muscles. Carbohydrates are linked to quick and easy energy when you are on the field. And fats are the nutrients that fuel longer workouts after the carbohydrates are used.
On their way to their morning workouts, athletes typically drink a pre-workout supplement. Depending on the brand, the contents of this supplement vary but typically it contains protein, supplements that aid recovery and muscle strength, and caffeine to help boost energy and focus.
Workouts typically last two to three hours depending on the team and can vary daily. Sometimes teams will focus on mobility and strength through yoga and lifting weights in the mornings and practice form on the field in the afternoon. It all depends on the coaches and their training philosophies. Some athletes even work out outside of practice with the approval of their coaches. Some soccer players are known to work out for up to six hours a day.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, most teams have lunch together and even review strategies with their coaches. Being part of a team is just as much about how they get along and collaborate with each other as it is physical training. After eating, the team will practice again. This practice is typically on the field depending on the coaches’ training preferences where they practice the game itself.
Evening
Evenings are typically filled with dinner and relaxing. Recovery is very important for the human body and soccer players need to prioritize letting their bodies heal after practices. Creating a sleep routine and sticking with it can revitalize your physical form. Soccer players make sure to sleep eight to ten hours a night and cut out a lot of socializing that involves drinking. Because practices start very early in the morning, most pro athletes go to sleep pretty early in the evening.
Game Days
A soccer player’s routine changes slightly on game days. Typically they will wake up and go to practice as usual and then eat lunch with the team. But after that there typically would only be a light practice if any. Matches are usually mid-afternoon or night and in this case, after breakfast or lunch, the team hits the field to play. Games can be extremely strenuous because pro athletes push themselves during games. After games, athletes may go out and socialize, but getting a good amount of sleep will help facilitate physical healing. The day after games, teams typically only exercise lightly like going out for a light jog or walk together. The rest of the day, they have to themselves.
While routines can vary depending on the player, their team, and their coaches, most soccer players will make their decisions based on one thing and that is their performance on the field.
