Soccer Workouts: A Gym Guide to Up Your Game in High School

The roar of the crowd, the excitement on the pitch, the quest of scoring a GOOOOOOOAL! If you’re a high school soccer player, you know that how thrilling matches can be.

But high school soccer requires more than just dribbling and passing skills. It’s a fast paced game that demands both peak physical and mental performance. 

So, how can you prepare yourself for the field? 

We’ve got you covered with gym workouts for soccer players that are designed to level-up your training and give you the edge you need. 

Hitting the gym for soccer workouts has a ton of benefits. You can build your endurance to feel faster and stronger during matches. You can improve agility for more competitive plays and pivots against your opponents. You can gain more balance in your body and soccer skills. 

Ready to kick it into high gear? This guide will cover specific soccer workouts you can try at the gym to help you hit the height of your game, whether you’re a seasoned player or newcomer on the pitch.

Why Soccer Players Should Work Out at the Gym

Soccer players need strength, speed, endurance, and agility to perform at their best. Of course, on-field practice is necessary for developing soccer-specific skills. Still, gym workouts give you the foundation to truly level up—strengthening and balancing your body for peak conditioning and performance.

Gym training goes hand-in-hand with on-field practice. The field is where you hone your ball control, passing, and tactical awareness, and the gym is where you build the physical strength to support those skills. For example, strengthening your leg muscles is the perfect foundation for kicking and sprinting during competition. A stable core helps with balance and injury prevention. Plus, you can boost endurance in gym workouts, so a 90-minute match doesn’t zap your energy and strength.

What Types of Workouts Should You Do for High School Soccer?

So, what workouts are best for soccer players? This section breaks down for you to cover the main types of soccer exercises—strength training, endurance workouts, agility drills, and flexibility work—that should be part of any high school soccer workout.

• Strength Training is crucial for building muscle, power, and resilience. Choose exercises that target the muscles most used in soccer, like the legs and core. Sprinting and kicking are the key to the match, and strength training puts in the work just for these moves.
• Endurance Training is another essential workout since soccer requires you to put in effort over a long period of time. Heart health and endurance is a fundamental part of fitness for any athlete. It's what keeps your energy high and your heart pumping, ready for anything the competition may throw at you.
• Agility and Speed Drills are clutch for quick changes in direction, rapid sprints, and maintaining control of the ball under pressure. Improving your footwork and reaction time is the name of the game with these drills. These skills set you up to outplay your opponents, giving you an edge on the pitch.
• Flexibility and Mobility Work may not be as fast paced as the other types of training on this list, but they’re important to remember! Focusing on stretching and mobility exercises in your routine keeps your body flexible with a wide range of motion. Without stretching, injuries could be more common, keeping you out of matches and training or possibly even causing long-term issues. That's why it’s important to take your time and focus on the details rather than just strength alone.

Best Strength Training Exercises for Soccer Players

When it comes to strength training, focusing on the right exercises is the key to success. 

Lower Body Exercises 

It’s no surprise that the lower body is really putting in the work during soccer matches. Lower-body exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts build strength in your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, a.k.a. the powerhouse muscles for soccer exercises. Keeping these muscles in strong shape with well-rounded exercise plans should always be a priority—right behind safety, of course.

Upper Body Exercises

Even though you don’t use your arm as much while playing soccer—no handballs here!—upper body strength is still important as part of your training. Exercises like the chest press machine, push-ups, and pull-ups might not be your favorite, but they’re a great way to develop and tone the muscles in your chest, shoulders, and back muscles. They help you maintain better posture and upper body strength, which comes in handy when it’s time for a throw-in or header.

Core Exercises

Having a strong core is the foundation of balance, coordination, and overall athletic performance. Exercises like planks, Russian twists, and medicine ball slams help to build core strength. Plus, they’ll help when you need stability and control during high-intensity movements on the field.

Agility and Speed Drills

Agility and speed drills such as ladder drills, cone drills, and plyometrics work to improve your speed and reaction time on the field. These drills help you develop the power needed for rapid sprints and directional changes, leaving your opponents in your dust during a match.

Best Endurance Training Exercises for Soccer Players

As a soccer player, endurance is your superpower. It helps you maintain high energy levels throughout the match, always ready for the next move. 

Interval Training

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has a ton of benefits because it mimics the start-and-stop nature of a real game. HIIT involves short bursts of intense activity followed by rest periods. This comes in handy as you recover quickly between sprints during a match.

Long-Distance Running

Building a rock-solid running baseline is the key to maintaining stamina throughout a match. Long-distance running at a steady pace not only improves your fitness, but allows you to maintain energy and focus from kickoff to the final whistle. This endurance will help you stay sharp and responsive even in the closing minutes of a match when fatigue really starts to set in.

Circuit Training

Circuit training is another powerful workout to incorporate into your routine. This method combines strength exercises with short cardio bursts, exercising multiple muscle groups while keeping your heart rate elevated. By focusing on your overall fitness, it makes you a more resilient, balanced, and versatile player on the field.

Building A High School Soccer Workout Routine

To get the most out of your training, it’s important to structure your soccer workouts in a balanced way. A well-rounded weekly routine might include three days focused on strength training to build muscle and power, two days dedicated to improving endurance with HIIT, distance running, or circuit training, and two days incorporating agility and speed drills to enhance quickness and reaction time.

But don’t forget recovery and rest days. This allows your muscles to recover and prevent injuries. Use these days for low-impact, low-intensity activities like light jogging, swimming, or yoga to stay active while giving your body a chance to heal and rebuild.

Scheduling is always super important for soccer players—you have to adjust your training intensity and focus depending on the time of year. For example, during the off-season, prioritize building strength and addressing weaknesses. When the season starts to approach, focus on your soccer-specific skills, but don't lose what you worked for in the off-season. Finally, when the season starts, take your match schedule into consideration with your training plan. Maintaining your strength is what will give you that edge in play, but it’s important to prevent burnout, making sure that you’re at the right place at the right time during the season.

Joining a gym like Planet Fitness offers access to a wide range of equipment, classes, and expert guidance. With a membership, you can tailor your workouts to your specific needs and stay motivated with the help of a supportive community. If you can’t make it to the gym, the FREE PF App—which you can use with and without a membership—has tons of on-demand workout videos and guides.

Recovery and Injury Prevention

While training is essential for improving performance, it’s equally important to focus on your recovery to prevent injury. Soccer is a physically demanding sport, and without proper recovery, you risk overtraining and potential injuries that could sideline you for a few days—or even longer.

Planning for low-impact activities like jogging, swimming, and even yoga can be a great recovery option. And who knows, you may even pick up a new hobby while you’re at it!

Regular stretching, like foam rolling or mobility workouts, are absolutely necessary as part of your routine to fight against the lactic acid build-up, a.k.a. the reason you may feel sore. Strengthening your support muscles and maintaining your flexibility will keep you at the top of your game, never behind.

Don’t forget: whenever you’re starting a new workout plan, it’s important to talk to a trainer, coach, or healthcare professional about the best approach for you.

Going for the Goal

Incorporating gym workouts for soccer players into your training routine can help you build the strong foundation needed to excel on the field. From strength and endurance to agility and flexibility, a well-rounded gym program will always keep you a step ahead of your opponents. 

Joining a gym like Planet Fitness can provide the support you need to stay motivated and achieve your gooooooooals. Start building your routine with us and push past your limits, or get started for free on the PF App today!