Programme Advice

Right so I'm struggling a bit with fitting sport around the gym so was hoping some of you fitness/gym experts could offer some guidance.

Right now I have football training on a Wednesday and a game on a Saturday, and look to do three days per week at the gym (four if the game or training is cancelled/postponed). So around that I need to fit a Chest/Shoulders/Triceps work out, a Back/Biceps/Abs, and a Legs/Abs workout (if training is off I just do cardio or circuit training on a Saturday). So my question is it okay to do the legs on a Tuesday with training the next day or am I risking injury? Given that on Monday my legs muscles are often still sore from the game and I don't want to do it on Thurs or Fri because that's not enough time to recover for the game it seems Tuesday is best as I'd rather be off the pace in training than in the game. Okay or too risky? Should I drop the legs work out until after football season? I'd rather not because much of the workout is focussed on football related movements like leg extensions rather than mass building exercises like dead lifts. Or perhaps I should push through the pain on Monday and do it then?

As an aside the Chest/Shoulders/Triceps has to be early in the week as well as I take most of our throw ins so those muscles need to be recovered by Saturday as well.

Jono, why are you doing a training program where you break down your body parts on different days, like body builders do? You're training for soccer man. Your program should be based on more cardio, balance/stability, power and speed.

With only one training per week of actual soccer, I would do at least two solid hour sessions of cardio. Do a day of pul/push (upper body) and a day of legs. Base your leg exercises more based on stuff like one legged squats, one legged dumb bell lifts, lunges, box step ups and plenty of plyometrics.

On push pull days just concentrate on large muscle groups. So for a push option do a chest dumb bell press, supersetted with medicine ball throws. For a pull option, do a cable pull with one arm, standing on one leg. Just make a list of upper push and pull options and change them every week.

Do legs on Mondays, so it gives you enough time to recover before you training on Wednesday. And do push/pull options on Thursday. I would do a cardio session on Friday and Tuesday, if you can fit that in.

This is only one option. You can do full body work out on Mondays and Thursdays, with cardio sessions on Tuesday (this is where you want to do some speed/power/plyo stuff) and Friday.

Plenty of stretching on your ALL training days, with proper warm up and warm down.

Cheers