Soccer players are usually at the peak of physical fitness. Constant training, matches, and fitness management make it hard not to be.
Players are given strict regimes to follow during the offseason, and while they’re playing, the best players are likely monitored daily for weight, among other things.
Anything that gives them an advantage on the field and a chance to stay fit away from the pitch is a huge positive.
That’s not always a success. Germany’s Nicolas Sule recently came under fire for being out of shape. He’s not one of the top defenders from Germany from the past couple of years, but he is a big name with 49 caps for his country.
Being out of shape might not be the norm in soccer, but he is one of several players who has battled the bulge during and after their career.
Other names, such as Jan Molby, Ronaldo (the Brazilian one), and Tomas Brolin, all received criticism for their shape. You can find out some of the soccer players who got fat at one point in their career.
How will Sule get back to peak fitness? What regimes will he undergo that might be a roadmap for you, an amateur player carrying a bit of extra timber?
You might be surprised to find out that the three-point plan really doesn’t differ from one person to the next; it’s the intensity that changes.
Diet
Soccer players carefully manage their diets to balance energy with nutrition.
Most at the top level will have someone looking after the food for them, and many clubs provide meals from kitchens at their training grounds.
England midfielder Declan Rice exemplified this by describing how his diet changed when he moved to Arsenal from West Ham United.
Other players at the club had a different pre-match meal, which gave them extra energy.
How does this show what a soccer player needs to do to lose weight? It shows they need to listen to advice, and that’s a great example to follow.
For an amateur, the best thing to do is find a weight loss program that works and follow that.
Usually, it encourages a balanced diet, not taking out the things you like entirely but changing to lower-fat products and embracing certain new foods, just as Rice did at Arsenal.
Your needs might be different from other people, and a good program will help you understand what you need to do.
It’s important to remember that everybody is different, and as top soccer players show, the way forward is to adopt a bespoke approach to suit your needs.
There are many soccer players who are vegan, which helps them to maintain a healthy weight and avoid becoming injury-prone.
Exercise
This is obvious; players who are overweight or out of shape are carrying more body fat than they should be.
To get rid of that, they have to become calorie deficient and lose more calories than they consume. This should be easy for players such as Sule as they’re training five days a week and then playing matches.
That’s why players are only likely to look out of shape after a spell on the treatment table or through the offseason when their exercise outputs slide. This is really important to consider for your weight loss journey.
It doesn’t matter what exercise you do; small-sided soccer games, running around the block, or hitting the treadmill in the gym, as long as you’re doing something, you’ll be doing well. If you’re going to shift the pounds, you must put in a lot of effort.
Soccer players train for games, but you’re going to be focused on training for something different: health. However, it does help to have the focus and goal, so perhaps start something like the couch to 5k program, which will help you keep discipline.
Some of the fittest soccer players in the world prioritise exercise and strength training to keep them in top shape.
Peer Support
Finally, soccer players have a lot of support. The press might have jumped on Sule, but there’s no doubt he’ll have some good people pushing him to get into shape.
It’s likely he’ll have a nutritionist, a chef, and other fitness people around him. They’ll all be encouraging him, as will his friends and family, and that’s what you need.
If you’re on a weight loss program, you’ll have like-minded people to bounce ideas off, share diet tips, and get exercise.
Maybe involve family or friends, get your peer group involved, and go from there. If you’re accountable to yourself but supported by others, you’re more likely to be a success.
Also, you won’t have newspapers printing articles about your size, which is one benefit of not being a top soccer professional.
In addition, soccer players often work with fitness coaches and nutritionists from their clubs, who regularly monitor their weight, body fat percentage, and overall health. This helps them make necessary adjustments to their diet and training routines.
