Pre season conditioning

[JerBear]

This is on here every year but I'll ask again. What type of conditioning do you guys do and when do you start (how long b-4 the season) I like biking because running too much is hard on my knees. I start in July, do about 4-6 miles a day and look for hills to get the heart pumping. Then in August I increase to about 8 miles. I would like to vary it a bit but don't have the money to swim.

Any other ideas? My games start in late August and there is 2 or 3 a week and I hate the aches that I get early season.

As an aside, how will I know when to retire? I keep thinking I should but the game assigners keep calling.

[wardtc]

What I do is never stop. I work an adult rec league through the summer one night a week, which helps keep my mind on rules interpretations (believe me - adults will try any thing that gives them an advantage)

Then I start about mid july doing hill runs. I have a hill by my house that is 100 yds long. I run up, jog down, run up, jog down. This helps my conditioning in that most of my soccer ref running is sprinting anyway with brief pauses in between. I'll work my way up to 25 sets (up-down).

As to when to retire - never. If you find yourself slowing down - start working a U8 U10 league. The fun of watching and teaching the younger kids will keep you young too. We have a guy who's in his 60's and having a ball with the younger kids.

Hope this helps.

[Niru]

Just don't stop bro.