Some of us love the beautiful game of soccer so much that we’re tempted to play every single day!
While this is admirable, is it advisable? Let’s take a look at whether or not you should play soccer every day and what you need to know about the ideal amount of training and practice.
Is it safe to play soccer every day?
In most instances, playing soccer every day isn’t advisable. This is because you don’t give your body sufficient time to rest and recover between games, increasing your likelihood of getting injured. However, when you’re young and have boundless amounts of energy and enthusiasm, playing soccer with your friends each day isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Hundreds of thousands of kids take to their backyards and local parks to play soccer every day and socialize with their buddies, which is undoubtedly a good thing!
Why shouldn’t you play soccer every day?
As an adult, doing any type of physical exercise every single day isn’t advised by the medical community. According to Healthline, it’s advisable for adults to do two to three days of cardio per week, with a focus on higher-intensity sessions, such as 25 minutes of HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training).
The explosive nature of soccer matches means it is a type of HIIT, as you are constantly shifting between walking, jogging, running, and sprinting, depending on what is happening in the match.
Doing HIIT or playing soccer matches every day increases your risk of injury, as we explain in the following section.
In the professional game, soccer players typically only play one or two matches every week. In addition to the games, they will also train on maybe two or three days and have the remaining days as rest and recovery days.
If you don’t factor rest and recovery into your soccer schedule, you are much more likely to succumb to injuries and may do your muscles some serious harm in the long run.
Are injuries more likely if you play soccer every day?
Yes, you’re much more likely to get injured if you play soccer every day as an adult. Healthline tells us that aiming for thirty minutes of moderate exercise every day should be our target. This can be anything from walking in the local park to lifting weights at the gym.
However, playing soccer is a type of HIIT workout and far exceeds what is regarded by medical professionals as ‘moderate’ exercise. Studies show that incorporating at least one day of rest each week into your workout schedule is a smart move, as doing so provides the following benefits:
Less susceptibility to injury
Rest and recovery days are crucial if you’re hoping to mitigate the risk of injury. When you overwork your body, you’re more prone to mistakes that could lead to an injury.
Equally, over-exercising can cause repetitive stress and strain of your muscles, which may lead to muscle strains, pulls, and even tears.
Enables muscle growth
Your muscles don’t grow when you’re training; they actually grow when you are resting. This is because exercise leads to microscopic tears in your muscles, which are then repaired by fibroblasts during your rest days.
If you don’t allow your body sufficient time to recover, your muscles will suffer as a result, which again can lead to injury and soreness.
Improves sleep
When you exercise, your body produces hormones including adrenaline and cortisol, which are energy-boosting. If you exercise excessively, your body produces too many of these hormones, which makes it difficult to sleep at night.
Naturally, if you’re not sleeping well at night, you become much more tired the following day. This, in turn, means that you’re more likely to get injured when you’re performing your next workout, as you’re more susceptible to mistakes when you’re tired.
So, while it’s commendable that you want to play soccer every single day, doing so means you’re much more likely to succumb to injuries. Therefore, we’d recommend limiting yourself to a few matches per week and providing your body with sufficient time to recover.
Will you improve by playing soccer every day?
We’ve all heard the saying, “practice makes perfect.” And it’s 100% true. The more you practice the various aspects of soccer, the better you will become.
However, this doesn’t mean you need to play a soccer match every day. There are so many aspects of the beautiful game that you can practice without putting your body under unnecessary strain.
If you’re a student of the game, you could read up about tactics and educate yourself by watching detailed analyses of high-profile soccer matches on your rest and recovery days.
Equally, on other days during the week, you could work on other parts of your game without the HIIT workout. Ball juggling, passing drills, and even penalty kick practice can all be done without exerting huge amounts of energy.
The key to practicing soccer and improving is varying the drills that you perform and ensuring your body has sufficient time to rest and recover between matches.
What’s the ideal practice schedule for beginner soccer players?
When you’re a beginner soccer player, practicing regularly is super important if you’re hoping to improve your skills and ability out on the field.
Everyone is different, but developing a structure around your life as a soccer player is a good idea if you’re hoping to improve, as you can focus on all areas of the game without getting injured.
Supposing you turn out for your soccer team once every week, we can assume that you will also participate in at least one training session throughout the week to prepare for your match.
In addition, it’s a good idea to hit the gym once or twice a week in addition to this, as you can work on cardio and weight training alongside your soccer practice.
This will keep you in good shape and ensure you’re ready to be your best out on the field. If you’re particularly studious and keen to improve at soccer, you could dedicate periods on other days to studying soccer from home or practicing things like juggling the soccer ball to improve your technique.
Ultimately, if you’re new to the game of soccer, put together a practice schedule as you’re just starting out to give yourself the best chance of improving in a way that is safe and effective.
The verdict: Is playing soccer every day a good idea?
For most people, playing soccer every day isn’t a good idea. This is mainly because you don’t give your body sufficient rest and recovery time, which makes you more susceptible to injuries.
Even professional soccer players don’t play soccer every week, as they recognize the importance of recovery periods.
If you’ve just started playing soccer, we’d recommend putting together a training schedule to accompany your matches, so you can improve your skills in a way that is sustainable and won’t cause you any harm.