4-Week Preseason Fitness Plan for Soccer Players
Preseason should be where a player arrives already fit and ready to sharpen technical work — not where fitness gets built from scratch under a coach's watch. This is a free 4-week plan combining conditioning, speed, and strength maintenance to get there, using three to four sessions a week.
Who this is for
Players coming off an off-season strength block — see the 8-Week Off-Season Strength Program — who now need to build match fitness and speed on top of that strength base before preseason training begins.
How the plan is structured
Every session starts with the FIFA 11+ warm-up — building the habit now means it's already automatic once the season starts. From there, each week blends three elements: aerobic conditioning, speed work, and strength maintenance, with intensity building for three weeks before a taper.
Week 1: base conditioning
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Warm-up, 20–25 min continuous easy running, strength maintenance (2 exercises from the strength guide) |
| Day 2 | Warm-up, acceleration drills (light, technique focus), light plyometric landings |
| Day 3 | Rest |
| Day 4 | Warm-up, interval running: 6 x 2 min moderate effort with 1 min walk recovery |
Week 2: build
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Warm-up, 25–30 min continuous easy running, strength maintenance |
| Day 2 | Warm-up, full acceleration drill session, plyometrics level 1–2 |
| Day 3 | Rest |
| Day 4 | Warm-up, interval running: 8 x 2 min moderate-hard effort with 1 min walk recovery |
Week 3: peak intensity
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Warm-up, shuttle-run intervals: 10 x 40m shuttles at high effort, 30 sec rest, strength maintenance |
| Day 2 | Warm-up, full acceleration drill session, plyometrics level 2–3 |
| Day 3 | Rest |
| Day 4 | Warm-up, interval running: 10 x 2 min hard effort with 1 min walk recovery |
Week 4: taper into preseason
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Warm-up, 20 min easy running, light strength maintenance |
| Day 2 | Warm-up, short acceleration drill session (half volume), light plyometrics |
| Day 3 | Rest |
| Day 4 | Warm-up, 5 x 2 min moderate intervals — keep legs moving, not testing fitness |
The point of week 4 is arriving to preseason recovered and sharp, not exhausted. Cut volume noticeably even though this is technically the final "build" week — save the last hard effort for when the team is watching, not the week before.
A few notes on running this plan
- Strength maintenance means 2–3 exercises from the strength guide (a squat variation, a single-leg movement, a Nordic curl or Copenhagen plank) — not a full session, just enough to hold onto off-season gains.
- Interval effort should feel hard but sustainable for the set — not an all-out sprint. Save maximum effort for the acceleration and speed sessions.
- Adjust volume down for younger players; see Strength Training by Age for general load guidance.
Once preseason training starts, fold the strength maintenance work into the in-season plan described in the Strength Training for Soccer Players guide.