Clint Dempsey trickled a goal through the arms of goalkeeper Robert Greene to earn a draw for the United States in the opening round of the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.  Dempsey, a midfielder for the U.S. National Team, has been known to run almost 8 miles per game.   Men’s Health recently revealed the training secrets of four members of the U.S. squad, including those of Clint Dempsey, with a soccer workout devised for endurance, strength, speed and agility.  The Celebrity Workout’s first look at the soccer workout for each of those skills will be at the endurance training of Clint Dempsey.

Scott Piri, director of soccer for Athletes’ Performance, which oversees fitness for the U.S. men’s team, says, “Running in soccer is interval based Midfielders mix jogging, running, high-speed running, and sprinting.”

Dempsey, who currently plays for Fulham, says “My competitiveness pushes me.  That’s where I gain my edge–the willingness to push myself. If you’re not doing it, someone else will.”

“Clint’s not a freak born with incredible running ability,” says Pierre Barrieu, the national team fitness coach. “He’s worked a lot on his running because he knows he needs it to play at his best.” There’s a special payoff to having gas left in the tank. “You see most goals scored in the final 15 minutes of a game,” says Piri. “You’ve been running for 75 minutes, and the question is, Can you still run hard?”

Test Your Endurance

Do this interval workout developed by German national team fitness coach Shad Forsythe:

1) Run for 4 minutes at the fastest pace you can.  Note the distance you covered.
2) Jog slowly for 3 minutes
3) Repeat 2 more times.
4) Take an average of the distance you covered while running the three fast intervals.

Now take the average you found in step 4:

Average endurance – .4 miles
Great endurance – .6 miles
World Class endurance – .8 miles

TCW Says… Keep in mind that running on the treadmill may be easier to record the distance you covered but it is also not as challenging as your calves do not have to work nearly as hard to propel you.  TCW suggests raising the incline of the treadmill to between 1.0 and 2.0 to simulate running outdoors (e.g.,wind resistance).

If your test results aren’t as good as you’d like, use this soccer workout program featured on the Men’s Health website and then re-test yourself in a few weeks to see how much improvement you have made.  Remember, you must push through your comfort zone to get results.

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