Walsall Strength & Conditioning Coach Mark Bradley has set up a training programme for the Saddlers players during this period of isolation.
The Coronavirus outbreak has put a stop to football but the players have still been given a programme in order to maintain their fitness while they’re not playing matches.
Bradley has given the players plenty to get on with and has given them a bit of a structure whilst training at home.
“We’re working off a programme that I’ve designed just to maintain their fitness,” he revealed.
“It’s not to get them fit because we’ve got a fit group of lads, but it’s just to maintain so whenever we do get to return to play, the lads are fit and ready.
“But it’s for for injury prevention as well because if they don’t maintain it and then they come back and they’ve got to play games at a high intensity, then they’re going to break down so hopefully the programme will do that.
“There’s rest days in that, strength days and injury prevention exercises so there’s plenty for them to get on with. It’s obviously good for the mind as well, I’m in the same boat at the minute, I need to get that training fix but I’m sure that programme will help them.”
The coaching staff are keeping an eye on how the players are getting on and Bradley reveals there has been a competitive edge amongst the group.
“We’ve got them all on the Strava app,” he said. “We’ve set up a group and all the lads can see what everyone else is doing time wise and it’s competitive. I think that’s a good way of getting the lads to do it to a good level because when it’s more competitive and everyone else can see what score you’re getting, what speed per kilometre you’re getting and the distances you’re covering, it’s a healthy group we’ve got going on.”
As well as keeping fit and staying active, Bradley also explained how it’s important for the players to keep on top of their diets during this period.
“Nutrition wise, We’ve given them a lot of tips and bringing the carbs down a little bit because they’re not doing as much training as normal but not dropping off completely because carbs maintain their muscle mass and keep their energy levels high for when they do the training that we’ve set.
“Obviously high protein for when they’re doing their recovery sessions after that. There’s some strength sessions but obviously because most the lads don’t have weights, they need to still get the right protein in. Hydration is important for when they do their runs so they don’t get any muscle injuries so it’s important to keep on top of their nutrition.”