Elite soccer players chew up some serious ground during matches, so they need to be conditioned to run fast when their bodies are beat. Brian Goodstein and the rest of the D.C. United training staff have a wicked test to gauge just how game ready their players are.

On a 400-meter track, the United boys run a series of distances that get progressively more intense. The entire test spans 6,400 meters, with rest periods between each stage to simulate the activity they’ll experience on the pitch. Evaluate and improve your conditioning with this test:

• Place a cone every 100 meters around track
• Perform each stage at pace specified below
• Rest 3 minutes after each stage
• If you don’t drop out or miss a time mark, you are successful
• Chart your improvements by keeping records of the lengths you run each time you test

Distance	Laps	Speed (m/s)	100m time (sec	Total Time for Stage (min)
1200M	3	2.5	40	8:00
1200M	3	3	33.4	6:40
1200M	3	3.5	28.6	5:43
1200M	3	4	25	5:00
1600M	4	4.5	22	5:52

 

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