The Ultimate Football Fan’s Workout

Picture the scene: a family watching football on TV together. What do you see? I expect a rotund man wearing a rather tight England shirt will spring to mind along with some cans of lager or a woman with a glass of gin. This football fan’s workout is different.

Stereotypes are rife here, but for most spectators, a typical scene would be a somewhat passive experience with food and drink readily available.

It doesn’t have to be like that, though, and here’s my football fan’s workout that will stop you from becoming a couch potato and overindulging.

‘Corner’ Squats

When a team is awarded a corner, stand up, stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, feet slightly angled out and go to sit down, almost like you’re about to sit on the loo seat.

Try not to tilt forwards; your knees and toes should be in line. Try to go quite low, but not too close to the ground that you can’t get back up again.

Don’t rush this exercise; ensuring your form is correct is far more important than trying to knock out twenty before the ball is kicked. That being said, don’t be lazy and ‘pretend’ to be correcting your position!

Challenge: to make it a little trickier for yourself, try adding some weights. You could use a kettlebell or some dumbbells to make this football fan’s workout harder!

‘Free-Kick’ Lunges

Free-kicks happen frequently in football, so you’ll be getting in plenty of lunges. When the ref decides a foul has taken place and the other team deserves a free kick, stand up immediately and get lunging.

When it comes to forming this move, try not to put your knee on the floor, but just above, and always have your front knee at a 90-degree angle, definitely not pointing over your toes.

Challenge: to make it a bit more complex, why not add a weight? A medicine ball is a great idea.

Track your exercise

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‘Yellow Card’ Jumping Jacks

The jumping jack is perhaps the easiest move of them all, though you might be forgiven for thinking they are called star jumps (I’ve seen personal trainers get the two muddled up!).

A star jump is actually where you jump, make a star shape and land back in your starting position. Jumping jacks are when you land with your legs out and arms up, then jump again and land in your starting position.

For those who are beginners, you may prefer to do half-jumping jacks. As soon as the ref gets out his yellow card, jump up and do ten. However, if a player whinges, add another ten into the mix!

Challenge: if you are keen to make it a bit harder for yourself, change to star jumps. This will be a much more high impact on your body.

‘Red Card’ High Knees

It’s not often that red cards are given out, but you can guarantee there’ll be at least one or two over the course of the tournament. If you’ve ever seen footballers warming up, you will definitely have seen this exercise.

Simply bring your knees up in front of you, one at a time, aiming to get them high (hence the name!). This can get tiring very quickly. Do this as soon as the ref gets out his red card and continue until the player has left the pitch.

Challenge: I doubt you will feel that the exercise isn’t high-impact enough, but you may feel that not enough time is dedicated to it (if the player listens and leaves the pitch immediately). You may, therefore, choose to extend the length of time for which you do this exercise for an ultimate football fan’s workout.

‘Penalty’ Plank

From the moment that the referee points to the penalty spot to the moment the kick is taken, you should adopt a full plank position. If you’re lucky, there’ll be no dissent, and all the players will be accepting of the decision.

However, if one of the officials disagrees and checks the VAR, you may find yourself planking for a significant period of time. To get the correct position, ensure that your body is straight, avoiding raising your bum in the air.

Have your elbows in line with your shoulders. When you feel yourself start to shake, pull in those tummy muscles. Don’t forget to breathe!

For a slightly easier position, extend your arms so you are doing a high plank, but don’t lock your elbows.

Challenge: if you find this too easy, you could support your sides and do side planks as well. These will ensure a well-rounded exercise.

‘Half Time’ Climbs

When half time comes, rather than dashing for a refill of wine or beer, opt to climb up and down the stairs as many times as you can. If you live in a one-floor property, you could use a step or bench instead and step up and down regularly for fifteen minutes.

Of course, you will need a break too, so maybe grab some exotic fruit (mango, pineapple or watermelon, perhaps) and enjoy!

Challenge: instead of sauntering up and down the stairs/steps, try setting yourself a time and a goal. Aim to improve the number of flights you manage for each match.