With the world’s most famous cele-bration of the beautiful game already underway, all eyes will remain firmly set on South America this summer.
From Brazilian tans and cuts to the famous Brazilian behind, the world’s most skilful footballers strutting their stuff on the biggest stage in sport are only part of the overall buzz.
Love it or hate it, it’s World Cup fever time, and casual conversations with strangers or loved ones worldwide will simply not be complete without a little international soccer spice.
Bars and cafes will be enjoying a healthy surge in business televising the matches, while punters enjoy a distinctly less healthy return from their alcoholic and high-fat in-game indulgences.
For all the vigorous and competitive activity we see in progress on screen, perhaps an equal and opposite quantity of inactivity will be in progress off it on our promenades and hang-out spots.
If we want anything resembling the famous Brazilian behind and hit the beaches with confidence this season, however are we to shift the balance?
If we want anything resembling the famous Brazilian behind and hit the beaches with confidence this season, how are we to shift the balance?
We need a World Cup workout, something to stifle temptation and get us moving instead of loafing. While the hardcore soccer fans are beside themselves in anticipation at the moment, those of us who haven’t watched a football match in the last four years, or even worse, hate the game because loved ones tend to dedicate way too much of their free time to watching it, will welcome the prospect of an alternative World Cup activity.
And what better worthy endeavour than getting in the best shape of our lives? Check out the World Cup workout for size and see whether you’re ready to score some goals of your own this summer.
You could do it without any equipment whatsoever, employing a variety of bodyweight movements. However, let’s make things easier and enlist the help of some basic equipment.
You’ll need an exercise bike for this one, or any other domestic cardiovascular machine like a treadmill, stepper, air-walker or rowing machine, as the principles will remain much the same.
There are some good deals at the moment, as the pre-summer rush in fitness sales dies down and moves over for summer slothfulness. Exercise bikes with magnetic mechanisms have few working parts to malfunction, are pretty robust and won’t break the bank.
Position your bike in front of the TV and pick a match for every day of the tournament, scheduled at convenient times for you. You could hand-pick your matches according to which countries you might find interesting, and even throw in some rest days for recovery.
Start warming up when the national anthems are played by cycling very slowly and stretching your leg muscles out. When the first whistle blows for kick-off, off you go. You will cycle all the way through the first half of the match, that’s a 45-minute workout.
To start off your programme, simply try to maintain movement throughout the entire half without stopping. If you get tired, just turn down the resistance and pedal slightly slower. Let the ultra-fit professional athletes on screen serve as your inspiration to keep going.
After a few games, you will already feel fitter and you can start to vary the tempo. Pick a side, perhaps the team you’d like to support, and get your tempo in tangent with their efforts.
In other words, every time your side has possession of the ball, pedal faster and maintain the rhythm for as long as they have it. As soon as they lose possession, you can ease off back down to a comfortable cadence. This adds a random variable to your workout.
Some games you will work harder than others, but this is what keeps things interesting. If you keep it up for the entire duration of the tournament, you will have had your fair and balanced share of easy, moderate and hard workouts.
When this level of speed variation gets easy, start mixing up the difficulty level too. Most machines will have a resistance button or setting of some sort. When your team has possession, increase both the speed and resistance.
By the time the group stages end, you should be able to sustain a good pace throughout the first half of each match. By the quarter-finals, you should be ready for the next step. Time to add in another level of intensity: perform a 20-second sprint each time a goal is scored by either side.
Now you are on three levels of intensity: slow, moderate and sprint mixed together in a random fashion, a method of training known technically as ‘fartlek’. As you get fitter, your moderate and sprint phases will get progressively more intense.
Just think how many challenges the greatest football players had to overcome to get to wear their national team shirts. A positive mindset during training will help you push, and the greater intensities, the more calories you’ll burn and the more results you’ll ultimately see.
If you can sustain the World Cup workout at vigorous intensity for both halves of the match by the time the World Cup final comes along, consider yourself a champion!
matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu