As both a long-time soccer referee and cyclist, I thought I would pass along a few things I've learned over the years about how bicycling can compliment soccer referee fitness training by increasing over-all strength, endurance and speed, while at the same time, reducing incidents of injuries. 

 

When I was a competitive athlete 30-plus years ago, very little was known about cross-training as a way to improve athletic conditioning and performance.  I remember in high school, a coach telling me that weight-lifting and basketball were not compatible.  While certain forms of weight-lifting can be counter-productive to enhancing certain types of athletic performance, we now know that weight-lifting, done the right way and with the right muscle groups, can greatly increase just about any, if not all, types of athletic perfomance.  The same thing can be said about cycling as it relates to the soccer referee:  by incorportating an intelligent cycling component into your training program, particularly for those of us that can no longer ref 6 games in a row on a Saturday and come back and do the same thing on a Sunday (but do it anyway),  fitness levels can be maintained or improved while minimizing pulled muscles, sore backs, sore knees and all the other injuries that we older referees tend to get, from time to time, every season.

 

One of the reasons I believe cycling can be so beneficial to the soccer referee is that it strengthens the core.  While your legs might be incredibly strong from running up and down the pitch, that leg strength is greatly compromised if your core muscle groups, e.g. the abdominals, lower and upper back, and chest muscles, are weak.  Cycling can greatly strengthen these core muscles groups, which in turn allow the legs and arms to pivot more quickly and for longer periods of time before becoming fatiqued.  

 

If any of you are like me, the lower back is always a potential target for injury.  After years of basketball, road running, putting up firewood and lifting things that I had no business lifting, I now have a bulged L-3/L-4 disc.  It used to be that if I went out for a run, for the following two days I had pain throughout my butt and lower back and shooting down my left leg via the sciatic nerve.   Now, while I don't run regularly (or even very often), when I do run during a game, for a fitness test, or for a triathlon (short tri's only for me!), I am pain-free during and after.  I credit cycling (at least 3-4 times a week for one hour) for eliminating my chronic back pain.

 

Indoor cycling or spin classes are particularly helpful since the risk of injury (compared to outdoor cycling) is reduced even more.  The ups and downs of outdoor cycling, particularly on the mountinous roads of western North Carolina, can take its toll on the body; not to mention the dangers associated with less than courteous drivers who believe roads are for cars only.  And while I love mountain biking, it is just a matter of time before one crashes on a mountain bike.  

 

With indoor cycling, you control the size and distance of every hill with a tension knob.  The new indoor cycles feel the same as if you are riding a quality road bike.  And if you have a cool indoor instructor that plays great music during the class, it is a thoroughly enjoyable, fantastic workout.  All instructors I know that teach spin classes follow two common rules:  make the ride your own and don't get hurt.  Work-outs are typically one hour and follow one of three formats:  endurance, intervals, or strength.  Beginners must be careful when attending strength work-outs since one needs a strong base to do some of the extended climbs (sitting and standing) that are typically part of strength work-outs.  But keep in mind that work-out difficulty can always be controlled simply by a half or quarter turn of the tension knob.  And an hour of easy spinning, the day after an especially hard game, to help rinse the legs of lactic acid, might be just what the doctor orders.  Almost all fitness clubs now have spin classes on a daily basis.

 

So when you are out on the pitch as a center and have a hard time staying within ten yards of play between two incredibly fast teams, or you are an AR that is unable to stay even with the STLD (second to last defender) of two teams that play off-side traps the entire game, think about adding cycling to your training regimen.  As you know, there are plenty of great road bike rides in western NC and the region is argubly the best in the entire world for mountain biking.  As you increase your fitness level, particularly the strength of you core muscle groups, your body will appreciate the fact that you did it without the pounding associated with running. 

 

See you on the pitch (or on the road or in spin class)!  

 

Jim Willmot

jimwillmot@gmail.com