I am currently in the GPP phase and am preparing for my next soccer season which starts around the end of August. My aim is to improve sprint speed as much as possible with a secondary emphasis right now on improving endurance. I ordered the GPP DVD about 2 weeks ago and am still waiting on it to arrive. I know that hills are an important part of the GPP and i have been sprinting hills (around 15 degrees steep) 2-3 times a week for a while now to try to improve my speed which leads me to my question…are hills worth doing for a soccer player? I have just read from another post that says that hills are done to mimic the steepness coming out of the blocks for sprinters. But since i am a soccer player i will never be coming out of any blocks…should i drop the hills or continue doing them for speed improvement? I believe the DVD will clarify this, but in the mean time before it arrives would someone please clear this up for me? Are hills beneficial to soccer players? Thanks for the help.
PS: how long does it usually take for the GPP DVD to arrive?
I play soccer, and am as well training for speed. I think if your training for speed, you wont need to worry about that secondary endurance stuff. instead, when you train for speed you will develop speed reserve which is what you want for soccer.
I also do hills during my training, and like you said, it does help develop the lean position as if you were coming out of the blocks. You wont be coming out of the blocks while playing soccer, but im sure during a transition (offence - defence) if you need to sprint back, starting in the lean position will help you get there faster.
In order to accelerate, proper technique is required, from start to finish. You need to be in some kind of lean position while accelerating, you cant accelerate very efficiently in an upright position.
I would say that hills are beneficial for soccer, maybe not specific, but helpfull nonetheless.