Bale's 36-hour pre-season

Gareth Bale will undergo his own intensive pre-season in order to make up for his inactive summer. José Luis San Martín, Real Madrid fitness trainer for many years, gives us an idea of the player's programme.

1). Aerobic endurance

"He needs to build up a physical base by means of specific aerobic endurance training. He will perform interval drills, which consist of repeated 15-second sprints (70 metres), with a 15-second rest in between. Then the same for 30 seconds (140 metres). This will guarantee he trains at 150-170 bpm".

2). Maximum strength in the gym

"He will train to obtain maximum and explosive strength on the kinetic chain and horizontal and vertical jumps".

3). Distribution of stress
"The work is usually distributed and will be for three hours a day. If he trains in the morning and afternoon, he will always work in the gym first. We don't want to overwork him".

4). Time is of the essence

"Although people say it's a pre-season, the reality is that it's not. The player has to work fast because there are only two weeks to train, not six weeks like in the summer".

5). Ball work
"Ball work will be performed in conjunction with aerobic exercises. He will dribble round cones, perform bursts of speed, turns and shots".

6). No rest

"He'll be training about three hours a day. If he trains in the morning and afternoon there will be 24 sessions. A total of 36 hours, which is not a bad workout".

7). He needs games to reach his best
"We can get him to a competitive level, but he won't reach his optimal level without playing games. That's where he will really get his speed up".