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Best Strength Training App for Soccer in 2026
Updated
Soccer players sprint, cut and kick for 90 minutes, and the injuries that cost them the most time are hamstrings, groins, ankles and knees. Here is what a soccer strength program needs, and how Ægir Iron (also written Aegir Iron) builds one for every part of the season.
What a soccer strength program needs
- The Nordic hamstring curl. Programs that include it about halve hamstring injuries (van Dyk et al. 2019). It builds from one session of 2 x 5 to three sets of 12, 10 and 8, then drops to one session a week in season (Petersen et al. 2011).
- The Copenhagen adduction. One set per side, from 3 to 5 reps up to 12 to 15, then one set of 12 to 15 once a week in season (Harøy et al. 2019).
- Balance. Two 30-second single-leg holds each leg, the FIFA 11+ dose (Soligard et al. 2008 (FIFA 11+)), on every pre-season day, with one hold in the last, lighter week.
- Sprints by distance. Accelerations, flying sprints for top speed, and repeated sprints inside the ranges a 2026 review found: 2 to 6 sets of 4 to 10 sprints of 10 to 40 m (Chen et al. 2026).
- An in-season dose that fits between matches. One strength session a week kept pre-season strength, sprint and jump through the first 12 weeks of a season (Rønnestad et al. 2011), so the in-season program puts what must not drop into one short day.
Most workout apps offer a gym template with the sport's name on it, or nothing. The rest of this page is what Ægir Iron does instead. It is written by Ægir Labs, the maker of Ægir Iron.
5 free soccer programs, by season
Each one loads in a couple of taps, and you can change any session after it is loaded.
| Program | Season phase | Length | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer Off-Season Strength & Speed | Off-season | 12 weeks, 3 days/week | Intermediate |
| Pre-Season Soccer Performance | Pre-season | 8 weeks, 3 days/week | Intermediate |
| In-Season Soccer Maintenance | In-season | 8 weeks, 2 days/week | Intermediate |
| Soccer Post-Season Restore | Post-season | 4 weeks, 2 days/week | Beginner |
| Youth Soccer Injury Prevention | Team warm-up before practice | 12 weeks, 2 days/week | Beginner |
Or build one with the Program Wizard
Pick Soccer in the Program Wizard, then the season phase: off-season, pre-season, in-season or post-season. On a soccer day the wizard protects a sprint or a jump at the front of the lower and full-body days (the jump on the power day and the second full-body day), the Nordic hamstring curl, the Copenhagen adduction and single-leg balance. They come first among the accessories and keep a steady dose, so a short session cannot drop them.
- In season, a session keeps to four lifts around practice, with no more than two jump rows.
- Post-season is a short restorative block of up to four weeks, with no sprints or jumps.
- Olympic lifts stay at 2 or 3 reps, and a beginner gets none: jumps and medicine-ball throws take their place.
- Each protected exercise steps down to a version your equipment allows, down to bodyweight.
The research behind the doses
Where a dose comes from a study, the program page names the study and what the program takes from it. The soccer programs draw on these, among others:
- van Dyk et al. 2019: Including the Nordic hamstring exercise in injury prevention programmes halves the rate of hamstring injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 8459 athletes
- Petersen et al. 2011: Preventive effect of eccentric training on acute hamstring injuries in men's soccer: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
- Harøy et al. 2019: The Adductor Strengthening Programme prevents groin problems among male football players: a cluster-randomised controlled trial
- Soligard et al. 2008 (FIFA 11+): Comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in young female footballers: cluster randomised controlled trial
- Sadigursky et al. 2017: The FIFA 11+ injury prevention program for soccer players: a systematic review
- Hägglund et al. 2013: Superior compliance with a neuromuscular training programme is associated with fewer ACL injuries and fewer acute knee injuries in female adolescent football players: secondary analysis of an RCT
- Chen et al. 2026: The effects of field-based repeated sprint training on physical performance in soccer players: a systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis
- Rønnestad et al. 2011: Effects of in-season strength maintenance training frequency in professional soccer players
- Loturco et al. 2022: Practices of strength and conditioning coaches in Brazilian elite soccer
Every source the app uses is on the research page. How to build a strength program for your sport explains the method across all five sports.
Price
Individual lifters and athletes on a coach's roster use the full app free on iOS, Android and the web, every soccer program included. Coaches pay only for the roster tools.
Frequently asked
What should a soccer strength program include?
Sprints first, then squats, trap bar deadlifts and single-leg work, with Nordic hamstring curls in every week, Copenhagen adductions in the off-season, pre-season and in-season programs, and single-leg balance in the pre-season and in-season programs. Ægir Iron has free soccer programs for the off-season, pre-season, in-season and post-season, a FIFA 11+ team warm-up for youth players, and a Program Wizard that builds a soccer program around your schedule and equipment.
How do you lift during the soccer season?
Keep one main session a week with the flying sprints, a trap bar deadlift, split squats, Nordic curls and Copenhagen adductions, at least 72 hours from a match on either side, and a lighter second day when the week allows. In a two-match week, a short session of sprints and Copenhagen adductions only. That is how In-Season Soccer Maintenance in Ægir Iron is written.