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Exercises

Warm up for soccer: jog, open the hips, wake the groin, then sprint

Published October 24, 2026

A solid warm up for soccer runs about 15 minutes: 5 minutes of easy jogging with high knees and butt kicks, 4 minutes of leg swings, walkouts and ankle circles, 2 minutes of Copenhagen planks and side leg raises for the groin and hips, then 4 minutes of ladder footwork, skater hops and three or four sprints that build to full speed. Move to ball work only after the sprints, so your first long pass and first sprint are not cold.

  1. Running Quads, Hamstrings, Calves
  2. High Knees Quads
  3. Leg Swings Hamstrings, Glutes
  4. Walkout Abs, Shoulders, Chest
  5. Copenhagen Plank Adductors, Abs
  6. Agility Ladder Drill Calves, Quads
  7. Skater Hop Glutes, Quads, Abductors

Raise: 5 minutes of jogging and running form

Soccer is a running game, so start by running. Jog a lap or two of the field at conversation pace, then add high knees and butt kicks for 20 meters each to loosen the hip flexors and quads. By the end you should be warm and breathing a little faster.

Raise, easy jog

Running

Quads, Hamstrings, Calves

Jogging warms up the exact muscles you will use for 90 minutes. Keep it slow enough to chat for the first few minutes, then build.

How to do it

  1. Start at an easy jog you could hold a conversation at.
  2. Run tall with relaxed shoulders and a slight lean from the ankles.
  3. Land with your foot close under your hips and keep your cadence quick.
  4. Over the last minute, lift the pace a notch.

Cues

  • Conversation pace
  • Relaxed shoulders
  • Feet under you

Common mistakes

  • Starting too fast: the first minutes should feel almost too easy.
  • Overstriding and landing on the heel far ahead of you: shorten the step.

Swap for: High Knees, Jump Rope, Stationary Bike

Build a session with Running

Raise, hip flexors

High Knees

Quads

High knees wake up the muscles that lift the thigh into a sprint and a kick, and they get the arms moving with the legs.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet under your hips and arms bent.
  2. Run in place, bringing each knee up toward hip height.
  3. Stay on the balls of your feet and pump the arms in time with the legs.
  4. Start at a jog tempo and finish the last few seconds quicker.

Cues

  • Knees to hip height
  • Tall chest
  • Fast, light feet

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to get the knees up: keep your torso stacked over your hips.
  • Sprinting from the first second: build the pace.

Swap for: Skipping in Place, Butt Kicks, Running

Build a session with High Knees

Raise, quads

Butt Kicks

Hamstrings

Butt kicks take the knee through a deep bend and warm the quads, which do most of the braking when you stop or turn.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall and jog in place.
  2. Bring each heel up toward your glutes as the foot leaves the ground.
  3. Keep your knees pointing down at the floor rather than forward.
  4. Swing your arms easily and build the tempo over the set.

Cues

  • Heels to glutes
  • Knees point down
  • Quick turnover

Common mistakes

  • Bending forward at the waist: stay upright.
  • Pulling the knee forward like a high knee: the thigh stays roughly vertical.

Swap for: High Knees, Skipping in Place, Running

Build a session with Butt Kicks

Mobility: hips, hamstrings and ankles

Kicking, sprinting and changing direction ask the hips and hamstrings for big range. Ten leg swings per leg front to back, four walkouts and ten ankle circles each way take about four minutes and leave the legs loose without static holding.

Hip mobility for kicking

Leg Swings

Hamstrings, Glutes

Front-to-back leg swings are the closest warm-up move to a kicking motion, and they loosen the hamstrings and hip flexors through it.

How to do it

  1. Hold a support with one hand and stand on the leg nearest it.
  2. Swing the free leg straight forward and back with a relaxed knee.
  3. Keep your standing knee soft and your hips pointing ahead.
  4. Increase the range gradually, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Relaxed knee
  • Hips face forward
  • Grow the range

Common mistakes

  • Twisting the hips with each swing: keep them square.
  • Rushing the rhythm: smooth swings, no jerks.

Swap for: Standing Cable Hip Flexion, Walkout, Cossack Squat

Build a session with Leg Swings

Hamstrings and trunk

Walkout

Abs, Shoulders, Chest

Walkouts stretch the backs of the legs on the way down and switch on the trunk in the plank, useful before shoulder-to-shoulder challenges.

How to do it

  1. From standing, fold forward and plant your hands in front of your feet.
  2. Crawl your hands out until your shoulders are over your wrists.
  3. Pause, then crawl them back in and roll up to standing.
  4. Move steadily through the reps, reaching a little farther each time.

Cues

  • Shoulders over wrists at the end
  • Brace your middle
  • Roll up slowly

Common mistakes

  • Walking out so far your lower back arches: stop at a straight plank.
  • Jumping the feet in to save time: walk the hands back.

Swap for: Bear Crawl, Plank to Push-Up, Leg Swings

Build a session with Walkout

Ankle range

Ankle Circles

Calves

Ankles do a lot of the work on uneven grass and turf. A minute of circles takes them through their whole range before you start planting and cutting.

How to do it

  1. Balance on one foot near a wall and raise the other foot off the floor.
  2. Rotate the raised foot through its biggest comfortable circle.
  3. Go clockwise for the first half of the set and counterclockwise for the second.
  4. Swap feet.

Cues

  • Toes trace a wide circle
  • Shin stays still
  • Change direction halfway

Common mistakes

  • Holding your breath and tensing the whole leg: keep it relaxed.
  • Doing only one direction: both directions every time.

Swap for: Leg Swings, Single-Leg Calf Raise, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Ankle Circles

Activation: groin and the outside of the hip

The inner thigh and the side of the hip get worked hard by passing, cutting and shielding. Twenty seconds of Copenhagen plank per side and ten side leg raises per leg get both working before the first tackle. Save long static stretches for after the match.

Groin activation

Copenhagen Plank

Adductors, Abs

The Copenhagen plank makes the inner thigh hold your body up, the same muscles that pull the leg across for a pass or a tackle. A short hold per side is plenty before a match.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side and rest your top leg on a bench at about knee height, or the inside of your foot for the harder version.
  2. Prop yourself on your forearm with the elbow under your shoulder.
  3. Squeeze the top leg down into the bench and lift your hips so your body is straight.
  4. Hold for the set time, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Press the top leg down
  • Hips high and straight
  • Breathe

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag toward the floor: shorten the hold or use the knee position.
  • Rotating the chest toward the floor: stay stacked.

Swap for: Side Plank, Band Hip Adduction, Hip Adduction Machine

Build a session with Copenhagen Plank

Side-of-hip activation, standing

Standing Side Leg Raise

Abductors

Lifting a straight leg sideways works the outside of the hip, which keeps the pelvis level and the knee in line when you land on one foot or cut.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall, hands resting at your waist.
  2. Keep the leg straight and the toes facing forward as you lift it sideways.
  3. Lower it with control, finish the reps, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Toes point forward
  • Torso stays upright

Common mistakes

  • Leaning away from the lifting leg: a lower lift with a still torso works better.

Swap for: Clamshell, Lateral Band Walk

Build a session with Standing Side Leg Raise

Speed primers: feet, cuts and sprints

Finish by climbing to match speed: two passes through a ladder, skater hops side to side, a few single-leg hops, then three or four sprints of 20 to 30 meters at 70, 80 and 90 percent. Walk back between sprints. Then take the ball.

Primer, footwork

Agility Ladder Drill

Calves, Quads

A ladder gets the feet quick and the brain switched on to fast foot patterns. If there is no ladder, run the pattern over lines on the ground.

How to do it

  1. Stand at the end of a ladder laid on the ground, facing along it.
  2. Step both feet into the first square, then both feet out to the sides of the next square.
  3. Continue in, in, out, out down the ladder, staying on the balls of your feet.
  4. Start slowly to learn the pattern, then speed up on later passes.

Cues

  • In, in, out, out
  • Quick light steps
  • Eyes up when you know it

Common mistakes

  • Watching your feet the whole way: learn the pattern, then look ahead.
  • Kicking the rungs out of place: lift the feet just enough to clear them.

Swap for: Fast Feet, Skater Hop, High Knees

Build a session with Agility Ladder Drill

Primer, lateral push

Skater Hop

Glutes, Quads, Abductors

Skater hops rehearse the side-to-side push and landing of a cut or a defensive shuffle, building from short to wide.

How to do it

  1. Begin in a small single-leg squat on one foot.
  2. Bound laterally to the other foot and swing the free leg behind the standing one.
  3. Touch the floor with the hand opposite the landing foot if you like.
  4. Bound back and keep alternating, getting a little farther each time.

Cues

  • Lateral push
  • Soft landing
  • Grow the distance

Common mistakes

  • Knee falling inward on the landing: keep it over your second toe.
  • Bouncing straight out without a pause: control the landing first.

Swap for: Lateral Box Jump, Single-Leg Jump, Fast Feet

Build a session with Skater Hop

Primer, one-leg power

Single-Leg Jump

Quads, Glutes, Calves

Heading, jumping for a cross and the push of a sprint all start from one leg. Two or three hops per side get that ready.

How to do it

  1. Balance on one foot with a slight bend in the knee.
  2. Dip and hop straight up, using your arms.
  3. Land on the same foot, absorbing the landing quietly.
  4. Do all reps on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Hop and stick
  • Quiet landing
  • Knee tracks the toes

Common mistakes

  • Collapsing at the knee on landing: shorten the hop.
  • Hopping continuously without control: land, settle, hop again.

Swap for: Skater Hop, Single-Leg Box Jump, Box Jump

Build a session with Single-Leg Jump

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Match day, before kickoff

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets17 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You play a full match and have 15 to 20 minutes on the field before the ball comes out.

The order follows the page: jog, mobility, groin and hip activation, then speed. Everything before the sprints stays at 3 to 5 reps in reserve so it warms you without tiring you. The sprints climb in steps, so you reach full speed in time for the first long run of the game.

Match Warm-Up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
RunningSeconds. Easy jog, then build. 5 × 60 5 0 s
High KneesSeconds. 1 × 20 4 10 s
Butt KicksSeconds. 1 × 20 4 10 s
Leg SwingsPer leg. 1 × 10 5 0 s
Walkout 1 × 4 4 0 s
Ankle CirclesPer direction, each foot. 1 × 10 5 0 s
Copenhagen PlankSeconds per side. Knee on the bench is fine. 1 × 20 3 15 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 1 × 10 4 15 s
Agility Ladder DrillPasses. Fast on the second. 2 × 1 3 20 s
Skater HopPer side. 2 × 6 3 20 s
Single-Leg JumpPer leg. 1 × 3 3 20 s
How to run it
Start 25 to 30 minutes before kickoff. Run the routine without stopping, then go into your team's passing and shooting drills.
How to progress
Stay with the same warm-up every match. If the first ten minutes feel sluggish, add one more sprint at 90 percent at the end.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Training session with the team

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You train two or three nights a week and the coach gives you a few minutes to get ready before drills.

Before training, you can drop the sprints because the first drills bring you up to speed, and spend that time on the groin and hip work that soccer players most often skip. The Copenhagen plank gets a second set here because training days are where that muscle gets built, at 2 to 3 reps in reserve.

Training Warm-Up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
RunningSeconds. 3 × 60 5 0 s
Butt KicksSeconds. 1 × 20 4 10 s
Leg SwingsPer leg. 1 × 10 5 0 s
Walkout 1 × 5 4 0 s
Copenhagen PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 15–30 2 20 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 2 × 10 3 15 s
Agility Ladder DrillPasses. 2 × 1 3 20 s
How to run it
Arrive ten minutes early and run it on the touchline. If the coach starts with a rondo, you are already warm.
How to progress
Each week add 5 seconds to the Copenhagen hold until you reach 30 seconds per side, then move to the harder foot-on-bench version.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Cold or wet evening

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets17 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

It is under 50 degrees, raining, or late and you feel stiff walking onto the field.

On cold days muscles take longer to warm up, so the jogging block is longer and the hip work happens before the jog speeds up. The speed work is trimmed to ladder passes and skater hops so you finish hot rather than cooling off waiting for long sprints.

Cold-Day Warm-Up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
RunningSeconds. Start very easy. 7 × 60 5 0 s
High KneesSeconds. 2 × 15 4 10 s
Leg SwingsPer leg. 1 × 12 5 0 s
Ankle CirclesPer direction, each foot. 1 × 10 5 0 s
Standing Side Leg RaisePer leg. 1 × 10 4 10 s
Agility Ladder DrillPasses. 3 × 1 3 15 s
Skater HopPer side. 2 × 6 3 15 s
How to run it
Keep a layer on through the jog and leg swings, take it off for the primers. Keep moving between blocks.
How to progress
If it is still cold at kickoff, keep jogging lightly at the touchline until your first touch.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

How do soccer players warm up before a game?

Most follow the same order: a few minutes of jogging, dynamic moves for the hips and hamstrings, some activation for the groin and glutes, then quick feet and sprints that build to full speed, before finishing with ball work.

How long should a soccer warm-up be?

About 15 to 20 minutes before ball work. Less than ten minutes rarely gets you to full sprint speed; much more than 25 starts to eat into the energy you need for the match.

What are good dynamic warm-up exercises for soccer?

High knees, butt kicks, leg swings, walkouts, skater hops and short sprints. They warm the legs through the same movements as running, kicking and cutting.

Why do soccer players do the Copenhagen plank?

It works the inner thigh, which pulls the leg across for passing and tackling and does a lot of work in cutting. A short hold before a match switches it on; longer sets on training days build it.

How do soccer players stay warm on the bench?

Keep a layer on, and every 10 to 15 minutes do a minute of jogging, high knees and leg swings. Before you come on, run two or three short sprints at rising speed.

Should you stretch before playing soccer?

Use moving drills before the match and keep the long static holds for afterward.