Falkirk gym manager David McCracken shares his training regime in the weight room to improve performance
Awareness of the benefits of physical training, a structured diet and mental coaching has developed all sports in recent times and for football this can potentially be said more than any other.
Where extra exercise outside of regular training was once viewed as an unnecessary requirement, football teams are now demanding more from their players to try and gain an advantage when it comes to game day.
At Falkirk Football Club this is no different. Former captain of the Scottish Championship side David McCracken heads up the gym at the stadium - putting first-team and youth players through their paces to ensure they’re physically ready for competition.
​
Having left the Bairns during the summer to join League Two Peterhead, McCracken gives a behind-the-scenes insight of a professional football teams extra sessions.
​
The 36-year-old said: “A general week for us is usually in training Monday and Tuesday, off Wednesday, in before training Thursday and then on Friday we look towards the game.
“On the Monday it depends on what the management is doing depending on how the game went on the Saturday.
​
“It might have been a really tough game or been on astroturf which has now become a factor.
​
“If they’re feeling generally fatigued then Monday might become a recovery day. Or if the boys maybe didn’t put in as much or the game wasn’t as hard they will train as normal not too intense.
​
​
“That means they will come into the gym and I might look on loading up on their upper body rather than legs.
“Tuesdays are heavier legs days as on the Wednesday they will have recovery with the day off.
“On a Thursday you get a group who usually want to do upper body, maybe a wee bit of legs but generally more plyometric things like quick feet. Nothing with any load or weightlifting on the legs that will fatigue them before the game.
“Then on Friday it’s just training and no-one really goes near the gym unless it’s some type of rehabilitation around previous injuries.
“Recovery in the gym is absolutely important. Say for instance there is a youth game on the Sunday so some of the boys who are generally training with the first-team might be drafted into the game.
​
“Therefore come the Monday session instead of them training again they will come into the gym for a recovery session, doing some work on the spin bike as you don’t want to overload them the day after a game.
​
“It’s important to get the muscles moving again and get the blood flowing again to help the fatigue that is in the muscles."
​
McCracken came through the system at Dundee United during the late 1990s and explains how things have changed since his beginnings.
​
He added: “When I came through there was nothing like this. Early on there was a changing room which had two or three dumbbells and a small gym with a treadmill that had been there for years.
​
​
“As time went on United changed facilities and they moved over to St Andrews. There was a bit more focus on the strength and conditioning side there and it was a bit more of a occurrence where you were using weights to strengthen your body.
​
“In the last few years there has been a massive uplift in how people eat and how people go about their daily life.
​
“This is especially in football where there used to be a massive drinking culture as well where boys would be out every week.
​
“When I was in Dundee we used to have a Monday club with a few players so they would be on it all week. It wasn’t until the Wednesday where they would start to come back round heading towards the game.
​
“Now players will have a night out on the Saturday maybe, then they are in recovering on the Sunday and back into training on the Monday and there is nothing during the week. It’s all changed."
​
Read David McCracken on how to arrange a gym programme correctly for each individual player here