{"id":663640,"date":"2026-06-29T02:22:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T02:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/663640\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T02:22:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T02:22:45","slug":"what-erling-haalands-training-can-teach-you-about-getting-fitter-faster-and-stronger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/663640\/","title":{"rendered":"What Erling Haaland’s Training Can Teach You About Getting Fitter, Faster and Stronger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Erling Haaland<\/a> is not short of physical gifts. He\u2019s 6ft 5in, frighteningly fast and one of football\u2019s most imposing athletes. Social media is currently going nuts over this \u2018massive viking raider\u2019 bullying international defenders at the world cup.<\/p>\n

But what does his training<\/a> actually look like \u2013 and, more importantly, what can the rest of us learn from it?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the question Dr Mike Israetel<\/a>, exercise scientist, content-creator and the straight-talking face of RP Strength<\/a>, set out to answer in a recent video<\/a> analysing Haaland\u2019s routine, recovery habits and nutrition<\/a>. And, as ever, Dr Mike\u2019s verdict is a useful mix of admiration, scepticism and sport science reality check.<\/p>\n

Skill Still Rules<\/p>\n

First up: Haaland\u2019s outrageous goals. The flying finishes, awkward angles and instinctive strikes \u2013 these aren\u2019t built in the weight room alone, sorry. According to Dr Mike, the best way to get better at football is, unsurprisingly, playing football. Or, at the very least, drilling the specific skills, techniques and movement patterns that make up the sport.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sport training is what gets you good at sports,\u2019 Dr Mike says emphastically. <\/p>\n

Strength and conditioning can absolutely support this, but probably isn\u2019t going to be the primary driver of performance improvements. You can almost certainly get better at football by simply getting bigger, stronger and more jacked in the gym, but there\u2019s a limit. Dr Mike says you have to sharpen and direct that new found strength and stamina by spending time with a ball at your feet. <\/p>\n

That being said, the gym still has an important role to play. It can help you sprint faster, jump higher, kick harder and, crucially, become more robust. For a player like Haaland, who combines brute force with coordination, that physical base creates a strong foundation that specific practice can build on.<\/p>\n

3 Strength Priorities<\/p>\n

When it comes to useful gym work for footballers, Dr Mike highlights three key physical qualities: anterior chain strength, vertical force production and posterior chain power.<\/p>\n

In plain English, the anterior chain means the muscles on the front of your body \u2013 especially your abs<\/a>, hip flexors and quads<\/a>. These are critical for sprinting mechanics and kicking power. As Dr Mike explains, a powerful strike doesn\u2019t just come from the lower leg. The abs contract first, then the hip flexors drive the thigh forward, before the quads finish the job and whip the foot through the ball.<\/p>\n

The second priority is vertical force production. This is your ability to push hard into the ground \u2013 the quality that helps you accelerate, jump and change speed. Squats<\/a>, leg presses<\/a>, hack squats<\/a> and other heavy lower-body pushing movements can all have a place here, particularly when performed for lower rep ranges and progressive strength gains.<\/p>\n

\u2018Deep squats<\/a> for sets of five or so… all of a sudden you\u2019re going to be just faster and you\u2019re going to be able to jump higher,\u2019 says the Doctor.<\/p>\n

Finally, there\u2019s the posterior chain: hamstrings, glutes, calves and lower back. These muscles are vital for sprinting, decelerating, changing direction and reducing the risk of hamstring injuries. In other words, if you want to move fast and stay in one piece, you can\u2019t afford to neglect the muscles you can\u2019t see in the mirror.<\/p>\n

Mobility Isn\u2019t Just for Fancy Poses<\/p>\n

Dr Mike is also a fan of Haaland\u2019s mobility<\/a> work. And watching the Norwegian score in a style that looks closer to martial arts than football, we’re in agreement.<\/p>\n

For footballers, flexibility isn\u2019t just about looking good in the warm-up. Your legs are going to be forced into strange positions at high speed, often while being shoved, clipped or pulled off balance. The more range you can safely access, the more options you have \u2013 and the less likely you are to get injured when the game pulls you into those ranges unexpectedly. <\/p>\n

\u2018If you\u2019re more flexible and more mobile, you\u2019re going to have lower injury rate and more capability.\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Mike\u2019s prescription is simple: mobility work needs to be regular and it needs to be taken seriously. A few casual toe touches once a week probably won\u2019t cut it. Most days, fairly intense holds of around 20-30 seconds are more likely to move the needle.<\/p>\n

The Stuff Dr Mike Isn\u2019t Buying<\/p>\n

Where Dr Mike is less convinced is with some of the more \u2018wellness-adjacent\u2019 extras. Haaland\u2019s balance-board work and talk of \u2018glute activation\u2019 get short shrift.<\/p>\n

His point isn\u2019t that balance is useless, or that glutes don\u2019t matter. It\u2019s that standing on an unstable surface mostly makes you better at standing on an unstable surface. Whether that transfers meaningfully to sprinting, tackling and finishing under pressure is far less clear.<\/p>\n

\u2018Specific balance, you can get better at this task, but does that transfer to soccer play? The answer is probably not.\u2019<\/p>\n

Likewise, simply feeling a muscle working doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re making it stronger. Your glutes might be \u2018active\u2019, but unless they\u2019re being challenged against meaningful resistance, or asked to produce serious force or speed, you probably aren\u2019t building much that will show up on the pitch.<\/p>\n

As Dr Mike says: \u2018Just because a muscle\u2019s active doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s being pushed to its limits.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Heat Chamber Question<\/p>\n

The most interesting part of Dr Mike’s analysis may be his take on Haaland\u2019s hypoxic heat chamber work. Haaland trains in a room set to around 40\u00b0C and simulating altitude, with the idea being that if training feels harder in there, running on the pitch will feel easier.<\/p>\n

Psychologically, Dr Mike says, this makes sense. Train in unpleasant conditions and normal conditions can feel like a gift. You build confidence. You feel battle-hardened. You know you can cope.<\/p>\n

Physiologically, though, he\u2019s less convinced. <\/p>\n

\u2018Training at altitude and in high heat conditions… both depress your performance.\u2019<\/p>\n

If heat and low oxygen reduce your output, you may not be training the relevant systems as effectively. In other words, making something feel harder isn\u2019t the same as making it better. Sometimes it just means you\u2019re doing lower-quality work under more stressful conditions.<\/p>\n

There is an exception: if you\u2019re preparing to play in extreme heat, heat acclimation makes sense. But for general performance, Dr Mike’s preference is clear \u2013 train hard in good conditions, hit higher outputs, then recover properly.<\/p>\n

What We Can Actually Learn<\/p>\n

The big takeaway? Don\u2019t copy elite athletes blindly.<\/p>\n

Haaland is world-class because of an entire lifetime of football, genetics, consistency, strength, skill and freakish physical tools. Some of his methods are worth stealing: regular mobility work, smart strength training, year-round exposure to the sport and a focus on robustness. Some of it is probably harmless ritual. And some of it may be best left in the sauna.<\/p>\n

As Dr Mike sums up nicely:<\/p>\n

\u2018When good athletes do things, some fraction of what they do you can learn from\u2026 But some fraction of what they do just doesn\u2019t make them any better at sport, and could actually be making them worse.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"fitness<\/a><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it\u2019s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in \u2013 all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio. <\/p>\n

Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here<\/a> to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men\u2019s Health app.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men\u2019s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that\u2019s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for \u2018free pizza\u2019 and wait for him to appear.<\/p>\n