improving

Refereeing is basically an endurance activity, which means you must have the stamina (aerobic fitness) to be able to do the necessary running for 90 or perhaps 120 minutes. You also need to be quick in your movements and reactions so you can adjust according to the location of the players and the ball, and take decisions rapidly and decisively. External conditions such as the weather or poor state of the pitch can increase the demands made upon you.

Stamina can be improved in many ways, but the best activity to perform is continuous steady running. You can use a bike, a rowing machine or the swimming pool as an alternative to improve your fitness, and to add variety, but the majority of your training should be based upon running.

Use your Fitness Awareness Profile as a guide to how much training you should do to start with. If a few of your activities were in the 'C' category including activities 11 and 12, you should take care not to do too much too soon.

Tip - When you first go out for a run use time rather than distance as a target.

Run away from your starting point for 5 minutes - turn - and run back again. This means, if you are exhausted after 9 minutes you are nearly back home instead of 9 minutes away!

Gradually increase the time for your outward run until you can achieve 10 minutes in that direction. When starting to exercise follow these guidelines:

Remember - Even if you are just going for a short run the body still needs to be prepared. Complete the stretching exercises before you start running. Use the first few minutes of your run as a warm up by jogging slowly before increasing your pace. At the end of your run repeat the stretching exercises. This is particularly important if you have not trained for some time as it will help to prevent muscle stiffness.

When you can run continuously for 20 minutes you can now proceed to the next stage.

Age	Max. Heart Rate Per Minute	70% Max.	90% Max.
20	200	140	180
21	199	139	179
22	198	139	178
23	197	138	177
24	196	137	176
25	195	136	175
26	194	136	175
27	193	135	174
28	192	134	173
29	191	134	172
30	190	133	171
31	189	132	170
32	188	132	169
33	187	131	168
34	186	130	167
35	185	129	166
36	184	129	166
37	183	128	165
38	182	127	164
39	181	127	163
40	180	126	162
41	179	125	161
42	178	124	160
43	177	124	159
44	176	123	158
45	175	122	157
46	174	122	157
47	173	121	156
48	172	120	155
49	171	120	155
50	170	120	155
51-59	165	115	150
60+	160	110	145

This program is aimed at those of you who wish to maintain a level of fitness suitable for officiating in local football.

A
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
30 minutes steady paced run at conversational pace
5-10 minutes jogging to warm down
Stretching

B
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
10 minutes fast paced running (you should be running at a pace where you cannot maintain a conversation and you should feel "puffed" at the end of this run)
5-10 minutes jogging to warm down
Stretching

When you can comfortably run for 20-30 minutes you can begin to include some referee specific training together with some interval training, which is ideal for you as it mimics the demands of refereeing. Interval training stimulates the heart, lungs and muscles and builds up your endurance and recovery level of your body.

5 minutes general body warm up
Stretching
Run the first half mile as a steady jog as a further warm up
The next 3 miles should be run slightly quicker and should include 10 bursts of mixed distances - 30 meters, 200 meters, 50 meters, 30 meters, 150 meters etc. - sprinting the shorter distances and fast running the longer distances
The last half mile acts as a slow jog warm down
Stretching

This session can be performed around a football pitch or park, over countryside or along the street using lamp posts as distance guides for the sprints and faster runs.

This session needs to be performed around a 50-meter square (i.e. half a football pitch).

Jog 3 laps to warm up
Stretching
Jog one 50 meter length - rest for 6 seconds
Run backwards for 20 meters, turn and sprint 10 meters, slow down to a walk during the next 20 meters
Jog 50 meters - rest for 6 seconds
Run backwards for 20 meters, turn and sprint 10 meters, slow down to a walk during the next 20 meters
Repeat for 10 laps
Jog 3 laps to warm down
Stretching

Advice - Aim for 3 sessions a week - refereeing a match would count as one session, but always try and include at least one training session even if you are refereeing more than one game during the week.

Tip - Vary your type of training by choosing a "running" based session on one occasion and an "interval" type session on another.

This program is aimed at all officials wishing to gain promotion and/or referee up to and including Supply League level.

A
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
20 minutes fast paced running (you should be running at a pace where you cannot maintain a conversation and you should feel fatigued at the end of this run)
5-10 minutes to warm down
Stretching

B
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
30 minutes steady run at conversational pace, to include 10 bursts of short fast sprints over distances from 10 to 50 meters, and 5 bursts of fast running over distances from 150-250 meters
5-10 minutes jogging to warm down
Stretching

C
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
3 minutes hard running - but at a pace you can maintain for 3 minutes
3 minutes slow jogging
Repeat hard running and slow jogging 3 times but on the last time slow jog for 5-10 minutes to warm down
Stretching

D
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
60 seconds burst (80% max. speed) followed by 60 seconds jogging
30 seconds burst (90% max. speed) followed by 90 seconds jogging
10 seconds burst at full sprinting speed. Followed by 50 seconds jogging
Repeat this sequence twice
10 minutes jogging
Stretching

E
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
Interval Training - Run these distances as fast as you can

G
Use session E from the standard fitness program but repeat for 15 laps.

Tip - Vary your type of training by choosing a "running" based session on one occasion and an "interval / sprint" type session on another.

This program is aimed at all referees officiating in senior football, from Contributory League level upwards.

A
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
30 minutes fast paced running (you should be running at a pace where you cannot maintain a conversation and you should feel fatigued at the end of this run)
5-10 minutes to warm down
Stretching

B
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
30-40 minutes steady run at conversational pace, to include 12 bursts of short fast sprints over distances from 10 to 50 meters, and 6 bursts of fast running over distances from 150-250 meters
5-10 minutes jogging to warm down
Stretching

C
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
4 x 60 seconds running at a fairly fast pace with 200 meters jogging between each effort
3 minutes jogging
Repeat 4 x 60 seconds running
10 minutes jogging to warm down
Stretching

D
5-10 minutes jogging to warm up
Stretching
4 x 5 minutes fairly hard running with 3 minutes jogging between each run
10 minutes jogging to warm down
Stretching

Note: the 5 minutes of running can include turns and changes in direction

Tip - Vary your type of training by choosing a "running" based session on one occasion and an "interval / sprint" type session on another.