I’m training like an elite soccer player using these 4 strength and recovery tips from Man City W.F.C.

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Ahead of the World Cup 2026 kicking off, I recently sat down with Emma Deakin, Performance Director at Manchester City Women’s Football Club, to discuss how the women’s team trains and recovers after just winning the Women’s Super League (WSL) this season.

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As a personal trainer, I’m not only fascinated by how elite soccer players recover, but also how they train to stay fit, powerful, strong and injury-resistant despite demanding schedules across all competitions. And yes, despite the amount of running players do, that does involve strength training, a decent amount of time spent in the gym and a focus on recovery.

Below, I’ve shared some fascinating insights into my time with Deakin, plus four strength and recovery methods inspired by the women’s team and how I’m trying them for myself.

“How do you incorporate the gym into training, and what type of equipment is crucial?”

“Everything’s tailored to the individual,” Deakin shares. “We can be really specific in terms of understanding what individual needs are, related to what their requirements are on the pitch and whatever the game requires of them.”

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“We have our diagnostic assessments to say where someone might need a little bit more work. Is it increasing force production around their knee extensors? Is it the metabolic side? Everything is bespoke,” she adds.

“It’s not that one exercise or one bit of equipment is utilized more….There are general trends, and we recognize the nature of the female athlete and the injury risk; there are certain things we look to gravitate toward.”

Deakin tells me: “We are a running-based sport, where people need to have the capacity to run for 90 minutes, but they also need to be able to create the concentric and the eccentric forces to sprint and to repetitively sprint, and change direction, and change direction quickly.

“You need good hamstrings and good calves. Unless you’ve got those, your ability to produce force in the right manner, repetitively, is really difficult.”

The protocols below are inspired by Deakin’s prioritization of certain exercises, equipment, or muscle groups in the gym.

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In terms of training overall, Man City women’s performance team says each day of the week (Sunday to Sunday) leading up to a game will look different, with a rest day the day after a match, followed by two training days, a day off, then a two-day lead-in to the next game.

There’s a focus on adaptation for the first two days, looking at smaller areas, smaller numbers and intensive shorter working durations at a higher intensity. Next, there are longer working durations, bigger numbers, an extensive focus and bigger pitch areas.

The two days leading into a game are tactical and shorter, with smaller pitch areas and a focus on tapering down to the game.

“We keep the training load high,” counters Deakin. “Say we were playing Chelsea or Arsenal three times a week, what would our output need to be, and how do we make sure the girls are ready and prepped for that?”

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Given City’s schedule next season, you have to be prepared for big games consistently, regardless.

“You need good hamstrings and good calves. Unless you’ve got those, your ability to produce force in the right manner, repetitively, is really difficult.”

And a one-size-fits-all approach? Not at this level.

“We profile all our players in terms of strength metrics and aerobic capabilities, and that informs their individual, tailored gym and programming for the season,” Deakin tells me.

During our conversation, there’s a strong focus on the importance of the lower body and the muscle groups responsible for driving force, power, speed and direction change.

The exercises, kit and protocols below are inspired by our catch-up.

4 strength and recovery tips for your workout routine

1. Calf exercises

“Calf machines for soleus and gastrocnemius,” says Deakin. The soleus is the deeper of the two, sitting beneath the gastrocnemius and playing a critical role in running, especially during the push-off phase. The gastrocnemius is the larger muscle responsible for power.

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As Deakin mentions earlier, calves are incredibly important in football if you want to generate force on the pitch, especially since you’ll be running and changing direction repeatedly for at least 90 minutes of the game.

Interestingly, your calves are called the second heart, working as a pump to help push deoxygenated blood upward against gravity. Aided by one-way valves (which prevent backflow), they help reduce the strain on your heart while keeping your blood moving.

The next time you hit the gym, consider adding calf machine exercises into your regimen. You could also start with seated calf raises, calf raises, or weighted raises instead and build up.

Aim for 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets.

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2. Squats

Squat racks are a favorite for Deakin. “I would struggle to go to a gym and not have those in it,” she says. “We are big on strength…We set quite high benchmarks for our strength metrics…That is based on the research around the output they need to put out.”

Squats are one of the big 5 compound lifts in the resistance training world, responsible for building strength, power and muscle in the lower body, including your hips, glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. Your core recruits heavily to stabilize your torso, and depending on how you load the squat (front or back), you can emphasize the front or back of the body more.

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Try 6-12 reps depending on load (6 reps at a heavier weight, 12 at a lighter weight) and 3-4 sets.

“We are big on strength…we set quite high benchmarks for our strength metrics.”

3. Eccentric loading

Eccentric training can help your body cope better with deceleration and absorbing force; it occurs as the muscles lengthen (like the lowering phase of a squat) and can help you load heavier, build muscle and reduce injury risk.

Eccentric loading can be done using tempo training. For example, slowing down the lowering phase of the squat, then pressing upward with power. You might adopt a tempo known as 4-1-2-1, which would mean lowering for four, pausing for one, lifting for two and moving into the next rep. Of course, this is just one way of approaching it in the gym.

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“Any time that you’re doing small area work and you’re getting a high volume of breaking (and) changing direction tasks, that’s a stimulus within itself, so what we try to do in the gym is make sure we’re complementing that,” says Deakin. “That changes through the season, but certainly…The hamstrings need some supermaximal and eccentric work.”

By that, Deakin means training and game time itself provide a lot of eccentric stimulus, so it’s important not to overdo the same types of movements in the gym setting; instead, it’s about complementing them.

Eccentric and, more generally, progressive loading doesn’t just refer to lifting heavier weights over time, either — you can add intensity in different ways, including the reps or sets you use, tempo, depth, or the amount of time you work for. It’s about considering volume within a training plan.

4. Blood Flow Restriction (BFR)

I trained with Hytro Blood Flow Restriction garments, and the Man City Women’s team also incorporates Hytro training garments into their recovery regimen.

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There’s plenty of research backing BFR, including a study by the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, which found it can “improve muscle hypertrophy and strength to a greater extent than low-resistance training alone” and may produce “similar gains in hypertrophy” and strength as higher-load resistance training.

The Blood Flow Restriction wearable is pressure-validated and tailored for sports performance but can be used by anyone, anywhere, during training or recovery. The Hytro technology (shorts or tee) is positioned at the most proximal point on the limbs and uses a strapping mechanism that tightens around the upper arms or thighs.

Blood flows into the limb while the straps restrict return flow to the body, meaning the veins are constricted, and the arteries are left alone.

You can use the Hytro BFR garments for passive and active recovery, workout prep, or as a finisher, but if you do choose BFR, it’s best to check Hytro protocols, as these give recommended settings to follow.

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I’ve been focusing on the exercise recovery modality and started on the second setting, building up to the top setting as I adapt to the pressure. I used protocols of 5 minutes strapped in, then 2 minutes off, for 3 sets.

“It’s ease of use,” says Deakin, when I ask what draws City to Hytro garments. “It’s easy to use, compact to travel with…It’s useful from a recovery perspective.”

She adds, “There are so many different ways the players can use it… Some really like active recovery, so they’ll use it on a bike; some like static recovery, where they can just sit on a bus…Some like to go in an ice bath, so we can team it up with that to supercharge recovery.”

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The team also uses the garments in rehab settings, such as returning to therapy or training after an injury.

My verdict

Squats already feature heavily in my training regimen. Still, I’ve whipped out my Hytro shorts and started using them again during recovery sessions on the bike and walking; I forgot just how much I love using them, how intense it feels when you’re strapped in, and how awesome that feeling of release and flushing feels after. It’s a no-brainer for my DOMS moving forward.

I’ve also begun adding weighted calf exercises back into my lower-body workouts as I’ve started increasing my running output this summer, and I can’t wait to see if this helps support my joints and, more widely, my lower-body routines during the next few months of training.

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While it’s early days, I often neglect my calves, and they’re important muscles to keep strong, especially if you value mobility, play a lot of sports, or enjoy walking, running, or hiking, given that they support forward propulsion.

I’ll be reporting back a few months down the line. In the meantime, do you use any of these tools for recovery and workouts, and if so, which ones and why?

Follow Tom’s Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.