Spectrum: cycling and football – what many fans of one sport or another don't really go together is common practice in the professional field, at least for football clubs in Germany and abroad. This is also the case at 1. FC Köln, who were equipped with 22 new Copperhead 3s by the Bulls last week. But how does the training on the mountain bikes look like for Timo Horn, Simon Terodde, Jonas Hector and Co.? The two athletic trainers Dennis Morschel and Max Weuthen give a little insight.
You know the photos of almost every professional football team: The players sit in small groups on their bikes (mostly mountain bikes) before, after or during the training session and look forward to a little variety in the often rather boring everyday training routine. It's not surprising, given that most endurance workouts consist of run, run...and...run. A couple of bike sessions are often very useful and make a lot of sense from the trainer's point of view. The pedaling movement challenges the leg muscles and, if the load is appropriate, the cardiovascular system, without putting a lot of strain on the feet. This combination in particular is very important in soccer training, since ankles, the corresponding ligaments and muscles are often overused in soccer players and benefit from a short break.
Because the joints are under significantly less stress when cycling than when running, for example, the FC also uses the Bulls Bikes very often in the rehabilitation area for injured or battered players. "Even if you can't put full weight on your joints after an injury, you can often go for a ride on your bike without any problems," says athletic trainer Dennis Morschel, for example. E-bikes were even used in training at the training camp in Kitzbühel; on the one hand, of course, because of the topographical conditions on site, with which the training intensity on the bike increases significantly compared to the flat Rhineland, on the other hand, here too, specifically in the rehabilitation training with injured players who were not yet able to call up their full performance .
Bulls Copperhead 2019: This is the new training device from 1. FC Köln
