Paperback
Smart Soccer Strength
How to Get Stronger, Faster, and More Injury-Resistant Without Overtraining
The gym does not make you slow. Avoiding the gym does.
- Chapters
- 11
- References
- 41
- Gym myths answered
- 10
Publications
Smart Soccer Books
Paperback & Kindle
Smart Soccer Recovery
The Science of Playing Fresh When It Matters Most
You feel recovered. Your sprint speed says otherwise.
- Chapters
- 26
- Annotated references
- 205
- Myths sorted
- 19
Inside Smart Soccer Strength
One session a week. Eight things it builds.
Most players either skip the gym or lift without a plan. Smart Soccer Strength is the plan that sits between those two mistakes: what to lift, where it goes in the week around the match, and how little it takes to keep your strength through a full season.
- 01
The MD-3 session
45 minutes, 25 of them in the gym, three days before the match — minute by minute
- 02
The Match-Day Minus week
what to train on each day, in a normal week and a congested one
- 03
The 48-week plan
a master plan from off-season to playoffs
- 04
Maximum strength
stronger squats go with faster sprints (r = -0.60 in elite youth players)
- 05
Train the brakes
700 to 1,000 true changes of direction per match — deceleration and COD
- 06
Injury prevention
programs with the Nordic curl halved hamstring injuries (51% fewer, 8,459 athletes)
- 07
Your situation
adapt by position, for youth players, and for the self-coached
- 08
Ten gym myths
starting with "lifting heavy makes you slow"
Watch · 40s
One lift, in 40 seconds
- Players with stronger squats sprint faster.
- Programs with the Nordic curl halved hamstring injuries.
- 25 minutes in the gym, three days before the match.
Inside Smart Soccer Recovery
One framework. Eight things it fixes.
The first book dedicated entirely to recovery science for soccer — built on 205 peer-reviewed studies and organized around a single, periodized framework that tells you exactly what to do, when to do it, and why most of what you're doing now isn't working.
- 01
Recovery Periodization
the master framework and the 6-Hour Rule
- 02
Match-day protocols
hour-by-hour for match day evening, MD+1, and congested fixtures
- 03
Sleep as the master tool
Sleep Banking, the Nappuccino, and wearable accuracy
- 04
Nutrition for speed
the 3Rs protocol with specific g/kg targets
- 05
Female-specific recovery
a symptom-led approach
- 06
Mental fatigue
nature exposure, cognitive unloading, mindfulness
- 07
Monitoring
from zero-cost to GPS — Triangulation Method and EWMA-based ACWR
- 08
19 myths sorted
Confirmed, Plausible, or Busted
Watch · 38s
The whole argument, in 38 seconds
- 23 trials: no recovery tool significantly speeds sprint recovery.
- Glycogen, sleep, time — recovery is a variable.
- When to speed recovery, and when to let the body adapt.
About the Author
Mario Jovanovic is a Strength & Conditioning coach with over 15 years of experience at the elite level. He has worked with the Croatian National Team, Aspire Academy in Qatar, and as Head of Performance at Lions City Sailors in the Singapore Premier League. His books, Smart Soccer Strength and Smart Soccer Recovery, bring the same evidence-based rigour he applies on the training pitch.
More Books Coming
Follow @MJPerform on X to stay updated on new releases.