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Inside Dunfermline Athletic’s return for pre-season training as testing first days back explained

Courier Sport has been speaking to Pars sports scientist Euan Donaldson as the players are put through their paces.

Dunfermline sports scientist Euan Donaldson leads a warm-up run with the Pars players.
Dunfermline sports scientist Euan Donaldson leads a warm-up run with the Pars players. Image: Craig Brown / DAFC.

Dunfermline Athletic have returned to pre-season training ahead of the new campaign.

But what does that actually entail?

Gone are the days when players would return unfit and overweight after enjoying their summer too much.

Only to then instantly regret it when made to endure lung-bursting distance runs and vomit-inducing sprints up sand dunes and the like.

Neil Lennon stands with his hands in his pockets as he watches Dunfermline's pre-season training.
Manager Neil Lennon was on hand to oversee Dunfermline’s return to pre-season training. Image: Craig Brown / DAFC.

So, what do the first couple of days back look like for the Fifers?

Courier Sport has been speaking to Pars senior sports scientist Euan Donaldson – formerly of Hibernian and Kilmarnock but a boyhood Dunfermline fan – to get an insight into the start of the Pars’ pre-season training.

Close-season programmes

Every player left at the end of last season with a tailored fitness programme.

Whilst allowed a couple of weeks of rest, they were expected to stick to the regime during their time away.

Since they were not involved in play-offs at either end of the Championship, Dunfermline were more fortunate than others in being granted a full six weeks off.

During that time, some players were in and out to use the East End Park facilities when they could, whilst others have only just re-signed.

New signing Charlie Gilmour leans over as he recovers during pre-season training.
New signing Charlie Gilmour (leaning over) feels the effects of Dunfermline’s first day back on the training pitch. Image: Craig Brown / DAFC.

“They’ve all had an off-season programme to stick to – and they have done, which is good,” said Donaldson.

“I have been keeping track of them and I’ve been in touch with them throughout the off-season. They’re probably sick of me because they’re probably sitting on a beach in Spain somewhere and I’m texting them.

“The days are gone where footballers would come in two or three stones heavier. None of the players would even dream of doing something like that. So they all come back in good nick.”

First-day testing

The Dunfermline players, including new signing Charlie Gilmour, were back in on Friday for ‘testing’.

Each player works their way round stations set out in the club gym to assess different strengths and weaknesses.

It takes each player around an hour to complete and provides staff with data they then use to work up personalised training plans for the season ahead, taking into account individual injury histories.

Euan Donaldson, the Pars' senior sports scientist.
Dunfermline’s senior sports scientist, Euan Donaldson. Image: Craig Brown / DAFC.

“This year, we were lucky enough to just have a whole day dedicated to gym-based testing and physio-based testing,” added Donaldson.

“When you tend to try and work that around training it becomes quite difficult because we’ve got 27 players and it becomes a really, really long day.

“We had a bit of a conveyor belt approach to it. But the focus is just on identifying strengths and weaknesses in the key muscle areas which players are more prone to injure.”

What are the tests?

Skinfold Test: Special callipers are used to measure overall body fat percentages, and muscle-to-bone ratio is now also looked at (how much muscle weight a player has compared to how much their bones can carry).

The Pars are working with nutritionist Marianne Hayward to identify players who may need to bulk up to help combat injury.

Hamstring Test: Using a NordBord, players are put through the Nordic hamstring exercise. This involves them leaning forward as far as they can go to test muscle strength.

Another sees the player lying flat and pushing upwards against an object.

Ewan McLeod leans forwards with his arms folded on his chest as he undergoes a hamstring test.
Dunfermline youngster Ewan McLeod undergoes the hamstring test. Image: Craig Brown / DAFC.

“These tests correlate strongly – the stronger your hamstrings are the less likely you are to get injured,” explains Donaldson.

Groin Strength Test: Similar to the hamstring test, the players have their groin strength assessed, including whether one is stronger than the other. Fitness programmes can then be built to iron out any weaknesses.

Jump Test: Players are asked to jump from a standing position and also to ‘drop jump’ off a block. Single leg tests are also completed to again work on any imbalances.

“Jump tests correlate a bit more with overall power output so that’s more of a performance test,” adds Donaldson. “If they’re not able to jump very high then usually that correlates with how quick they are on the pitch, how sharp they are.”

First full day back

Following Friday’s first-day testing, the Dunfermline players were given the weekend off before the real hard work kicked off.

They returned on Monday for a gruelling fitness test. This checks what their baseline is and how the pre-season programme needs to be tweaked.

With some ball work to look forward to later in the day, players are given the task of running 1,000 metres as fast as they can.

“It’s essentially a time trial and is just 10 lengths off the pitch,” explained Donaldson.

“That gives you what’s called a max aerobic speed. Essentially, from there you can work out a speed that the player runs at.

Pars players run hard during training.
Captain Kyle Benedictus leads his Dunfermline team-mates during a running exercise. Image: Craig Brown / DAFC.

“Then, you can program their conditioning around that specific speed.

“So you can make interval runs that can get them a wee bit faster, a wee bit sharper and also longer duration runs.

“It’ll also help their cardiovascular fitness and help them run a bit more efficiently.

“For footballers, you are always trying to find a good balance of being quick but also being fit. You can’t just mould Mo Farah and Usain Bolt together, you have to work at both.”

Using all the data gathered in the first few days, the rest of pre-season will be built through the Premier Sports Cup kick-off to ensure the players peak for the opening day of the new campaign.

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