Football fever gripped the world once again during summer 2018 with everyone from young to old glued to their sets, waiting with baited breath to find out if their team was going to make the cut - for everyone who had France in the office sweepie - CONGRATS!

Big sporting events like the World Cup do more than just increase beer sales and loud cheers; you will find that across the globe men, women and children have been digging out their boots and taking to the sportshalls, MUGA pitches and any grassy patch free of sunbathers, to work up a sweat in a game of fives.

Five-a-Side Football is the most popular amateur sport in the UK today with some 30,000 leagues across the country and an estimated 1.5 million adults playing every week.   As well as being a great way to meet up with friends and indulge your fantasy of maybe still making it onto St Johnstone’s First Team, a game of Fives brings with it an abundance of fitness benefits.

As with all football playing, you’ll enjoy a significant cardiovascular workout from all that running around which in turn helps with blood pressure, weight control and bone density.  Additionally, because 5-a-side is more intense, it keeps you more engaged and gives you more action meaning your flexibility and coordination will improve and your heart rate will increase quicker and for longer.

Research by Professor Peter Krustrup and his team from Copenhagen University has shown that the average heart rate during a game of fives was on average 80% of the maximum, with a heart rate over 90% of the maximum for more than 15% of the total time. 

Play Five-A-Side In Perth & Kinross

In Perth City and wider Perthshire, you can gather up nine of your pals and play Five-A-Side in one of the many Live Active Leisure sportshalls; we provide the court, ball and goalposts meaning all you need is a pair of trainers, bottle of water and willingness to get stuck in! 

An easy, fun way to keep fit at ALL ages, Fives is a brilliant option for introducing kids to team sports and the perfect 'get fit again' activity for middle age.  This truly is the version of the beautiful game that anyone can play, and win or lose, you can be guaranteed a good time and impressive workout. 

To keep that World Cup fever running, why not book your court at any one of our LAL sportshalls across Perth and Kinross? Members and Pay & Play Card Holders can enjoy £1 off standard prices - more info here >>>

Get Ready For The Action

Running around continuously for the duration of the game is a workout in itself but you can increase your chances of lasting the pace by putting in some strength and cardio training at the gym along with short sprint practice at the track.  

HIIT classes (that’s High Intensity Interval Training) such as metafit and Plyo are ideal, as well as the more traditional all-rounders of circuits and core classes. For a full list of classes and gym times where you are, click over to our programmes page here >>>