Germany has navigated the coronavirus chaos in an admirable fashion. That has had a knock-on effect for its football teams, with players having returned to the training ground (with strict protocols in place, of course) as early as the beginning of April. It's been announced that the Bundesliga will restart on 16 May, albeit with games being played behind closed doors. So we decided to rewind a little: how did the league’s stars go about maintaining their fitness before lockdown restrictions were eased?
Leipzig are in third place in the Bundesliga as things stand, five points off leaders Bayern München. They’ve also had an excellent run in the Champions League, knocking out Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. As such the onus has been on their top scorer, Timo Werner, to stay on his toes. When he was training from home, was he up at the crack of dawn to start his drills?
“No, I definitely slept a lot because I went to bed late,” he says. “I think it was part of this changeover to having not much to do: you get more tired and lazy during the day but then fitter in the evening, so you automatically sleep longer.”
And what of Bayern’s Jérôme Boateng? His side are sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and have a 3-0 cushion at the halfway point of their round of 16 tie against Chelsea in the Champions League. Did the defender’s staying-in efforts match his ability to keep out attackers on the pitch? “Luckily I could do some swimming in the pool in the garden,” he says. “I occasionally did a cycling tour and when I wasn’t on the bike, I went running. That was how the majority of the days went.”
Boateng was getting less of a lie-in than Werner though. “I was getting up between 7.00 and 8.00 to have breakfast with my children and help them with their homework. Then in the evenings we’d watch a Disney film together; I would also watch a series if I wasn’t too tired.”
Werner, meanwhile, was in his apartment during lockdown so couldn’t get out in the garden; as such, his shooting options were more restricted than usual. “I have a balcony,” he says. “I kicked a ball against it from inside a few times.” Could be worse: when he got back to the training pitch, the goals must have looked like aircraft hangars by comparison.
The Leipzig striker has also participated in group online training sessions with his team-mates – as well as activities less crucial to maintaining fitness levels. ”We play Fortnite against each other, or we play the odd FIFA game. Obviously you have the headset to talk to each other, but we’ve also done calls in our group chat – and made some group videos.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in touch too (but not via Fortnite voice chat). “He’s been texting us regularly to check how we are doing and to say that we should remain positive,” says Werner. And is the forward managing to do that? “I think we’re all excited about playing competitive football again, no matter if it’s in front of spectators or not in the end. The best thing in football is playing in front of a full house but the situation cannot be changed. We want to resume this season because we set our goal and we’ve been making very good progress with that up to now.”
As for those of us still working out how to work out at home, Boateng has some advice. “The best thing is to stay creative – don’t always do the same exercises,” he says. “A day of core and legs, then a day of upper body and power training, just so that you mix things up. Train every part of your body, otherwise it can get boring if you always do the same routine.”
Oh, and one more thing: “I recommend loud music."
Germany has navigated the coronavirus chaos in an admirable fashion. That has had a knock-on effect for its football teams, with players having returned to the training ground (with strict protocols in place, of course) as early as the beginning of April. It's been announced that the Bundesliga will restart on 16 May, albeit with games being played behind closed doors. So we decided to rewind a little: how did the league’s stars go about maintaining their fitness before lockdown restrictions were eased?
Leipzig are in third place in the Bundesliga as things stand, five points off leaders Bayern München. They’ve also had an excellent run in the Champions League, knocking out Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. As such the onus has been on their top scorer, Timo Werner, to stay on his toes. When he was training from home, was he up at the crack of dawn to start his drills?
“No, I definitely slept a lot because I went to bed late,” he says. “I think it was part of this changeover to having not much to do: you get more tired and lazy during the day but then fitter in the evening, so you automatically sleep longer.”
And what of Bayern’s Jérôme Boateng? His side are sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and have a 3-0 cushion at the halfway point of their round of 16 tie against Chelsea in the Champions League. Did the defender’s staying-in efforts match his ability to keep out attackers on the pitch? “Luckily I could do some swimming in the pool in the garden,” he says. “I occasionally did a cycling tour and when I wasn’t on the bike, I went running. That was how the majority of the days went.”
Boateng was getting less of a lie-in than Werner though. “I was getting up between 7.00 and 8.00 to have breakfast with my children and help them with their homework. Then in the evenings we’d watch a Disney film together; I would also watch a series if I wasn’t too tired.”
Werner, meanwhile, was in his apartment during lockdown so couldn’t get out in the garden; as such, his shooting options were more restricted than usual. “I have a balcony,” he says. “I kicked a ball against it from inside a few times.” Could be worse: when he got back to the training pitch, the goals must have looked like aircraft hangars by comparison.
The Leipzig striker has also participated in group online training sessions with his team-mates – as well as activities less crucial to maintaining fitness levels. ”We play Fortnite against each other, or we play the odd FIFA game. Obviously you have the headset to talk to each other, but we’ve also done calls in our group chat – and made some group videos.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in touch too (but not via Fortnite voice chat). “He’s been texting us regularly to check how we are doing and to say that we should remain positive,” says Werner. And is the forward managing to do that? “I think we’re all excited about playing competitive football again, no matter if it’s in front of spectators or not in the end. The best thing in football is playing in front of a full house but the situation cannot be changed. We want to resume this season because we set our goal and we’ve been making very good progress with that up to now.”
As for those of us still working out how to work out at home, Boateng has some advice. “The best thing is to stay creative – don’t always do the same exercises,” he says. “A day of core and legs, then a day of upper body and power training, just so that you mix things up. Train every part of your body, otherwise it can get boring if you always do the same routine.”
Oh, and one more thing: “I recommend loud music."
Germany has navigated the coronavirus chaos in an admirable fashion. That has had a knock-on effect for its football teams, with players having returned to the training ground (with strict protocols in place, of course) as early as the beginning of April. It's been announced that the Bundesliga will restart on 16 May, albeit with games being played behind closed doors. So we decided to rewind a little: how did the league’s stars go about maintaining their fitness before lockdown restrictions were eased?
Leipzig are in third place in the Bundesliga as things stand, five points off leaders Bayern München. They’ve also had an excellent run in the Champions League, knocking out Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. As such the onus has been on their top scorer, Timo Werner, to stay on his toes. When he was training from home, was he up at the crack of dawn to start his drills?
“No, I definitely slept a lot because I went to bed late,” he says. “I think it was part of this changeover to having not much to do: you get more tired and lazy during the day but then fitter in the evening, so you automatically sleep longer.”
And what of Bayern’s Jérôme Boateng? His side are sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and have a 3-0 cushion at the halfway point of their round of 16 tie against Chelsea in the Champions League. Did the defender’s staying-in efforts match his ability to keep out attackers on the pitch? “Luckily I could do some swimming in the pool in the garden,” he says. “I occasionally did a cycling tour and when I wasn’t on the bike, I went running. That was how the majority of the days went.”
Boateng was getting less of a lie-in than Werner though. “I was getting up between 7.00 and 8.00 to have breakfast with my children and help them with their homework. Then in the evenings we’d watch a Disney film together; I would also watch a series if I wasn’t too tired.”
Werner, meanwhile, was in his apartment during lockdown so couldn’t get out in the garden; as such, his shooting options were more restricted than usual. “I have a balcony,” he says. “I kicked a ball against it from inside a few times.” Could be worse: when he got back to the training pitch, the goals must have looked like aircraft hangars by comparison.
The Leipzig striker has also participated in group online training sessions with his team-mates – as well as activities less crucial to maintaining fitness levels. ”We play Fortnite against each other, or we play the odd FIFA game. Obviously you have the headset to talk to each other, but we’ve also done calls in our group chat – and made some group videos.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in touch too (but not via Fortnite voice chat). “He’s been texting us regularly to check how we are doing and to say that we should remain positive,” says Werner. And is the forward managing to do that? “I think we’re all excited about playing competitive football again, no matter if it’s in front of spectators or not in the end. The best thing in football is playing in front of a full house but the situation cannot be changed. We want to resume this season because we set our goal and we’ve been making very good progress with that up to now.”
As for those of us still working out how to work out at home, Boateng has some advice. “The best thing is to stay creative – don’t always do the same exercises,” he says. “A day of core and legs, then a day of upper body and power training, just so that you mix things up. Train every part of your body, otherwise it can get boring if you always do the same routine.”
Oh, and one more thing: “I recommend loud music."
Germany has navigated the coronavirus chaos in an admirable fashion. That has had a knock-on effect for its football teams, with players having returned to the training ground (with strict protocols in place, of course) as early as the beginning of April. It's been announced that the Bundesliga will restart on 16 May, albeit with games being played behind closed doors. So we decided to rewind a little: how did the league’s stars go about maintaining their fitness before lockdown restrictions were eased?
Leipzig are in third place in the Bundesliga as things stand, five points off leaders Bayern München. They’ve also had an excellent run in the Champions League, knocking out Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. As such the onus has been on their top scorer, Timo Werner, to stay on his toes. When he was training from home, was he up at the crack of dawn to start his drills?
“No, I definitely slept a lot because I went to bed late,” he says. “I think it was part of this changeover to having not much to do: you get more tired and lazy during the day but then fitter in the evening, so you automatically sleep longer.”
And what of Bayern’s Jérôme Boateng? His side are sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and have a 3-0 cushion at the halfway point of their round of 16 tie against Chelsea in the Champions League. Did the defender’s staying-in efforts match his ability to keep out attackers on the pitch? “Luckily I could do some swimming in the pool in the garden,” he says. “I occasionally did a cycling tour and when I wasn’t on the bike, I went running. That was how the majority of the days went.”
Boateng was getting less of a lie-in than Werner though. “I was getting up between 7.00 and 8.00 to have breakfast with my children and help them with their homework. Then in the evenings we’d watch a Disney film together; I would also watch a series if I wasn’t too tired.”
Werner, meanwhile, was in his apartment during lockdown so couldn’t get out in the garden; as such, his shooting options were more restricted than usual. “I have a balcony,” he says. “I kicked a ball against it from inside a few times.” Could be worse: when he got back to the training pitch, the goals must have looked like aircraft hangars by comparison.
The Leipzig striker has also participated in group online training sessions with his team-mates – as well as activities less crucial to maintaining fitness levels. ”We play Fortnite against each other, or we play the odd FIFA game. Obviously you have the headset to talk to each other, but we’ve also done calls in our group chat – and made some group videos.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in touch too (but not via Fortnite voice chat). “He’s been texting us regularly to check how we are doing and to say that we should remain positive,” says Werner. And is the forward managing to do that? “I think we’re all excited about playing competitive football again, no matter if it’s in front of spectators or not in the end. The best thing in football is playing in front of a full house but the situation cannot be changed. We want to resume this season because we set our goal and we’ve been making very good progress with that up to now.”
As for those of us still working out how to work out at home, Boateng has some advice. “The best thing is to stay creative – don’t always do the same exercises,” he says. “A day of core and legs, then a day of upper body and power training, just so that you mix things up. Train every part of your body, otherwise it can get boring if you always do the same routine.”
Oh, and one more thing: “I recommend loud music."
Germany has navigated the coronavirus chaos in an admirable fashion. That has had a knock-on effect for its football teams, with players having returned to the training ground (with strict protocols in place, of course) as early as the beginning of April. It's been announced that the Bundesliga will restart on 16 May, albeit with games being played behind closed doors. So we decided to rewind a little: how did the league’s stars go about maintaining their fitness before lockdown restrictions were eased?
Leipzig are in third place in the Bundesliga as things stand, five points off leaders Bayern München. They’ve also had an excellent run in the Champions League, knocking out Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. As such the onus has been on their top scorer, Timo Werner, to stay on his toes. When he was training from home, was he up at the crack of dawn to start his drills?
“No, I definitely slept a lot because I went to bed late,” he says. “I think it was part of this changeover to having not much to do: you get more tired and lazy during the day but then fitter in the evening, so you automatically sleep longer.”
And what of Bayern’s Jérôme Boateng? His side are sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and have a 3-0 cushion at the halfway point of their round of 16 tie against Chelsea in the Champions League. Did the defender’s staying-in efforts match his ability to keep out attackers on the pitch? “Luckily I could do some swimming in the pool in the garden,” he says. “I occasionally did a cycling tour and when I wasn’t on the bike, I went running. That was how the majority of the days went.”
Boateng was getting less of a lie-in than Werner though. “I was getting up between 7.00 and 8.00 to have breakfast with my children and help them with their homework. Then in the evenings we’d watch a Disney film together; I would also watch a series if I wasn’t too tired.”
Werner, meanwhile, was in his apartment during lockdown so couldn’t get out in the garden; as such, his shooting options were more restricted than usual. “I have a balcony,” he says. “I kicked a ball against it from inside a few times.” Could be worse: when he got back to the training pitch, the goals must have looked like aircraft hangars by comparison.
The Leipzig striker has also participated in group online training sessions with his team-mates – as well as activities less crucial to maintaining fitness levels. ”We play Fortnite against each other, or we play the odd FIFA game. Obviously you have the headset to talk to each other, but we’ve also done calls in our group chat – and made some group videos.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in touch too (but not via Fortnite voice chat). “He’s been texting us regularly to check how we are doing and to say that we should remain positive,” says Werner. And is the forward managing to do that? “I think we’re all excited about playing competitive football again, no matter if it’s in front of spectators or not in the end. The best thing in football is playing in front of a full house but the situation cannot be changed. We want to resume this season because we set our goal and we’ve been making very good progress with that up to now.”
As for those of us still working out how to work out at home, Boateng has some advice. “The best thing is to stay creative – don’t always do the same exercises,” he says. “A day of core and legs, then a day of upper body and power training, just so that you mix things up. Train every part of your body, otherwise it can get boring if you always do the same routine.”
Oh, and one more thing: “I recommend loud music."
Germany has navigated the coronavirus chaos in an admirable fashion. That has had a knock-on effect for its football teams, with players having returned to the training ground (with strict protocols in place, of course) as early as the beginning of April. It's been announced that the Bundesliga will restart on 16 May, albeit with games being played behind closed doors. So we decided to rewind a little: how did the league’s stars go about maintaining their fitness before lockdown restrictions were eased?
Leipzig are in third place in the Bundesliga as things stand, five points off leaders Bayern München. They’ve also had an excellent run in the Champions League, knocking out Tottenham to reach the quarter-finals. As such the onus has been on their top scorer, Timo Werner, to stay on his toes. When he was training from home, was he up at the crack of dawn to start his drills?
“No, I definitely slept a lot because I went to bed late,” he says. “I think it was part of this changeover to having not much to do: you get more tired and lazy during the day but then fitter in the evening, so you automatically sleep longer.”
And what of Bayern’s Jérôme Boateng? His side are sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga and have a 3-0 cushion at the halfway point of their round of 16 tie against Chelsea in the Champions League. Did the defender’s staying-in efforts match his ability to keep out attackers on the pitch? “Luckily I could do some swimming in the pool in the garden,” he says. “I occasionally did a cycling tour and when I wasn’t on the bike, I went running. That was how the majority of the days went.”
Boateng was getting less of a lie-in than Werner though. “I was getting up between 7.00 and 8.00 to have breakfast with my children and help them with their homework. Then in the evenings we’d watch a Disney film together; I would also watch a series if I wasn’t too tired.”
Werner, meanwhile, was in his apartment during lockdown so couldn’t get out in the garden; as such, his shooting options were more restricted than usual. “I have a balcony,” he says. “I kicked a ball against it from inside a few times.” Could be worse: when he got back to the training pitch, the goals must have looked like aircraft hangars by comparison.
The Leipzig striker has also participated in group online training sessions with his team-mates – as well as activities less crucial to maintaining fitness levels. ”We play Fortnite against each other, or we play the odd FIFA game. Obviously you have the headset to talk to each other, but we’ve also done calls in our group chat – and made some group videos.”
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in touch too (but not via Fortnite voice chat). “He’s been texting us regularly to check how we are doing and to say that we should remain positive,” says Werner. And is the forward managing to do that? “I think we’re all excited about playing competitive football again, no matter if it’s in front of spectators or not in the end. The best thing in football is playing in front of a full house but the situation cannot be changed. We want to resume this season because we set our goal and we’ve been making very good progress with that up to now.”
As for those of us still working out how to work out at home, Boateng has some advice. “The best thing is to stay creative – don’t always do the same exercises,” he says. “A day of core and legs, then a day of upper body and power training, just so that you mix things up. Train every part of your body, otherwise it can get boring if you always do the same routine.”
Oh, and one more thing: “I recommend loud music."
