Look and Feel Fit the Galaxy Way

Look around the league and you will see most teams with their share of sprains, strains, and sidelined players. But look at the Los Angeles Galaxy and you will see players who are healthy and feeling better than they ever have.

Galaxy Fitness Trainer Jim Liston has developed a comprehensive program for the team unlike anything any player has seen before. It encompasses a workout program that, for some, began in the off-season, as well as a nutrition plan tailored for each individual. The team saw immediate results.

Veteran Robin Fraser said he thought that using Liston’s Soccer Fitness Program would allow him to play three more years of professional soccer.

“I thought I would be in for three years of absolute struggling,” he said. Fraser has been bothered by little injuries throughout his career, but this season he has noticed a considerable difference.

“Jim has revolutionized the approach to training. It’s so scientific and comprehensive. My speed and strength have been phenomenal, and I’m more fit than I’ve ever been. I definitely believe this has extended my career.”

Nice praise from the man who calls Liston “The Executioner,” a nickname Fraser gave Liston after a killer workout during the preseason in Orlando. Also during that time Liston had to win over players who called the diet he developed for them “tragic.”

Liston’s program is rigorous, but the first guinea pig is always himself. Liston ran the Arbor Street hills, a stretch of steep streets/trails that burn the legs of even the most seasoned athlete.

When one player fell to his knees, Liston knew just how he felt. “I’m sure they are all sorely disappointed,” Liston said after deciding players won’t be running those hills again. At least, not until next pre-season.

Liston, originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, began his love for sports as a child. He played soccer, basketball and ran track. He went to the University of Massachusetts, pursued an engineering degree, dropped out of that, then obtained a hotel/restaurant management degree.

While an assistant manager at Florida country club, it occurred to Liston that he wasn’t doing what he wanted.

“I asked myself, ‘what to I like to do?’ And the answer was that I loved sports and I loved to work out,” he said.

He went back to school at Springfield College, the top physical education school in the country, where he received his master’s of education in Health Science.

Fortunately for the Galaxy, that eventually led to fieldwork in California where he and his Tru Fitness team, a group of professional conditioning and nutrition experts, have worked to provide a number of athletes with exercise and nutrition programs.

Each Galaxy team member was tested for strength, flexibility, endurance, and skill, and Liston will develop a program to correct any imbalances. Each members’ body composition is analyzed, and their diet is adjusted accordingly. Though not all players follow their plan to the letter, the point is to get them thinking about their routines.

That’s the same approach Liston advises for anyone who begins his or her own fitness routine. He advises the most painless route, adding a habit, rather than subtracting one from their routine.

“If you tell someone to stop eating potato chips cold turkey, they’ll crave it all the time. All they will think about is eating the one thing they can’t have. They’ll just end up giving in and bingeing,” he said. “The better approach is to add something to your diet, like drinking lots of water, or adding a vegetable to your diet. It’s a matter of changing habits, not making yourself miserable.”

Liston’s team has developed a diet for normal folk (i.e. people who don’t play professional soccer) based on nutritional models that have been proven to work. Essentially, it’s the Galaxy diet with fewer calories. The players’ diets are individually tailored based on their body composition. When considering the following plans, adjustments are always necessary.

“Generally, during the season, I don’t limit the players’ calories because they burn so many on a daily basis,” said Liston. “Though they might not follow the plan exactly, the idea is to get the players thinking about what they put in their bodies, as should everyone else.”

The diet includes a 2700-3300 calorie plan for the men and 1700-2500 plan for women. The first step is to weigh yourself, then try it for a month, making appropriate adjustments along the way.

Even for professional athletes, adjusting and breaking bad habits are tough. But Galaxy players who have stuck to Liston’s program are prime examples of how people can feel if they make health a priority.

Though Liston’s approach is winning him praise, he insists he’s just a behind-the-scenes guy who helps lay the foundation for the Galaxy and anyone hoping to achieve a healthy body.

“It’s a wonderful thing to see people on this program get better all the time and feel good and play well,” he said.

“My speed and strength have been phenomenal, and I’m more fit than I’ve ever been. I definitely believe this has extended my career.” –Robin Fraser

Freekick, The Official Program of Major League Soccer