The football microcycle explained: MD-5 to MD+1, day by day

When I share a weekly load report, the first question I usually get is: "Is that number good or bad?" My honest answer is always the same: it depends on the day. 4,200 metres is a perfectly sensible MD-2. On MD-3 it would be far too little. On MD+1 for a starter it would be too much.

That's why I plan, monitor and report everything in match-day terms. The match is the anchor of the week, and every training day is defined by its distance from it: MD-1 is the day before the match, MD+1 the day after, and so on. Once you think this way, the numbers start to make sense, and your conversations with the head coach get much easier.

This article walks through a standard one-match week (Saturday match, MD-5 to MD+1) and explains, day by day, what I want from each session and what I look at in the data afterwards.

The logic of the week in one paragraph

Load rises in the middle of the week and drops into the match. The days right after a match belong to recovery for the starters and to compensation for the players who didn't play. The days right before it belong to freshness and speed. In between, on MD-4 and MD-3, you have your window to train hard. Get this shape right and most of the details look after themselves.

Day by day

MD+1 (Sunday): recovery for starters, compensation for the rest

After the match the squad splits into two groups with completely different needs.

Starters (60+ minutes): recovery. Low volume, low intensity, mobility, a bike or pool session, and time with the medical staff for anyone carrying a knock.
Non-starters and short-minute subs: a compensation session. In my weekly reports the substitutes' load is far more stable through the week, without the match-day peak. Without targeted work they slowly lose the high-speed and sprint exposure the starters get on Saturday. A short session with high-speed running, a few sprints, and accelerations and decelerations in small-sided games keeps them match-ready.

What I check: starters' load is low; non-starters' high-speed and sprint distance moves closer to what the starters did in the match.

MD+2 (Monday): day off

Most single-match weeks need a full day off. It's as much mental as physical.

MD-4 (Tuesday): the "intensive" day, small spaces, lots of accelerations

This is the first loading day. Small-sided games in reduced spaces: lots of duels, changes of direction, accelerations and decelerations. Distance is moderate but the mechanical load is high. It pairs well with the main strength session of the week in the gym.

What I check: accelerations and decelerations (above 2–3 m/s²), player load, and that total distance and high-speed running stay well below MD-3. In my data MD-4 sits around 60% of match distance but only about 20% of match high-speed running.

MD-3 (Wednesday): the "extensive" day, big spaces, high speed

The biggest running day of the week. Larger spaces, longer actions, transitions, and the week's main exposure to high-speed running and sprinting. If a player is going to touch his top speed in training this week, it should be here.

What I check: total distance, high-intensity distance (19.8–25 km/h), sprint distance (>25 km/h) and maximum speed. This day should show the week's peak for most of these metrics. In my data it reaches about 90% of match distance and around 60% of match high-speed and sprint distance.

MD-2 (Thursday): tactical, reduced volume

Volume comes down clearly and the focus moves to tactical preparation for the opponent. A typical structure: dynamic warm-up, rondo, tactical work, then set pieces. In my data MD-2 lands at roughly 55–60% of match distance, with high-speed running at only about a quarter of match values.

That's exactly the profile I want two days out: enough movement to stay sharp, but no big high-speed volume and no fatigue carried into Saturday.

What I check: that the session stayed clearly below MD-3 and MD-4, and that nobody hit an unexpected spike.

MD-1 (Friday): activation and speed

Short and sharp. Activation, short speed and reaction work, set-piece rehearsal, and a game with a lot of touches but little running. Players should leave the pitch feeling fresh and fast, not tired.

What I check: the lowest volume of the training week, with a few short high-speed actions so the legs "remember" speed.

MD (Saturday): the match

The reference point for everything else. In my weekly reports match days are highlighted in red, because match load is naturally the highest of the week and it's what training has to prepare for.

What the week looks like in numbers

Here is the profile I typically see, expressed as a percentage of the match average (team averages, rounded). Use it as a starting point and build your own from your data: the absolute numbers depend on your level, your players and your GPS system, but the shape holds remarkably well.

Day	Total distance	High-speed running (19.8–25 km/h)	Sprint (>25 km/h)	Player load
MD-4	~60%	~20%	~10%	~30%
MD-3	~90%	~60%	~60%	~35%
MD-2	~55–60%	~25%	~35%	~20%
MD-1	~45–50%	~15–20%	~5%	~15–20%
MD	100%	100%	100%	100%

Two things stand out. First, MD-3 is the only day that gets close to the match, in distance and in high-speed and sprint exposure. If your MD-3 doesn't, your players meet the match's speed demands cold. Second, player load in training stays far below the match, even on the biggest day. Training prepares; it doesn't replicate.

You don't need complicated models to see whether the week had the right shape. Put daily load, split into starters and non-starters, next to each other on one chart. You should see:

A clear peak on MD-4 / MD-3.
A clear taper on MD-2 / MD-1.
The match as the highest point for the starters.
The non-starters' MD+1 bringing their week closer to the starters'.

If MD-2 looks like MD-3, or the bench never gets close to match intensity, you've found your problem, and you can explain it to the head coach with one picture.

Three common mistakes

An MD-2 that's too hard. Tactical sessions can turn intense without anyone planning it, especially when the coach increases the space or the number of players. Check the drill-level data, not just the session total.
Forgetting the bench. Players who don't start lose high-speed exposure week after week. MD+1 compensation is not optional.
Judging a number without its day. Always report load with the MD label. "4,200 m" means nothing; "4,200 m on MD-2, about 57% of the match and well below MD-3" tells the whole story.

Where AI helps

I use Claude to save time on the parts of this that are repetitive: drafting the weekly plan from my constraints, checking a week's data against its intended shape, and turning the numbers into a short message for the head coach. A prompt like this is a good start:

I'm the physical coach of a [level] football team. Our match is on Saturday.
Training days: [days]. Pitch and gym available: [facilities].
Plan a one-match microcycle from MD+1 to MD-1. For each day give:
the aim, the main content, the expected load (low / moderate / high) and
what I should check in the GPS data afterwards.
Split MD+1 into starters (60+ min) and non-starters.
Keep it to one table, then 3 bullet points for the head coach.

Treat the result as a first draft, not a plan. You know your players, your coach and your calendar. And any player with pain, an injury or illness goes to the medical staff first; that decision is never the AI's.

Key takeaways

Plan, monitor and report in match-day terms: a number only means something next to its day.
Load peaks on MD-4 / MD-3 and tapers on MD-2 / MD-1.
MD+1 is two sessions: recovery for starters, compensation for everyone else.
One chart of daily load, starters vs non-starters, tells you whether the week had the right shape.

Next: what changes when you play twice in one week.