Inside Carrington: The Gym

Carrington’s fully-equipped gymnasium is housed on the ground floor of the Reds’ training complex and is a regular haunt, if not a favourite one, of the first team squad.

Strength and conditioning coach Mike Clegg is the man entrusted with putting the players through their paces during their sessions in the gym, which take place either before or after training. It’s also where injured members of the squad spend much of their time honing their fitness during their spells on the sidelines.

A cardiovascular and weights section with free weights and resistance machinery are all on offer, as are balance training machines and thirty spinning bikes which the players warm-up on before training.

“Because we’ve got very open-minded coaches and staff, we’ve always got the latest equipment,” says Darren Fletcher. “Every new thing for fitness is here and it’s always good to try things out to find out their benefits.”

“Gym work is very important for a footballer,” adds fitness coach Tony Strudwick. “A player’s game is a mix of technical ability, endurance and strength. It’s therefore important to improve the power of each player and the gym work helps to do that.”