How to run a 90+ session

1. Your phone is the coach

Everything is driven from the app. Bring your phone, your headphones and a stretch of open space: pitch, park, track or a quiet road all work. No equipment, no cones, no whistle.

• Wear headphones. Every transition is called out loud: walk, jog, run, sprint, half-time. You never need to look at the screen.
• Phone in a pocket or armband. The screen can stay locked; audio carries the session.
• Let it use GPS. The app records distance and pace for every interval, then rolls up per half so you can see exactly where you held intensity and where you let it slip.
• Charge first. A full 90 with GPS and audio will pull a chunk of battery. Start above 60%.

2. What 90+ tracks

The app records what actually matters in a match-style session. Not just "how far did you run".

• Distance per interval and per half. So you can see whether you faded in the second 45.
• Average pace inside each gear. Useful for checking that your jog isn't drifting into your run.
• Sprint count and sprint quality. Position-specific. A wingback should be hitting more, harder sprints than a centre back.
• Total match time and added time. Real match clock: 45+ in the first half, 90+ in the second.

3. The four gears

The single biggest mistake is running every gear at roughly the same speed. Aim for four clearly different efforts. Use feel first. The paces below are a reference for trained club-level players, not a rule.

4. Walk like you mean it

Walk intervals are not slow jogs. They are real, full recovery. The reason you can sprint properly two minutes later is that you actually recovered. If you keep shuffling through the walk, your heart rate never drops, the next sprint comes out at 70%, and the session loses its shape.

• Drop right down, slow enough that your breathing resets.
• Shake out the arms, roll the shoulders.
• Don't stop dead either; keep moving, just slowly.
• If you're still gasping when the next call comes, the gear above the walk was too hard.

5. Form under fatigue

Form is what falls apart first when you're tired. Hold these cues and you'll find another gear in the second half.

• Tall posture. Eyes on the horizon, chest open. Don't collapse forward.
• Arms drive the legs. Elbows at 90°, hands relaxed, drive back from the elbow.
• Quick, light steps. Land under your hips, not out in front. Think cadence, not stride length.
• Relax the face. Loose jaw, soft hands. Tension in the shoulders wastes energy you need at minute 80.
• If form breaks, drop a gear. Better to jog the last 30 seconds of a run interval than to crawl through it with broken mechanics.

6. Pick the right standard

90+ runs on four difficulty standards so the same app works for a youth academy player and a player training to top-flight intensity. Set a default in your account, then change it freely on any session.

Under 16? Stay on Academy unless a coach, PE teacher or medical professional has cleared you to train at a higher intensity.

7. Your first sessions

Don't pick the hardest position on day one. The point of the first few sessions is to learn your gears. Not to bury yourself.

• Start with a single half. 45+ on Semi-Pro / Pro / World Class, or 35+ on Academy. One half teaches you the rhythm without breaking you.
• Pick a lower-intensity position. Centre back ("The Rock") or central midfield ("The General") are good starting points. Work up to wingback or striker once you know your gears.
• Treat early sprints as 80%. You need to last the full session. Earn the right to empty the tank in the last 15 minutes.
• Review the breakdown. After the session, look at where your pace dropped. That's the part of your game the next session is going to fix.
• Give it 3–4 sessions. By the fourth one you'll know your walk, jog, run and sprint by feel and the app will start to feel like a teammate, not a stopwatch.

8. Half-time

The half-time break is real. Use it. Sit down, get water in, stretch out the calves and hip flexors. Then start the second half on time. The second half is where matches are won.