Four weeks of footie madness goes hand in hand with four weeks of beer guzzling, takeaway eating festivities.
The event is basically the footballing equivalent of Christmas, where the diet goes out the window and there is far too much alcohol and food consumed.
But one personal trainer has come up with a novel way of keeping the calories at bay during the month-long extravaganza.
Gareth Connell has fun ways to keep fit during the World Cup, featuring pizza boxes and four packs of beer.
The 29-year-old, who grew up in Cannock, has even adapted a popular drinking game to create World Cup fitness bingo to help with the health drive.
He said: “I was talking to a client about it and one of the things that people do for exercise during things like the World Cup.
“I know it’s easy for people to grab a burger and some beer and just watch the game, to be honest I’m one of those people myself.
“It’s quite easy for people to do something a little different at home while watching the match, even just doing a shoulder press with a pizza box or some beers will be enough.”
Mr Connell, who now lives in Telford after opening up Purity Health and Fitness in the town in 2009, added: “We’ve tried to add a bit of fun into it really and that’s where it all came from.”
One of the ideas is a fitness bingo, where depending on what happens in the game, such as a throw in, goal or yellow card, participants have to do different things.
Pick a team to support and each time they win a throw in, do three press ups, and each time they concede a throw in, do six.
There are also activities such as squats, burpees, and crunches incorporated into the plan.
Mr Connell said: “You can tell it came under the same guise as the drinking game, and it makes it interesting.”
The plan can also be adapted to each person.
Mr Connell added: “We had a little bit of a sweepstake during the Champions League final, so we all drew a player then if he got booked or did something like that, we had to do something.
“It just makes it a bit more fun and anyone can adapt it to make it better for them.”
Obviously, in the all important moment when England score, you can enjoy the glory by doing nothing. Just don’t bank on it happening that often.
The key to keeping fit during the world cup is using the time spent by programmes on build-up and analysis to get in a quick work out.
The World Cup Training Plan mostly uses 10-minute workouts for a quick burst of exercise without missing a kick.
From arranging a quick game before the match, to re-enacting important moments after the match, there is plenty of opportunity to get some exercise in.
Mr Connell’s plan suggests five sets of five to eight crunches, press ups and squats before the game for beginners, eight to 15 for intermediate gym goers, 15 to 20 battle-hardened fitnesses fanatics and 20 to 30 for anyone wanted to take it an extra step.
That should be able to fill 10 minutes of your time before the match kicks off.
For the half-time break, the plan suggest finding a familiar route around ‘the block’ that lasts no more than 10 minutes, either power-walking or running.
And if you do decide to re-enact moments from the game, maybe you will be able to score the World Cup winning goal for England in your back garden.
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