In an ever-expanding football calendar, those at the top are getting fewer days off than ever. And with the margins for success so razor thin, Liverpool's players are now having to maintain their focus all year round.
The days of stars arriving for pre-season training having overindulged during their summer breaks are now a bygone era at the top of the sport. The thought process has shifted considerably and elite performers now spend much of their time off ensuring they arrive for day one of their pre-season programme in peak condition as opposed to using that period to get them into it.
With the Reds set for a major campaign that sees them trying to regain their Champions League status, that mentality has been evident by a handful of their most influential performers already this summer.
Having welcomed back a number of his first-team group on Saturday, Jurgen Klopp will be handing out more hugs and handshakes for his international contingent on Tuesday as those involved for the post-season fixtures for their nations return to the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby.
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That includes new signings Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, who will link up with their colleagues for the first time since their respective moves from RB Leipzig and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz, who marked his time off by getting engaged, will also be part of the pack alongside seasoned campaigners like Mohamed Salah, Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk and captain Jordan Henderson.
For players entering a fresh environment at one of the most demanding clubs in Europe, there's plenty to be learned from studying the day-to-day conduct of those who have won it all in recent years.
For Henderson's part, the Reds skipper has been working abroad with a personal trainer to make sure he reports for duty in the best possible condition ahead of a vital term for all concerned.
At the age of 33, Henderson faces strong competition for a place in the Liverpool midfield after the £95m outlay on Mac Allister and Szoboszlai. Add in the emergence of Stefan Bajcetic and the possibility of Trent Alexander-Arnold becoming a more permanent fixture in the middle of the park and the captain will be made to work harder than ever for a starting berth.
'Don’t dream of winning, train for it,' was the motivational message for Henderson during his pre-season workouts last week and the 33-year-old looked every inch a cruiserweight boxing champion as he did an England footballer in the videos posted to social media.
It's that sort of mentality that has underpinned Henderson's longevity and despite a decorated CV that has seen him lift every top level trophy going in club football, his determination and drive after 492 Liverpool games mark him out an inspiration to his team-mates.
Such dedication, however, is now a necessity at the top level as the deluge of fixtures continues to eat into the holiday time of top footballers; which is an issue Klopp himself has rallied against for a number of years.
“It varies depending which club you are at, success leads to more of a densely packed fixture schedule," Matt Konopinksi, founder of Liverpool-based Rehab 4 Performance sports injury clinic, tells the ECHO.
“If you are an international, you have even less time during the off-season, albeit you join pre-season a bit later.
“Footballers will take very little time off now, even during the off-season. They want to improve themselves physically and this is difficult to do during the season because it is jam packed with games. Physical attributes such as strength, power and speed are difficult to maintain let alone improve if you are playing two to three times a week.”
Alexander-Arnold is another who has used a portion of his summer time off to work on additional conditioning. The versatile defender cut short his holiday time by a week to spend some of it at Under Armour's global innovation hub in the United States.
The 24-year-old is the poster boy for Under Armour on this side of the Atlantic and was free to use the facilities at the Portland, Oregon base as he worked on some one-to-one sessions with Paul Winsper, who is the director of athletic performance for the brand.
Winsper, who is a former fitness coach at Newcastle United, helped Alexander-Arnold work on his conditioning, speed and endurance during their time together through intense gym sessions designed to push the No.66. Bike rides at high altitude and hiking up mountains also formed part of the itinerary alongside more football-based training drills on the football pitches.
Like Henderson, Alexander-Arnold recognises this is a crucial campaign from a personal perspective, both from a club and country perspective. Both players will be steeling their resolve to bounce back from an ordinary Reds term last time out ahead of next summer's European Championships that will see Gareth Southgate's Three Lions enter as one of the tournament's favourites.
For Alexander-Arnold, the upcoming months are perhaps even more acute as he gets set for a potential long-term positional switch following the success he enjoyed in the closing months of last season both for Liverpool and England.
Alisson, meanwhile, spent a part of his down time using the facilities at the Parque Gigante in Porto Alegre in his homeland of Brazil with personal coach Joao Pedro Rocha.
If Mac Allister and Szoboszlai need an insight into the culture of their new dressing room, it's been hugely evident even before their first official day.
Players reporting back for duty on Tuesday: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Jordan Henderson, Diogo Jota, Caoimhin Kelleher, Ibrahima Konate, Alexis Mac Allister, Andy Robertson, Mohamed Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai, Kostas Tsimikas, Virgil van Dijk.
