Training at Game Speed

Intensive aerobic workouts that match the nature of the game essential

By John Cone

Analyses of a soccer game, if done objectively by videotape, match analysis software or an inexperienced observer, reveal numerous complexities regarding the physical demands placed upon each player. The relative demands of match play result in numerous physiological responses. Among those characteristics are the following:

• The mean relative work rate approximates 70 percent of VO2max, with players spending substantial time above 80 percent and frequently 90 percent of maximal heart rate (Smodlaka, 1978; Ekblom, 1986; Tumilty, 1993; Bangsbo, 1994a).
• The ATPpc energy system is the most decisive and most frequently taxed energy system (Bangsbo, 1994a).
• Lactic acid accumulation fluctuates throughout a match and is dependent foremost on the duration and intensity of the exercise in the five minutes preceding blood sampling (Bangsbo, 1994a).
• The aerobic system plays a vital role in sustaining activity level for the duration of a match, as well as having a decisive role in the rate of recovery of the ATPpc and glycolytic energy systems following high intensity efforts (Ekblom, 1986).
• Stores of muscle glycogen have a direct impact on the ability to maintain physical performance during a match, with decreasing muscle glycogen levels being correlated with decreasing distance covered and running intensity (Saltin, 1973; Smaros, 1980).
• Fatigue during intense intermittent exercise bouts results from depletion of ATP and phosphocreatine stores, rising lactate production and therein accumulation, and failure of the electrical impulse to propagate muscular activity (Bangsbo, 1994d).

An effort to sum up the demands placed on the player in metabolic terms proves adequately complex. Ultimately a description of the work undertaken during match play is best determined as acyclic, with all three energy systems (aerobic, glycolytic and phosphate) playing a vital role in the work required.

The role each metabolic system plays in meeting physiological demands is dually related to the duration and intensity of the activity being undertaken (see Figure 1).

Given the dynamic and intermittent nature of soccer, a player continually is cycling between the three energy systems in order to meet the technical, tactical and physiological demands placed upon the body.

A Comparison of the net aerobic vs. anaerobic contribution to the work done during match play reveals that the aerobic system dominates, contributing more than 98 percent of the energy (see figure 2).

The ability of players to carry out aerobic work (their aerobic capacity) largely is dependent on their aerobic power, which is defined as maximal oxygen uptake VO 2max). In soccer a significant correlation exists between VO2max and the distance covered during the course of a match Those players having the higher VO2max values cover greater distances and do so at higher speeds (Bangsbo 1994b; and Smaros, 1980; Reilly and Thomas, 1976).

Further analyses of aerobic fitness as determined by VO2max have been correlated to a number of performance markers in both individual performances as well as those of the team.

• Testing of the VO2max of professional players at various levels of play has continuously shown lower ranked and lower division teams to have lower VO2max values:
  1. A comparison of two teams within the same league revealed the higher ranked team to have a VO2max value of 67.7 ml-kg-min, while the lower ranked team had a VO2max of 59.9 ml-kg-min (Wisloff et al,, 1998; Bangsbo and Mizuno, 1988).
  2. The ranking of the best four teams in the top division in Hungary was the same as the ranking of their average VO2max values (Apor, 1988).
  3. A significant difference in VO2max between the top team and a lower placed team in the Norwegian elite division (Wisloff, 1998).
• The most telling correlation between VO2max and soccer performance is the finding that a significant increase of 16 percent in VO2max from pre- to posttraining segments had the following effect on match performance per videotape analysis (Helgerud, et al., 2001):
  1. The distance covered during a match increased by 20 percent.
  2. The average increase in the number of sprints per player during the match increased 100 percent.
  3. The number of involvements with the ball increased by 24.1 percent. These findings leave no doubt that aerobic fitness is an integral component in the game of football; further, it is an essential contributor to individual and team succes.

These findings leave no doubt that aerobic fitness is an integral component in the game of soccer. Further, it is an essential contributor to team and individual success

Regarding aerobic training for soccer, a physiological conundrum exists in that traditional aerobic training as it is undertaken by the endurance athlete results in a number of physiological adaptations. The ideal paradigm for analyses of both aerobic endurance performance and subsequent aerobic training adaptations is provided by E.F Coyle and is presented in Figure 3. Depicting the morphological components of the body, those physiological components that adapt to aerobic endurance training and how they contribute to the increase in the functional abilities of the athlete, the graph moves upward to likewise illustrate how the functional abilities finally contribute to the performance abilities of the athlete.

Examining the morphological components which accompany traditional endurance training: 1) muscle capillary density, 2) stroke volume, 3) aerobic enzyme activity, 4) distribution of power output and technique, and 5) muscle fiber type composition, a number of these adaptations are undesirable and must even be considered counterproductive in the game of football.

What ultimately emerges is the question: How to train aerobic fitness in a game which is decided at the highest of speeds?

The training plan that emerges is one that focuses on increasing VO2max with the minimal accompaniment of skeletal muscle adaptation. Of the three morphological components that contribute to VO2max (muscle capillary density, aerobic enzyme activity and stroke volume), only stroke volume is not a skeletal muscle adaptation and thus results in inherent slow-twitch fiber adaptation.

With the goal of training being to increase stroke volume, a heart rate in the range of 90 to 95 percent of maximal heart rate (HRmax) should be targeted. This rate proves optimal as it maximizes the filling time of the heart, which is in turn accompanied by maximal stretching of the heart and duly results in increased cardiac efficiency. Training both below and above the prescribed zone results in either the heart not working hard enough or a decreased filling time, respectively, each of which leads to a decrease in optimal cardiac function and training adaptation.

In accordance, a Norwegian study of professional soccer players studied the effects of interval training designed to elicit an increase in VO2max. The intervention consisted of four four-minute intervals of running at an exercise intensity of 90 to 95 percent of HRmax, with three minutes of active recovery (jogging) at intensity of 50 to 60 percent of HRmax performed in the interim of each bout of intense activity. Training was conducted twice a week for an eight-week period in conjunction with technical, tactical, strength and sprint training (Helgerud, et al., 2001).

The results of the study are readily divided into physiological and match play results. The impact of the intervention upon the tested physiological parameters is as follows:

• VO2max increased 10.8 percent following the training period.
• Lactate threshold (LT) increased 16 percent, while running speed at LT increased from 11.1 to 13.5 km/hr
• There was an increase in running economy of 6.7 percent.

The above improvements in aerobic physiological components equated to the following improvements in match play:

• Distance covered during a match increased by 20 percent.
• The average number of sprints during a match increased by 100 percent.
• The percent of time played, as well as the actual time played at the highest intensities (90 to 95 percent and >95 percent), was significantly greater for the training group than the control group.
• The number of involvements with the ball increased 24.1 percent for the training group; thus, the players with the higher VO2max values were involved in more situations, increasing the possibility of influencing the match result.

Perhaps most important is the finding that, in contrast to previous studies regarding aerobic endurance training and essential to the sport of soccer, the training protocol utilized resulted in no negative impact on the essential anaerobic components of strength, speed and power. No changes were observed in the one maximum of squats, bench-press, vertical jump or running velocity in the training group.

A follow-up study applied these findings utilizing the same work and rest intensities and intervals to football-specific modes of training. The result was two modes of training which elicited necessary intensities (Hoff et al., 2002).

1. Employed a dribbling course (see Figure 4) mimicking the movements and demands which are essential to football, with the players performing the course in a continuous fashion for the prescribed four-minute interval. The players were instructed to dribble in the indicated direction at a rate which brought them to 90 to 95 percent of their HRmax, with backwards running being conducted between points A and B.

2. Utilized a small-sided game of soccer with goalkeepers. Players were encouraged to perform to an intensity allowing them to maintain a heart rate consistent with the prescribed 90-95 percent. Balls were stored in both goals to be re-introduced rapidly to avoid stoppages in play; in addition two resting players on each team assisted the playing team by acting as exterior "wall" players in the attacking half of the field.

The results of the study determined that the first case, the dribbling course, elicited an average intensity of 93.5 percent of HRmax with an appropriate intensity being attained approximately 61.5 seconds into the four-minute interval, while the second instance, the small-sided game of soccer, an average intensity of 91.3 percent of HRmax was achieved, occurring 62.5 seconds into the four-minute bout.

There are several essential factors in designing any training session aiming to increase the aerobic capacity of soccer players. The intensity of training must be higher than in normal match play, a task that may be accomplished within the smallsided game via increasing field size or likewise decreasing the number of players and/or the amount of time the ball is out of play. A possible ceiling effect was noted, with those players having higher VO2max values having the lowest percentages of VO2max during the small group play. The suggestion is thus for those players having higher VO2max values that either the dribbling course or running be undertaken to elicit the appropriate physiological response.

The most important factor regarding aerobic endurance training is intensity. The players must be taxed at an intensity that elicits a heart rate of 90 to 95 percent of maximal for the four-minute interval. The rest intervals of active recovery, jogging and dynamic activity equivalent to 50 to 60 percent HRmax ensure that the players are adequately recovered for the subsequent bout. It is essential that the players be adequately recovered in the interim so that the prescribed work intensity 90 to 95 percent HRmax may be sustained and the desired training effect achieved.

It may be necessary to begin with fewer intervals, as players may not be able to achieve four four-minute intervals at the prescribed intensity in the beginning of training. As the players' ability to perform work at the necessary intensity increases, the number of intervals undertaken should be increased until a total of four may be achieved. It is essential that the work intervals be increased only at such a time that the players' fitness allows for the maintenance of the necessary intensity and hence the desired adaptations obtained.

Given the need for varied training activities, any number of activities or exercises may be undertaken, as long as the necessary intensity is achieved. Ultimately, to achieve the appropriate physiological response outlined by the research, it is a matter of providing adequate and appropriate space for the number of players; rules which contribute, if necessary, to the demands of the game; and finally to make play as continuous as possible. On the part of the players, it is essential that they be highly motivated to maintain the intensity desired and understand that the primary goal of the session is to increase fitness. The players' work should be as continuous as possible and they should neither stand nor walk during the course of the four-minute interval.

1. Within a small-sided game of 5 v. 5 with goalkeepers, the field is divided into attacking, middle and defensive thirds with balls in each goal and at the midline to ensure play remains as continuous as possible (see Figure 6). The following rules are applied to the otherwise normal mode of play.
   • The goalkeeper may not distribute past the middle third of the field at any time.
   • Following a goal scored, the scoring team's keeper starts play by distribution within his defensive third.
   • All players must be in the attacking half of the field when a goal is scored.
   • All defending players must be in the defending half of the field when a goal is scored.
     Offside lines are the final third.

2. Within a small-sided game of 5 v 5 with goalkeepers and an additional attacking player, the field is divided vertically with approximately 10 meters of space on both flanks (see Figure 7). Balls are distributed into each goal to allow for continuous play. The following rules are applied to an otherwise normal mode of play:
   • Attacking sequences in the run of play must involve flank play prior to attacking the opposing team's goal; balls won in the opponents attacking half may be taken directly to goal.
   • All attacking players, including the additional attacking player, must be in the attacking half of the field when goal is scored.
   • All defending players must recover to their defending half when a goal is scored.

3. In a 6 v 3 possession game in the outlined area with the three defending against the six, balls available at the sides of play to ensure the games tempo, the following rules apply (see Figure 8):
   • The six players possessing the ball play with a maximum of two touches.
   • Upon making a pass or moving into a space and not receiving a pass, the player must run outside of the space and around one of the markers.
   • Each time the three players win possession of the ball from the six, all players run to the opposite field and continue to play in the same manner.
   • Alternatively, each time the three win the ball, all players must run around one of the outside markers, then return to the same area to continue play.

Regarding the monitoring of players' effort during both work and rest intervals, a number of steps should ideally be taken. In advance of training, physical testing should have determined each player's HRmax. Further, prior to the session each player should be made well aware of the demands which they are trying to meet during the session and be possessed with the knowledge of their target heart rate zones both during the 90 to 95 percent HRmax work intervals, as well as the 50 to 60 percent HRmax rest intervals. If these steps have not been taken, or the recommended training equipment is unavailable, it is essential that the coach motivate the players and that both player and coach develop an understanding of the effort level required to achieve the desired effect so as to assess and push players accordingly.

The outlined activities offer a far more specific mode of training for soccer. Aside from the pIh ysiological adaptations discussed, affectivity of this type of training is increased due to the following:

1. The very nature of the activities' specificity to soccer
2. The motivation of players is always higher when performing work with a ball.
3. The conjoining of soccer and fitness training works in favor of the economics of time allowing for greater technical components to be undertaken during the subsequent session.

Returning to the core question: How do you train aerobic fitness in a game which is decided at the highest of speeds?

There is little doubt that the tailoring of training to suit the very nature and speeds of the game is an essential component to successful aerobic endurance training. As illustrated here, a variety of manners of training may be undertaken. Central to aerobic endurance training is minimizing the previously discussed skeletal muscle morphological adaptations and instead training to induce central cardiovascular system adaptation and increases in stroke volume.

References

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  Bangsbo, J. (1994a). Energy demands in competitive soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 12, S5-S12.
• Bangsbo, l (1994b). Fitness Training in Football - A Scientific Approach. Bagsvaerd, Denmark: HO+Storm.
• Bangsbo, l (1994d). Physiological Demands. B. Ekblom (ed.) Handbooh of Sports Medicine and Science: Football (Soccer). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 43-58.
• Bangsbo, J., and Mizuno, M. (1988). Morphological and metabolic alterations in soccer players with detraining and retraining and their relation to performance. Reilly et al. (Eds) Science and Football, pp 114-124, E. and EN. Sport, London.
• Coyle, E.E Integration of the physiological factors determining endurance performance ability. Exercise and Sports Science Reviews, 10. Holloszy (Ed.). Baltimore, Md.: Williams & Wilkins, 1995, pp 25-63
• Ekblom, B. (1986). Applied physiology of soccer. Sports Medicine, 3: 50-60.
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• Reilly, T. and Thomas, V (1976). A motion analysis of work rate in different positional roles in football match-play Journal of Human Movement Studies. 2, 87-97.
• Saltin, B. (1973). Metabolic fundamentals in exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 5, 137-146.
• Smaros, G. (1980). Energy usage during a football match. Proceedings of the ]'1 International Congress on Sports Medicine Applied to Football, Rome 1980. Vecchiet, L, (Ed). 795901.
• Smodlaka, V (1978). Cardiovascular aspects of soccer. Physician and Sports Medicine, 6, 66-70.
• Tumilty, D. (1993). Physical characteristics of elite soccer players. Sports Medicine. 16: 80-96.
• Verheijen,R (1998).Conditioning for Soccer. Pennsylvania: Reedswain Videos and Books.
• Wisloff, D., Helgerud, J.; and Hoff, l (1998). Strength and endurance of elite soccer players. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 3: 462-467.
  

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