S B Coaches College - Demanding Analysis: Conditioning for Soccer, Part I




		Demanding Analysis: Conditioning for Soccer, Part I *Joe Bonyai, CSCS* Share \|

It’s about that time when soccer athletes will begin their offseason conditioning programs (if their competitive season comes in the fall). The purpose of this article is to introduce different types of training and the implications of each on performance in soccer.

Physiological demands of soccer

A complete conditioning program should train the energy systems to act appropriately during movements and muscular actions specific to the competition. For example, both long distance runs and interval training can enhance aerobic capacity but the functional adaptations between the two methods are different. The purpose of this section is to identify both general physical demands of soccer and the specific contributions from different speeds and types of movement.

To review:

· Elite-level soccer players will cover 9-13 km over the course of a match (1-3). This is the most general and least important statistic. It’s not the fact that soccer players cover this distance; it’s how and when they do so (we’ll get to that soon).

· The average aerobic load during a soccer match is 70-75% of maximal oxygen uptake (1,3).

· The average heart rate achieved during a soccer match is 85% of maximum. The heart rate range is 65-98% (1).

Now, let’s look more closely at the contributions from different speeds of movement:

· High level soccer athletes spend approximately 60% of their time on the field either standing or walking (2).

· If you add jogging (18-20%) to the previous statistic, approximately 72 minutes of a high-level soccer match is spent at recovery-level intensity (2).

· Hard runs and maximal-effort sprints contribute approximately 2-4% of match play with maximal effort sprinting contributing 1-1.5% or 54-80 seconds (2).

· The average number of high intensity runs (hard runs and sprints) is 50-150 (2) and the average time in between is 40-56 seconds (4).

· The average number of sprints is 20-60 per soccer match (2, 4). If you were to divide the total match time by these figures, the average time in between each sprint would be 1:30-4:30. Short sprints (read below) followed by this amount of rest are not likely to induce significant fatigue (4). In this case, bouts of repetitive sprints are more likely to produce fatigue within a soccer match.

· The average distance per sprint is 10-20 meters and average duration is between 2-3 seconds (4). Although soccer-specific data is lacking, the maximum sprint-duration during an elite field hockey game is approximately 4 seconds. Field hockey and soccer data have proven to be similar, so some overlap of analysis may be appropriate (5).

· Mohr, Krustrup, and Bangsbo (2003) demonstrated that total distance covered, distance covered by high intensity running (28% greater) and distance covered by sprinting (58% greater) were greater by elite-level soccer players than by sub-elite players (2).

Even though the majority of time during a soccer match is spent standing, walking, jogging, and low-speed running (which contributes an additional 10% (2)), this type of movement does not contribute to success. High-intensity running and the ability to recover from such bouts contribute significantly to performance in soccer. This is demonstrated by the fact that elite-level players sprint more and cover more distance over the same match length than sub-elite players (2).

Physical requirements and implications of training mode

A summary of the physical demands of soccer may seem rudimentary for strength and sport coaches. It is more important to connect the requirements that I outline here with the consequences of continuous endurance training that I list in the proceeding section.

· Soccer players must be able to accelerate. The ability to accelerate rapidly is critical as most of the sprints during a soccer match only cover between 10-20 meters.

· Lower body power (commonly measured by jumping ability) is traditionally a good indicator of acceleration ability.

· In order to be powerful, an athlete must possess sufficient relative strength. A resistance-training program designed to enhance maximum strength will improve speed in most cases.

· Speed and power is not only determined by muscular architecture (size), but the ability to quickly produce energy for muscular contraction. Within a muscle, we use stored ATP (energy), creatine phosphate (which helps quickly regenerate ATP), and glucose (via anaerobic glycolysis). It’s now estimated that these three sources contribute more simultaneously than sequentially during near maximal exercise (4), this will be important in a minute.

· For soccer-specific performance, athletes must be able to recover from bouts of high intensity running. This means that energy-yielding substrates must be restored and metabolites that interfere with muscular contraction must be buffered.

· Soccer players must not only be able to accelerate, but also decelerate rapidly. Deceleration and change of direction can greatly increase the demand of a conditioning program, but we’ll talk more about that in Part II.

Now that I’ve outlined some general physical requirements, let’s review the effects that different types of training will have on each.

Continuous endurance training (long distance running)

Continuous training and long distance “fitness” tests are still be implemented at every level of soccer. Ideally, this report will reach beyond our performance network to sport coaches who can benefit the most from this information. So if nothing else, pass on the word.

It may be the size of the field, the length of the match, or the deceiving analysis that soccer players cover 4-6 miles over the course of a match that skews coaches’ perspectives. Like I said, this stat is misleading. I expect most average athletes could trek 5 miles in 90 minutes. Again, it’s how your athletes cover that distance that matters.

Long distance running or traditional endurance training induces many physical adaptations that interfere with the abilities necessary for success in soccer. A review of these consequences includes:

· Long distance running wreaks overuse injuries, as does any repetitive event (9) (↑ risk of injury).

· Endurance training elicits numerous adaptations that lead to the development and preferential recruitment of slow-twitch muscle fibers (7, 8). As a result, dormant fast-twitch muscle fibers atrophy and total muscular cross sectional area decreases (↓ strength and power).

· Muscle cells enhance their ability to utilize fat as a fuel source. As a result, glycolytic enzymatic function decreases (6) (↓ contribution from glycolysis, which we’ve already discussed, is an important contributor to energy production at the initiation of near maximal exercise (7)).

· Likewise, endurance training impairs strength at high speeds of muscular contraction. Endurance training has been to shown to decrease performance during isokinetic testing at high angular velocities and decrease performance in field tests such as the vertical jump (which is a solid indicator of acceleration ability) (8).

· Endurance training may not enhance muscle-buffering capacity. There is conflicting evidence, as both aerobic and intermittent training appear to enhance this capacity in untrained individuals, but as training status increases, the benefits from endurance training diminish (↓ recovery-capacity from high intensity sprints) (10).

· Research has consistently demonstrated that concurrent strength and endurance training interferes with the development of strength. Both same-day (lifting and running) and alternate-day (lift on one day, run on the next) training methods impair strength development (8). In this case, a good deed does not erase a bad one.

In general, long distance, endurance training interferes with every physical capacity we’ve determined to be essential for soccer performance.

If you’ve endured this initial report (pun intended), Part II will review repeated sprint, interval, SAQ (speed, agility, quickness) strategies, skill-based approaches and their benefits for soccer-specific conditioning. For additional information on training for soccer and a detailed program template, read Brijesh Patel’s article here .

References

1. Bangsbo J., Mohr M., and Krustrup P. Physical and metabolic demands of training and match-play in the elite football player. Journal of Sports Sciences, 24:665-674, 2006.

2. Mohr M., Krustrup P., and Bangsbo J. Match performance of high-standard soccer players with special reference to development of fatigue. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21:519-528, 2003.

3. Mohr M., Krustrup P., and Bangsbo, J. Fatigue in soccer: A brief review. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23:593-599, 2005.

4. Spencer M., Bishop D., Dawson B., and Goodman, C. Physiological and metabolic responses of repeated sprint activities: Specific to field-based team sports. Sports Med., 35:1025-1044, 2005.

5. Spencer M., Lawrence S., Rechichi C., Bishop D., Dawson B., and Goodman C. Time-motion analysis of elite field hockey, with special reference to repeated-sprint activity. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22:843-850, 2004.

6. Hawley J. A. Adaptations of skeletal muscle to prolonged, intense endurance training. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, 29:218-222, 2002.

7. Plisk S. S. Anaerobic metabolic conditioning: A brief review of theory, strategy and practical application. Journal of Applied Sport Science Research, 5:22-34, 1991.

8. Leveritt M., Abernethy P. J., Barry B. K., and Logan P. A. Concurrent strength and endurance training: A review. Sports Med, 28:413-427, 1999.

9. Ryan M. B., MacLean C. L., and Taunton J. E. A review of anthropometric, biomechcanical, neuromuscular and training related factors associated with injuries in runners. International SportMed Journal, 7:120-137, 2006.

10. Little T., and Williams A. G. Effects of sprint duration and exercise: rest ratio on repeated sprint performance and physiological responses in professional soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 21:646-648, 2007.

Joe Bonyai, CSCS, is completing his M.S. degree at Springfield College in Springfield, MA. Joe works as a strength and conditioning coach for five varsity teams at Springfield, and has completed summer long internships in Minor League Baseball, at Athletes’ Performance, and Velocity Sports Performance. Please email Joe at jjbonyai@hotmail.com