PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF 6 WEEKS OF AN AEROBIC

PRODUCTION TRAINING IN JUNIOR ELITE SOCCER

PLAYERS
JRGEN INGEBRIGTSEN,
1
SHAHER A. I. SHALFAWI,
2
ESPEN TNNESSEN,
3
PETER KRUSTRUP,
4
AND
ANDREAS HOLTERMANN
5
AU1
1
Department of Sport, Center for Practical Knowledge, University of Nordland, Bod, Norway;
2
Department of Physical
Education, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;
3
Department of Physical Training, Norwegian Olympic Sport
Center, Oslo, Norway;
4
Department of Sport and Health Sciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of
Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdo AU2 m; and
5
National Research Center for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmar AU3 k
ABSTRACT
Ingebrigtsen, J, Shalfawi, SAI, Tnnessen, E, Krustrup, P, and
Holtermann, A. Performance effects of 6 weeks of an aerobic
production training in junior elite soccer players. J Strength
Cond Res XX(X): 000000, 2012This study investigates
the performance effects of a 6-week biweekly anaerobic speed
endurance production training among junior elite soccer play-
ers. Sixteen junior (age 16.9 6 0.6 years) elite soccer players
were tested in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level
2 (IR2), 10-m and 35-m sprints, 7 3 35-m repeated-sprint
ability (RSA) tests, countermovement jump and squat jump
tests, and randomly assigned to either a control group (CG)
performing their normal training schedule, which included 4
weekly soccer training sessions of approximately 90 minutes,
or a training group performing anaerobic speed endurance
production training twice weekly for 6 weeks in addition to their
normal weekly schedule. We found that the intervention group
signicantly improved (p , 0.05) their performance in the
Yo-Yo IR2 (63 6 74 m) and 10-m sprint time (20.06 6
0.06 seconds). No signicant performance changes were
found in the CG. Between-group pretest to posttest differen-
ces were found for 10-m sprint times (p ,0.05). No signicant
changes were observed in the 35-m sprint times, RSA, or jump
performances. These results indicate that short-term anaerobic
production training is effective in improving acceleration and
intermittent exercise performance among well-trained junior
elite players.
KEY WORDS anaerobic speed endurance training, Yo-Yo IR2
performance, repeated-sprint performance, association football
INTRODUCTION
S
occer is an intermittent sports activity character-
ized by frequent activity changes, multiple specic,
intense actions (e.g., tackles, turns, headers, drib-
bles), and high-speed running bouts of a relatively
short duration (19,23). The ability to perform with maximal
intensity for short periods of match play (e.g., 5-minute peri-
ods) and the ability to maintain high-intensity performance
throughout a full game have been shown to be important
factors in performance and are measures that may be used to
assess differences in performance parameters at both whole-
team and individual-player levels (9,20,22,26,27). Progressive
decreases in the performance of high-intensity activities, par-
ticularly toward the end of match play, are well documented
(1,2628), and there is evidence of reduced high-speed sprint
performance after periods of intense match activities (25). A
reduction in the ability to perform high-intensity activities
during or toward the end of the game has been identied as
soccer-specic fatigue and has been linked to the intermit-
tent intense exercise prole of the game (14). These ndings
suggest that anaerobic capacity is a key performance indica-
tor in soccer players and that training interventions aimed at
improving anaerobic capacity may result in improved per-
formance during soccer matches (19,21).
Anaerobic training is dened as training above maximal
aerobic work capacity, with the aim of stimulating anaerobic
energy production (17), and can be further divided into 2
types of training: speed training, dened as training of short
maximal duration (215 seconds at .95% of the maximal
speed) with relatively long breaks between (.10 times the
exercise time), and speed endurance training (17), which has
been further divided into production training and main-
tenance training. Speed endurance maintenance training
aims to increase the ability to sustain high-intensity activities
(3), and it involves 225 exercise bouts, lasting 590 seconds,
with a rest of 100300% of the exercise duration at 50100%
of the maximum speed attained. Speed endurance produc-
tion training aims to improve the ability to perform
Address correspondence to Jrgen Ingebrigtsen, jorgen.ingebrigtsen@
hibo.no.
0(0)/17
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
2012 National Strength and Conditioning Association
VOLUME 0 | NUMBER 0 | MONTH 2012 | 1
maximally for a relatively short period (3) and is performed
at 70100% of the maximum speed, for 1040 seconds, in
312 repetitions, with a minimum of rest .500% of the
activity time. Undertaken concurrently, these 2 types of
training activities have been shown to improve the ability
of soccer players to perform high-intensity activities more
frequently and for longer periods of time and to recover
faster from the high-intensity activities that characterize
the sport (3,5,17,19,30).
Speed endurance training has also been shown to increase
muscle glycogen content (32), which is the most important
substrate for energy production in football (5) and so may
further contribute to improved performance via this effect.
Anaerobic production training has also been associated with
a reduced rate of glycogen degradation during supramaximal
activities (18) and increased fat oxidation during intense sub-
maximal activity (6). Therefore, anaerobic speed endurance
production training in trained athletes may be a relevant
stimulus for decreasing the net rate of muscle glycogenolysis
during submaximal activity (17). Fatigue toward the end of
the game (2,9,21) has mainly been linked to depleted glyco-
gen stores in a large proportion of the individual muscle
bers (24). Therefore, it is hypothesized that speed endur-
ance training in general, and anaerobic production training
specically, would be benecial for soccer players (17).
However, only a few studies have investigated the effects of
various speed endurance training regimes among soccer
players (10,12,16,37). These studies have found improvements
in Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 1 performances
(628%) (10,16,37), repeated-sprint ability (RSA; ;2%)
(10,37), 40-m sprint speed (12), and maximal aerobic speed
(12). To the authors knowledge, no previous study has inves-
tigated the effects of anaerobic speed endurance production
training on the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery test level 2 (IR2)
performance in soccer players, although this test is considered
to be highly indicative of a players anaerobic energy produc-
tion capacity (4,20,23). Therefore, we aimed to investigate the
effect of 6 weeks of biweekly production training on Yo-Yo
IR2, and repeated-sprint performance (RSA), on 10- and
35-m sprint times, and jumping ability in countermovement
jumps (CMJs) and squat jumps (SJs), in a group of junior elite
soccer players. We hypothesized that the anaerobic speed
endurance production training group would improve Yo-Yo
IR2 performance, mean sprint times during the RSA test, and
increase sprinting speeds and jumping performance.
METHODS
Experimental Approach to the Problem
Performance testing was undertaken at the sports facilities of
the Department of Sports at the University of Nordland in
Norway, to test the effect of 6 weeks of anaerobic speed
endurance production training on Yo-Yo IR2 performance,
repeated-sprint performance, sprint times over 10 and 35 m,
and jumping ability in CMJ and SJ. Pretests and posttests
were conducted on 2 consecutive days, before and after the
6-week intervention period. The rst test day included
a Yo-Yo IR2 test, whereas CMJ, SJ, 35-m sprint, and 7 3
35-m RSA were tested on the second test day. The Yo-Yo
IR2 performances from the pretest were used to match and
then randomly assign the players to the training group and
the control group (CG). The study was conducted during
the last 6 weeks of the precompetition phase.
In line with what was described by Krustrup et al. (23), the
Yo-Yo IR2 test was performed on an indoor articial soccer
pitch, using a portable CD player to control the speed incre-
ments (Denon DC 1015, Denon Brand Company, Japa AU4 n). The
7 3 35-m repeated-sprint tests and the 35-m sprints were
measured on an indoor basketball court. Mean sprint times,
as described by Svensson and Drust (36), were calculated later
using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corp., US AU5 A). Maximal
sprint speed times and repeated-sprint test times were mea-
sured and recorded by the wireless Brower Speed Trap II
System (Brower Timing Systems, UT, USA). The test-retest
reliability of this system has been evaluated elsewhere, and it
is considered to be a useful tool for measuring running speed
(34). Jump heights in the CMJ and SJ were calculated based
on impulse at takeoff from the force platform (AMTI, model
OR6-5-1) and saved to a Dell Latitude computer (Pentium 4)
using the AccuPower software 1-6-3. Body mass (kilograms)
and stature (meters) were measured before and after the inter-
vention period using an electronic scale (A&D Company
Limited, Tokyo, Japan) and a stadiometer (KaWe Medizin-
tecknik, Asperg, Germany). The body mass index (kilograms
per square meter) and the reciprocal ponderal index
(cm$kg
20.333
) were calculated from these measurements
(29). Pretest and posttest measurements were performed at
the same time of the day.
Subjects
A high-level elite junior soccer team of 19 outeld players
was included in the study. The players had a mean age,
stature, and body mass of 16.9 6 0.6 (6SD) years, 180.9 6
4.6 cm, and 75.1 67.7 kg, respectively. The subjects regularly
performed 46 weekly soccer sessions with their team and
on average exercised 12.0 6 1.8 h$wk
21
in their normal
training cycle. The team also regularly competed within
the regional senior series.
Two players from the initial training group and 1 from the
CG dropped out during the intervention period, and
therefore, a total of 16 players met the inclusion criteria for
the study, being present at both the pretest and the posttest,
and completing 90% of the intervention training (training
group). The 8 training group and 8 CG subjects were aged
16.9 6 0.4 vs. 16.9 6 0.8 years and had body masses and
statures of 74.6 6 4.9 vs. 73.5 6 9.6 kg and 179.4 6 4.9 vs.
182.5 6 3.9 cm, respectively. The study was conducted ac-
cording to the Helsinki Declaration and approved by the
local ethics committee and the Privacy Ombudsman for
Research (project number 25772) of the Norwegian Social
Science Data Service committee. All the players gave their
Production Training Effects in Soccer Players
2 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
the TM
written informed consent to participate in the study, and
parental approval was also obtained.
Procedures
All the players were pretested on 2 consecutive days 8 weeks
into the 15-week preseason training period. The players
were instructed not to participate in any kind of hard
exercise for 2 days before the laboratory testing. The players
were also given nutritional advice, emphasizing the impor-
tance of maintaining a normal uid intake and diet before the
testing days. The same advice was given before posttesting.
Pretests and posttests were conducted at the same time of
the day on the same days of the week.
Test day 1 began with recording of anthropometric data
before the players went through a 15-minute warm-up
session, consisting of approximately 8 minutes of running
at 7080% of the peak heart rate, followed by 4 minutes of
accelerations and decelerations over 4060 m and followed
by a 3-minute period of dynamic stretching (at moderate
speed) of the hip extensors, hip exors, hamstrings, and
quadriceps femoris. The Yo-Yo IR2 (23) started when every
player had been positioned on the designated track. The test
was led by 2 experienced investigators, who ensured that
players completed the test according to the previously
described criteria (23).
On the second test day, the players followed a warm-up
similar to that of the day before. Three CMJ and 3 SJ tests
were then conducted with a minimum of 3 minutes of
recovery time between jumps. The CMJ was performed with
hands on hips from a standing position on the force
platform, and a countermovement that decreased the knee
angle to approximately 908 was performed before jumping.
The SJ was performed directly from a squatting position
with a 908 knee angle and hands on hips. After that, the
players ran three 35-m maximal sprints and were given
a break of at least 3 minutes between sprints. Finally, the
repeated-sprint test was conducted with a 7 3 35-m maxi-
mal sprint every 30 seconds. The players were given at least
one 10-minute break between each of the 4 tests. During the
35-m sprints and the repeated-sprint tests, the players started
from a standing position with the foot on a marked line
10 cm behind the rst set of photocells, and the timer was
initialized when the players broke the beam of the photocell.
Times were recorded after 10 and 35 m in both sprint tests.
The mean sprint time was used for analysis because it has
been described as a good indicator of a players ability to
perform several consecutive sprints (13,36).
The Training Intervention
The CG followed the teams regular training plan (Mondays at
6.00 PM, Wednesdays
at 4.15 PM, Thursdays at
6.00 PM, and Fridays at
6.00 PM) during the inter-
vention period. Generally,
team soccer training
consisted of warm-up exer-
cises (low-intensity run-
ning and short passing
exercises), technical and
tactical sessions in small
TABLE 1. Production training program performed by the intervention group.*
Week-session Running activities Intended intensity (in % of max running speed)
Breaks
(reps/sets)
Total exercise
time (min)
1-1 2 Sets 5 Reps 30 s 90, 90, 100, 100, 100 3/5 min 34
1-2 1 Set 8 Reps 40 s 80, 90, 90,90,90,90,90,90 4 min 33.5
2-1 2 Sets 5 Reps 30 s 90, 100, 100, 100, 100 3/5 min 34
2-2 1 Set 8 Reps 40 s 80, 90, 90, 90, 90, 90, 90, 90 4 min 33.5
3-1 2 Sets 5 Reps 30 s 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 3/5 min 34
3-2 1 Set 8 Reps 40 s 80, 90, 90, 90, 90, 90, 90, 90 4 min 33.5
4-1 2 Sets 6 Reps 30 s 90, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100 3/5 min 41
4-2 1 Set 8 Reps 40 s 80,90,90,90,90,90,90,90 4 min 33.5
5-1 2 Sets 6 Reps 30 s 90, 90, 100, 100, 100, 100 3/5 min 41
5-2 1 Set 10 Reps 40 s 80, 80, 90, 100, 100, 100, 100, 90, 90, 90 4 min 42.5
6-1 2 Sets 6 Reps 30 s 90, 90, 100, 100, 100, 100 3/5 min 41
6-2 1 Set 10 Reps 40 s 80, 80, 90, 100, 100, 100, 100, 90, 90, 90 4 min 42.5
TABLE 2. Average HR distribution during training.*
HR-zone (% Max HR) 8085% 8590% 9095% 95100%
Absolute time in zone (min) 44.9 6 16.9 43.6 6 14.7 28.7 6 18.6 5.0 6 5.5
Relative time in zone (%) 26.6 6 5.4 25.8 6 7.1 15.9 6 8.4 2.9 6 2.7
*HR = heart rate.
Data are reported as mean 6 SD.
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
the TM
| www.nsca.com
VOLUME 0 | NUMBER 0 | MONTH 2012 | 3
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Production Training Effects in Soccer Players
4 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
the TM
and larger groups, and ended with small-sided games
(4 vs. 4) and games including more players (commonly 8
vs. 8 or 9 vs. 9). Core training (e.g., sit-ups and planks),
balance training (e.g., ankle strength exercises), and various
chest, back and coordination exercises (e.g., ladder drills)
were also used sporadically The intervention group (IG)
went through 2 additional weekly sessions (Wednesday eve-
nings at 9.45 PM and Friday afternoons at 4.15 PM) of anaer-
obic speed endurance production training during the 6-week
intervention period. The training program and correspond-
ing heart rates for the IG are presented in T1 Tables 1 and 2.
Each 30- or 40-second T2 interval was performed across an
outdoor articial soccer pitch, and the participants therefore
had to perform a 1808 turn every time they reached the
sideline of the pitch.
Statistical Analyses
All raw data were exported to Microsoft Excel and SPSS
15.0 for Windows for further analysis. A 2-way mixed
intraclass correlation (ICC) of reliability was calculated for
all measured variables in this study. All the measured
variables were assessed by a Shapiro-Wilks test and found
to be normally distributed. Levenes test for equality of means
showed no signicant differences in the group variances.
Therefore, a paired sample t-test was used to detect differ-
ences between pretest and posttest means within each
group. An independent sample t-test was used to detect
possible differences between the groups. The effect size
(Cohens d) calculation (31) was used to detect the effective-
ness of the production training for the training group. The
scale developed by Batterham and Hopkins (8) was used to
determine the size of the possible effects. The signicance
level was set to p # 0.05 for all analyses, and the 95% con-
dence interval (95% CI) was also calculated for all the mea-
sured variables.
RESULTS
The p value for all reliability measures were p , 0.01. Fur-
thermore, the reliability for the SJ was ICC = 0.85, for the
CMJ, it was ICC = 0.90, for the 10-m sprint time, it was
ICC = 0.77, and for the 35-m sprint time, it was ICC = 0.96.
The IG signicantly improved (p , 0.05) in the Yo-Yo IR2
running distance by 63 6 74 m, and 10-m sprint time from
the pretest to posttest by 0.06 6 0.06 seconds, with no sig-
nicant changes in the other variables measured (Table 3).
No signicant changes from the pretest to posttest were
found in any of the variables within the CG.
When comparing results between the groups, we found
that the IG had a statistically signicant improvement over
the CG for the 10-m sprint time (p , 0.05) and tended to be
different for Yo-Yo IR2 performance (p = 0.07). The effect
(Cohens d) of the training intervention on the IG was very
high on the Yo-Yo IR2 and 10-m sprint time, moderate on
both the RSA and the CMJ, and trivial on the other variables
measured (
T3
Table 3).
DISCUSSION
The main ndings of this study were that 6 weeks of
biweekly speed endurance production training sessions
signicantly improved 10-m sprint performance and the
Yo-Yo IR2 test scores. In comparison, the CG did not show
improvements in test performances.
The biweekly production training for 6 weeks generated
a 0.06-second improvement in the 0- to 10-m sprint time.
Previous research has shown that explosive sprints account
for as much as 2224% of sprints across all player positions
in elite football (Champions League from 2002 to 2006) (13),
and that most sprints are of a very short duration (23 sec-
onds) within soccer match play (7,27). Sprinting has also
been associated with the most important phases of match
play, such as creating goal scoring opportunities and scoring
goals (33). The improvement we found corresponds to the
equivalent of about 33 cm in a 10-m sprint and could there-
fore have signicant effects within match play. As anaerobic
speed endurance production training is generally considered
to improve performance during short-term, high-intensity
intermittent exercise, for example, from a 30-second to
3-minute duration (17,19), the signicant and positive train-
ing effect on the 10-m sprint time was somewhat unex-
pected. A likely explanation is that a high number of
accelerations were performed during each training session,
as the participants had to stop, turn, and accelerate a number
of times. Although no previous studies have examined the
effects of the present form of production training on accel-
eration speed, Bravo et al. (10) investigated the effect of
repeated-sprint training with long breaks (4 minutes)
between sets on acceleration speed, and they did not nd
any improvement on 0- to 10-m sprint times after imple-
menting a 7-week 6 3 40-m repeated-sprint training, with
a 1808 directional change every 10 or 20 m. The shorter
acceleration distance may have contributed to the lack of
adaptation found in this study (10) and may explain why
our results demonstrate an adaptive effect.
The players of the IG signicantly improved their Yo-Yo
IR2 performance. Previously, only one comparable study has
examined changes in Yo-Yo IR2 after a 2-week production
training stimulus (37), and observed a nonsignicant
improvement in the performance of 57 AU6 m. Several mecha-
nisms may account for the present ndings of an improve-
ment in the Yo-Yo IR2 performance, including elevated
creatine kinase, glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities
(5), improved muscle buffering capacity (15), and an
increased muscle Na
+
-K
+
pump a
2
-isoform protein expres-
sion (37). AU7 We recognize, however, that a limitation of this
study is that the pretest and posttest differences observed
between the 2 groups may be partly explained by the extra
6080 minutes of activity per week performed by the IG. It is
also possible that the improved Yo-Yo IR2 performance
reects an improvement in subjects ability to change direc-
tion and reaccelerate (10), because the players in the IG
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performed this action frequently during the training
intervention.
No changes in the RSA within the IG or between the
groups were observed. This indicates that the present type of
production training is not a sufcient stimulus to improve
RSA after 6 weeks of production training in trained soccer
players. Furthermore, no signicant changes were observed
in the 0- to 35-m or 10- to 35-m sprinting times, indicating
that the present form of biweekly production training is
insufcient to stimulate increases in sprinting speed among
trained soccer players over a period of 6 weeks (10,12,16).
Jump test performance scores did not change signicantly
during the training period. However, a moderate effect on
CMJ was revealed. This nding is consistent with the
improved acceleration speed. We speculate that the effect
on CMJ performance may be caused by the numerous decel-
erations, turns, and accelerations performed during the pro-
duction training intervention, which consequently leads to an
increased reactive strength and power output (33,35).
The relatively short recovery period between the Yo-Yo IR
2 test and the other tests (24 hours) is also a potential
concern, because glycogen stores may have been affected,
although previous research has shown only moderate
reductions (9%) in muscle glycogen after the Yo-Yo IR2 test
(23). Recovery time between the jump tests, the speed test,
and the repeated-sprint test may also affect the present
results, although it has been shown that allowing 3 minutes
between within-test repetitions, 10 minutes between the var-
ious tests, and limiting test activity to 10 seconds are sufcient
for recovery of energy stores (11).
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
This study offers evidence that biweekly anaerobic speed
endurance production training is an effective means of
improving acceleration and intermittent running perfor-
mance among trained soccer players, as long as this training
is performed with turns and accelerations, and is of a 30- to
40-second duration. Enhanced anaerobic capacities resulting
from this training are likely to be of immediate, practical
signicance for soccer players, because it has been shown
(19) that top teams have superior capacity in speed and
high-intensity intermittent endurance when compared with
bottom teams (25) and that this may be a signicant
performance outcome indicator at both whole-team and
individual-player levels. However, generalization of these
results to senior elite and less-trained soccer players should
be undertaken with caution, because only 16 junior elite
soccer players took part in this study. Further studies
should investigate whether the effects of anaerobic speed
endurance training can be optimized by specic combina-
tions with other types of soccer training. Nonetheless, as
the time available for training in junior teams is limited, an
important nding of this study is that bouts of short-duration
high-intensity exercise totaling 6080 min$wk
21
can be
effectively implemented alongside regular soccer sessions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank the players for their efforts and
Fredrik Be and rjan Nyga rd for their contribution during
data collection. They would also like to thank Suzanne Scott
for correction of the manuscript. Present data were collected
at the laboratory of the Department of Sport, University of
Nordland.
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