Abstract
Football is characterised by varying pace and acyclical movements that are influenced by game situations. To meet these locomotive demands, players need to generate energy from different sources via aerobic and anaerobic metabolism. Maintaining top physiological performance requires efficient aerobic capacity that affords players the ability to cover longer total distances, perform more sprints, and develop and maintain a greater playing tempo for the duration of a match. This study aimed to determine whether HIIT could provide a practical field-based method to improve the aerobic fitness of male players. A progressive overload approach was used to make the players run at intensities greater than their vVO2max; this was applied twice a week for four weeks during the pre-season preparation period. Eighteen sub-elite football players (21 ± 1.8 years, height 1.76 ± 5.7 cm, and mass 62.7 kg ± 7.2 kg), were recruited for this study. Pre- and post-experimental period, maximum oxygen uptake was measured through a modified Heck protocol test on a treadmill until volitional fatigue. Results obtained showed improvement in aerobic fitness metrics (pre- versus post-measurement). Specifically, VO2max significantly increased (p = 0.0001) from 43.9 ± 4.6 to 50.5 ± 3.4 mlO2.kg-1.min-1. The vVO2max significantly increased (p = 0.0001) from 13.8 ± 1.5 to 16.3 ± 1.49 km.h-1. Likewise, the vVT2 significantly increased (p = 0.0001) as a result of the intervention from 9.2 ± 1.3 to 11.6 ± 2.0 km.h-1. Application of the four-week intervention programme was guided by the progressive overload principle, to systematically increase the demands placed on the cardiorespiratory responses and ensure that players reach greater aerobic adaptations. HIIT is a time-effective training method that can efficiently improve the cardiorespiratory dynamics of football players in a limited time.
Keywords: modified Heck protocol test, aerobic capacity, high-intensity interval training, field-based training