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To cite this article: Jan Hoff (2005): Training and testing physical capacities for elite soccer players, Journal of Sports
Sciences, 23:6, 573-582
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Journal of Sports Sciences, June 2005; 23(6): 573 582
JAN HOFF
Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Trondheim, Norway
Abstract
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Elite soccer players spend a substantial amount of time trying to improve physical capacities, including aerobic endurance
and strength and the strength derivatives of speed and power. The average oxygen uptake for international soccer teams
ranges from 55 to 68 ml kg71 min71 and the half-squat maximal strength from 120 to 180 kg. These values are similar to
those found in other team sports. Recently, it has been shown that the hearts stroke volume is the element in the oxygen
chain that mainly limits aerobic endurance for athletes. These ndings have given rise to more intensive training
interventions to secure high stroke volumes, which, in turn, have proved positive in changing both maximal oxygen
consumption and soccer performance in terms of distance covered, contacts with the ball and number of sprints in a game.
The training employed has consisted of 4 6 4-min intervals running uphill at 90 95% of maximal heart rate interspersed
with 3 min jogging at 70% of maximal heart rate to facilitate removal of lactate. Research has revealed that a soccer-specic
training routine with the ball might be as effective as plain running. Strength training to produce neural adaptations has been
effective in changing not only strength in terms of one-repetition maximum, but also sprinting velocity and jumping
height, in elite soccer players without any change in body mass. The same training has also improved running economy and
thus aerobic endurance performance. The training regimen used for a European Champions League team was 4 6 4
repetitions of half-squats with the emphasis on maximal mobilization of force in the concentric action.
Keywords: Endurance, lactate threshold, maximal oxygen uptake, neural adaptations, one-repetition maximum, rate of force
development, running economy, strength
during a match (Bangsbo, 1994; Smaros, 1980). Rosenborg. The difference in terms of work capacity
Distance covered during a match was shown to differ to an average team with a mean V_ O2max about
a lot in studies carried out in the early 1970s, partly 6 ml kg71 min71 lower is, in terms of distance
because of awed methods. Measurements have covered and thus in playable positions, suggested to
become more reliable (Reilly, 1990) and differences be similar to having one extra player on the eld
between top teams are now considered to be quite (Wislff et al., 1998).
small. For example, it has been reported that male Soccer players should ideally be able to maintain a
players cover 10,245 m (Van Gool, Van Gerven, & high exercise intensity throughout a game. Studies,
Boutmans, 1988), 9845 m (Ohashi, Togari, Isoka- however, have shown a reduction in distance
wa, & Suzuki, 1988), 10,800 m (Danish elite players: covered, more low-intensity than high-intensity
Bangsbo, 1992), 11,527 m (Australian elite players: work, a reduced heart rate, reduced blood glucose
Withers, Maricic, Wasilewski, & Kelly, 1982) and concentrations and reduced lactate concentrations in
10,335 m (elite junior players: Helgerud, Engen, the second compared with the rst half of games.
Wislff, & Hoff, 2001). These values are considered This observation indicates a reduced level of activity
reliable, objective and valid. (Ekblom, 1986; Tumilty, 1993). Players who have a
Apor (1988) reported that the ranking of four high V_ O2max have high glycogen stores necessary for
teams in the Hungarian top soccer division reected the release of energy, which is required to perform
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the ranking between the average V_ O2max of the the high-intensity sprints and physical challenges
teams. This nding indicates that a relationship throughout a competitive match. They also have an
exists between V_ O2max and team performance. The elevated rate of recovery (Bangsbo & Mizuno, 1988;
results of Wislff, Helgerud and Hoff (1998) Ekblom, 1986). Players with a higher V_ O2max also
supported this assumption by also demonstrating a perform the highest number of sprints and take part
clear difference in V_ O2max between the top team and more often in decisive plays during a match than
a team placed lower in the Norwegian elite division. those with lower values (Smaros, 1980). As glycogen
The average V_ O2max for international level male stores are reduced during a match, an increasing
soccer players has been reported to range between 55 amount of energy has to be delivered from fat.
and 68 ml kg71 min71, with individual values of Players with a higher V_ O2max are better able to
more than 70 ml kg71 min71 having been re- mobilize and utilize fat at the same relative workload
corded (Davis, Brewer, & Atkin, 1992; Reilly, and are thus able to save glycogen for use in the
1994; Wislff et al., 1998). These values are similar most intensive and decisive plays during a match
to those reported for other team sports, but (Reilly & Thomas, 1979). Players with a higher
substantially lower than those for elite performers V_ O2max are also able to run further and at a higher
in endurance sports, where values near to intensity before a reduction in glycogen stores and
90 ml kg71 min71 have commonly been record- accumulation of lactate force them to reduce their
ed. Maximal oxygen uptake expressed in intensity. This fatigue will affect the quality of
ml kg71 min71 implies linearity between oxygen technical and tactical elements in a match (Ekblom,
cost and body mass, which is not the case (Bergh, 1986; Tumilty, 1993). That a high level of lactate
Sjdin, Forsberg, & Svedenhag, 1991). When accumulation reduces technical ability was demon-
expressing V_ O2max in ml kg71 min71, work capa- strated in a study in which players were able to
city is overestimated in light individuals (e.g. perform an average of 64 juggles with the ball that
endurance sport athletes) and underestimated in is, keeping it off the ground before a block of hard
heavy individuals. The opposite is true when training leading to lactate accumulation. After the
evaluating the oxygen cost of running at submaximal training session, the average number of juggles was
workloads. Consequently, several studies (Bergh et only three (Ekblom, 1986).
al., 1991; Helgerud, Ingjer, & Strmme, 1990; Hoff When assessing aerobic performance, V_ O2max is
& Helgerud, 2004; Wislff et al., 1998) have considered the most important determinant. Other
concluded that comparisons between individuals of important factors include the lactate threshold and
different body mass of oxygen uptake determined running economy (Helgerud et al., 1990; Hoff, Gran,
when running should be expressed in & Helgerud, 2002a; Hoff, Helgerud, & Wislff,
ml kg70.75 min71. Allometric scaling is described 2002b; Pate & Kriska, 1984). In some sports, the
in greater detail elswhere (A strand & Rodahl, 1986; lactate threshold might be a better indicator of
Bergh et al., 1991; Helgerud et al., 1990; Hoff & aerobic endurance performance than V_ O2max (Ja-
Helgerud, 2004; Wislff et al., 1998). cobs, 1986). The lactate threshold determines the
The highest reliable average V_ O2max for a profes- highest workload, oxygen consumption or heart rate
sional soccer team was reported by Wislff et al. in dynamic work using large muscle groups, where
(1998) to be 67.6 ml kg71 min71 or production and elimination of lactate are balanced
70.75 71
200.2 ml kg min for the Norwegian team (Helgerud et al., 1990). The lactate threshold might
Training and testing physical capacities 575
change without any alteration in V_ O2max, but these linearly during higher workloads until about 60% of
changes are minor. A higher lactate threshold means, V_ O2max, where stroke volume reaches a plateau or
theoretically, that a player can maintain a higher shows only a modest increase in both trained and
average intensity in an activity without accumulation sedentary individuals. Gledhill, Cox and Jamnik
of lactate (Heck et al., 1985). Values for the lactate (1994) and Zhou et al. (2001) have examined the
threshold are normally expressed as a percentage of levelling off in stroke volume. They found that stroke
maximal heart rate or a percentage of V_ O2max. volume increased continuously with increasing work-
Running velocity at the lactate threshold or at loads up to V_ O2max in well-trained participants. In
V_ O2max is also inuenced by running economy. sedentary individuals and moderately trained parti-
Costill, Thomas and Roberts (1973) and Helgerud cipants, the classical levelling off phenomenon was
(1994), among others, have reported individual seen. The increasing stroke volume up to the point of
variations in running economy. The causes of V_ O2max in trained athletes has been the background
variability are not well understood but it is likely for using high-intensity training interventions in our
that anatomical traits, mechanical skill, neuromus- endurance training. A soccer player is able to
cular skill and storage of elastic energy are relevant maintain repetitive bouts of this intensity for 3
factors (Pate & Kriska, 1984). The running econo- 8 min. At this workload, it normally takes 1 2 min
mies of well-trained runners have been reported to for cardiac output to reach its highest. As this
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be better than those of recreational runners (Helger- intensity far exceeds the lactate threshold, increased
ud, 1994; Helgerud et al., 1990; Pate, Sparling, lactate is observed and lactate concentration has to
Wilson, Cureton, & Miller, 1987); this is probably be reduced between each exercise period. This
related to the greater running experience of the rationale lies behind using an approximately 3-min
former. Running economy is normally expressed as break between intervals at an intensity of 60 70% of
oxygen consumption (V_ O2) at a standardized work- maximal heart rate, which reduces blood lactate
load or V_ O2 per metre when running (Helgerud, concentration (Hermansen & Stensvold, 1972).
1994; Saltin, 1990). Hoff and Helgerud (2003) have Helgerud et al. (2001) conducted an intervention
shown how aerobic performance changes with an study using 4 6 4-min interval training at 90 95%
improvement in running economy due to a strength of maximal heart rate, training half the members of
training regimen, without any concomitant changes an elite junior (under-18) soccer team three times
in V_ O2max or the lactate threshold. When choosing a per week for 8 weeks; the other half of the players
training regimen to improve maximal aerobic per- acted as a control group by performing their normal
formance, V_ O2max, the lactate threshold and running soccer training. The individual increase in V_ O2max
economy have to be taken into consideration. was 6 ml kg71 min71 greater in the experimental
Whether V_ O2max is limited by central or periph- than the control group; this was accompanied by a
eral elements in the oxygen transport chain from the 1700-m greater distance covered during a game,
lungs to the enzymes in the muscle cells must also be 24% more contacts with the ball and a 100% increase
considered. In activities involving large muscle in number of sprints, all more than in the control
groups like running, conductance analyses (Saltin, group. Helgerud, Kemi and Hoff (2003) used the
1990; Shephard, 1977) favour a central limitation same interval training regimen for a European
that is, the hearts maximal cardiac output. This is Champions League team, who showed the same
supported by the premise that large muscles have a improvement in V_ O2max. While Helgerud et al.
capacity to receive 3 4 times more blood if the heart (2001, 2003) used uphill running and inclined
is capable of delivering such an amount (Savard et treadmill running, Hoff, Wislff, Kemi and Helgerud
al., 1987). (2002c) have shown that a specially designed track
Analysis of the elements in oxygen transport that (Figure 1) substituting uphill running with accelera-
limit aerobic endurance have recently revealed tions, changes of direction and using a ball may be as
differences between trained and untrained indivi- effective as ordinary running. Similarly, it has been
duals. Whereas untrained individuals are limited by shown that small-sided play might be organized to be
the muscles ability to utilize available oxygen, equally effective in training V_ O2max, but seems to
trained individuals are primarily limited by the have an upper limit around 65 ml kg71 min71
hearts ability to pump blood (Richardson, 2000; (Figure 2). Using the training regimen for maximal
Wagner, 2000). The stroke volume of the heart has oxygen uptake as outlined in this review, the typical
been thought to be the most important factor, training response for soccer players has been an
especially since it can be twice as high in trained approximately 0.5% increase in V_ O2max per training
athletes than sedentary individuals. Recent studies session (Helgerud et al., 2001, 2003). An increase in
have further shown the importance of a large stroke V_ O2max is dependent upon a minimum of two
volume. In textbooks, the relation between stroke sessions per week, up to several sessions. One session
volume and heart rate is described as increasing per week or every other week is considered to
576 J. Hoff
Strength training
Within the aerobic context of the 90-min game, a
sprint that lasts 2 4 s (Bangsbo, Nrregaard, &
Thorse, 1991; ODonoghue, 2001; Reilly & Tho-
mas, 1976) is performed every 90 s (Reilly &
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Figure 3. Correlation between one-repetition maximum and sprint and jumping performance for elite soccer players (Wislff et al., 2004).
however, reported similar improvements in a group cing high velocity/low force movements. This type of
of World Cup ski jumpers with a squat and jump training has been shown to have a great effect on
training history of at least 10 years, indicating that sprint and jump performances relevant to soccer
like most physiological processes the adaptation is play, without changes in body mass, supporting the
not limited to a starting period. Behm and Sale neural adaptation theory (Hoff et al., 2001, 2003).
(1993) suggested that it might be the intended rather The training intervention used in these experiments
than actual movement velocity that determines the consisted of four series of few repetitions (4 5) of
velocity-specic training response. They suggested half-squats, with the emphasis on mobilization of
two major principles for maximal neural adaptation. force in the concentric phase of the movement. In
First, to train the fastest motor units, which develop two intervention studies with soccer players, one
the greatest force, one has to work against high loads with a Champions League team, using four series of
(85 95% of one-repetition maximum) that guaran- 4 5 repetitions with the emphasis on maximal
tee maximal voluntary contraction. Second, the mobilization of force in the concentric action, the
maximal advantage is likely to be gained if the one-repetition maximum in a half-squat (908 in the
movements are trained with a rapid action, in knee joint) increased from 115 to176 kg and from
addition to high resistance. Voigt and Klausen 161 to 215 kg (Helgerud et al., 2003; Hoff &
(1990) showed that maximal strength training (high Helgerud, 2003). Jump height increased by 30 mm
force/low velocity) with an emphasis on intended in both experimental groups and 10-m sprint time
rather than actual movement velocity did enhance was improved by approximately 0.6 m and 0.8 m,
maximal velocity (low force/high velocity) in the respectively, compared with the control group who
same movement. Hoff and Almasbakk (1995) and performed a normal soccer training programme.
Almasbakk and Hoff (1996) have shown that high Using the training regimen for neural adaptation as
loads emphasizing maximal mobilization of force in outlined in this review, the typical training response
concentric actions are extremely effective in enhan- for soccer players has been an approximately 2%
578 J. Hoff
1968), are more accurate than submaximal tests. jumps, strength testing for soccer players should
Since the 12-min performance test is carried out on involve squat 1-RM for elite soccer players, if they
an athletic track where V_ O2max cannot normally be are familiar with the exercise and have no back
reached because of running technique limitations problems. The 1-RM test for soccer players should
(A strand & Rodahl, 1986), and contains an anaero- be performed as half-squats that is, down to 908
bic element as well as differences in running between femur and tibia. When the body itself is
economy and lactate threshold, accuracy higher than moved, scaled relative strength (kg 1-RM kg body
5 7% cannot be expected. As the precision in mass70.67) is of importance, which makes it im-
training intervention increases in professional soccer, portant to follow any development in body mass.
it is necessary to be able to discriminate at least Hoff et al. (2001) improved 1-RM in a group of
between V_ O2max and running economy responses, World Cup ski jumpers with no change in body
and possibly also the lactate threshold, even if the mass, with increased acceleration and jumping
lactate threshold appears primarily to follow changes height as a result.
in V_ O2max (Helgerud et al., 2003). An accuracy The rate of force development typically changes to
of + 10 15% is in that respect not acceptable, and an even greater extent than 1-RM using training for
the eld test alone cannot discriminate between neural adaptations (Hoff et al., 2002a,b; Hoff &
improvements due to V_ O2max and those due to Helgerud, 2003). The rate of force development
running economy. represents the recruitment pattern in the muscle, and
The development of small portable metabolic increased recruitment of high threshold motor units
measurement systems has made it possible to affects acceleration and improves performance. In-
measure oxygen uptake directly during soccer- creased rate of force development is closely related to
specic tests. It has previously been shown that an balance. Rate of force development is calculated
inclined treadmill recruits a larger muscle mass at a using a force platform measuring the vertical forces
slower cadence, which allows the individual to reach during a squat jump.
his or her true V_ O2max, compared with running on a Jumping height is a performance measure that
at surface (A strand & Rodahl, 1986). However, changes with alterations in 1-RM. This variable can
Reilly and Ball (1984) reported an additional oxygen be measured using a force platform that calculates
demand during ball dribbling in soccer-like move- centre of mass displacement, or a movement
ments, which compensates for the extra load of the registration system that can follow the displacement
inclined treadmill, as applied during standard of a xed point. Both Seargents test and a test mat,
laboratory tests of V_ O2max (Hoff et al., 2002c). using time for calculation of jumping height, have a
Thus, the track shown in Figure 1 is reported to be higher variation than desirable, but are useful for
reliable for examining V_ O2max, using a portable estimates of leg power.
metabolic test system (Kemi, Hoff, Engen, Helger- Acceleration and sprints are also performance
ud, & Wislff, 2003). measures most often tested over 10 40 m, and
The current advice for testing the endurance of measured using photocells. For trained soccer
elite soccer players is to measure V_ O2max directly on players, however, strong correlations are found
a treadmill or in the eld. The test should be between strength and sprints/jumps (Figure 3).
supplemented by tests of running economy to The current advice for testing the strength para-
evaluate specic training intervention effects. meters of elite soccer players is to use 1-RM in half-
580 J. Hoff
squats, sprint times on 10 and 20 40 m and Bangsbo, J., Nrregaard, L., & Thorse, F. (1991). Active prole
jumping height. For closer analyses, the test battery of competition soccer. Canadian Journal of Sports Sciences, 16,
110 116.
can be expanded to include tests for recording the Bassett, F. A., & Boulay, M. R. (2000). Specicity of treadmill and
rate of force development, using the force platform. cycle ergometer tests in triathletes, runners and cyclists.
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Behm, D. G., & Sale, D. G. (1993). Intended rather than actual
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