title: Positive performance and health effects of a football training program over 12 weeks can be maintained over a 1-year period with reduced training frequency.
abstract: We examined whether improvements in the performance and health profile of an intensive 12-week football intervention could be maintained with a reduced training frequency. Seventeen healthy untrained males completed the study. Ten subjects trained 2.4 times/week for 12 weeks and another 52 weeks with 1.3 sessions/week [football group (FG)] and seven subjects acted as controls [control group (CG)]. For FG, fat mass (3.2 kg) and systolic blood pressure (8 mmHg) were lower (P<0.05) after 64 than 0 weeks, and VO(2max) (8%) and Yo-Yo intermittent endurance level 2 test performance (49%) were higher (P<0.05), with no difference between 64 and 12 weeks. After 64 weeks, quadriceps muscle mass (11%), mean fiber area (10%) and citrate synthase activity (18%) were higher (P<0.05) than those at 0 weeks. Leg bone mass (3.5%) and density (2.0%) were higher (P<0.05) after 64 than 0 weeks, but not different between 12 and 0 weeks. Plantar jump force (17-18%), 30-m sprinting velocity (1.3-3.0%) and muscle glycogen concentration (19-21%) were higher (P<0.05) and blood lactate during submaximal exercise was lower (27-72%, P<0.05) after 64 than after 12 and 0 weeks. The above-mentioned variables were unaltered for CG. In conclusion, positive adaptations in cardiovascular fitness obtained over 12 weeks of regular recreational football training can be maintained over a 1-year period with a reduced training frequency, with further development in musculo-skeletal fitness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, Section of Human Physiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Randers
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Krustrup
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sundstrup
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Jakobsen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nybo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dvorak
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bangsbo
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Krustrup
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D055815:Young Adult