The Effect of Intraset Rest Periods on External and Internal Load During Small-Sided Games in Soccer
Ioannis Ispirlidis,
Dimitrios Pantazis,
Athanasios Poulios,
Alexandra Avloniti,
Theodoros Stampoulis,
Yiannis Michailidis,
Konstantinos Troupkos,
Evangelos Evangelou,
Dimitrios Draganidis,
Dimitrios Balampanos,
Nikolaos-Orestis Retzepis,
Maria Protopapa,
Nikolaos Mantzouranis,
Nikolaos Zaras,
Maria Michalopoulou,
Ioannis G. Fatouros,
Athanasios Chatzinikolaou
Affiliations
Ioannis Ispirlidis
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Dimitrios Pantazis
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Athanasios Poulios
Schools of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Alexandra Avloniti
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Theodoros Stampoulis
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Yiannis Michailidis
Laboratory of Evaluation of Human Biological Performance, New Buildings of Laboratories, Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Campus of Thermi, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Konstantinos Troupkos
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Evangelos Evangelou
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Dimitrios Draganidis
Schools of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Dimitrios Balampanos
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Nikolaos-Orestis Retzepis
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Maria Protopapa
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Nikolaos Mantzouranis
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Nikolaos Zaras
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Maria Michalopoulou
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
Ioannis G. Fatouros
Schools of Physical Education, Sport Science and Dietetics, Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, 42100 Trikala, Greece
Athanasios Chatzinikolaou
School of Physical Education, Sport Science and Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece
The purpose of this study was to compare the internal and external load in continuous and intermittent small-sided games (SSG) formats. Eight semi-professional soccer players participated in the study, and they completed three protocols: (a) I-intermittent SSG protocol (Int-I, 4 sets of 4 min with a 3 min recovery); (b) Continuous SSG protocol (Con, 2 sets of 8 min with a 3 min recovery); (c) II-SSG protocol (Int-II, 4 sets of 4 min, where each set includes 1 min of exercise with varying recovery periods (10, 20, 30 s), with a 3 min recovery period between sets). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the dependent variables, with significance determined at p 19 km/h, with the Int-II protocol resulting in the greatest distance covered (p p p < 0.05). The external load experienced by players in intermittent SSG protocols is higher, while internal load (%HRmax) remains relatively low. This effect is especially notable in the new intermittent exercise model proposed in this study, which incorporates progressively increasing recovery times within each exercise set. Coaches can use this model to increase players’ external load without causing a heightened perception of fatigue.
