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Intermittent Endurance and Repeated Sprint Ability in

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INTERMITTENT ENDURANCE AND REPEATED SPRINT

ABILITY IN SOCCER PLAYERS
ANIS CHAOUACHI,1 VINCENZO MANZI,2 DEL P. WONG,3 ANIS CHAALALI,1 LOUIS LAURENCELLE,4
KARIM CHAMARI,1 AND CARLO CASTAGNA2
1

Research Laboratory Sports Performance Optimization National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis,
Tunisia; 2Department of Team-Sports, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of
Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; 3Department of Health and Physical Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong
Kong; and 4Department of Physical Activity Sciences, University of Quebec, Trois-Rivie`res, Quebec, Canada

ABSTRACT
Chaouachi, A, Manzi, V, Wong, DP, Chaalali, A, Laurencelle, L,
Chamari, K, and Castagna, C. Intermittent endurance and
repeated sprint ability in soccer players. J Strength Cond
Res 24(x): 000000, 2010The ability to perform highintensity intermittent exercise (i.e., Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery
Test [Yo-Yo IR1]) and to repeat sprints with relatively short
recovery times (i.e., 20- to 30-seconds, relatively short time
interval [repeated sprint ability (RSA)]) has been shown to be
relevant fitness variables in soccer. However, though they
potentially share common features, it is not known whether
these 2 abilities are associated. The aim of this study was to
examine the relationships between Yo-Yo IR1 and RSA
performances in elite soccer players. Twenty-three soccer
players (age 19 6 1 years, height 181 6 5.7 cm, body mass
73.2 6 4.1 kg, %body fat 11 6 2.4) performed the Yo-Yo IR1
and a test for RSA (7 3 30 m with 25-second recovery).
Results were 2,289 6 409 m, 31.21 6 1.13 seconds, and 4 6
2.1% for Yo-Yo IR1, total sprint time, and sprint decrement,
respectively. Yo-Yo IR1 showed a significant and moderate
relationship with sprint decrement (r = 20.44, p = 0.04).
Splitting the sample into Best and Worst Yo-Yo IR1 performers
according to median score (2,320 m), the Best group showed
lower RSA total time (30.69 6 0.99 vs. 31.79 6 1.06, p , 0.05)
and speed decrement (2.90 6 0.86 vs. 5.09 6 2.42, p , 0.01)
compared to the Worst group. Sprint-time deterioration over 30
m occurred earlier (from the second sprint on) in the Yo-YoWorst
compared with in the Yo-YoBest group (from the fourth sprint on,
p , 0.001). Intermittent high-intensity endurance is poorly
associated with RSA performance (r2 = 0.19). Consequently,
coaches and strength and conditioning professionals should

Address correspondence to Anis Chaouachi, anis.chaouachi@email.ati.tn.

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Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
2010 National Strength and Conditioning Association

consider both Yo-Yo IR1 and RSA in their testing batteries.

A Yo-Yo IR1 performance $2,320 m could be considered
as a reasonable indicator of physical fitness in elite soccer.
Relatively short time interval test protocols similar to the present
study should consist of at least 5 sprint bouts.

KEY WORDS association football, field testing, performance

analysis, fitness

INTRODUCTION

ntermittent high-intensity endurance and the ability to

repeatedly sprint within relatively short time intervals
(RSAs) are deemed relevant fitness prerequisites in
competitive soccer players (28,35,41,46). Consequently, intermittent training and testing protocols have
been proposed to improve soccer players fitness and guide
talent selection (5,22,42). Recent studies reported that highintensity intermittent endurance and RSA are both influenced by anaerobic and aerobic metabolism (25,27,43).
Additionally, training studies showed that RSA training
positively affects intermittent high-intensity performance (5).
Consequently, the information provided by field tests of
intermittent high-intensity endurance and RSA may potentially provide redundant information (34). This topic is of
relevance for soccer coaches and strength and conditioning
professionals because intermittent endurance tests and RSA
protocols are usually time consuming and sprint testing
requires expensive devices (i.e., photocells) (14).
Furthermore, information about this issue may help sport
science and strength and conditioning professionals in
establishing performance oriented (i.e., soccer) test batteries
to enhance fitness assessment and training prescription.
Another issue of importance in field testing protocols is the
number of sprints required to induce significant performance
decrements in RSA testing (14). Too short an RSA test would
not induce the required fatigue state whereas extensive
sprinting may induce pacing that can lead to redundant
information and the likelihood of injury (14,40,43).
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Intermittent Performance in Soccer

Therefore, the first aim of this study was to examine the
possible relationships between intermittent high-intensity
endurance and RSA testing in soccer players. The second aim
was to investigate the occurrence of acute fatigue during the
development of RSA testing to optimize field test protocols in
soccer. We hypothesized that intermittent high-intensity
endurance and RSA were mutually influential in soccer
players (5).

METHODS
Experimental Approach to the Problem

As a paradigm of intermittent high-intensity endurance, the

Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1) was used
(25). Recent studies showed that the Yo-Yo IR1 is a valid and
reliable field test to assess intermittent endurance in soccer
players (2). Furthermore, Rampinini et al. (38) and
Impellizzeri et al. (23) reported that a lower Yo-Yo IR1
performance was related to impairment in soccer-skill (i.e.,
short-passing ability) ability during experimental matches.
Biopsy studies showed that Yo-Yo IR1 maximally stresses the
aerobic pathway with an important involvement of anaerobic
metabolism as exhaustion approaches (25). As a result, the
Yo-Yo IR1 can be considered as the most relevant field test of
soccer fitness (2).
Although several tests have been proposed to assess RSA in
team sports (3,14,22,41,43,45,49), no gold standard protocol
is currently available to test players in field conditions (16).
However, there is an agreement that 30 m is regarded as the
sprint distance in the RSA soccer protocols currently used
(28,41). This distance is the longest usually performed during
competitive soccer play, and it has been shown to be suitable
to induce fatigue if repeated with short recovery cycles
(14,26,28,31,48). In the present study, we therefore used as
the RSA paradigm a 7 3 30-m sprint with 25-second
recovery protocol, which is an extension of the Krustrup et al.
(28) protocol. Sprint number was deliberately chosen higher
than previously reported in other studies that addressed RSA
in soccer and in team sports (i.e., 35 and 6, respectively)
(28,45). This was decided with the aim of gaining information
on the exact number of sprint bouts necessary to induce
significant sprint performance decrements. However, the
sprint number considered was similar to that previously
suggested by Reilly et al. (41,42) and Wragg et al. (49) for
talent selection in soccer and within the ranges recommended to avoid pacing but still inducing temporary fatigue
(14,28,29).
Sprint performance over 30 m was reported to be affected
by individual running strategies and abilities in soccer players
(24,48). In the present study, to monitor variation in
acceleration performance during the RSA test, split sprint
times were assessed at 5 and 10 m of each 30-m bout (24,48).
This was achieved using photocell beams set at 0, 5, 10, and
30 m from the start point.
The type of RSA data analysis is another concern of sport
scientists because it has been reported that various methods

the

(e.g., summation of time and percentage of decrement) are not

directly interchangeable (33). No conclusive information is
currently available as the best variable to be considered in
soccer, because the available literature addressed field hockey
and Australian Rules Football players (34,45). In the present
study, the sum of sprinting scores over 5, 10, and 30 m was
assumed as global RSA performance (total time [TT]) (14).
To track changes on sprinting performance and consequently
examine acute fatigue during repeated sprinting, the percent
difference from the first and last sprints (%Diff ) and the
percent of the variation between the total best (7 3 best
sprint score) and actual total sprint performance (TT) were
considered (18). Potential for information redundancy
between Yo-Yo IR1 and RSA performance (TT, %Best,
%Diff ) were assessed using Pearsons correlation coefficient.
Criterion performance validity was assessed to examine the
differences in RSA performance between higher and lower
Yo-Yo IR1 performers.

Subjects

Twenty-three elite-level male soccer players (age 19 6 1

years, height 181 6 5.7 cm, body mass 73.2 6 4.1 kg, %body
fat 11 6 2.4) were randomly chosen among members of
a successful league 1 professional club of the Tunisian
National Leagues (Club African, Tunis, Tunisia). The club is
considered as 1 of the top 3 ranked teams in Tunisia during the
last 15 years. All these subjects had competed at national and
international levels for their respective age groups. Twelve
subjects were members of the under-21 team, and the
remaining 11 belonged to the under-19 team that ranked first
during the 20072008 season. Players possessed at least
6 years of experience in soccer training and competitions and
took part in national and international championships at the
time of the investigation. Players trained 56 times a week
(;90 minutes per session) with a competitive match taking
place during the weekend. Training sessions consisted mainly
of technical and tactical skill development (80% of the training
time). Physical conditioning was performed twice a week and
was aimed toward anaerobic and aerobic performance
development (1). Anaerobic training consisted of plyometrics
and sprint training drills (1). Aerobic fitness was developed
using small-sided games (37) and short- or long-interval
running (21).
Testing procedures were performed during the last stage of
the competitive season (FebruaryMarch 2007). Written
informed consent was received from all players after verbal
and written explanation of the experimental design and
potential risks of the study. The study was conducted
according to the Declaration of Helsinki and the protocol
was fully approved by the Clinical Research Ethics
Committee and the Ethic Committee of the National Centre
of Medicine and Science of Sports of Tunis before the
commencement of the assessments. All players were fully
accustomed with the procedures used in this research and

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were informed that they could

withdraw from the study at any
time without penalty.
Procedures

Players were tested for RSA

and Yo-Yo IR1 performance on
separate days at least 1 week
apart in a randomized and
counterbalanced order. Each
player was instructed and verbally encouraged to give a maximal effort during all tests. A
standardized warm-up, consisting of jogging, dynamic stretching, and then a series of
increasing intensity sprints was
performed before testing. No
static-stretching exercises were
allowed before any test.
Before the RSA test, players
performed 3 maximal 30-m
Figure 1. Sprint profile (n = 23) of the repeated sprint ability test (7 3 30 m) over A) 5 m, B) 10 m, and C) 30 m.
sprints (with 5 and 10-m split
*p , 0.05 and **p , 0.01, significantly different from the first sprint bout.
times recorded) on an indoor
synthetic track to assess their
best individual sprint time (recovery 23 minutes passively). The run with the lowest 30-m
magnitude of the correlations was also determined using
time (and corresponding 5- and 10-m split times) was selected
the modified scale by Hopkins (20): r , 0.1, trivial; 0.10.3,
for analysis.
small; 0.30.5, moderate; 0.50.7, large; 0.70.9, very large;
After a 15-minute rest, players performed the RSA test.
.0.9, nearly perfect; and 1 perfect. The RSA data were
They were requested to perform 7 30-m sprints providing allanalyzed by 1-way repeated measures analysis of variance.
out effort during each bout, decelerating as fast as possible 1 m
Tukeys post hoc test of critical difference was used to locate
after the finishing line. The recovery consisted of 25 seconds
significance between means.
of self-paced jogging with the players positioning themselves
Using the median split technique, the soccer players were
on the starting line approximately 5 seconds before the next
divided into 2 groups (best and worst) according to the
sprint. Sprint time over the first 30 m of the RSA test had to be
not slower than 5% of the individuals best 30-m performance
time (6,14,43,45) for the RSA test to be considered valid.
Sprint times were recorded using photocell gates (Brower
Timing Systems, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; accuracy of 0.01
seconds) placed 0.4 m above the ground. When ready, the
subjects commenced the sprint from a standing start 0.5 m
behind the first timing gate. Stance for the start was
consistent for each subject.
The Yo-Yo IR1 was performed according to the procedures
suggested by Krustrup et al. (25) and Castagna et al. (7). The
reliability of Yo-Yo IR1 was established in a previous study
(intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.98, p , 0.0001
with a coefficient of variation [CV] of 3.5%) (9). The ICC and
CV for the TT were 0.92 and 2.7%, respectively (n = 21).
Statistical Analyses

Before using parametric tests, the condition of normal

variation was verified using the ShapiroWilk W-test.
Pearsons productmoment correlation coefficients were
used to examine correlations between variables. The

Figure 2. Profile of mean sprint decrements (%Best and %Diff, see text)
of the 7 3 30-m test (n = 23) progressively grouping sprint bouts (i.e.,
27). *Significantly different from the 7 3 30-m sprint decrement =
p , 0.05.

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Intermittent Performance in Soccer

TABLE 1. Comparisons between Best (n = 11) and Worst (n = 11) performers with respect to Yo-Yo IR1 median
(2,320 m).*
Best
TT 30 m (s)
(%) Best 30 m
(%) Diff 30 m
TT 10 m (s)
(%) Best 10 m
(%) Diff 10 m
TT 5 m (s)
(%) Best 5 m
(%) Diff 5 m

30.69
2.90
5.87
13.02
4.94
4.89
7.88
7.71
5 12

Worst

6 0.99
6 0.86
6 2.49
6 0.67
6 2.44
6 3.05
6 0.56
6 4.08
6 3.20

31.79
5.09
6.21
13.74
7.53
6.63
8.27
10.00
7.90

6 1.06
6 2.42
6 2.67
6 0.85
6 4.38
6 3.34
6 0.67
6 4.84
6 6.63

Mean
difference

95% CI for mean

LowerUpper

Effect size

1.09
2.18
0.33
0.72
2.58
1.74
0.38
2.29
2.79

0.182.01
0.573.80
22.29 to 2.95
0.041.40
20.57 to 5.74
21.72 to 5.21
20.16 to 0.93
21.69 to 6.27
22.96 to 8.55

1.07
1.20
0.13
0.94
0.73
0.54
0.63
0.51
0.53

*TT = total time; CI = confidence interval.

Values are given as mean 6 SD.
p , 0.05.
p , 0.01.

median Yo-Yo IR1 distance covered (Yo-YoBest and Yo-Yoworst)

(36,47). The player obtaining the median distance value was
excluded to obtain 2 subgroups with the same number of
participants (n = 11).
Independent 2-tailed Students t-tests were used to
determine any significant difference in RSA variables (Total
sprint time, Sprint performance decrement) between Yo-

YoBest and Yo-Yoworst. The effect size (ES) was calculated to

assess meaningfulness of differences. Effect sizes of .0.8,
between 0.8 and 0.5, between 0.5 and 0.2, and ,0.2 were
considered as large, moderate, small, and trivial, respectively
(10). The results are expressed as mean 6 SD and 95%
confidence intervals. A significance level of p # 0.05 was
selected.

RESULTS

Figure 3. Mean sprint decrements (%Best, see text) over A) 5 m, B) 10, and C) 30 m of players with higher (Best)
and lower (Worst) Yo-Yo IR1 performances (according to Yo-Yo IR1 median 2,320 m). *p , 0.05; **p , 0.01.

the

During the Yo-Yo IR1, players

ran for 2,289 6 409 m. Total
time and total best time during
the 7 3 30-m RSA test were
31.21 6 1.13 and 30 6 1.04
seconds, respectively. Sprint
decrements were 4.3 6 2.0
and 6.0 6 2.5% for %Best and
%Diff, respectively. Significant
sprint time decrements occurred from the second 30-m
sprint compared with the first
sprint as reference (p , 0.05,
Figure 1C). Sprint performance
over 5 and 10 m showed
a significant impairment compared with the first sprint from
the and third bouts, respectively (Figure 1A, B, p ,
0.05). There was no significant
decrement for the seventh
sprint compared with the fifth
(3.4 6 1.9%) or sixth (3.9 6
2.0%) sprint (Figure 2) for the

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%Best. Using the %Diff, speed decrements were not
significantly different (p . 0.05) among sprints 57 (Figure 2).
The distance covered during the Yo-Yo IR1 was significantly correlated with %Best RSA over 30 m (r = 20.44
moderate, p = 0.04). No significant relationship was found
between Yo-Yo IR1 performance and TT (r = 20.40,
p . 0.05).
The median of the Yo-Yo IR1 performance was of 2,320 m.
Results obtained after the median split technique analysis are
reported in Table 1. The Yo-YoBest group showed significantly
better performances for RSA variables over the 30- and 10-m
distances (p , 0.05). Interestingly, players in the Yo-YoBest
group showed significant sprint performance decrements
over 30 m from the fourth sprint onward (Figure 3C),
whereas sprint time deterioration over 30 m occurred earlier
(from the second sprint on) in the Yo-YoWorst group (p ,
0.001, Figure 3C). Significant (p , 0.01) performance
decrements were evident in the Yo-YoWorst group from the
fourth bout for both the 5- and 10-m sprint splits (Figure 3A,
B, respectively). Both (%Best and %Diff, n = 23) sprint
decrements methods were significantly correlated over 30 m
(r = 0.81 very large, p , 0.001), 10 m (r = 0.93 nearly perfect,
p , 0.001), and 5 m (r = 0.87 very large, p , 0.001) split times.
Performance over 30 m (i.e., pre-RSA test performance) was
significantly associated with TT during the RSA test (r = 0.61
large, p = 0.02).

DISCUSSION
The main finding of the present study was the occurrence of
only a moderate relationship (r = 20.44) between 2 soccerrelevant physical abilities such as intermittent high-intensity
endurance (Yo-Yo IR1 distance) and the repeated sprint
ability (7 3 30-m %Best). Indeed the present study results
showed that only 19% of variance was shared between the
Yo-Yo IR1 and RSA tests. The independence of these
2 measures of ability is further supported by the lack of
relationship between Yo-Yo IR1 performance and TT: The
sum of sprinting scores (TT) is considered the most reliable
outcome of RSA tests (34,45). As a result, the original
working hypothesis assumed for this study has not been
affirmed.
The present study findings are in line with those previously
reported for Australian rules football players, which found
a low association between multistage fitness test performance
and 6 3 30-m sprint test (r = 20.20, trivial) (34). Similar
results were also reported by Krustrup et al. (25), who found
no significant relationship between level 2 of the Yo-Yo IR
and repeated sprint performance over 5 3 30 m with
a 25-second active recovery (r = 0.26 small, p . 0.05). This
suggests that RSA performance and intermittent highintensity endurance should be regarded as semi-independent
soccer performancerelated variables. As a result, coaches
and strength and conditioning professionals should consider
these 2 physical ability variables separately to depict players
fitness performance profiles.

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To further examine the effect of intermittent endurance

fitness on RSA, players were separated according to their YoYo IR1 results into 2 groups, depending on whether they ran
over or under the median distance covered by the group,
using the construct of Higher and Lower performers (36,47).
The data showed that the resulting construct was able to
discriminate for RSA performance; players belonging to the
Yo-Yo IR1Best group demonstrated significantly better
performances on RSA variables (Table 1 and Figure 3) than
did the Yo-Yo IR1Worst. Interestingly, RSA variables were
also significantly better in Yo-Yo IR1Best players when they
were calculated over 10 m. Sprint sequence analyses across
the considered distances (i.e., 5, 10, and 30 m) showed that
Yo-Yo IR1Best players sprint performance times deteriorated
later than those of the Yo-Yo IR1Worst players. Split sprint
performance was impaired only in the Yo-Yo IR1Worst group,
with decrements occurring after only 4 sprint bouts in the
5- and 10-m splits (Figure 3A, B). These data warrant the
construct validity of the Yo-Yo IR1 test in soccer with respect
to RSA. Moreover, it suggests that performances in Yo-Yo
IR1 over 2,320 m (median value) may be considered as being
required in junior-level elite soccer players.
The Yo-Yo IR1 distance reported in this study (i.e., 2,289 6
409 m) was lower than that (2,414 6 456 m) reported by
Mujika et al. (32) in senior elite-level professional male soccer
players, but higher (2,092 6 260 m) than gender-matched
junior-level players playing in the Spanish national championship (32). Mohr et al. (30) and Krustrup et al. (25) found
Yo-Yo IR1 performances similar to that of the present study
players in professional male soccer players competing in the
Italian and Danish championships. These similarities indicate
that the level of fitness of the present studys soccer players
was at the elite level and the studys main findings and
conclusions (8).
Although RSA testing may be time consuming, as a single
subject assessment and expensive (with photocell time
triggers) is very often the only method of reliable measuring
sprint performance. The present studys findings provide
evidence for the inclusion of RSA protocols in soccer-specific
fitness-testing batteries (5,22,28,35,41). In this regard, optimization of the number of sprint bouts may be of interest to
reduce procedure time during RSA tests. Although several
proposed RSA test procedures are to be found in Sports
Science literature, no structured research has previously been
carried out to throw light on this interesting issue (43). One
research study suggested that an RSA test should not involve
.810 sprint bouts when short recovery times (2030
seconds) are used (14). The reasons that underpin this
practical suggestion are based on the recurrently observed
pacing strategy that is used by subjects when performing
numerous repeated supposed all-out sprints (43). Although
shortening sprint distance to form paradigms that do not
exceed 30 m may discourage pacing, familiarization has been
shown to be necessary to reduce pacing strategies (14,43,49).
In soccer, RSA tests have logical validity because the 30-m
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Intermittent Performance in Soccer

sprint has been reported to be relevant to actual match play
and to inducing the necessary temporary fatigue required to
allow performance deterioration for RSA assessment
(26,28,31). The present study was performed with the
secondary aim of assessing the optimal number of bouts
required to identify meaningful information on players RSA
performance. Analyses of the RSA data showed that using
30-m sprints interspersed with 25 seconds of self-administrated active recovery produced sprint performance decrements as early as the second sprint (n = 23, Figure 1C). This
protocol resulted in sprint decrements that were not
significantly different (p . 0.05 for %Diff and %Best,
respectively) from that produced on the seventh 30-m sprint
compared with the fifth and sixth bouts. This indicates that to
assess a players RSA profile, a 56 3 30- protocol could be
used. This is in line with that previously reported by Spencer
et al. (45) for field hockey players. Interestingly, sprint
deterioration over 10 m paralleled (r = 0.79 very large, p ,
0.01, n = 23) that reported for 30-m performance, showing
that acceleration may be associated with or may induce
fatigue over the repeated 30-m sprints (28). This is of
relevance for soccer sprint-specific training because match
analysis studies have shown sprinting in the range of 1015 m
as being the most frequent distances covered in a competitive
game (4,12,13,36,39). In light of the present studys findings, it
might be advisable to implement multiple sprint training
drills in an attempt to promote acceleration performance
conservation in those players that possess poor intermittent
endurance performance (5,11).
Another debated issue in Sports Science is the best way to
express RSA performance to provide meaningful information
to the coach and strength and conditioning professionals (16
18,33,44). Recently, several studies have addressed the
validity and reliability of the methods proposed so far to
measure repeated sprint ability (17,18,33,45). Glaister et al.
(18) showed that among the different methods used to
measure RSA performance, the percentage decrement
calculation originally proposed by Fitzsimons et al. (14)
was the most valid and reliable way of quantifying sprint
decrements in tests of multiple-sprint performance. In their
article, Pyne et al. (34) highlighted that attention should be
paid when expressing RSA results, because this is sensitive to
the method used for performance analysis. However,
contrary to the Pyne et al. (34) study, we found significant
and strong correlations between the %Best and %Diff
methods (r = 0.81 very large, p , 0.0001). The difference
between the findings of Pyne et al. (34) and the present study
may be that we used a longer RSA protocol (i.e., 6 vs. 7 3
30 m, respectively) and a longer recovery time between sprint
bouts (i.e., 20 vs. 25 seconds, respectively). The resulting CVs
for the 2 RSA measure methods in our study were 51 and
53% for the %Best and %Diff, respectively. These values were
higher than those reported for the same measures by Pyne
et al. (34) (i.e., 28.6 and 37.5%, respectively). Presumably, the
difference in the degree of correlation between these

the

variables could be found in score variability between the 2

studies (18,19,33).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Intermittent high-intensity endurance and RSA should be
regarded as 2 different fitness attributes of soccer players.
Consequently, distinct tests addressing these 2 physical
abilities should be considered by coaches and strength and
conditioning professionals to provide a detailed profile of
players fitness. In this context, performance in the Yo-Yo IR1
$2,320 m may be beneficial in promoting RSA in elite soccer
players.
The RSA protocols involving 30 m with 25-second
recovery should involve at least 5 sprint bouts as fatigue
effects (sprint decrement percentage) is similar to that of
longer protocols. This suggestion may also be extended to
training prescription when striving to develop RSA with
specific training protocols (15,16,43). In the present study,
percentage measures of performance decrements were found
to be significantly associated. However, methods that take
into account all sprint bouts (%Best) are preferable (18). In
light of the poor reliability of sprint performance methods,
total sprint time should be considered for within-subject
comparisons (45).

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