Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the effects of a detraining period (DTP) (i.e., off-season) with an individually prescribed training program, and a retraining period (RTP) (i.e., pre-season) combining soccer and flywheel-based strength training on fat-free mass (FFM) and fat-mass (FM) in 10 elite professional male soccer players. The present study used a controlled repeated-measures research design to investigate the changes in FFM and FM using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Whole body %FM increased (effect size (ES) = 0.87 ± 0.46) and FFM reduced after DTP (ES = −0.30 ± 0.19), returning to values comparable to the end of the previous season after RTP. At regional levels, arms, legs, and trunk %FM increased (ES = from 0.42 to 1.29) while trunk-FFM was reduced (ES = −0.40 ± 0.26) after DTP, returning to the values observed at the end of the previous season after RTP. Legs-FFM did not change after DTP, with a substantial increase after RTP in comparison with pre-season values (ES = 0.34 ± 0.29 and 0.53 ± 0.36 for the right and left leg, respectively). Despite the small sample size of the present study, the findings indicate that elite soccer players can be allowed 2 weeks of rest during a five-week DTP, since the changes in %FM and FFM were relatively small, and FM and FFM returned to the optimal initial values for competition after the proposed RTP during the pre-season.
Highlights
Soccer is considered a high-intensity intermittent sport, requiring high levels of physical fitness related to the ability to perform powerful actions such as sprinting, jumping andHow to cite this article Suarez-Arrones L, Lara-Lopez P, Maldonado R, Torreno N, De Hoyo M, Nakamura FY, Di Salvo V, MendezVillanueva A. 2019
FM and %FM substantially increased during the off-season period [likely (ES: 0.54 ± 0.49) and very likely (ES: 0.87 ± 0.46) changes, respectively], while a substantial decrease was observed after the retraining period (RTP) [likely (ES: −0.41 ± 0.24) and almost certainly (ES: −0.91 ± 0.40) changes, respectively], reaching values similar to the end of the previous season
The main findings of the present study were that: (i) whole body %FM increased and fat-free mass (FFM) reduced after detraining period (DTP), returning to values comparable to the end of the previous season after RTP; (ii) arms, legs, and trunk %FM increased after DTP, returning to the values observed at the end of the previous season after RTP; (iii) trunk-FFM was reduced after DTP, returning to the initial
Summary
Soccer is considered a high-intensity intermittent sport, requiring high levels of physical fitness related to the ability to perform powerful actions such as sprinting, jumping andHow to cite this article Suarez-Arrones L, Lara-Lopez P, Maldonado R, Torreno N, De Hoyo M, Nakamura FY, Di Salvo V, MendezVillanueva A. 2019. The transition period in elite professional soccer is a window of opportunity for physical and mental recovery, and to ‘‘rebuild’’ players for the upcoming season (Silva et al, 2016). The commercial obligations of clubs mean that players frequently travel and play under high psychological and physiological stress (Nedelec et al, 2015) combined with accumulation of high training loads and subsequent fatigue (Silva et al, 2016) For this reason, players should start pre-season with optimal fitness levels in order to better tolerate the rapid increases in training load, trying to minimize the risk of injury (Gabbett & Domrow, 2007). - Collective exercise: professional team offensive organiza- (45 min each player) offensive evolutions tion conditioned game - Complementary
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