Lactic and physiological response to loading
IN small FOOTBALL games
Martin Kinči - Tomáš Kampmiller - Marián Vanderka
Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia
Summary: This study deals with lactic and physiological response of the players´ organism to the loading in the small football games in football. The aim of the study was to determine whether a specific loading in the small football games could have an essential impact on stimulation of the processes of anaerobic glycolysis in the same range as the non-specific loading. Measurements were conducted in three types of small football games (2 : 2 with unlimited number of contacts, 2 : 2 with maximal 3 contacts with the ball, 3 : 3 with unlimited number of touches in the space of 2 penalty areas). We monitored the level of blood lactate after the exercise and heart rate during the exercise and we recorded individual skills of the player mainly his activity during the game. Each small football game had precisely specified rules in order to achieve the highest possible loading. After a thorough warm-up exercises the players participated in 6 x 2 min. load with a 4 min. rest interval. Results refer to the fact that pre-games did not sufficiently stimulate the processes of anaerobic glycolysis and the LA values after small football games were lower when compared with non-specific short repeated intense loading. In the first case the maximum LA value was up to 9.5 mmol.l-1 and in the second case adopted from the literature sources the LA value was higher than 15 mmol.l-1. Usually the higher is the number of players involved in the small football games, the lower is the intensity of the average loading. In our case, the highest values of LA blood concentration were 4.8 - 9.5 mmol.l-1 after the 2 : 2 players small football games and from 2.67 to 6.71 mmol.l-1 after the 3 : 3 players small football games. Maximum LA blood concentration levels were approximately 2-3 mmol.l-1 higher after rules-limited number of touches small football games compared with the levels after the small football games where the number of touches was not limited by the rules. The highest measured lactate blood concentration level was 9.5 mmol.l-1 which cannot be considered as a sufficient loading for the development of anaerobic capacity. Therefore, in our opinion, it should be recommended to use presented small football games as highly-specific method for the intensive development of predominantly aerobic power at VO2max, interval manner, with the number of repetitions 6-10 times 2-4 min. and the rest interval about 4 min.
Key words: football, anaerobic glycolysis, lactate, heart rate, the individual skills of players, specific resources, small preparative games
Introduction
The analysis of the players´ motor activities during football match (Macload et al., 1993) is clear that the loadings of players can be characterized as models for repeated short intensive motion intervals alternating with intervals of lower intensity. It is possible to speak about a great need for the use of anaerobic metabolism in addition to aerobic, which prevails in the match.
It is possible to induce this loading by specific and nonspecific training methods taking in account various authors´ findings we consider these findings as contradictory views in proportion of their usage in the training process as well as in the match.
Small football games play an important role in the training process as a complex methodically-organized form that fulfills the role of game preparation, but also interacts with the development of specific motor skills, game fitness, creative and coordination skills and reaction speed of the player (Peráček et al., 2003, 2004).
Also Pakusza (2000, 2005) suggests that the small football games create ideal conditions for complex development of the game capability by their variability, diversity and situations which are hardly expected and thus effectively impact development of skills (technique), fitness (condition) and intellectual potential of players and thereby during small football games we mostly respect priority of the situational didactics.
The responses of the body to a specific loading in the game training were examined in the works of Peráček (1995), Bunc, Buzek (1996), Kačáni (1999), Holienka, Tarkovič (2001), Platt et al. (2001), Pakusza, Tarkovič (2002). According to above mentioned authors, we can declare that the game training develops capacity of bioenergetic systems adequately, which should be reflected in an effective adaptation to anaerobic load.
In contrast to this finding, Vanderka, Kampmiller, Holienka (2004) in their research work pointed out to underestimated problem in sports games, that it is not possible to achieve such a good performance in which it would be sufficiently stimulated the processes of anaerobic glycolysis by the means of the game. Therefore they recommended more frequent use of short-interval intensive loading with non-specific type, which can be applied in the game itself as the ability to manage game situations better even at relatively high levels of lactate.
The purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to analyze the physiological response to the specific loading in the form of small football games on the basis of the post-load exercise concentration of lactate in the blood following the frequency of the heart rate and point out whether these changes have a major impact on the stimulation of the processes of the anaerobic glycolysis in the same extent as non-specific loading.
Hypothesis
H1 Anaerobic glycolysis in the pre-games loading does not sufficiently stimulate LA blood concentrations and LA values are lower than for non-specific loads.
H2 LA blood concentrations will be higher after loading in the form of the small pre-games (specific means) that are carried out with fewer players and with limited number of touches.
Materials and methods
The whole group of players consisted of older adolescents (senior young players) of the Slovak premier league, members of the sports club Slovan Bratislava aged 18-19 years. These players trained five times per week + 1 championship game per week. Before measurement the players took 10 min warm up exercises followed by a combination of dynamic stretching and special warm-up exercises with a ball. The whole warm-ups lasted 25 min. Small football games were carried out just after the warm- ups.
Organization of the small football games was organized as follows: 2 : 2 + goalkeepers; No 1 – unlimited number of touches; No 2 - with maximal 3 touches. Duration of the loading was 6 times 2 min. with a rest interval 4 min. during which blood sampling technique for laboratory evaluation of LA concentration was carried out alternately in the 3th - 4th min. of rest intervals. In the small football game 3 : 3 + goalkeepers (unlimited number of touches) the blood samples were taken during breaks from all players of the team. All types of small football games took place in the space of two penalty areas. Each player completed only one small football game according to the division made by the head coach. Players were required to perform at maximum intensity and with maximum effort.
All blood samples were taken from ear lobes and analyzed in the laboratory by means of standardized equipment Biosen Lactate analyzer. Polar Heart Rate analyzer with the registration in 5 s intervals was used to measure heart rate. It was made a video of individual small football games during different matches and this recording was used to analyze the number of performed game skills.
Results and discussion
One of the key tasks of sports training is to understand and respect the principle of energy metabolism of various means of a load. Lactate as an anion of lactic acid occurs in muscles during intensive (anaerobic) loading. The question is whether this energetic system in sports games can also be stimulated by the specific means, i.e. activities with the ball. Our research work was focused on evaluation of the loading intensity of small football games in terms of number of players and complexity of loading. This could happen if the exact choice of conditions enables sufficient stimulation of the processes of anaerobic glycolysis.
In the 2 : 2 games with an unlimited number of touches, gradual increase in lactate levels in the range from 4.1 to 7.9 mmol.l-1 in the case of subject 1 and from 4.6 to 5.5 mmol.l-1 in the case of subject 2 (Fig. 1) was monitored. The difference between the highest blood lactate levels of these two subjects can be explained mainly by the course of the game itself. If the game rules allow unlimited number of touches, the players do not have to cooperate constantly, which leads to different loading in their performance. This is caused by the activity of individual players involved in the match e.g. offenders are not willing to defend and vice versa defenders can not attack because the game itself does not require them to do it. Another negative aspect in this type of game is a trivialization of game situations e.g. immediate shot at goal just after passing the ball from a goalkeeper, which results in reducing the intensity of the loading. This fact is reflected in the entry of the curve of the heart rate. The selected player’s heart rate did not increase higher than 180 pulses per minute (Fig. 1), and his loading was in the range from 170 to 180 pulses, which is probably in the evolving oxidative zone.
Figure 1
Record of the heart rate curve during the loading in the small game 2 : 2 with goalkeepers
(6 x 2 min., RI: 4 min.) unlimited number of touches
Table 1
Blood lactate values in the small football game 2:2 with goalkeepers (6 x 2 min., RI: 4 min.)
with unlimited number of touches
Blood LACTATE concentration (mmol.l-1)1st break / 2nd break / 3rd break / 4th break / 5th break / 6th break - 8min.
Team A
Subject 1 / 4,1 / 5,5 / 7,9
Subject 2 / 4,6 / 5,5 / 4,9
The highest measured values of blood lactate levels were after pre-games 2:2 with maximum 3 touches in the range from 9.2 to 9.5 mmol.l-1 during the first and second break respectively (Tab. 2). The highest values of the heart rate during this form of small football game were reached (Fig. 2). Since there was no further accumulation of blood lactate, but on the contrary there was a decline of its level probably due to increased aerobic activity. We can assume that this way LA is more quickly utilized in the slow-working muscle fibers with a predominance of oxidative processes, or more activated buffering systems.
Table 2
Blood lactate values after the small football game 2:2 with goalkeepers
(6 x 2 min., RI: 4 min.) with maximum 3 touches with a ball
Blood LACTATE concentration (mmol.l-1)1st break / 2nd break / 3rd break / 4th break / 5th break / 6th break – 8 min.
Team A
Subject 1 / 9,2 / 6,1 / 4,8
Subject 2 / 9,5 / 7,2 / 5,9
This type of small football games organization seems to be the most intensive one which is confirmed by measurements of lactate level and the heart rate recording. Players repeatedly reached the level of more than 180 pulses per minute. It is likely that this type of small football game stimulates the development of anaerobic-aerobic capacity the most effectively, due to the limited number of touches and the consequent need for constant movement in the playing area. It was the only way to achieve higher intensity, better continuity of the game and more shooting opportunities, as illustrated by the highest number of shots - 43 (Tab. 5).
Figure 2
Record of the heart rate curve during the loading in the small football game 2 : 2 with goalkeepers
(6 x 2 min., RI: 4 min.) with maximum 3 touches with a ball
The lowest lactate response to loading in the form of small football games was recorded after the type 3 : 3, where the blood lactate levels were measured in the range from 2.67 to 6.71 mmol.l-1 (Tab. 4). In this type of small football game there was achieved a gradual lactate accumulation effect. This can be explained by higher number of players participating in the game and therefore natural decrease not of the intensity of the game, but of the loading of individual players, which coaches often associate as the same thing. It means that the seemingly high intensity of the preparatory games or preparatory exercises does not necessarily directly reflect the internal loading of players. A higher number of players participating in the game allows cutting individual players out of the game combinations, or allows individual players to decide not to participate, or it allows the players of one team to hold the ball without necessity to shoot. This fact is illustrated by the heart rate curve (Fig. 3), which points to the uneven loading of high and low intensity in this type of small football game, where the values only randomly and not regularly reach areas in which there can be assumed the involvement of anaerobic glycolysis to ATP recovery processes.
Figure 3