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This study examined the effect of acute L-carnitine loading on the endurance performance of footballers. Measurements were performed on 26 candidate professional footballers who volunteered to take part in the study. Athletes were given a glass of fruit juice 1 hour before applying L-carnitine with the double-blind method. Then, 12 participants were given 3 g of L-carnitine (LK-3) and the remaining 14 were given 4 g (LK-4). Athletes began the exercise test at a running speed of 8 km·h and then continued at 10 km·h. The speed was increased 1 km·h every 3 minutes, and the test continued until the subject chose to quit. Heart rate was registered using a portable telemetric heart rate monitor during the test. Blood samples were taken from the earlobes of the footballers both before the test and before the speed increase (during the 1-minute interval), and the lactate (La) concentration was measured electroenzymatically. The test was repeated after 1 week as a group of placebos (P-3 and P-4). The result showed that the running speeds corresponding to specific La concentrations were increased, and La and heart rate responses to the running speeds were decreased in both supplemented groups compared with placebos (p ≤ 0.05). A significant reduction in heart rate was found in LK-4 and P-4 (p ≤ 0.05). When the Borg responses to the running speeds were analyzed, a significant difference was found in both supplemented groups (p ≤ 0.05). The results show that 3 or 4 g of L-carnitine taken before physical exercise prolonged exhaustion.

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The aim of this study was to compare physical fitness parameters of male adolescent soccer players and sedentary counterparts. A total of 26 male adolescents participated in this study voluntarily: Active soccer players (n: 3, age x : 13,00 ± 0,00) and sedentary counterparts (n: 13, age x :12,92 ± 0,75). The EUROFIT test battery was used to determine physical fitness. The test battery includes body height and weight measurements, touching the discs, flamingo balance, throwing health ball, vertical jumping, sit and reach, sit-up for 30 s, 20 meter sprint run, and 20 meter shuttle run tests. Data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U test. Significance was defined as p<0.05. Statistically significant differences were found between active soccer players and sedentary counterparts in flamingo balance, throwing health ball, 20 meter shuttle run performance and predicted VO2 values (p<.05). There was no significant difference in sit and reach, vertical jump, sit-up for 30s, and touching the discs performances between the two groups (p>.05). In conclusion, children who do sports are more successful on most of the fitness parameters than sedentary children.