The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physiological variables related to aerobic fitness (maximal oxygen uptake: VO2max; the minimum velocity needed to reach VO2max: vVO2max; velocity at the onset of blood-lactate accumulation: vOBLA) and repeated sprint ability (RSA) in elite soccer players. Twenty-nine Brazilian soccer players (17.9 +/- 1.0 years; 178.7 +/- 5.2 cm; 73.6 +/- 6.7 kg; 11.1 +/- 1.3% body fat) from 2 national level teams (A, B) took part in the study. Subjects first performed an incremental test on a treadmill to determine their VO2max, vVO2max and vOBLA. After at least 48 hours, subjects performed an RSA test consisting of 7 34.2-m sprints interspersed with 25 seconds of active recovery, to determine the mean time (MT), the fastest time (FT) and the Sprint decrement (Sdec). Pearson product moment correlations and multiple regressions were used to assess the relationship between aerobic fitness and RSA variables (FT, MT, Sdec, [La] Peak). An analysis of variance, followed by a post hoc test (Tukey), was used to compare the 7 sprints of the RSA test. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. A significant negative correlation was found between both vOBLA and vVO2max and MT during the RSA test (r = -0.49, p < 0.01; r = -0.38, p < 0.05, respectively). There were also negative correlations between Sdec and vOBLA (r = -0.54), vVO2max (r = -0.49) and VO2max (r = -0.39). The multiple regression revealed that the aerobic (vOBLA) and anaerobic (FT) components explained approximately 89% of the variance of MT. The results of this study demonstrated that RSA is more strongly correlated with vOBLA and vVO2max than the more commonly measured VO2max.

The aim of this study was to verify the validity of a new progressive distance and fixed time test (Carminatti's test [TCAR]) in estimating the main physiological indices of aerobic fitness in team-sport players. Thirty professional national level team-sport players (n = 12 futsal players and 18 soccer players) volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects performed the TCAR and a laboratory incremental treadmill test (ITT). The TCAR required subjects to complete repeated sets of 5 × 12-second shuttle-running bouts at progressive speed until volitional exhaustion. Each 12-second bout and series were separated by a 6- and 90-second recovery periods, respectively. The initial distance was set at 15 m and was progressively increased by 1 m each set. The ITT commenced at a velocity of 9.0 km·h(-1) and was increased by 1.2 km·h(-1) each 3 minutes until volitional exhaustion. Peak TCAR running velocity resulted not significantly (p > 0.05) different from speed at VO2max (vVO2max) during ITT. Peak TCAR running velocity was significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with vVO2max (r = 0.55) and VO2max (r = 0.51). No significant differences were found (p > 0.05) among the mean values of velocity and heart rate at the anaerobic threshold, estimated in the TCAR test and measured in the ITT. In light of this study results, the TCAR can be considered as a viable field test to estimate aerobic power and capacity in team-sports players. The limited devices and space required by TCAR warrant consideration for those strength and conditioning professionals who deal with team sports.

The aim of this study was to assess the validity (Study 1) and reliability (Study 2) of a novel intermittent running test (Carminatti's test) for physiological assessment of soccer players. In Study 1, 28 players performed Carminatti's test, a repeated sprint ability test, and an intermittent treadmill test. In Study 2, 24 players performed Carminatti's test twice within 72 h to determine test-retest reliability. Carminatti's test required the participants to complete repeated bouts of 5 × 12 s shuttle running at progressively faster speeds until volitional exhaustion. The 12 s bouts were separated by 6 s recovery periods, making each stage 90 s in duration. The initial running distance was set at 15 m and was increased by 1 m at each stage (90 s). The repeated sprint ability test required the participants to perform 7 × 34.2 m maximal effort sprints separated by 25 s recovery. During the intermittent treadmill test, the initial velocity of 9.0 km · h(-1) was increased by 1.2 km · h(-1) every 3 min until volitional exhaustion. No significant difference (P > 0.05) was observed between Carminatti's test peak running velocity and speed at VO(2max) (v-VO(2max)). Peak running velocity in Carminatti's test was strongly correlated with v-VO(2max) (r = 0.74, P < 0.01), and highly associated with velocity at the onset of blood lactate accumulation (r = 0.63, P < 0.01). Mean sprint time was strongly associated with peak running velocity in Carminatti's test (r = -0.71, P < 0.01). The intraclass correlation was 0.94 with a coefficient of variation of 1.4%. In conclusion, Carminatti's test appears to be avalid and reliable measure of physical fitness and of the ability to perform intermittent high-intensity exercise in soccer players.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 2 generic aerobic training models, based on peak running velocity in Carminatti's test (PVT-CAR) in U-20 elite soccer players. Seventeen soccer players (age: 17.9 ± 1.0 years; 178.6 ± 5.0 cm; 73.6 ± 6.6 kg; 11.1 ± 1.3%) from a team competing in a national junior league took part in the study. The athletes performed a series of pre- and posttraining tests (incremental test on a treadmill to determine the maximal oxygen uptake [(Equation is included in full-text article.)], velocity at maximal oxygen uptake [(Equation is included in full-text article.)], the lactate threshold [LT], and T-CAR). The interval training models applied were with 180° direction change (T12:12; n = 9) and without direction change (T6:6; n = 8). No significant interaction (time vs. group) was observed for the majority of variables analyzed (p > 0.05), although significant main effects in time were evident regarding peak treadmill velocity (PVTREAD) (F = 56.3, p < 0.0001), (Equation is included in full-text article.)(F = 35.8, p < 0.0001), LT (F = 57.7, p < 0.0001), and PVT-CAR (F = 52.9, p < 0.0001). Moreover, there was no significant change in (Equation is included in full-text article.)between pre and posttraining period (F = 4.26, p = 0.056) in both training groups. Thus, it can be concluded that the prescribed training with and without direction change in the intensity of the PVT-CAR increases the PVTREAD, the (Equation is included in full-text article.), the LT, and the PVT-CAR similarly.

In this study, we examined the reliability and validity of peak velocity determined using the Carminatti's test (PVT-CAR) to evaluate the aerobic fitness of young soccer players (age = 13.4 ± 1.2 years; range, 10.3-15.4 years). To determine test-retest reliability of PVT-CAR, 34 adolescents (U-12, n = 13; U-14, n = 21) performed the Carminatti's test twice within 3-5 days. Validity was assessed in 43 adolescents (U-14, n = 20; U-16, n = 23) submitted to both the Carminatti's test and an incremental treadmill test to determine their aerobic fitness indicators. The intraclass correlation of PVT-CAR was 0.89, 0.93, and 0.81 with a coefficient of variation of 2.30% (0.33 km·h), 1.89% (0.26 km·h), and 2.66% (0.39 km·h) for the total sample (pooled data) or separately for the U-12 and U-14 groups, respectively. No significant difference was found between PVT-CAR and maximal aerobic speed (MAS) for the total sample (pooled data) or separately for the U-14 and U-16 groups. In addition, Bland and Altman plots evidenced acceptable agreement between them. The PVT-CAR was significantly related with peak velocity and MAS obtained in the incremental test for the total sample (r = 0.86 and 0.81, p < 0.01, respectively) and separately for the U-14 (r = 0.84 and 0.75, p < 0.01, respectively) and U-16 groups (r = 0.60 and 0.58, p < 0.01, respectively). Furthermore, the PVT-CAR was correlated with the V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak (r = 0.57, p < 0.01) and the velocity associated to the second ventilatory threshold (r = 0.69, p < 0.01) when the data were pooled (total sample). As a result, the Carminatti's test may be considered as a reliable and valid measure for assessing and monitoring the development of MAS of young soccer players during adolescence.