An Evaluation of Change in the Physical Output in Female Youth Football Players During a Game

Abstract

This study evaluated the time-to-time aerobic and anaerobic exercise intensities, calculated using the Global Positioning System (GPS), using laboratory measurements of individual physical fitness throughout the game in each female youth football player. In addition, we examine if the anaerobic exercise index calculated by only GPS data presents this evaluation to examine its validity. In the laboratory, the oxygen uptake (V̇O2) matched with moving speed was identified during an incremental exercise test on the treadmill, and the ventilatory (anaerobic) threshold was also analysed to identify individual aerobic and anaerobic exercise intensities. Using these laboratory data, time-to-time changes in individual relative running intensity (aerobic and anaerobic) were visualised from individual GPS data during a football game, and an individual’s sprint output (ability) during the game was evaluated. An index of running intensity and the percentage of anaerobic exercise over the game provided by the GPS software (equivalent distance index [%EDI] and anaerobic index [AI]) did not present the actual individual exercise intensity (ICC(2,1), absolute agreement=−0.031; P=0.596) and percentage of anaerobic exercise (ICC(2,1), absolute agreement=−0.003; P=0.698) values during the game, respectively. These findings suggest that only GPS measurement cannot present the individual actual exercise intensity during a football game because of different individual fitness levels to the same running speed.