Cardio-Vascular Endurance for Football Fitness

The level of an individuals cardio-vascular (CV) endurance fitness is a good signifier of how well their heart and lungs work together to supply the body with oxygen. Endurance is basically the ability to delay the onset of fatigue during periods of exercise or training, which is crucial of football fitness. There are two types of endurance that ideally a footballer will have; aerobic and anaerobic (speed) endurance. The terms aerobic and anaerobic relate to the oxygen used by the body during the activity.

Aerobic based movements are continuous and occur over a period of time, such as jogging, with the aid of oxygen, so improving an individuals’ aerobic endurance will mean that a football player's body can more efficiently transport oxygen around the body and to the cells and muscles that require it.

Anaerobic movements are conducted in short bursts and do not use oxygen during their completion, an example of an anaerobic movement would be sprinting.

Due to the nature of movement in football it is crucial that football player's have good aerobic systems so that they are able to continue working at the desired level for the entirety of the match, however throughout the match the player will be required to sprint, jump (etc) so a good level of anaerobic endurance is also required, so that they can continually carry these motions when required. Football fitness training should therefore be designed to improve both of these bodily systems and functions.

Results of Such Football Fitness Training

By training the body in such a way it becomes more efficient and is able to carry out the tasks asked of it with less strain. It will take a higher intensity and longer duration of activity to cause fatigue in the muscles. Endurance training increases the bodies’ level of enzymes associated with fat metabolism and trains the working muscles to utilize oxygen more efficiently. The result is an increase in oxygen uptake capacity of the trained muscles and not in the untrained. So although swimming is a form of endurance training, it is training a different set of muscles that are not as important to the footballer as the ones trained by forms of running.

Basic Muscle Anatomy

Every muscle in the body is made up of different fibres. The fibres that can be relied upon during exercise and training can be classified into two groups they are either; slow twitch or fast twitch fibres. Slow twitch fibres inside muscles are used when performing endurance type activities and have the ability to use oxygen. The fact they can use oxygen means that they can take their fuel from fat stored within the body. Fast twitch fibres within the muscles provide the body to perform anaerobic activities that require strength and power, for example jumping or sprinting. They are unable to use oxygen for their fuel and as a result rely on the bodies’ glycogen stores. Due to their inability to use oxygen they tend to fatigue quickly and usually cannot perform at maximum intensity for longer than 3 minutes.

Methods for Football Fitness Training

Continuous: Involves training at a low to medium pace over a longer period of time. Usually greater than 20 minutes. This only improves the aerobic capacity of an individual as the anaerobic system is not called upon. So the bodies’ ability to transport oxygen from lungs to heart to muscles is improved. The strength of the heart is also increased, so the amount of times it beats per minute (heart rate) is reduced. Different levels of sub maximal work rate can train the body in different ways:
50 – 60% of max, metabolises fat, should be able to continue for 60 minutes plus, aerobic system in use.
60 – 70% of max, uses fat and glycogen, 45 – 90 minutes, cardio-vascular system improved, aerobic system.
70 – 80% of max, uses glycogen, 30 – 45 minutes, cardio-vascular system improved, aerobic system.
80 – 90% of max, burns glycogen, 10 – 20 minutes, aerobic system under heavy strain, cardio-vascular system improved, as is glycogen burning and lactate tolerance threshold and removal.
90 – 100% of max, burns glycogen, anaerobic, improves glycogen burning and lactate tolerance threshold and removal.

Interval Training: Occurs when periods of high intensity work is separated by periods of active recovery (low or lower intensity work). In essence it is training that is made up of bouts of high and low intensity work. During the high intensity intervals lactic acid builds up in the muscles and an oxygen debt is incurred. Then during the low intensity intervals the body uses oxygen through the heart and lungs to repay this debt with oxygen. Interval training improves the anaerobic glycolytic system. It also strengthens the heart but not as much as continuous training does, for a sub maximal activity. Interval training is a very precise and planned session where the time periods and intensity for both high and low demands of work are pre-planned. It provides a good break from the boredom that can arise from just continually running and can be performed in relatively small areas.

Fartlek Training: The concept of this type of training originated in Sweden. Its literal translation is ‘speed play’. It is similar to interval training as it separates high intensity work by including periods of low intensity work. The main difference is that fartlek is less rigid and specific in its planning and implementation. The individual can ‘up’ their workload when they want and to a level they feel appropriate depending on how they feel. As with interval training it is a good way to break up the boredom, however because of the ad hoc approach it requires some maturity and honesty to ensure a session is really working the body as hard as it should do. As a result it improves the individuals’ self awareness as they discover the intensity and durations they can go at.

Benefits of interval and fartlek (if conducted properly and honestly)

• Help the body undergo physiological changes where the heart is strengthened and new capillaries are created in the working muscles to ensure a better supply of oxygen to them.
• Increase the bodies’ threshold level for lactic acid. This mean that the muscles can work harder and/or longer before the individual experiences the pain associated with a build up of too much lactic acid.
• The individual can work their bodies systems harder without having to run more miles or faster over long distances. This reduces the risk of overtraining and thus associated injuries. This higher effort output in shorter durations means the joints are not subjected to too much stress.
• Burns more calories than continuous running.

Sports Specific

The football fitness training undertaken should not always be in a straight line, as this does not mirror the movements performed during a football match. Although it is very difficult in continuous training, it is more feasible in interval and fartlek, to incorporate changes of direction.

Jumping, turning, running backwards and sideways movements should also be integrated into the training session.

An overall improvement to bodily health can improve the performance of a player. If they undertake a well planned and implemented cardio vascular training programme then the following are some of the overall benefits that can be gained:

In addition it can also help:

Self confidence, body image, aids stress management and depression, increases chance of quitting smoking, not to mention the football related benefits regarding performance.