Comparison between Continuous and Fractionated Game Format on Internal and External Load in Small-Sided Games in Soccer

Luís Branquinho, Ricardo Ferraz, Bruno Travassos and Mário C. Marques
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Luís Branquinho: Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Ricardo Ferraz: Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Bruno Travassos: Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal
Mário C. Marques: Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilhã, Portugal

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-10

Abstract: This study aimed to identify the effects of continuous and fractionated game formats on internal and external load in small-sided games in soccer. Twenty male professional soccer players participated in the study performing the same exercise (5 vs. 5 players) continuously (1 × 24 min) and in a repeated/fractioned manner (2 × 12 min, 4 × 6 min, and 6 × 4 min). A comparison between playing conditions was assessed by means of standardized mean differences calculated with combined variance and respective confidence intervals of 90%. The limits for the statistics were 0.2, trivial; 0.6, small; 1.2, moderate; 2.0, large; and >2.0, very large. The results indicate that the use of the continuous method seems to present the tendency of less physical impact on the internal and external loads compared to the fractionated method. In addition, the higher number of exercise repetitions in the fractionated method was found to increase the external load compared to the continuous method. This study showed that application of small-sided games by the fractionated method tends to result in higher training loads.

Keywords: soccer; training load; external load; internal load; continuous method; fractionated method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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