The wonderful world of endurance

B42

30.09.2021 Reading time: 3 min

Those who read our last article on the topic of endurance in football will most likely remember the difficulty of making generally valid statements on the subject of training.

In recent months, we have received many questions on the topic of "endurance" and "endurance training". In the coming endurance articles, we want to go into these in more detail and also give you a more precise overview of physiological distinctions from traditional endurance sports.

We will also discuss the benefits of structured training, taking into account nutrition, regeneration, stimulus density and intensities.

 

Football is not a classic endurance sport.

The load in a game is very different from classic endurance sports such as running, triathlon or cycling.

Whereas in classic sports the goal is to achieve the highest possible average performance/speed over a given period of time/distance, the load in game sports is much more complex:

This is already quite clear from the distribution of intensities. A closer look reveals that a classic marathon runner competes in a very small number of full-distance races. In contrast, football players are on the field week after week.

With an average running distance of a midfielder of about 10.5 km, this means that he or she completes a marathon every 4 weeks (excluding English weeks and training sessions).

In addition, the workload is characterised by a very high number of short intensive efforts. This includes a high sprint density as well as a large number of changes of direction.

These obvious differences in the load metrics result not only in a changed demand on passive structures (tendons, ligaments) but also in physiological aspects of training and regeneration.

 

To make a more concrete distinction here, the marathon runner's goal is to achieve the highest possible maximum oxygen uptake (Vo2max) and at the same time generate a good fat metabolism. He also wants to bring as little body weight as possible, as there is a direct connection between competition performance and weight.

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Football players have to tolerate greater forces.

On the other side is the football player, who also wants to achieve the highest possible Vo2max, but the fat metabolism plays a subordinate role. The strong correlation between measured Vo2max and individual performance in football should be mentioned again at this point.

With regard to body weight, the footballer will differ significantly from the marathon runner; for the footballer, it is essential to have a certain athleticism in relation to the entire body. This is not only for assertiveness, but also for injury prevention. Why? Because the impact on the musculoskeletal system in game sports is significantly higher than in classic endurance sports.

For the above-mentioned reasons, the comparison of physiological parameters across sports only makes limited sense. All values should always be classified in relation to the objective of the sport.

With these different demands on the body, it is only logical that the training with regard to endurance performance must also differ significantly between the classic endurance sports and game sports.

 

Controversial term basic endurance

If you talk about endurance, sooner or later you will hear the term "basic endurance".

If you enter this term into Google, you will come across a large number of entries without any concrete meaning. That's why we want to move away from this, from my point of view, overworked term.

There is simply a need to create a certain physical basis in order to be able to complete a specific endurance programme sensibly and with a low risk of injury. Part of this preparation is certainly relaxed runs at a steady pace. However, we would like to point out that purely running at a constant pace has only a very limited training effect on football-specific endurance and could even have a negative effect on it.

 

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Intensity and stimulus density: different factors in endurance training.

In addition to intensity, other factors also play an important role in training planning. One of these factors is stimulus density:

Stimulus density refers to the repetition of training stimuli over time.

The body reacts very differently depending on the composition of the stimulus density. On the one hand, it would be possible to use one day a week for a completely exhausting workout with the aim of improving endurance. On the other hand, the identical training time and total load could be divided over different days. 

If divided sensibly, this leads to improved adaptation, as the break between the individual stimuli is significantly shorter.

Especially with regard to the so important adaptation of the Vo2max (maximum oxygen capacity), a repeated stimulus without too long pauses between the individual units is elementary.

Another added value of this training design is the regeneration after the units.

Since the individual units no longer lead to complete exhaustion and the associated structural damage is absent, the body can regenerate much faster and convert the training stimulus into improved performance.

Particularly during the season, shorter but intensive sessions can also be used to improve endurance during matches.

 

If there is additional stress at the weekend due to a match, the above-mentioned highly intensive and exhausting stimulus makes little sense and - taking regeneration into account - is hardly sensible to incorporate into a training structure.

The situation is somewhat different during preparation, but here, too, it is more effective to adjust the stimulus density rather than just the intensity.

 

How "harmful" is muscle soreness?

During intensive training sessions, regeneration should also be a very important topic. After the first units, there will certainly be muscle soreness, as the loads can be unfamiliar at first and the muscles first have to adapt to this new stimulus.

Muscle soreness is characterised by structural damage to the muscle fibres at the smallest level, micro tears develop in the so-called Z-disks. This usually happens during eccentric high loads, when the muscle increases in length under high tension.

If the muscle is severely sore, there is also an increased risk of injury to the muscles, so if necessary the following unit should be adjusted slightly. The good news here is that the muscles get used to new stimuli very quickly, so the soreness will subside very quickly and you should not be put off by the first session.

On the contrary: try to see the positive side of the fact that your body reacts to the new stimulus, because without a new stimulus there is no adaptation.

 

Before an endurance session, it is important to replenish the carbohydrate stores.

In order to make it easier for your body to recover after an intensive session, or to support it in doing so, nutrition before and after the session also plays an important role.

The first important rule is to fill up your carbohydrate stores before the session. This is necessary because the intensive demands go hand in hand with a fast energy supply, which can only be secured energetically by carbohydrates.

Therefore, even with a low-carb diet, a minimum amount of carbohydrates must be supplied before intensive sessions. Ideally, this should be done with the last two meals before the session. As the body's intake of carbohydrates is very limited, it only makes limited sense to consume carbohydrates exclusively before the session.

As a rule of thumb, the absorption capacity is 1g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight per hour, i.e. with a body weight of 70kg, no more than 70g of carbohydrates can be absorbed per hour.

In addition to carbohydrate management, it is also important to ensure sufficient hydration, especially in the summer months, to start the session in a well-hydrated state and to make up for the fluid loss after the session. This should be done as soon as possible after the session.

For an approximate estimate of fluid loss, as this is very individual, the difference in weight before and after the session can be used.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that every training session needs to take into account the prevailing conditions. If you do this well, intensive sessions can be a very good training tool for improving football-specific endurance.

Nothing should stand in the way of successful training.

About the author

Hosea is the managing director of HYCYS, a training institute for systematic,

holistic, scientifically based performance enhancement for endurance athletes. Hosea, who completed his Master's degree at the Sports University of Cologne, is in charge of the Munich location at HYCYS, which is ideal for him as a mountain bike and cycle racing athlete.

Whether cycling, triathlon or football, Hosea Frick has years of experience in the professional sector. Now amateur players can also benefit from his know-how.

Hosea knows what efficient, well-structured training in football looks like, and not just from his training support of the Bundesliga team Fortuna Düsseldorf. For him, it's all about a sensible balance of stress build-up and regeneration phases.

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