@article{ref1,
title="The acute effects of graded physiological strain on soccer kicking performance: a randomized, controlled cross-over study",
journal="European journal of applied physiology",
year="2016",
author="Radman, Ivan and Wessner, Barbara and Bachl, Norbert and Ruzic, Lana and Hackl, Markus and Prpic, Tomislav and Markovic, Goran",
volume="116",
number="2",
pages="373-382",
abstract="PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to examine the acute effects of graded physiological strain on soccer kicking performance. <br><br>METHODS: Twenty-eight semi-professional soccer players completed both experimental and control procedure. The experimental protocol incorporated repeated shooting trials combined with a progressive discontinuous maximal shuttle-run intervention. The initial running velocity was 8 km/h and increasing for 1 km/h every 3 min until exhaustion. The control protocol comprised only eight subsequent shooting trials. The soccer-specific kicking accuracy (KA; average distance from the ball-entry point to the goal center), kicking velocity (KV), and kicking quality (KQ; kicking accuracy divided by the time elapsed from hitting the ball to the point of entry) were evaluated via reproducible and valid test over five individually determined exercise intensity zones. <br><br>RESULTS: Compared with baseline or exercise at intensities below the second lactate threshold (LT2), physiological exertion above the LT2 (blood lactate > 4 mmol/L) resulted in meaningful decrease in KA (11-13%; p < 0.05), KV (3-4%; p < 0.05), and overall KQ (13-15%; p < 0.01). The light and moderate-intensity exercise below the LT2 had no significant effect on soccer kicking performance. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that high-intensity physiological exertion above the player's LT2 impairs soccer kicking performance. In contrast, light to moderate physiological stress appears to be neither harmful nor beneficial for kicking performance.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1439-6319",
doi="10.1007/s00421-015-3293-7",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3293-7"
}