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Kyprianou, E, Di Salvo, V, Lolli, L, Al Haddad, H, Villanueva, AM, Gregson, W, and Weston, M. To measure peak velocity in soccer, let the players sprint. J Strength Cond Res 36(1): 273–276, 2022—Expressing externals loads relative to a player's individual capacities has potential to enhance understanding of dose-response. Peak velocity is an important metric for the individualization process and is usually measured during a sprint test. Recently, however, peak velocity was reported to be faster during soccer matches when compared with a 40-m sprint test. With the aim of developing the practice of individualized training prescription and match evaluation, we examined whether the aforementioned finding replicates in a group of elite youth soccer players across a broader range of soccer activities. To do this, we compared the peak velocities of 12 full-time male youth soccer players (age 16.3 ± 0.8 years) recorded during a 40-m sprint test with peak velocity recorded during their routine activities (matches, sprints, and skill-based conditioning drills: small-sided games [SSG], medium-sided games [MSG], large-sided games [LSG]). All activities were monitored with 10-Hz global positioning systems (Catapult Optimeye S5, version 7.32) with the highest speed attained during each activity retained as the instantaneous peak velocity. Interpretation of clear between-activity differences in peak velocity was based on nonoverlap of the 95% confidence intervals for the mean difference between activities with sprint testing. Peak velocity was clearly faster for the sprint test (8.76 ± 0.39 m·s−1) when compared with matches (7.94 ± 0.49 m·s−1), LSG (6.94 ± 0.65 m·s−1), MSG (6.40 ± 0.75 m·s−1), and SSG (5.25 ± 0.92 m·s−1), but not sprints (8.50 ± 0.36 m·s−1). Our data show the necessity for 40-m sprint testing to determine peak velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of three pacing strategies upon performance of the 400-m sprint. Eight healthy male physical education students participated in this study. Each participant performed a 200-m maximal test (200(MAX)) and three 400-m running tests in a random counterbalanced design. The 400-m tests were run with the first 200-m pace set at 98% (400(98%)), 95% (400(95%)), and 93% (400(93%)), respectively, of the effort for 200(MAX). The stimulation of the lactate system was assessed by post-test blood lactate concentration (BLa). Running speed (RS) was controlled with time-keeping devices. Stride frequency (SF), stride length (SL) and lower extremity kinematics were acquired with video cameras operating at 100 fps at the 125 and 380-m marks of the tests. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures was used to identify modifications caused by the pacing strategies used. Non-significant differences were revealed for BLa. The fastest 400-m race was run in 400(93%), but performance was not significantly different (p > 0.05) among the examined pacing strategies. RS, SF and SL had significantly (p < 0.05) lower values in the 380-m mark when compared with the 125-m mark. In 400(98%), both SF and SL decreased by approximately 13%, while SF and SL dropped 2.4 and 9.2%, respectively, in 400(93%). In conclusion, lower peak BLa and less unfavorable modifications of running mechanics were recorded in 400(93%), where time differential between the halves of the 400-m race was smaller, which eventually resulted in better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]