An intermittent recovery test for soccer players: a validation study.

Background: Soccer is an intermittent team sport that demands high aerobic capacity. On field, soccer players' aerobic capacity, assessed through the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), is usually determined by an intermittent recovery test. The aim of this study was to obtain a construct validity of a new intermittent recovery test (IRT) with a fixed speed and a progressive decrement of rest period.

Methods: Twenty-five male soccer players were recruited to perform an incremental continuous test (ICT) and the new IRT, to compare their physiological data. Fifteen male soccer players were involved to perform a test-retest of IRT to assess its reliability.

Results: VEpeak, absolute VO2max, relative VO2max and VCO2peak registered during ICT and IRT correlated strongly (Pearson's correlation coefficient ranges from 0.75 to 0.80, with very large as magnitude of effects and with P<0.001). IRT showed reliability from good to excellent regarding VEpeak, absolute VO2max, relative VO2max, VCO2peak and covered distance (ICC values ranged from 0.82 to 0.95).

Conclusions: These findings and its underlying physiological and muscular demands, suggest that IRT can be considered as a valid and reliable test to assess aerobic capacity in soccer players during the competitive period.