PhD defence: Physiological demands, fitness effects, and cardiovascular health benefits of recreational football
Morten Bredsgaard Randers
PhD thesis
This thesis examines the physiological demands, fitness effects, and cardiovascular health benefits of recreational football.
Firstly, four different match analysis systems were compared in their ability to monitor activity patterns during a football match and it was evaluated if a video-based time-motion analysis system can be used to assess the activity profile and movement pattern of recreational small-sided football games.
Secondly, to evaluate the physical demands of recreational small-sided football, the activity pattern and the heart rate response were investigated during recreational small-sided football training for subjects of different sex, age, and social status, and, moreover, how the number of players influences activity pattern and heart rate response. Furthermore, muscle biopsies and blood samples were collected before, during, and after 7 vs. 7 football games to evaluate the physiological response.
Thirdly, fitness effects and cardiovascular health benefits of 3-4 months of regular participation in recreational small-sided football training were examined in a number of studies involving untrained men, untrained women, homeless men, and middle-aged men with diagnosed mild-to-moderate hypertension. Furthermore, it was investigated if the improvements observed after 3 months could be maintained over one year with a reduced training frequency and training volume in a group of untrained healthy men.
The thesis demonstrated that a high number of activity changes, intense running bouts, and specific actions are performed during recreational small-sided football independent of sex, age, prior experience, social background, and the number of players, and that both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems are highly taxed.
Training intervention studies showed that regular participation in recreational small-sided football games led to several significantly positive cardiovascular and muscular adaptations, and therefore an improved performance and health profile.
2011, 178 pages, DKR 100,-
ISBN: 978 87 917 71 38 5
Time
Friday June 24, 2011 at 09.00 o'clock
Place
Store Auditorium, Nørre Allé 51, DK-2200 Copenhagen N
Opponents
Professor Jens Bo Nielsen (chair), Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Professor Bente Klarlund Pedersen, Centre of Inflammation and Metabolism (CIM), Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Professor, Dr. Carlo Castagna, University of Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
Supervisor
Associate Professor Peter Krustrup, Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.