REPEATED SPRINTS TRAINING: WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF SPRINTS?

Repeated sprints training is a very popular one, especially in football. Coaches use different combinations, like 5 to 10 repetitions of 20-40m with 10-25 sec of active, passive or free recovery. What is the appropriate number of repetitions?

In the literature, a very large variability in fatigue induced with this kind of training exists. Fatigue indices range from 6-27% in different studies as well as for relatively similar level players within the same study. This means that training with a standard number of repetitions results in different fatigue level among players and thus different adaptations.

HOW CAN WE CALCULATE THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF REPETITIONS?

1. Test players with the same protocol as training (10-15x30m with 25sec active recovery)
2. Calculate fatigue index [FI= (worst time-best time/best time) * 100] for sprints 1-7, 1-10, 1-15
3. Create an equation for FI with number of sprints for each player
4. Decide the FI level you want to work for this period (6-10% is a good one)
5. Estimate the number of sprints for each player