Recreational Football Training Effects

In this study, thirty-two male adults (age 40 ± 6 years, VO_2max 41.74 ± 5.72 ml·kg^-1·min^-1, body mass 82.7 ± 9.8 kg, stature 173.3 ± 7.4 cm, systolic and diastolic blood pressure 125 ± 11 and 74 ± 8 mmHg, respectively) volunteered to participate. The participants were tested at the untrained and trained states, i.e., before and after engaging in a 12-week recreational football training-based intervention. The untrained state (baseline conditions, i.e., pre-intervention) was defined as the participants having less than 20 min of exercise on 3 or more days a week [22 (link)]. All the participants were familiarised with the procedures used in the investigation during the two weeks before the commencement of the study by performing submaximal versions of the treadmill test and the Yo-Yo intermittent tests. The participants gave their written informed consent to participate in the study, which was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and ethical approval was provided by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Sport, University of Porto (Porto, Portugal). All participants were informed of the risks and benefits of participating and made aware that they could withdraw from the study at any time without penalty.