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DETERMINANTS OF REPEAT SPRINT ABILITY
Anthony Turner, MSc, PGCE, CSCS, ASCC, is a Strength & Conditioning Coach and Programme Leader for the MSc in Strength & Conditioning at Middlesex University, London, England.
INTRODUCTION
Repeat sprint ability (RSA) describes the ability of an athlete to recover and maintain maximal effort during subsequent sprints; an attribute considered important to most team sports. It is often trained and measured via high-‐ intensity sprints, interspersed with brief recovery bouts (≤30s). Most strength and conditioning coaches agree that for validity and dynamic correspondence, the RSA training session or testing protocol should resemble the work/rest ratio (W/R) and movement mechanics of the sport in question. What is less clear, are the physiological variables most responsible for improving RSA. This, coupled with how to report results, will be the topic of this short article. For the purposes of this paper, the term sprint refers to efforts of ≤10s, whereby peak power/velocity could be maintained throughout the repetition.
VO 2 MAX
Because maximal effort sprints rely on the muscle’s stores of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and phosphocreatine (PCr), both of which are replenished via the aerobic system, many coaches assume that a higher aerobic capacity (VO 2 max) will lead to quicker recovery and better RSA. However, there are conflicting findings regarding this relationship, which appear largely attributable to the RSA test used. For example, a moderate correlation ( r = -‐0.35) between VO 2 max and RSA was found when using 8 X 40m sprints with 30s of recovery
between sprints (Aziz et al., 2000) but not 6 X 20m sprints with 20s of recovery between sprints (Aziz et al., 2007). The discrepancy is likely attributable to the length of the sprints used, as this would alter the contribution of the aerobic system (Balsom et al., 1992). In essence, VO 2 max has not been reported to relate to RSA when sprints of less than 40m (or 6s) have been used (Da Silva et al., 2010). Also, the recovery length between sprints affects RSA (Bogdanis et al., 1996 ). In some studies, the W/R was around 1/ 5 , which may decrease the significance of aerobic fitness. For example, if recovery is long enough, ATP and PCr can be resynthesized during recovery phases via the aerobic system (Glaister, 2005). If recovery is too short, thus inhibiting PCr repletion, the contribution of anaerobic glycolysis is increased as reflected by higher lactate levels (Glaister et al., 2005). The issue of whether RSA is affected by a high VO 2 max seems dependent on the protocol used. In the main, and based on current research, the answer appears to be not as much as first thought. However, this conclusion may be contested when one considers testing validity. Arguably, the biggest issue with RSA testing is the fact that during competition, players are normally expected to maintain RSA over many more sprints than the number used in most of the current protocols. Also, sprints are not done with a unique and constant W/R. Therefore the significance of a high VO 2 max may be more important only after a certain number of sprints (Thebault et al., 2011). Logically, researchers are skeptical to conclude that VO 2 max is not an important variable to RSA until protocols of match duration are performed (Castagna et al., 2007).
LACTATE THRESHOLD
Most studies use VO 2 max as the major indicator of aerobic fitness. However, because VO 2 max is largely determined by central factors (Basset & Howley, 2000), RSA may more strongly correlate with peripheral factors (Spencer et al., 2005). For example, Da Silva et al., (2010) showed that an RSA test consisting of 7 X 35m sprints (involving a change of direction) and a between-‐sprint recovery
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