Do Football Players Need Altitude Training? A Review

Davide Filingeri1, 2, Jagdeep Matharoo1, Monèm Jemni1 1. University of Greenwich 2. University of Palermo

Background Literature Search Methods

In 2008, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), acquired leading clinicians and scientists to provide recommendations and guidelines about altitude training and football (Bartsch et al. 2008). However, the firm conclusions expressed in this statement have produced a heated debate among altitude experts regarding the introduction of the altitude concept in football training.

Football requires significant ability of the cardio-respiratory and muscular skeletal systems. Although a greater VO2max has been associated with a greater distance covered during matches (Bangsbo, 1994), football performance relies on the combination of the enhanced oxidative and non-oxidative pathways for skeletal muscle energy supply (Levine et al. 2008), (Fig.1).

Altitude training may be used to increase sport performance at sea level or to acclimatise to a competition at altitude.

This concept has been associated with enhanced muscle oxidative capacity through changes in muscle glycolytic capacity, skeletal muscle oxygenation, oxygen transport and storage within the muscle and skeletal muscle buffering capacity (Rusko et al., 2004), (Tab 1).

Objectives

The aim of this review is to analyse current research within hypoxic training in relation to football performance and to establish if altitude training is a useful enhancement tool for football players. It analyses the processes of enhanced sea level performance post altitude training and also the acclimatisation principles to higher altitude.

Search Strategy A comprehensive literature search was conducted from 1968-2011. The following databases were consulted: Scirus and Medline. Databases were screened for relevant literature from 1968 to March 2011. The search was based on the following keywords: ‘Football’, ‘altitude and performance’. Criteria for Consideration Articles and conferences abstracts were checked for relevant content and included based on the following criteria: 1. Examined football performance and 2. Hypoxic exposure and football.

Discussion

Only seven articles were located relating to Football and altitude training. No study was found at the time of writing which experimentally exposed football players to altitude training and directly measuring performance.

The majority of the included studies concluded that, due to the outcomes of this concept in term of sea level performance in many sports, hypoxic based training for enhancing football performance and acclimatisation should be considered.

Only one review has not recognised the need for further studies relating to altitude training/acclimatisation for football performance..

There is an evident paucity of literature with regard to the effect of altitude upon anaerobic performance in football as supported by Gatterer (2008)

Altitude training

Stray-Gundersen & Levine (2008): “Live high- train low” and “live

high, basic training high, high intensity training low” to enhance aerobic performance suggested.

McSharry (2007): in his statistical analysis about

football results from 1460 football matches in South America over the period of 100 years, showed that teams that reside at high altitudes would perform better at sea level by scoring more goals and conceding less than those who live and train at sea level, due to the differential in oxygen consumption and the effect this has on physiological response and football performance.

In an editorial by Bartsch et al. (2008) after the FIFA review in altitude in football, the workers have highlighted the lack of studies and knowledge relating to hypoxic training and football performance. Authors suggest altitude based trainings studies with footballers. This is contrast to their firm conclusions made in the FIFA recommendations. Furthermore, in a letter to the editor of the journal in which the FIFA statement was published, Gatterer (2009) suggested that the FIFA statement is lacking in scientific evidence for its recommendations.

Acclimatisation

FIFA (Bartsch et al., 2008): acclimatisation period above 1500m

recommended (Tab.2) altitude training for improving

sea level performance not recommend .

Levine et al. (2008): acclimatisation period recommend.

Neural considerations were highlighted to acclimatise to changes in air density and thus ball trajectory whilst at altitude.

Gore et al. (2008): live- high, train-low training

concept for acclimatisation recommend. However, the authors concluded that there is a lack of knowledge with football and altitude, and thus there is a need for studies.

Conclusion

Despite FIFA not endorsing altitude training to enhance football performance, six authors have more recently suggested that more studies should be carried out into the effects of altitude training upon football performance, including some of the previous FIFA’s panel of experts.

Moreover, there are studies highlighting the enhancing effects of hypoxic training in relation to both energetic pathways, the endorsement of such a training modality is not widely implemented and studies based around specific effects of altitude training in relation to football performance are limited.

Therefore, the concept of altitude training in relation to football should be considered.

Future studies should consider many factors that relate to performance, including training volumes and intensities, as explained in the discussion section. Studies should include the analysis of elite level football players. These should also consider neuro-sensory consequences of acclimatisation, which relates to reductions in air density observed at high altitudes.

In addition, anaerobic components should be investigated further at varying altitudes as it is an important energy supplyer in football performance.

To conclude, there is a need for studies to be conducted on the effects of altitude training/acclimatisation on football performance in order to confirm or to deny the FIFA’s statement.

Discussion - Cont.

References

Bangsbo, J. (1994). Energy demands in competitive soccer. J Sports Sci, 12 Spec No, S5-12.

Bartsch, P., Dvorak, J., & Saltin, B. (2008). Football at high altitude Scand J Med Sci Sports , Vol. 18 Suppl 1, pp. iii-iv.

Bartsch, P., Saltin, B., & Dvorak, J. (2008). Consensus statement on playing football at different altitude Scand J Med Sci Sports, Vol. 18 Suppl 1, pp. 96-99.

Gatterer, H., Faulhaber, M., & Netzer, N. (2009). Hypoxic training for football players Scand J Med Sci Sports, Vol. 19, pp. 607.

Gore, C. J., McSharry, P. E., Hewitt, A. J., & Saunders, P. U. (2008). Preparation for football competition at moderate to high altitude. Scand J Med Sci Sports, Vol. 18 Suppl 1, pp. 85- 95.

Levine, B. D., Stray-Gundersen, J., & Mehta, R. D. (2008). Effect of altitude on football performance Scand J Med Sci Sports, Vol. 18 Suppl 1, pp. 76-84.

McSharry, P. E. (2007). Effect of altitude on physiological performance: a statistical analysis using results of international football games BMJ , Vol. 335, pp. 1278-1281.

Rusko, H. K., Tikkanen, H. O., & Peltonen, J. E. (2004). Altitude and endurance training. J Sports Sci, 22(10), 928-944.

Stray-Gundersen, J., & Levine, B. D. (2008). Live high, train low at natural altitude Scand J Med Sci Sports, Vol. 18 Suppl 1, pp. 21-28.

Table 1. Effects of Hypoxia on sea level performance

Figure 1. Energy pathways related to football performance Table 2. Physiological consequences of altitude