Running Economy and Blood Lactate Accumulation in Elite Football Players with High and Low Maximal Aerobic Power

The purpose was to determine running economy and lactate threshold among a selection of male elite football players with high and low aerobic power. Forty male elite football players from the highest Swedish division (“Allsvenskan”) participated in the study. In a test of running economy (RE) and blood lactate accumulation the participants ran four minutes each at 10, 12, 14, and 16 km•h at horizontal level with one minute rest in between each four minutes interval. After the last sub-maximal speed level the participants got two minutes of rest before test of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Players that had a maximal oxygen uptake lower than the average for the total population of 57.0 mL O2•kg•minute were assigned to the low aerobic power group (LAP) (n=17). The players that had a VO2max equal to or higher than 57.0 mL O2•kg•minute were selected for the high aerobic power group (HAP) (n=23). The VO2max was significantly different between the HAP and LAP group. The average RE, measured as oxygen uptake at 12, 14 and 16km•h was significantly lower but the blood lactate concentration was significantly higher at 14 and 16 km•hfor the LAP group compared with the HAP group.