A 7-min halftime jog mitigated the reduction in sprint performance for the initial 15-min of the second half in a simulated football match

This study compared the effects of a 7-min shuttle jog during halftime to a control condition (seated rest) on subsequent athletic performance and lower-leg temperature in the second half. Eighteen male football players (22 years, 179 cm, 70 kg, 10 years of athletic career) randomly performed a 20-m shuttle jog (at an intensity of 70% of heart rate maximum) and a seated rest (sitting on a bench) during halftime in two separate sessions. A 5-min football simulation protocol consisting of football-specific activities (jumping, sprinting, kicking, passing, and dribbling at various intensities and distances) was repeated nine times to mimic the first and second half of a football match. Athletic performance (maximal vertical jump height, 20-m sprint time, and the Arrowhead agility test time) recorded during a 15-min period were averaged to represent each time point (first half: T1 to T3; second half: T4 to T6). Lower-leg skin and muscle (using the insulation disk technique) temperature was recorded before and after the first and second half. There was no condition effect over time in maximal vertical jump: F(5,187) = 0.53, p = 0.75, Arrowhead agility test time: F(5,187) = 1.25, p = 0.29, and lower-leg temperature (skin: F(3,119) = 1.40, p = 0.25; muscle: F(3,119) = 1.08, p = 0.36). The 20-m sprint time between conditions during the initial 15-min of the second half was different (condition × time: F(5,187) = 2.42, p = 0.04) that subjects who performed the shuttle jog ran 0.09 sec faster (3.08 sec, p = 0.002, ES = 0.68), as compared with those who did the seated rest (3.17 sec). The results of our study confirmed that a decremental effect of the static rest on sprinting performance during the initial period of the second halftime can be attenuated by a halftime warm-up.