The effect of warm-up on high-intensity, intermittent running using nonmotorized treadmill ergometry

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of previous warming on high-intensity intermittent running using non-motorized treadmill ergometry. Ten male soccer players completed a repeated sprint test (10 × 6-second sprints with 34-second recovery) on a nonmotorized treadmill preceded by an active warm-up (10 minutes of running: 70% V̇o₂max; mean core temperature (Tc) 37.8 ± 0.2°C), a passive warm-up (hot water submersion: 40.1 ± 0.2°C until Tc reached that of the active warm-up; 10 minutes ± 23 seconds), or no warm-up (control). All warm-up conditions were followed by a 10-minute static recovery period with no stretching permitted. After the 10-minute rest period, Tc was higher before exercise in the passive trial (38.0 ± 0.2°C) compared to the active (37.7 ± 0.4°C) and control trials (37.2 ± 0.2°C; p < 0.05). There were no differences in pre-exercise oxygen consumption and blood lactate concentration; however, heart rate was greater in the active trial (p < 0.05). The peak mean 1-second maximum speed (MxSP) and group mean MxSP were not different in the active and passive trials (7.28 ± 0.12 and 7.16 ± 0.10 m·s^-1, respectively, and 7.07 ± 0.33 and 7.02 ± 0.24 m·s^-1, respectively; p > 0.05), although both were greater than the control. The percentage of decrement in performance fatigue was similar between all conditions (active, 3.4 ± 1.3%; passive, 4.0 ± 2.0%; and control, 3.7 ± 2.4%). We conclude that there is no difference in high-intensity intermittent running performance when preceded by an active or passive warm-up when matched for post-warm-up Tc. However, repeated sprinting ability is significantly improved after both active and passive warm-ups compared to no warm-up.