Loughborough test

The Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST) was designed to simulate the activity pattern characteristic of a football game (7) - see references below.

The test comprised of two parts.

Part A consisted of 5 blocks each 15 minutes in duration, separated by 3 minutes of recovery.
Each 15-minute block consisted of intermittent high-intensity running and were designed to replicate activity pattern recorded for a football match (9).

The pattern for each block was as followed:

• 3 x 20 meter at walking pace
• 1 x 20 meter at maximum running speed
• 4 s recovery
• 3 x 20 meter at a running speed corresponding to 55% of individual VO2max
• 3 x 20 meter at a running speed corresponding to 95% of individual VO2max

Part B consisted of intermittent shuttle running until individual exhaustion of the player within 10 minutes. The participants were required to run at speeds corresponding to 55% and 95% of predicted VO2max. The speed alternates every 20 meters. This pattern was repeated continuously until the participants were unable to maintain the required speed for two consecutive shuttles at the higher of the two intensities.

Several investigations used the LIST (1-3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11).

The test was validated against a real match comparing muscle damage, neuromuscular parameters (5) and was used to:

• simulate a match (1-3, 6, 8), also with regards to non-elite players (11)
• differentiate between different playing levels of soccer players (4)
• measure fitness of female high-school players pre- and post-training intervention (10).

From the scientific literature it seems that the test can be used for testing and training, however as the test is (also) based on the players' individual VO2max (and furthermore the speed at a certain % of individual VO2max) it seems that utilizing the LIST is very time consuming and requires comparable high amount of resources.

References

1. Ali, A. and Williams, C. Carbohydrate ingestion and soccer skill performance during prolonged

intermittent exercise. J. Sports. Sci. 27: 1499-1508, 2009.

2. da Costa, C.S., Barbosa, M.A., Spineti, J., Pedrosa, C.M., and Pierucci, A.P. Oxidative stress biomarkers

response to exercise in Brazilian junior soccer players. Food and Nutrition Sciences 2: 407-413, 2011.

3. Delextrat, A., Gregory, J., and Cohen, D. The Use of the Functional H:Q Ratio to Assess Fatigue in

Soccer. Int. J. Sports. Med. 31: 192-197, 2010.

4. Edwards, A.M., Macfadyen, A.M., and Clark, N. Test performance indicators from a single soccer specific

fitness test differentiate between highly trained and recreationally active soccer players. J. Sports. Med. Phys. Fitness. 43: 14-20, 2003.

5. Magalhaes, J., Rebelo, A., Oliveira, E., Silva, J.R., Marques, F., and Ascensao, A. Impact of

Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test versus soccer match on physiological, biochemical and neuromuscular parameters. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 108: 39-48, 2010.

6. McGregor, S.J., Nicholas, C.W., Lakomy, H.K., and Williams, C. The influence of intermittent

high-intensity shuttle running and fluid ingestion on the performance of a soccer skill. J. Sports Sci. 17: 895-903, 1999.

7. Nicholas, C.W., Nuttall, F.E., and Williams, C. The Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test: a field test

that simulates the activity pattern of soccer. J Sports Sci 18: 97-104, 2000.

8. Owen, J. A., Kehoe, S. J. and Oliver, S. J. Influence of fluid tae on soccer performance in a temperate

environment. J. Sports. Sci. 31: 1-10, 2013.

9. Reilly, T. Motion analysis of workrate in different positional roles in professional football match-play. J.

Human. Mov. Stud. 2: 87-97, 1976.

10. Siegler, J., Gaskill, S., and Ruby, B. Changes evaluated in soccer-specific power endurance either with

or without a 10-week, in-season, intermittent, high-intensity training protocol. J. Strength. Cond. Res. 17: 379-387, 2003.

11. Siegler, J., Robergs, R., and Weingart, H. The application of soccer performance testing protocols to the

non-elite player. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 46: 44-51, 2006.