Influence of warm-up duration on perceived exertion and subsequent physical performance of soccer players

© 2019 Institute of Sport. All rights reserved. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of three warm-up protocols with different durations in semi-professional soccer players. Fifteen semi-professional soccer players performed three warmup protocols (Wup₂₅ₘᵢₙ: 25 min, Wup₁₅ₘᵢₙ: 15 min and Wup₈ₘᵢₙ: 8 min duration) on three different days. Before (pre-test) and after (post-test) each warm-up protocol, the players’ physical performance (sprint, vertical jump and change of direction) was evaluated and all the players were asked to respond to the subjective scale of readiness to play a match. Also, after completing each warm-up protocol, all players responded to the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Although all protocols significantly improved the feeling of players being prepared to play the game (p<0.05 or p<0.01), after performing the Wup₂₅ₘᵢₙ protocol the players performed worse in the 10 m sprint (p<0.01) and in the 20 m sprint (p<0.05). However, the Wup₈ₘᵢₙ protocol significantly improved performance in both the 10 m sprint (p<0.05) and the 20 m sprint (p<0.05). In addition, with the Wup₂₅ₘᵢₙ protocol players stated a higher perceived exertion (RPE) (p < 0.05) than in the Wup₁₅ₘᵢₙ and Wup₈ₘᵢₙ protocols. The Wup₈ₘᵢₙ protocol was the only one that improved the acceleration ability of the soccer players in this study