SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2025
Assessment of Aerobic Fitness and Repeated Sprint Ability in Elite Male Soccer: A Systematic Review of Test Protocols Used in Practice and Research.
Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Physical Training Interventions on Golf Shot Performance: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative effects of combined aerobic exercise-based interventions on metabolic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory markers in adult men: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Longitudinal Seasonal Development of Anthropometric and Physical Performance Characteristics in Youth Trained Soccer Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Effect of change-of-direction vs. linear repeated sprint training on physical performance in female college basketball players.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Effects of Between-Sprint Running Intensity on Repeated-Sprint Performance in Professional Soccer Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Response to Comment on: "Assessment of Aerobic Fitness and Repeated Sprint Ability in Elite Male Soccer: A Systematic Review of Test Protocols Used in Practice and Research".Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Comment on: "Assessment of Aerobic Fitness and Repeated Sprint Ability in Elite Male Soccer: A Systematic Review of Test Protocols Used in Practice and Research".Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Pairwise Comparison of Effects of Linear vs. Change of Direction Short Bout Sprint Intervals on Physical Performance of Youth Male Soccer Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Measured vs. Estimated V˙OSports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSoccer requires players to cover distances around 10-12 km, with numerous consecutive sprints throughout the 90-min game. As such, aerobic fitness and repeated sprint ability (RSA) are crucial physical qualities for the modern soccer player to cope with the demands of the game. However, a comprehensive and systematic search of aerobic fitness and RSA assessment procedures in elite soccer has yet to be conducted.
objectivesThe aims of this systematic review were to (1) identify the tests and outcome variables used to assess aerobic fitness and RSA of elite male soccer players, (2) provide normative values for the most common tests of aerobic fitness and RSA across different playing levels, and (3) report the reliability values of these aerobic fitness and RSA tests.
methodsA systematic review of the academic databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and OVID for studies published until August 2023 was conducted, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were eligible for inclusion if (1) they were original research studies, published in a peer-reviewed journal, and written in English language; (2) they had the primary aim of assessing aerobic fitness and/or RSA; (3) players were male and older than 17 years of age (i.e. mean age of the group); and (4) their playing level was defined as 'professional', 'international', or 'elite'.
resultsFor aerobic fitness testing, 124 studies and 35 different tests were identified. Of those, 26 tests (74%) were field-based, whereas only nine (26%) were laboratory-based tests. The incremental treadmill test to exhaustion was the most commonly used aerobic fitness assessment method (56 studies, 45%), with maximal oxygen consumption (
conclusionsThis systematic review provides a comprehensive overview of the testing methods used to assess aerobic fitness and RSA in elite male soccer players. A total of 35 different aerobic fitness tests and 18 RSA tests were identified, highlighting the diversity in methodologies used. The most prevalent aerobic test was the incremental treadmill testing to exhaustion, with a median
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.