ORIGINAL ARTICLE  EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOMECHANICS 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2018 July-August;58(7-8):990-7

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.07090-6

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Repeated-sprint training in the fasted state during Ramadan: morning or evening training?

Asma ALOUI ¹ ✉, Tarak DRISS ², Hana BAKLOUTI ³, Hamdi JAAFAR ^{4, 5}, Omar HAMMOUDA ², Karim CHAMARI ⁶, Nizar SOUISSI ⁷

¹ High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Gafsa, Gafsa, Tunisia; ² Research Unit of Movement Physiology, Biomechanics, and Imaging, Laboratoire CeRSM (EA 2931), UFR STAPS, Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense University, Nanterre, France; ³ Faculty of Sciences, University of Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisia; ⁴ Research Institute of Montfort Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada; ⁵ Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; ⁶ Research Center of Athlete Health and Performance, ASPETAR, Qatar Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar; ⁷ National Observatory on Sport, Tunis, Tunisia

BACKGROUND: The present study assessed the optimal moment of the day for repeated-sprint training in the fasted state during Ramadan.
METHODS: Thirty amateur soccer players were randomly assigned to a morning training group (MTG, training at ~08:00 a.m., N.=10), an evening training group (ETG, training around 06:00 p.m., N.=10), and a control group (N.=10). Training sessions, conducted on alternate days, consisted of 3 sets of 6×40-m shuttle sprints (2×20 m with 180° direction changes). A 20-second passive recovery and a 4-minute passive recovery were allowed between repetitions and sets, respectively. Before and after Ramadan, performance was assessed at both 08:00 a.m. and 06:00 p.m. by Countermovement Jump (CMJ), Repeated-Sprint Test (RST), and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIRT1).
RESULTS: After Ramadan, YYIRT1 performances were enhanced for both groups in the morning (7.82% and 6.29% for MTG and ETG, respectively, P<0.05), and in the evening (6.61% and 11.20%, respectively, P<0.05). Relative changes in YYIRT1 (P=0.33) and RST (-2.13% and -3.44% for MTG and ETG, respectively, P=0.49) at the specific time of training were similar for both groups. No differences were observed in CMJ performances before and after Ramadan for any group (P>0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Morning or evening repeated-sprint training conducted in the fasted state during Ramadan enhanced soccer-specific endurance similarly.

KEY WORDS: Fasting - Athletic performance - Soccer - Physical endurance