Comparison of Three Types of Warm-up Upon Sprint Ability in Experienced Soccer Players
Participants
n=12 male soccer players (age 18.3 ± 0.8 y; body mass 76.4 ± 7.2 kg; height 1.79 ± 0.05 m)
Protocol
3 warm-up types, 1 week apart: a long general warm-up, a long specific warm-up, and a short specific warm-up (durations and contents not given in the abstract)
Followed by 3 × 40-m sprints; best, average and total sprint time, heart rate and RPE recorded
Key Results
Sprint times (best, average and total) were significantly better after the long specific and the short specific warm-up than after the long general warm-up (p < 0.05)
The abstract reports no difference between the two specific warm-ups — the short one was not shown to beat the long one, only to match it
RPE was significantly lower during the short specific warm-up (4.92 ± 0.90) than during the two long ones (6.00 ± 0.74 and 6.25 ± 0.87)
Authors' conclusion: specificity matters more than duration in a warm-up before sprinting
Mechanism
Inference, not tested: sprint-specific movements activate the neuromuscular pattern of the task; a long general warm-up adds effort (higher RPE) without that activation. The abstract does not report fatigue or temperature measures.
Practical Application
In 12 soccer players, a short sprint-specific warm-up produced the same 40-m sprint times as a long specific warm-up and both beat a long general warm-up — while the short one felt easier (RPE 4.92 vs 6.00-6.25); before sprinting, what you do matters more than how long you do it
Quality > quantity: specific movements over generic jogging; a short specific warm-up saves energy without costing speed
Applicable by analogy to running sprints, cycling sprints and race starts (Inference, not tested outside soccer)
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: a sprint-specific warm-up of roughly 5-8 min is the base's default before short maximal efforts
Limitations
Soccer players, not endurance athletes
Only 40-m sprint tested
Young population (18 years)
Warm-up durations/contents not stated in the abstract
How this entry was checked and changed
Content correction 2026-09-27
"Short specific → best, long general → worst, long specific → intermediate" -> abstract: both specific warm-ups beat the long general one; no ordering between the two specific warm-ups is reported.
Warm-up durations "~15 min / ~5 min" and "HR similar across conditions" are not in the abstract — removed; RPE values added from the abstract; "5-8 min" advice relabelled as base practice.
Sport "cycling, running, team-sport" -> running, team-sport.