REF-289 · Mohr M et al., 2004 · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, · Paper · PubMed
Muscle Temperature and Sprint Performance During Soccer Matches: Beneficial Effect of Re-warm-up at Half-time
Participants
n=25 competitive soccer players (quadriceps muscle temperature measured frequently in 9 players during one game; in another game 8 players re-warmed up at half-time and 8 recovered passively)
Protocol
Quadriceps muscle temperature (Tm) and core temperature (Tc) tracked around and during matches
Half-time intervention: low-intensity activities (re-warm-up, RW) vs passive recovery (CON); sprint performance tested at the onset of the second half
Key Results
Tm was 36.0 ± 0.2 °C at rest, rose to 39.4 ± 0.2 °C before the game and stayed there through the first half; at half-time it fell to 37.4 ± 0.2 °C (a drop of ~2 °C) and rose again to 39.2 °C during the second half
Before the second half, Tm was 2.1 ± 0.1 °C and Tc 0.9 ± 0.1 °C higher in RW than in CON (P < 0.05); the groups had been similar before and after the first half
At the onset of the second half, sprint performance was reduced by 2.4% in CON (P < 0.05) but unchanged in RW
The decrease in Tm was correlated with the decrease in sprint performance (r = 0.60, P < 0.05, n = 16)
Authors' conclusion: the half-time decline in muscle and core temperature is associated with lower sprint capacity at the start of the second half, and low-intensity activity that preserves muscle temperature maintains sprint performance
Mechanism
Inference, not tested in this study: cooler muscle slows enzymatic reaction rates and raises viscosity, reducing contractile speed and power; low-intensity movement during the break keeps Tm (and Tc) up and so preserves sprint capacity. Only the association (r = 0.60) was measured.
Practical Application
In competitive soccer players, quadriceps temperature fell ~2 °C during a passive half-time (39.4 → 37.4 °C) and sprint performance at the restart dropped 2.4%; players who did low-intensity activity at half-time kept their muscle 2.1 °C warmer and lost no sprint speed — keep moving during breaks
Any sport with pauses: light activity during the break preserves muscle temperature and readiness for the first hard effort after it
Cycling application (Inference, not tested): during neutralised sections, feed zones or forced stops, keep pedalling lightly; after a mechanical stop, do some light movement before resuming hard riding
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: for breaks longer than ~10 min, a few minutes of moderate activity before resuming intensity
Limitations
Soccer-specific — direct cycling transfer limited
Invasive muscle temperature measurement (not practical for field use)
Only half-time breaks studied; the re-warm-up's duration and content are not described in the abstract; small groups (8 vs 8)
No DOI line in the entry; abstract verified via Europe PMC (PMID 15144355)
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from B+: field observation (n=9 temperature series) plus a small parallel comparison (8 vs 8 players)
Content correction 2026-09-27
"7 min moderate-intensity re-warm-up" -> abstract: "low-intensity activities", duration not stated; "3-4 °C per 15 min" decline -> the abstract's ~2 °C drop (39.4 → 37.4 °C); absolute Tm/Tc values and the 2.1/0.9 °C group differences added.
"5-7 min" and ">10 min" break rules relabelled as base practice; Tier 4-5 -> 2-3 ("competitive" players); Level B+ -> B; Sport "cycling" removed.