Exploration of Immunology

Table 1. The 8-week of the soccer-specific training program: Fitness elements

Week	Aerobic/Anaerobic Endurance (sessions)	Strength	Speed-Quickness-Agility	Flexibility (Dynamic/Static)
1	2 Con (60–70% MHR); 1 Fartlek (60–75% MHR)	2 max Strength circuit sessions (60–70% 1RM)	2 Agility sessions (low intensity: technique)	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 3 specific sessions
2	1 Con (75% MHR); 2 Fartlek (60–80% MHR); 1 MI interval (85% MHR); 1 Friendly match	2 max Strength circuit sessions (65–75% 1RM)	2 Agility sessions (low intensity: technique)	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 3 specific sessions
3	1 Fartlek (60–85% MHR); 2 MI intervals (85% MHR); 1 HI interval (100% MHR); 2 Friendly matches	2 max Strength circuit sessions (70–90% 1RM)	2 Quickness-Agility sessions (mid intensity: technique)	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 3 specific sessions
4	1 HI Fartlek (70-85% MHR); 1 HI interval (95% MHR); 1 Anaerobic endurance (85% MHR); 1 Friendly match	1 max Strength (~85% 1RM); 1 plyometric session	1 Speed, 1 Quickness, 1 Agility sessions	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 3 specific sessions
5	1 HI interval (85% MHR); 1 Anaerobic endurance (80% MHR); 2 Friendly matches	1 circuit Strength (~85% 1RM); 2 plyometric sessions	1 Speed, 1 Quickness, 1 Agility sessions	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 3 specific sessions
6	1 HI interval (95% MHR); 1 Anaerobic endurance (85% MHR); 1 Friendly match	1 circuit Strength (~80% 1RM); 2 plyometric sessions	1 Speed, 1 Quickness, 1 Agility sessions	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 2 specific sessions
7	1 MI interval (80% MHR); 1 Anaerobic endurance (80% MHR); 1 Friendly match	2 plyometric sessions	2 Speed, 1 Quickness sessions	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 1 specific session
8	1 Short anaerobic endurance (80% MHR); 1 Short HI interval (95% MHR)	1 plyometric session	2 Speed, 1 Agility sessions	Warm-up: dynamic Cool down: static + 1 specific session

Return to article view

MHR: maximum heart rate; Con: continuous with tempo; MI: moderate intensity; HI: high intensity; 1RM: one-rep max

Declarations

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the coaching teams’ members for their excellent collaboration and support throughout the study period. The excellent cooperation of the participants and their parents is strongly appreciated.

Author contributions

MH: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing—original draft, Writing—review & editing, Project administration. EC and NZ: Data curation, Validation, Writing—review & editing. All authors read and approved the submitted version.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

The study conforms with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki, 1964) and it was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee (REC-010712).

Consent to participate

Written informed consent to participate in the study was obtained prior to any assessment from all participants and their parents.

Consent to publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.

Funding

Not applicable.

Copyright

References

Campbell JP, Turner JE. Debunking the Myth of Exercise-Induced Immune Suppression: Redefining the Impact of Exercise on Immunological Health Across the Lifespan. Front Immunol. 2018;9:648. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

Gleeson M, Bishop NC, Stensel DJ, Lindley MR, Mastana SS, Nimmo MA. The anti-inflammatory effects of exercise: mechanisms and implications for the prevention and treatment of disease. Nat Rev Immunol. 2011;11:607–15. [DOI] [PubMed]

Kurowski M, Seys S, Bonini M, Giacco SD, Delgado L, Diamant Z, et al. Physical exercise, immune response, and susceptibility to infections-current knowledge and growing research areas. Allergy. 2022;77:2653–64. [DOI] [PubMed]

Agustiningsih D, Wibawa T. Demystifying roles of exercise in immune response regulation against acute respiratory infections: A narrative review. Sports Med Health Sci. 2024;6:139–53. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

Pedro FC, de Oliveira MM, Andrade RS, Costa ACTRB, Pereira CR, Rodrigues e Oliveira PF, et al. Resistance Training Improves the Immune Response, Mainly Associated with CD8⁺T Lymphocytes and B Lymphocytes, in Mice. Braz Arch Biol Technol. 2024;67:e24220284. [DOI]

Duggal NA, Niemiro G, Harridge SDR, Simpson RJ, Lord JM. Can physical activity ameliorate immunosenescence and thereby reduce age-related multi-morbidity? Nat Rev Immunol. 2019;19:563–72. [DOI] [PubMed]

Gleeson M, Pyne DB. Respiratory inflammation and infections in high-performance athletes. Immunol Cell Biol. 2016;94:124–31. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

Kartaram SW, Teunis M, van Norren K, Smits M, M’Rabet L, Verschuren MCM, et al. Markers for Immunological Resilience: Effects of Moderate- and High-Intensity Endurance Exercise on the Kinetic Response of Leukocyte Subsets. Immuno. 2024;4:43–56. [DOI]

Gopalakrishnan J, Dharanirajan K, Petra ZB, Silambanan S, Alwar T, Sivaraman A. Biomarkers of a Football Match-play-Internal load analysis using Technical Soccer Specific Aerobic Field Test (TSAFT⁹⁰). Int J Med Biochem. 2024;7:26–32. [DOI]

10.

Armstrong N, McManus AM. Physiology of elite young male athletes. Med Sport Sci. 2011;56:1–22. [DOI] [PubMed]

11.

Palmowski J, Boßlau TK, Ryl L, Krüger K, Reichel T. Managing immune health in sports – a practical guide for athletes and coaches. Dtsch Z Sportmed. 2019;70:219–26. [DOI]

12.

Timmons BW, Tarnopolsky MA, Snider DP, Bar-Or O. Immunological changes in response to exercise: influence of age, puberty, and gender. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006;38:293–304. [DOI] [PubMed]

13.

de Almeida-Neto PF, Gonçalves CAM, Wilde P, Jaggers JR, Júnior GBC, de Farias Sales VS, et al. Influence of age and fitness level on immune responses of T and NK cells in healthy physically active subjects after strenuous aerobic exercise: a cross-sectional study. Front Immunol. 2023;14:1252506. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

14.

Almeida-Neto PF, de Medeiros JA, Jaggers JR, Ferreira ABM, de Assis GG, Cabral BGAT, et al. Exercise Immunology Applied to Pediatric Sport and the Importance of Monitoring Stages of Puberty and Biological Maturation. Sports Health. 2023;19417381231212481. [DOI] [PubMed]

15.

Ucciferri CC, Dunn SE. Effect of puberty on the immune system: Relevance to multiple sclerosis. Front Pediatr. 2022;10:1059083. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

16.

Hamlin MJ, Wilkes D, Elliot CA, Lizamore CA, Kathiravel Y. Monitoring Training Loads and Perceived Stress in Young Elite University Athletes. Front Physiol. 2019;10:34. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

17.

Steidten T, Baumbach P, May R, Gabriel B, Herbsleb M, Markov A, et al. Overnight Immune Regulation and Subjective Measures of Sleep: A Three Night Observational Study in Adolescent Track and Field Athletes. Front Sports Act Living. 2021;3:689805. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

18.

Nieman DC, Wentz LM. The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system. J Sport Health Sci. 2019;8:201–17. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

19.

Blume K, Körber N, Hoffmann D, Wolfarth B. Training Load, Immune Status, and Clinical Outcomes in Young Athletes: A Controlled, Prospective, Longitudinal Study. Front Physiol. 2018;9:120. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

20.

Liu D, Wang R, Grant AR, Zhang J, Gordon PM, Wei Y, et al. Immune adaptation to chronic intense exercise training: new microarray evidence. BMC Genomics. 2017;18:29. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

21.

Zacher J, Wesemann F, Joisten N, Walzik D, Bloch W, Predel G. Cellular Integrative Immune Markers in Elite Athletes. Int J Sports Med. 2023;44:298–308. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

22.

Horn PL, Pyne DB, Hopkins WG, Barnes CJ. Lower white blood cell counts in elite athletes training for highly aerobic sports. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010;110:925–32. [DOI] [PubMed]

23.

Matsuo K, Kubota M, Sasaki H, Toyooka J, Nagatomi R. The Association of the Blood Lymphocytes to Neutrophils Ratio with Overtraining in Endurance Athletes. New Stud Athletics. 2009;4:23–9.

24.

Walzik D, Joisten N, Zacher J, Zimmer P. Transferring clinically established immune inflammation markers into exercise physiology: focus on neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio and systemic immune-inflammation index. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2021;121:1803–14. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

25.

Barale C, Melchionda E, Tempesta G, Morotti A, Russo I. Impact of Physical Exercise on Platelets: Focus on Its Effects in Metabolic Chronic Diseases. Antioxidants (Basel). 2023;12:1609. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

26.

Hadjicharalambous M. The effects of regular supplementary flexibility training on physical fitness performance of young high-level soccer players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2016;56:699–708. [PubMed]

27.

Hadjicharalambous M, Zaras N, Apostolidis A, Tsofliou F. Recreational Soccer, Body Composition and Cardiometabolic Health: A Training-Intervention Study in Healthy Adolescents. Inter J Hum Mov Sports Sci. 2022;10:524–33. [DOI]

28.

Hadjicharalambous MP, Kilduff LP, Pitsiladis YP. Brain serotonergic and dopaminergic modulators, perceptual responses and endurance exercise performance following caffeine co-ingested with a high fat meal in trained humans. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2010;7:22. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

29.

Hadjicharalambous M, Georgiades E, Kilduff LP, Turner AP, Tsofliou F, Pitsiladis YP. Influence of caffeine on perception of effort, metabolism and exercise performance following a high-fat meal. J Sports Sci. 2006;24:875–87. [DOI] [PubMed]

30.

Jackson AS, Pollock ML. Generalized equations for predicting body density of men. Br J Nutr. 1978;40:497–504. [DOI] [PubMed]

31.

Siri WE. Body composition from fluids spaces and density: analysis of methods. In: Brozek J, Henschel A, editors. Techniques for Measuring Body Composition. Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council; 1961. pp. 223–44.

32.

Carskadon MA, Acebo C. A self-administered rating scale for pubertal development. J Adolesc Health. 1993;14:190–5. [DOI] [PubMed]

33.

Cooper S, Baker JS, Tong RJ, Roberts E, Hanford M. The repeatability and criterion related validity of the 20 m multistage fitness test as a predictor of maximal oxygen uptake in active young men. Br J Sports Med. 2005;39:e19. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

34.

Augustsson SR, Bersås E, Magnusson TE, Sahlberg M, Augustsson J, et al. Gender differences and reliability of selected physical performance tests in young women and men. Adv Physiother. 2009;11:64–70. [DOI]

35.

Nevill AM, Atkinson G. Assessing agreement between measurements recorded on a ratio scale in sports medicine and sports science. Br J Sports Med. 1997;31:314–8. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

36.

Qi Q, Zhuang L, Shen Y, Geng Y, Yu S, Chen H, et al. A novel systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) for predicting the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer after chemotherapy. Cancer. 2016;122:2158–67. [DOI] [PubMed]

37.

Jovanovic M. Physical Preparation for Soccer. SOCCERSPECIFIC; 2001.

38.

Foster C, Hector LL, Welsh R, Schrager M, Green MA, Snyder AC. Effects of specific versus cross-training on running performance. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1995;70:367–72. [DOI] [PubMed]

39.

Impellizzeri FM, Rampinini E, Coutts AJ, Sassi A, Marcora SM. Use of RPE-based training load in soccer. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004;36:1042–7. [DOI] [PubMed]

40.

Kirk RE. Practical significance: A concept whose time has come. Educ Psychol Meas. 1996;56:746–59. [DOI]

41.

Zarbock A, Polanowska-Grabowska RK, Ley K. Platelet-neutrophil-interactions: linking hemostasis and inflammation. Blood Rev. 2007;21:99–111. [DOI] [PubMed]

42.

Gleeson M, Ginn E, Francis JL. Salivary immunoglobulin monitoring in an elite kayaker. Clin J Sport Med. 2000;10:206–8. [DOI] [PubMed]

43.

Hellard P, Avalos M, Guimaraes F, Toussaint J, Pyne DB. Training-related risk of common illnesses in elite swimmers over a 4-yr period. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015;47:698–707. [DOI] [PubMed]

44.

El-Sayed MS, Ali N, Ali ZE. Haemorheology in exercise and training. Sports Med. 2005;35:649–70. [DOI] [PubMed]

45.

Fallon KE, Fallon SK, Boston T. The acute phase response and exercise: court and field sports. Br J Sports Med. 2001;35:170–3. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

46.

Harpham C, Harpham QK, Barker AR. The effect of exercise training programs with aerobic components on C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and self-assessed disease activity in people with ankylosing spondylitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Rheum Dis. 2022;25:635–49. [DOI] [PubMed]

47.

Park S, Park I, Lim S, Lee E. Changes in Psychological Anxiety and Physiological Stress Hormones in Korea National Shooters. Brain Sci. 2020;10:926. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

48.

Tanner A, Day S. The Effects of a 4-Week, Intensified Training, and Competition Period on Salivary Hormones, Immunoglobulin A, Illness Symptoms, and Mood State in Elite Synchronised Swimmers. Sports (Basel). 2017;5:64. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

49.

Sheykhlouvand M, Khalili E, Gharaat M, Arazi H, Khalafi M, Tarverdizadeh B. Practical Model of Low-Volume Paddling-Based Sprint Interval Training Improves Aerobic and Anaerobic Performances in Professional Female Canoe Polo Athletes. J Strength Cond Res. 2018;32:2375–82. [DOI] [PubMed]

50.

Ambroży T, Rydzik Ł, Obmiński Z, Błach W, Serafin N, Błach B, et al. The Effect of High-Intensity Interval Training Periods on Morning Serum Testosterone and Cortisol Levels and Physical Fitness in Men Aged 35-40 Years. J Clin Med. 2021;10:2143. [DOI]

51.

Boullosa D, Dragutinovic B, Feuerbacher JF, Benítez-Flores S, Coyle EF, Schumann M. Effects of short sprint interval training on aerobic and anaerobic indices: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2022;32:810–20. [DOI] [PubMed]

52.

Armstrong N, Barker AR, McManus AM. Muscle metabolism changes with age and maturation: How do they relate to youth sport performance? Br J Sports Med. 2015;49:860–4. [DOI] [PubMed]

53.

Haddad M, Stylianides G, Djaoui L, Dellal A, Chamari K. Session-RPE Method for Training Load Monitoring: Validity, Ecological Usefulness, and Influencing Factors. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:612. [DOI] [PubMed] [PMC]

54.

Rodríguez-Marroyo JA, Villa G, García-López J, Foster C. Comparison of heart rate and session rating of perceived exertion methods of defining exercise load in cyclists. J Strength Cond Res. 2012;26:2249–57. [DOI] [PubMed]

55.

Egan AD, Winchester JB, Foster C, McGuigan MR. Using Session RPE to Monitor Different Methods of Resistance Exercise. J Sports Sci Med. 2006;5:289–95. [PubMed] [PMC]

56.

Herman L, Foster C, Maher MA, Mikat R, Porcari J. Validity and reliability of the session RPE method for monitoring exercise training intensity. S Afr J Sports Med. 2006;18:14–7. [DOI]