Effects of Sprint Interval Training on Field Hockey Players.

Field hockey is a team sport played with sticks and balls in which players' movements are spontaneous and dictate the fluctuating nature of competitive match play. A number of training programs are used to improve the performance of the athlete. One of the trainings that is used to enhance the performance of a sports person is "Sprint Interval Training" and it consists of short bursts of maximal or supramaximal exercise interspersed with passive rest or light to moderately intense exertion during rebound periods. Sprint interval training dramatically improves anaerobic and aerobic performance in both trained and untrained athletes. The aim of this study is to find the effect of sprint internal training on speed, change of direction and running performance among field hockey players.

A randomized controlled trial will be conducted at Pakistan Sports Academy, Lahore through non-probability convenience sampling technique on 28 players which will be allocated into both interventional and control group. Pre-training values of the players will be recorded by 20 m sprint test for speed, 505 Change of direction test for change of direction and 3000m time trial for running performance. Both groups will perform regular training. Sprint interval training will be given to Group A and regular training will be performed by Group B. Players will perform the training 3 times a week for 4 weeks and treatment evaluation will be done after 4 weeks. Data will be analyzed using SPSS software version 26. After assessing normality of data by Shapiro-Wilk test, it will be decided either parametric or non-parametric test will be used.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18-30 years.
• Both males and females.
• Moderate level of training (Approximately 3 hours per week of activity).
• Playing experience of minimum 2 years.
• Being physically active in a self-reported manner (Approximately 150 minutes of physical activity weekly).

Exclusion criteria

• Systemic Conditions (unstable angina, systemic arterial hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, neoplasm, renal failure and sequelae of stroke).
• Any musculoskeletal issues that made it difficult to follow protocols or conduct testing.