Beyond Warm-Ups: How Conditioning Activities Shape Mental and Physical Readiness in Young Soccer Players
(Leandro Henrique Albuquerque Brandão, Leonardo de Sousa Fortes, Alexandre Moreno Espíndola, Guilherme de Oliveira Santos Silva, Layla Maria Campos Aburachid, Schelyne Ribas, Gibson Moreira Praça)

This study aimed to compare inhibitory control, perceived exertion, subjective mental fatigue, and countermovement jump (CMJ) height in young soccer players following three different conditioning activities: (a) a coordinative task, (b) sprinting, and (c) a combination of coordinative and sprint tasks. Twenty-five under-15 soccer players participated in four randomized and crossover experimental conditions: Coordinative (COORD), Sprint (SPRT), Combined (COMB), and Control with low cognitive demand (CONT). Before and after each warm-up activity, the following variables were measured: perceived exertion, perceived mental fatigue, CMJ height, stroop test response time, and accuracy. Generalised Estimating Equations analysis revealed a main effect of time for perceived exertion (p < 0.001), perceived mental fatigue (p < 0.001), the CMJ (p < 0.001), and response time (p = 0.012). After performing the SPRT and COMB warm-ups, players reported higher perceived exertion and reduced CMJ performance when compared to the other experimental conditions (p < 0.05). Greater subjective mental fatigue was observed following the COORD and COMB warm-ups than the CONT experimental condition (p < 0.05). However, only the COMB condition resulted in increased response time for the inhibitory control when compared to the CONT condition (p < 0.05). Caution is warranted when incorporating COMB warm-ups into training sessions that are followed by tasks requiring both physical and cognitive effort.