10-20-30 or 6-54?

22 sub-elite players did 10 weeks of duration-matched “10-20-30” or “6-54” three week/wk-in-season. Players did 2-3 sets of 5 min plus 4 min of recovery sets for a total of 14-23 minutes.12 players took the 10-20-30 approach which is 10 sec sprint, 20 sec moderate speed running, 30 sec jogging. The other 10 players took the 6-54 approach which is 6sec change of direction sprint, 54 sec passive recovery with a ratio of work:rest = 1:9.

The result: 10-20-30 training improved Yo-Yo IR1 performance – a test of high intensity exercise capacity, while 6-54 training improved 30m sprint and agility – test of linear and change of direction speed.

This case highlights the importance of training specificity as differences in sprint-duration (30s versus 6s) and work:recovery ratio (1:5versus 1:9) led to different functional adaptions. Thus, 10-20-30 training improves the players’ high intensity exercise capacity, while speed training improves the speed and agility of the players. 10-20-30 training has been shown to elicit blood lactate levels of 10-23 mmol/L and an average heart rate of 85% of maximum, with half the training time spent above 90%. 6-seconds all-out sprints, interspersed by 1 minute of recovery may yield blood lactate levels of 5-10 mmol/L and an average heartrate response of 70-75% of maximum.

10-20-30 training improved Yo-Yo IR1 performance – a test of high intensity exercise capacity, while 6-54 training improved 30m sprint and agility – test of linear and change of direction speed. The study highlights the importance of training specificity as differences in sprint-duration (30s versus 6s) and work:recovery ratio (1:5versus 1:9) led to different functional adaptions. Thus, 10-20-30 training improves the players’ high intensity exercise capacity, while speed training improves the speed and agility of the players.