Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40933337›Full record

Trial reportJournal of sports science & medicine2025

Effects of Small-Sided Games and High-Intensity Interval Training on The Rating of Perceived Exertion in Soccer Players Across Competitive Levels: Controlling for Percentage of Heart Rate Reserve.

Weiqiang Xu, Robert Trybulski, Le Luo, Grzegorz Trybek, Waldemar Moska, Yufei Liu, Filipe Manuel Clemente

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of sports science & medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Weiqiang XuGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland.
Robert TrybulskiMedical Department Wojciech Korfanty, Upper Silesian Academy, Katowice, Poland.
Le LuoSchool of Physical Education, Xiangnan University, 423000 Chenzhou, China.
Grzegorz TrybekGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland.
Waldemar MoskaGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland.
Yufei LiuGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland.
Filipe Manuel ClementeGdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, 80-336 Gdansk, Poland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study investigated perceived exertion (RPE) differences among soccer players at two competitive levels - Tier 2 (trained) and Tier 3 (highly trained) - during small-sided games (SSGs) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), while controlling for internal physiological load using percentage of heart rate reserve (%HRreserve). Seventy-seven male university players from the China University Football Association participated (Tier 2: n = 37; Tier 3: n = 40). Each player underwent a fitness assessment to determine HRmax and HRrest, followed by four randomized training sessions: 5v5 SSGs, 1v1 SSGs, long HIIT, and short HIIT. Heart rate was continuously monitored, and players reported RPE using the Borg CR10 scale immediately post-session. A linear mixed-effects model was used, with competitive level and training format as fixed effects, and %HRreserve included as a statistical covariate. The analysis revealed a significant interaction between training format and competitive level (F(3, 224.761) = 3.20, p = .024), indicating that the influence of training format on RPE varied by competitive level. A significant main effect of training format was also found (F(3, 234.484) = 11.24, p < .001). Specifically, Tier 3 players reported higher RPE during short HIIT than Tier 2 players (p = .002). Both groups reported lower RPE during 5v5 SSGs compared to 1v1 SSGs and HIIT formats (all p ≤ .003). These findings show that training format influences RPE in a format- and tier-specific manner, even when accounting for internal physiological load. For coaches and sports scientists, larger-sided SSGs may be useful to reduce perceived exertion while maintaining cardiovascular demand. Future research should include elite players and assess psychological and physiological mediators to better understand the complex drivers of perceived effort.

Indexed as

Competitive BehaviorHeart RateHigh-Intensity Interval TrainingPerceptionPhysical Conditioning, HumanPhysical ExertionSoccerAdultHumansMaleYoung AdulteffortFootballinterval trainingload monitoringsided games

Identifiers

PMID40933337
PMCPMC12418188

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.