Please cite this article in press as: Dupont G, et al. Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test versus the Université de Montréal Track Test: Relation with a high-intensity intermittent exercise. J Sci Med Sport (2008), doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2008.10.007 ARTICLE IN PRESS JSAMS-392; No. of Pages 5 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport xxx (2008) xxx–xxx Original paper Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test versus the Université de Montréal Track Test: Relation with a high-intensity intermittent exercise Gregory Dupont a,b,∗ , Mathieu Defontaine a , Laurent Bosquet a,c , Nicolas Blondel a , Wassim Moalla d , Serge Berthoin a a Laboratory of Human Movement Studies, Faculty of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, Artois and Lille 2 Universities, France b Celtic Lab, Sport Science Department, Celtic FC, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom c Department of Kinesiology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada d Research Unit “Evaluation, Sport and Health”, Medicine and Sport Science National Centre, Tunis, Tunisia Received 7 March 2008; received in revised form 8 October 2008; accepted 10 October 2008 Abstract The first purpose of this study was to determine whether the peak velocity (V Yo-Yo ) achieved during the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test (Yo-Yo) and the maximal aerobic velocity (MAV) determined from the Université de Montréal Track Test (UMTT) could be used interchangeably. The second purpose was to check that the V Yo-Yo is related to the intermittent exercise performance, which consisted of repeated 90 m distance runs in 15 s performed until exhaustion, alternated with 15 s of passive recovery (15/15). Fourteen amateur soccer players performed, in a random order, the 15/15 and two incremental field-tests: the Yo-Yo and the UMTT. The results of this study showed that MAV was significantly correlated to the V Yo-Yo (r = 0.79, p <0.01). However, the error was not constant, when the V Yo-Yo and the MAV values were higher than 16.3 km h -1 , the MAV values tends to be higher than the V Yo-Yo , while when the V Yo-Yo and the MAV values were lower than 16.3 km h -1 , the MAV values tends to be lower than the V Yo-Yo . MAV and V Yo-Yo were significantly correlated to the time to exhaustion of the 15/15 (r = 0.74 and r = 0.72, respectively) and show that both tests are similarly related to the high-intensity intermittent exercise performance. © 2008 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Intermittent exercise; Soccer; Field test; Performance 1. Introduction High-intensity intermittent exercises, such as 15-s runs alternated with 15-s of recovery (15/15), are often planned in training programs to improve both aerobic and anaerobic qualities. 9 According to the distance covered in 15-s (from 80 to 90 m), this kind of exercise presents the advantages of being fast to perform and easily implemented on a soccer pitch with many players. However, in order to optimise the improvements, the individualisation of the intensity is a key factor. The 15/15 is usually individualised from the maximal aerobic velocity 8,9 determined during a field-test, the Univer- sité de Montréal Track Test 14 in order to reduce the variability ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: gregory.dupont@univ-lille2.fr (G. Dupont). of the time to exhaustion (TTE). MAV has been found reliable to predict the maximal oxygen uptake 14 and can be consid- ered as the velocity associated with VO 2 max. 4 However, the UMTT is a progressive continuous run, while intermittent runs such as 15/15 require to accelerate, to decelerate, to stop and to recover quickly during the short pause. The Yo- Yo intermittent recovery test 2 includes these acceleration, deceleration and recovery abilities. Although the estima- tion of VO 2 max from the Yo-Yo results is not accurate, 3,5 this test is used to evaluate an athletes’ ability to repeat- edly perform intense exercise and his potential to recover from intense exercise. 12 However, the performance criterion for this test is the distance covered, which is efficient to class a population or to analyse the effects of a training pro- gram, but not to individualise the intensity. Using the peak velocity reached during the Yo-Yo (V Yo-Yo ), it would become 1440-2440/$ – see front matter © 2008 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2008.10.007