Effects of environment temperature on heart rate and distance covered in official football matches- a pilot study

The demands of football, short-duration and high-intensity actions can result in an increase in body temperature due to the high metabolic demand. Additionally, the ambient temperature in which the match is being played can increase this thermoregulatory stress, influencing the distances covered and cardiovascular performance during the games. Objective: To verify how the hot and cold environment influence the physical performance of football players during official matches. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of nine male professional football players, who underwent analysis of the percentage of dehydration, total distance covered, distance covered at high speed and percentage of maximum heart rate. The paired Student's t Test was used to compare environments in the analysis of total distance covered, distance covered at high speed and percentage of maximum heart rate. The comparison between environments for the distance traveled in the first vs. second half of each game, was performed through analysis of variance with two variation factors (two-way ANOVA). Results: The distance covered at high speed was significantly shorter in a hot environment, while the total distance covered, and the percentage of maximum heart rate showed no statistical differences. Conclusion: The hot environment seems to negatively influence physical performance for high-intensity activities.