The Walking Cadence Threshold Associated With A Moderate Metabolic Intensity During Competitive Walking Football

A walking cadence (WC) of 100 SPM is generally considered a clinically relevant threshold associated with a “moderate” metabolic intensity for walking-based activities. Much lower average stepping rates of 44-63 SPM corresponding with metabolic intensities averaging 3.2-3.9 METs, however, were reported for athletes participating successive competitive walking football matches (i.e., walking soccer) (IJAEP 10(2):14-22, 2021). PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to use the data from this previous study to establish a WC threshold associated with the 3.0 MET moderate intensity threshold for competitive walking football. METHODS: Quantitative observational data were collected during a tournament in Perth (AU) that included all members of four participating teams (22 women and 20 men) representing the countries of Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore - (Mean ± SD; 51 ± 11 years old, 27.3 ± 5.2 kg/m2 BMI). Participants wore a neoprene waist pack with an accelerometry-based activity monitor (AM) that collected and summarized accelerometry data every 60 seconds during a total of eight matches. After the tournament, AM data were downloaded to a computer and transformed into average METs and WC for each minute of game play. Mean values for METs and WC for all players of each match were then pooled to determine the optimal WC associated with 3.0 METs using both multiple regression modelling and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) models. RESULTS: Using gender as a covariate, the regression model (P < 0.001) found WC thresholds of 38 and 42 SPM for women and men, respectively, or 40 SPM without the non-significant gender term. Similarly, the ROC analysis found that 40 SPM was optimal with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the often cited 100 SPM WC threshold, our study found a much lower WC threshold of 40 SPM for adults playing competitive walking football. The lower WC threshold for walking football is presumably a reflection of the walking behavior inherent with playing this sport - i.e., frequent directional changes with accelerations, decelerations, backwards walking, and lots of ball handling. This is the first study to establish a WC threshold associated with 3.0 METs for walking football. Supported by Edith Cowan University (Perth, Western Australia, AU).