Recreational Football for Young-to-middle-aged Inactive Men

The aim of this study was to examine the health and physical fitness effects of 12 weeks of recreational football in inactive 30-50-year-old men. This was a two-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial with a 1:2 allocation ratio to either a control group, which was informed to maintain their inactive lifestyle, or an intervention group, which completed a 12-week recreational football-based exercise programme. Health and physical fitness assessments were performed at baseline and post-intervention (12 weeks) and selected training sessions throughout the intervention were monitored for internal and external load markers.

Inclusion Criteria: * 30-50-year-old-males * inactive (i.e., not exercising for more than 20 min on three or more days per week) * with medical clearance from a physician to undertake moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise Exclusion Criteria: * Cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease * Advanced retinopathy * Renal failure * Previous cardiovascular event