Research
Mixed
Continuous small-sided games (SSG) elicit higher maximum heart rate and RPE than intermittent SSG, but intermittent SSG allows for higher sprint ratios and total distance at high speeds.
Use intermittent SSG (with rest intervals) to improve your sprinting ability and high-speed running, as the rest allows you to recover and sprint harder. Use continuous SSG if your specific goal is to build aerobic endurance and tolerance to high heart rates and perceived exertion.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
The results suggested that continuous SSG elicited a significantly higher percentage of maximum heart rate response compared with intermittent SSG... players covered greater distance between 13.0 and 17.9 km x h-1 and at speeds above 18.0 km x h-1 during intermittent SSG when compared with continuous SSG.
Why this rating
Review paper citing conflicting RPE results but consistent time-motion differences.
Source
A Review on the Effects of Soccer Small-Sided Games
Marco Aguiar et al. · Journal of Human Kinetics · 2012
DOI 10.2478/v10078-012-0049-x
narrative_reviewCited 371×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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