REAL MADRID
The secrets of Pintus’ $30,000 ‘miracle’ masks at Real Madrid
Raúl Notario, director of operations at the UAX Rafa Nadal School of Sport, explains the details of one of the most striking tools of the ‘Pintus method’.
It’s a familiar scene during Real Madrid’s pre-seasons. The day when Antonio Pintus, the club’s Italian fitness coach, becomes “the devil,” as his own players describe him, subjecting them to a gruelling physical test that goes viral due to the striking masks worn by Ancelotti’s squad.
“What Real Madrid’s players are doing is a stress test with a portable device,” says Raúl Notario, fitness coach, director of sports at Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio (UAX), and director of operations at the UAX Rafa Nadal School of Sport, while dispelling the myth that these are hypoxia masks used to simulate high-altitude training.
“The players are undergoing a typical stress test, but with a portable system to measure maximum oxygen capacity (VO2 max). The mask is used to assess the player’s respiratory capacity through an electrocardiogram and gas analysis,” such as the carbon dioxide exhaled by the players, Notario explains during a phone conversation with AS.
No miracles here, then, just technology and science.
“The advantage of these masks is that they are portable, allowing you to conduct tests anywhere: on the pitch, during a short scrimmage, or, as Pintus does, with the Course-Navette test, known as the beep test. You have to run back and forth across the field. You start at 8 km/h, and with each beep, the speed increases by 0.5 km/h. After 20 minutes, you might reach 18-20 km/h, but no one ever does that – that’s superhuman,” Notario details.
“Any stress test lasts no more than 15-20 minutes because you have to perform it at your maximum level. The goal of the stress test is to push the body to its limit to determine the maximum amount of air you can assimilate and take in at that point.”
The portability of the device allows these tests to be conducted in a real environment on the grass, where Pintus pushes his players to the limit. “I think it’s good for the players to reach that limit, to the maximum of their strength, and in a real situation, it’s more interesting,” Notario opines.
The cost of Real Madrid’s ‘Pintus masks’
The masks used by Madrid are the Cosmed V5 model. Each one costs around €30,000 (c.$33,500), including software, although there are companies that rent them out and collaborations with sports entities and research institutes. Despite the mask’s cumbersome appearance, the equipment is simple.
When you’re doing the stress test, you breathe with whatever you can. You’re practically breathing with your eyes
The kit includes the mask, which is secured to the back of the head with straps, and a small backpack – measuring about 20x20x6 cm (7.8x7.8x2.3 inches), with a capacity of 2.4 litres (around 5 pints), and weighing less than half a kilo (1 pound) – that houses the box receiving the mask’s data via a small antenna, which is then transmitted via Bluetooth to a computer or tablet in real time.
“It’s more about the cumbersome nature and getting used to breathing with it. Until you get used to it, it’s a bit uncomfortable. Then, when you’re doing the stress test, you breathe with whatever you can. You’re practically breathing with your eyes,” Notario exaggerates for effect.
Monitoring Madrid players
The test provides Pintus with highly valuable data that allows him to program and monitor the players’ physical work throughout the rest of the season.
“Pintus pushes them to the limit, but thanks to this test, he knows how far he can push the players,” says Notario. “It’s an exceptional test, repeated perhaps only once more midway through the season to adjust the workload. On a daily basis, there are simpler, quicker, and less bothersome methods to gauge a player’s physical condition. For example, a jump test with a machine that tells you the power with which the player jumps. If a player is off on a particular day, training is adjusted and intensity reduced to prevent injuries.”
Cosmed V5 mask applications beyond football
In addition to their application in high-performance sports, these masks are also used in certain situations by amateur athletes, such as cyclists or runners, and are employed in other fields like medicine.
“They are used differently, for example, with people who have suffered a heart attack. The test is recommended for individuals who are preparing for a challenge but are not in peak condition. It can cost between 80 and 100 euros ($90-$110). Many don’t take the test, but it’s very beneficial because the doctor can guide you and say, ‘Hey, be careful, don’t exceed this heart rate or level of exertion because we see that you’re already pushing too hard’.”
Raúl Notario is now dedicated to the academic world, but in his youth, he wore the Real Madrid jersey at the old Ciudad Deportiva. “I was part of a generation of crazy talent. I played alongside several who went on to play in LaLiga. I was with Soldado, Rubén de la Red, Borja Valero, Jurado, who was a year younger, Ernesto, Álex Pérez… Later, I moved to Rayo Vallecano and played with Negredo,” he recalls.