scholarly journals Load Monitoring Practice in European Elite Football and the Impact of Club Culture and Financial Resources

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kobe C. Houtmeyers ◽  
Jos Vanrenterghem ◽  
Arne Jaspers ◽  
Ludwig Ruf ◽  
Michel S. Brink ◽  
...  

Load monitoring is considered important to manage the physical training process in team sports such as Association Football. Previous studies have described the load monitoring practices of elite English football clubs and clubs with an established sports-science department. An examination of a broader international sample is currently not available. In addition, previous research has suggested factors that may improve the implementation of load monitoring practices, such as a strong club belief on the benefit of evidence-based practice (EBP) and high club financial resources. However, no study has examined yet the actual impact of these factors on the monitoring practices. Therefore, this study aims (1) to provide an overview of load monitoring practices in European elite football and (2) to provide insight into the differences in implementation between clubs by examining the impact of the club beliefs on the benefit of EBP and the club financial resources. An online survey, consisting of multiple choice and Likert scale questions, was distributed among sports-science and sports-medicine staff (n = 99, 50% response rate). Information was asked about the types of data collected, collection purposes, analysis methods, and staff involvement. The results indicated that external load data (e.g., global navigation satellite system, accelerometer…) was collected the most whilst respondents also indicated to collect internal load (e.g., heart rate, rating of perceived exertion…) and training outcome data (e.g., aerobic fitness, neuromuscular fatigue…) for multiple purposes. Considerable diversity in data analysis was observed suggesting that analysis is often limited to reporting the gathered data. Sports-science staff were responsible for data collection and analysis. Other staff were involved in data discussion to share decision-making. These practices were positively impacted by a stronger club belief on the benefit of EBP and greater financial resources. Creating an organizational culture, characterized by a strong belief on the benefit of EBP, is important to increase the impact of load monitoring. However, the actual potential may still be largely determined by financial resources. High-level clubs could therefore play a leading role in generating and sharing knowledge to improve training practices and player health.

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Live S. Luteberget ◽  
Kobe C. Houtmeyers ◽  
Jos Vanrenterghem ◽  
Arne Jaspers ◽  
Michel S. Brink ◽  
...  

The description of current load monitoring practices may serve to highlight developmental needs for both the training ground, academia and related industries. While previous studies described these practices in elite men's football, no study has provided an overview of load monitoring practices in elite women's football. Given the clear organizational differences (i.e., professionalization and infrastructure) between men's and women's clubs, making inferences based on men's data is not appropriate. Therefore, this study aims to provide a first overview of the current load monitoring practices in elite women's football. Twenty-two elite European women's football clubs participated in a closed online survey (40% response rate). The survey consisted of 33 questions using multiple choice or Likert scales. The questions covered three topics; type of data collected and collection purpose, analysis methods, and staff member involvement. All 22 clubs collected data related to different load monitoring purposes, with 18 (82%), 21 (95%), and 22 (100%) clubs collecting external load, internal load, and training outcome data, respectively. Most respondents indicated that their club use training models and take into account multiple indicators to analyse and interpret the data. While sports-science staff members were most involved in the monitoring process, coaching, and sports-medicine staff members also contributed to the discussion of the data. Overall, the results of this study show that most elite women's clubs apply load monitoring practices extensively. Despite the organizational challenges compared to men's football, these observations indicate that women's clubs have a vested interest in load monitoring. We hope these findings encourage future developments within women's football.


Author(s):  
Jorge Lorenzo Calvo ◽  
Miriam Granado-Peinado ◽  
Alfonso de la Rubia ◽  
Diego Muriarte ◽  
Alberto Lorenzo ◽  
...  

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions designed to slow the spread of infection greatly disrupted people’s lives. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of lockdown on the psychology, training, and sleep habits of a cohort of basketball players. An online survey involving 169 professional and amateur athletes was conducted using four validated psychological questionnaires (WLEIS-S, POMS, BRS, SMS-II) and a Likert scale to measure the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and training variables. Gender differences in fatigue (p = 0.022); friendships (p = 0.017); others’ emotional appraisal (p < 0.001); and resilience (p = 0.031) were apparent, with higher values for women in all categories bar resilience. Comparisons before and during the lockdown revealed that all participants reduced their RPE (p < 0.001); training days (p = 0.004); and training hours (p < 0.001), and experienced a decline in the quality of sleep (p < 0.001). Sleep hours (p < 0.001) increased during lockdown. The professionals and females maintained their training days (p > 0.05), while the non-professionals and males did not. Psychological states during lockdown were a predictor of the differences in training and recovery variables. In situations where training and competition are limited, it is important to develop plans to maintain physical activity, good quality sleep, and promote greater emotional management and understanding to control negative moods.


Author(s):  
Bernardo Ide ◽  
Amanda Silvatti ◽  
Craig Staunton ◽  
Moacir Marocolo ◽  
Dustin Oranchuk ◽  
...  

The International System of Units (SI) was adopted in 1960 as a universal measuring system to be used for all areas of science. Sports Science papers have shown lots of inaccurate and inappropriate terms for quantification of athletes&rsquo; performance and the psychobiological responses to exercise (e.g., internal load). In biomechanics, external and internal loads are forces acting externally and internally, inducing stress and strain in the biological tissues. Therefore, the current review present simple proposals to correct the inappropriate terms: 1) do not use the term external load when referring to the assessment of exercise time, distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration, torque, work, power, impulse, etc.; 2) do not use the term internal load when referring to the assessment of psychobiological stress markers (i.e., session rating of perceived exertion, heart rate, blood lactate, oxygen consumption, etc.); 3) do not use the term impulse when expressing other calculus than integrating force with respect to time, and neither strain, when expressing other phenomena than the body deformation. Instead, the term exercise intensity is universal and can be used to describe all forms of exercise. Finally, duration should precisely be described according to physical quantities (e.g., time, distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration, force, torque, work, power, impulse, etc.) and the units accomplish by use of the SI. These simple quantifications can be performed for the exercises, sessions, microcycles, mesocycles and macrocycles of the athletes. Such standardization will provide a consistent and clear communication among sports scientists and all areas of science.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 947-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luka Svilar ◽  
Julen Castellano ◽  
Igor Jukic ◽  
David Casamichana

Purpose: To study the structure of interrelationships among external-training-load measures and how these vary among different positions in elite basketball. Methods: Eight external variables of jumping (JUMP), acceleration (ACC), deceleration (DEC), and change of direction (COD) and 2 internal-load variables (rating of perceived exertion [RPE] and session RPE) were collected from 13 professional players with 300 session records. Three playing positions were considered: guards (n = 4), forwards (n = 4), and centers (n = 5). High and total external variables (hJUMP and tJUMP, hACC and tACC, hDEC and tDEC, and hCOD and tCOD) were used for the principal-component analysis. Extraction criteria were set at an eigenvalue of greater than 1. Varimax rotation mode was used to extract multiple principal components. Results: The analysis showed that all positions had 2 or 3 principal components (explaining almost all of the variance), but the configuration of each factor was different: tACC, tDEC, tCOD, and hJUMP for centers; hACC, tACC, tCOD, and hJUMP for guards; and tACC, hDEC, tDEC, hCOD, and tCOD for forwards are specifically demanded in training sessions, and therefore these variables must be prioritized in load monitoring. Furthermore, for all playing positions, RPE and session RPE have high correlation with the total amount of ACC, DEC, and COD. This would suggest that although players perform the same training tasks, the demands of each position can vary. Conclusion: A particular combination of external-load measures is required to describe the training load of each playing position, especially to better understand internal responses among players.


Author(s):  
Belén Carballo-Leyenda ◽  
Jorge Gutiérrez-Arroyo ◽  
Fabio García-Heras ◽  
Pilar Sánchez-Collado ◽  
José G. Villa-Vicente ◽  
...  

The Pack Test (PT) is a widely used test to establish readiness for work in wildland firefighting. It is common to perform this test dressed in regular exercise clothing. However, wildland firefighters (WFF) have to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) during their deployments, which increases the physiological strain and reduces their work capacity. This study aimed to analyse the impact of full PPE on PT performance. Nine male professional WFF performed in random order a PT walking at the fastest possible self-pace wearing two different clothing configurations: (i) traditional short sports gear (SG) and (ii) the PPE currently used by Spanish WFF. Heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion and lap time were recorded during the PT. In addition, oxygen uptake (VO2) was estimated through the individual VO2–HR relationship previously obtained during a graded exercise test. There was a significant decrease in the PT performance (i.e., completion time) (~12%, p < 0.05) in PPE. The physiological demands with this configuration were significantly higher (~10%, p < 0.05). WFF spent ~13 min above the anaerobic threshold in PPE vs. ~4 min in SG. A multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that PT performance variation might be explained by the maximal aerobic velocity (84.5%) in PPE and the VO2max (75.9%) in SG. In conclusion, wearing complete PPE increases WFF’s physiological strain, which translates into a significant PT performance reduction. Performing the test walking at the fastest possible self-pace wearing the PPE would better reflect the high-intensity effort periods reported in real scenarios.


2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milou Beelen ◽  
Jort Berghuis ◽  
Ben Bonaparte ◽  
Sam B. Ballak ◽  
Asker E. Jeukendrup ◽  
...  

It has been reported previously that mouth rinsing with a carbohydrate-containing solution can improve cycling performance. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of such a carbohydrate mouth rinse on exercise performance during a simulated time trial in a more practical, postprandial setting. Fourteen male endurance-trained athletes were selected to perform 2 exercise tests in the morning after consuming a standardized breakfast. They performed an ~1-hr time trial on a cycle ergometer while rinsing their mouths with either a 6.4% maltodextrin solution (CHO) or water (PLA) after every 12.5% of the set amount of work. Borg’s rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was assessed after every 25% of the set amount of work, and power output and heart rate were recorded continuously throughout the test. Performance time did not differ between treatments and averaged 68.14 ± 1.14 and 67.52 ± 1.00 min in CHO and PLA, respectively (p = .57). In accordance, average power output (265 ± 5 vs. 266 ± 5 W, p = .58), heart rate (169 ± 2 vs. 168 ± 2 beats/min, p = .43), and RPE (16.4 ± 0.3 vs. 16.7 ± 0.3 W, p = .26) did not differ between treatments. Furthermore, after dividing the trial into 8s, no differences in power output, heart rate, or perceived exertion were observed over time between treatments. Carbohydrate mouth rinsing does not improve time-trial performance when exercise is performed in a practical, postprandial setting.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 767-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Moreira ◽  
Tom Kempton ◽  
Marcelo Saldanha Aoki ◽  
Anita C. Sirotic ◽  
Aaron J. Coutts

Purpose: To examine the impact of varying between-matches microcycles on training characteristics (ie, intensity, duration, and load) in professional rugby league players and to report on match load related to these between-matches microcycles. Methods: Training-load data were collected during a 26-wk competition period of an entire season. Training load was measured using the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) method for every training session and match from 44 professional rugby league players from the same National Rugby League team. Using the category-ratio 10 RPE scale, the training intensity was divided into 3 zones (low <4 AU, moderate ≥4-≤7 AU, and high >7 AU). Three different-length between-matches recovery microcycles were used for analysis: 5−6 d, 7−8 d, and 9−10 d. Results: A total of 3848 individual sessions were recorded. During the shorter-length between-matches microcycles (5−6 d), significantly lower training load was observed. No significant differences for subsequent match load or intensity were identified between the various match recovery periods. Overall, 16% of the training sessions were completed at the low-intensity zone, 61% at the moderate-intensity zone, and 23% at the high-intensity zone. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that rugby league players undertake higher training load as the length of between-matches microcycles is increased. The majority of in-season training of professional rugby league players was at moderate intensity, and a polarized approach to training that has been reported in elite endurance athletes does not occur in professional rugby league.


Author(s):  
Patrick J. Highton ◽  
Daniel S. March ◽  
Darren R. Churchward ◽  
Charlotte E. Grantham ◽  
Hannah M. L. Young ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Patients receiving haemodialysis (HD) display elevated circulating microparticle (MP) concentration, tissue factor (TF) expression and markers of systemic inflammation, though regular intradialytic cycling (IDC) may have a therapeutic effect. This study investigated the impact of regular, moderate-intensity IDC on circulating MPs and inflammatory markers in unit-based HD patients. Methods Patients were cluster-randomised to intervention (n = 20, age: 51.4 ± 18.1 years, body mass: 77.6 ± 18.3 kg, mean ± SD) or no-exercise control (n = 20, 56.8 ± 14.0 years, 80.5 ± 26.5 kg). Intervention participants completed 30 min of moderate intensity (rating of perceived exertion [RPE] of 12–14) IDC, thrice weekly for 6 months. Pre-dialysis venous blood samples were obtained at 0, 3 and 6 months. Circulating MP phenotypes, cytokines, chemokine and MP TF expression were quantified using flow cytometry and cytometric bead array assays. Results Despite high exercise compliance (82%), no IDC-dependent effects were observed for any MP, cytokine or chemokine measure (p ≥ 0.051, ηρ2 ≤ 0.399) other than TNF-α (p = 0.001, ηρ2 = 0.186), though no significance was revealed upon post hoc analysis. Conclusion Six months of regular, moderate-intensity IDC had no effect on MPs, cytokines or chemokines. This suggests that the exercise did not exacerbate thrombotic or inflammatory status, though further functional assays are required to confirm this. Trial registration ISRCTN1129707, prospectively registered on 05/03/2015.


Author(s):  
Kelsey Denby ◽  
Ronald Caruso ◽  
Emily Schlicht ◽  
Stephen J. Ives

Environmental heat stress poses significant physiological challenge and impairs exercise performance. We investigated the impact of wrist percooling on running performance and physiological and perceptual responses in the heat. In a counterbalanced design, 13 trained males (33 ± 9 years, 15 ± 7% body fat, and maximal oxygen consumption, VO2max 59 ± 5 mL/kg/min) completed three 10 km running time trials (27 °C, 60% relative humidity) while wearing two cooling bands: (1) both bands were off (off/off), (2) one band on (off/on), (3) both bands on (on/on). Heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV), mean arterial pressure (MAP), core temperature (TCO), thermal sensation (TS), and fatigue (VAS) were recorded at baseline and recovery, while running speed (RS) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected during the 10 km. Wrist cooling had no effect (p > 0.05) at rest, except modestly increased HR (3–5 ∆beats/min, p < 0.05). Wrist percooling increased (p < 0.05) RS (0.25 ∆mi/h) and HR (5 ∆beats/min), but not TCO (∆ 0.3 °C), RPE, or TS. Given incomplete trials, the distance achieved at 16 min was not different between conditions (off/off 1.96 ± 0.16 vs. off/on 1.98 ± 0.19 vs. on/on 1.99 ± 0.24 miles, p = 0.490). During recovery HRV, MAP, or fatigue were unaffected (p > 0.05). We demonstrate that wrist percooling elicited a faster running speed, though this coincides with increased HR; although, interestingly, sensations of effort and thermal comfort were unaffected, despite the faster speed and higher HR.


Author(s):  
Savannah V. Wooten ◽  
Sten Stray-Gundersen ◽  
Hirofumi Tanaka

AbstractA combination of yoga and blood flow restriction, each of which elicits marked pressor responses, may further increase blood pressure and myocardial oxygen demand. To determine the impact of a combination of yoga and blood flow restriction on hemodynamic responses, twenty young healthy participants performed 20 yoga poses with/without blood flow restriction bands placed on both legs. At baseline, there were no significant differences in any of the variables between the blood flow restriction and non-blood flow restriction conditions. Blood pressure and heart rate increased in response to the various yoga poses (p<0.01) but were not different between the blood flow restriction and non-blood flow restriction conditions. Rate-pressure products, an index of myocardial oxygen demand, increased significantly during yoga exercises with no significant differences between the two conditions. Rating of perceived exertion was not different between the conditions. Blood lactate concentration was significantly greater after performing yoga with blood flow restriction bands (p=0.007). Cardio-ankle vascular index, an index of arterial stiffness, decreased similarly after yoga exercise in both conditions while flow-mediated dilation remained unchanged. In conclusion, the use of lower body blood flow restriction bands in combination with yoga did not result in additive or synergistic hemodynamic and pressor responses.


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