Repeated sprint training: The effects of session volume on acute physiological, neuromuscular, perceptual and performance outcomes in athletes.

We examined the effects of repeated sprint training (RST) session volume on acute physiological, neuromuscular, perceptual and performance outcomes. In a randomised, counterbalanced, and crossover design, 14 healthy and trained male and female athletes (age: 23 ± 3 years) completed two sets of 10 × 40 m (10 × 40), 5 × 40 m (5 × 40), 10 × 20 m (10 × 20) and 5 × 20 m (5 × 20) sprints with 30 s rest between repetitions and 3 min rest between sets for all protocols. Average and peak heart rate, average oxygen consumption (VO), time >90% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO), differential ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), session-RPE training load (sRPE-TL), percentage sprint decrement (S), acceleration load and distance >90% of maximal sprint speed were recorded during each session.

A Novel Method to Predict Carbohydrate and Energy Expenditure During Endurance Exercise Using Measures of Training Load.

Background: Sports nutrition guidelines recommend carbohydrate (CHO) intake be individualized to the athlete and modulated according to changes in training load. However, there are limited methods to assess CHO utilization during training sessions.

Objectives: We aimed to (1) quantify bivariate relationships between both CHO and overall energy expenditure (EE) during exercise and commonly used, non-invasive measures of training load across sessions of varying duration and intensity and (2) build and evaluate prediction models to estimate CHO utilization and EE with the same training load measures and easily quantified individual factors.

Assessing criterion and longitudinal validity of submaximal heart rate indices as measures of cardiorespiratory fitness: A preliminary study in football.

Objectives: To evaluate the criterion and longitudinal validity of field- and laboratory-derived heart rate (HR) indices of resting and submaximal fitness tests (SMFTs) as measures of cardiorespiratory fitness.

Design: Observational, repeated measures.

Methods: Twenty-nine semi-professional footballers participated.

A Methodological Comparison of Protocols and Analytical Techniques to Assess the Outcome Measures of Submaximal Fitness Tests.

Background: Submaximal fitness test (SMFT) outcome measures are frequently collected with a wide array of technologies and methodological approaches.

Purpose: To examine the test-retest reliability of various SMFT outcome measures derived from different protocols and analytical techniques.

Methods: Twenty-six semiprofessional adult soccer players performed 3 SMFT protocols, including 2 continuous (3 min, 11 and 12.

The Effects of Repeated-Sprint Training on Physical Fitness and Physiological Adaptation in Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Repeated-sprint training (RST) is a common training method for enhancing physical fitness in athletes. To advance RST prescription, it is important to understand the effects of programming variables on physical fitness and physiological adaptation.

Objectives: This study (1) quantifies the pooled effects of running RST on changes in 10 and 20 m sprint time, maximal oxygen consumption (VO), Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIR1) distance, repeated-sprint ability (RSA), countermovement jump (CMJ) height and change of direction (COD) ability in athletes, and (2) examines the moderating effects of program duration, training frequency, weekly volume, sprint modality, repetition distance, number of repetitions per set and number of sets per session on changes in these outcome measures.

A Worldwide Survey on the Practices and Perceptions of Submaximal Fitness Tests in Team Sports.

Purpose: To survey team-sport practitioners on current practices and perceptions of submaximal fitness tests (SMFTs).

Methods: A convenience sample of team-sport practitioners completed an online survey (September to November 2021). Descriptive statistics were used to obtain information of frequencies.

Understanding Training Load as Exposure and Dose.

Various terms used in sport and exercise science, and medicine, are derived from other fields such as epidemiology, pharmacology and causal inference. Conceptual and nomological frameworks have described training load as a multidimensional construct manifested by two causally related subdimensions: external and internal training load. In this article, we explain how the concepts of training load and its subdimensions can be aligned to classifications used in occupational medicine and epidemiology, where exposure can also be differentiated into external and internal dose.

Submaximal Fitness Test in Team Sports: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Exercise Heart Rate Measurement Properties.

Background: Submaximal fitness tests (SMFT) are a pragmatic approach for evaluating athlete's physiological state, due to their time-efficient nature, low physiological burden and relative ease of administration in team sports settings. While a variety of outcome measures can be collected during SMFT, exercise heart rate (HRex) is the most popular. Understanding the measurement properties of HRex can support the interpretation of data and assist in decision making regarding athlete's current physiological state and training effects.

Development and Validation of Single Items for Fatigue and Recovery in Dancers.

Purpose: To examine the construct validity and reliability of 2 single items for fatigue and recovery in dancers. The construct validity was assessed using reference instruments: the fatigue items of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS). A secondary aim was to explore the respondent interpretation of these 2 items using a concept identification approach.

Quantifying Exposure and Intra-Individual Reliability of High-Speed and Sprint Running During Sided-Games Training in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Sided games (i.e., small sided, medium sided, large sided) involve tactical, technical, physical, and psychological elements and are commonly implemented in soccer training.

Monitoring Elite Youth Football Players' Physiological State Using a Small-Sided Game: Associations With a Submaximal Running Test.

Purpose: To examine the utility of a standardized small-sided game (SSG) for monitoring within-player changes in mean exercise heart rate (HRex) when compared with a submaximal interval shuttle-run test (ISRT).

Methods: Thirty-six elite youth football players (17 [1] y) took part in 6 test sessions across an in-season period (every 4 wk). Sessions consisted of the ISRT (20-m shuttles, 30″:15″ work:rest ratio, 70% maximal ISRT) followed by an SSG (7v7, 80 × 56 m, 6 min).

Submaximal Fitness Tests in Team Sports: A Theoretical Framework for Evaluating Physiological State.

Team-sports staff often administer non-exhaustive exercise assessments with a view to evaluating physiological state, to inform decision making on athlete management (e.g., future training or recovery).

Differential Ratings of Perceived Exertion: Relationships With External Intensity and Load in Elite Men's Football.

Purpose: To examine the utility of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) for monitoring internal intensity and load in association football.

Methods: Data were collected from 2 elite senior male football teams during 1 season (N = 55). External intensity and load data (duration × intensity) were collected during each training and match session using electronic performance and tracking systems.

The 'training load' construct: Why it is appropriate and scientific.

A recent paper called for the abandonment of the term load (and training load) when used outside its mechanical meaning, claiming it is "unscientific" and "breaches scientific principles." In this article, we explain why its use does not breach any scientific principles and we clarify the process of labelling, conceptualising and operationalising a construct. Training load is simply a label attributed to a higher-order construct overarching other interrelated sub-dimensions.

A league-wide investigation into variability of rugby league match running from 322 Super League games.

This study investigated sources of variability in the overall and phase-specific running match characteristics in elite rugby league. Microtechnology data were collected from 11 Super League (SL) teams, across 322 competitive matches within the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Total distance, high-speed running (HSR) distance (>5.

The reliability, validity and sensitivity of an individualised sub-maximal fitness test in elite rugby league athletes.

We aimed to examine the reliability, validity and sensitivity of an individualised sub-maximal fitness test (SMFTIFT60). Nineteen elite rugby league players performed a one-week test-retest of SMFTIFT60. Typical Errors and ICCs were: small (<3.

The Self-Paced Submaximal Run Test: Associations With the Graded Exercise Test and Reliability.

Purpose: To assess the reliability and construct validity of a self-paced, submaximal run test (SRTRPE) for monitoring aerobic fitness. The SRTRPE monitors running velocity (v), heart rate (HRex), and blood lactate concentration (B[La]), during three 3-minute stages prescribed by ratings of perceived exertion (RPEs) of 10, 13, and 17.

Methods: Forty (14 female) trained endurance runners completed a treadmill graded exercise test for the determination of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), v at VO2max (vVO2max), and v at 2 mmol·L-1 (vLT1) and 4 mmol·L-1 (vLT2) B[La].

Re-thinking athlete training loads: would you rather have one big rock or lots of little rocks dropped on your foot?

Determination of athlete training loads is of great interest to sport practitioners and is widely used in the prescription and monitoring of physical conditioning programmes. Although a number of methods of load quantification are used, a common feature is that total load calculations are the product of exercise intensity and duration. We argue that these methods may be limited, however, as they do not account for non-linearities in the biological response to stress, with the end result being that they fail to fully account for the load imposed by high-intensity or interval-based training sessions.

Monitoring training and recovery responses with heart rate measures during standardized warm-up in elite badminton players.

Purpose: To investigate short-term training and recovery-related effects on heart rate during a standardized submaximal running test.

Methods: Ten elite badminton players (7 females and 3 males) were monitored during a 12-week training period in preparation for the World Championships. Exercise heart rate (HRex) and perceived exertion were measured in response to a 5-min submaximal shuttle-run test during the morning session warm-up.

Decomposing the variability of match physical performance in professional soccer: Implications for monitoring individuals.

The aims of this study were to establish sources of variability in match physical performance of professional soccer players and provide a method for monitoring individual between-match changes. Eleven players meeting the final inclusion criteria were monitored through an entire in-season competition phase ( = 240 individual match observations). Ten Hertz global positioning systems were used to measure match total distance (TD), total high-speed running distance (≥ 21 km·h; HSRD), total accelerations (TAcc) and maximum running velocity ().

Athlete-Reported Outcome Measures for Monitoring Training Responses: A Systematic Review of Risk of Bias and Measurement Property Quality According to the COSMIN Guidelines.

Background: Athlete-reported outcome measures (AROMs) are frequently used in research and practice but no studies have examined their psychometric properties.

Objectives: Part 1-identify the most commonly used AROMs in sport for monitoring training responses; part 2-assess risk of bias, measurement properties, and level of evidence, based on the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines.

Study Appraisal And Synthesis Methods: Methodological quality of the studies, quality of measurement properties, and level of evidence were determined using the COSMIN checklist and criteria.

Differential Ratings of Perceived Match and Training Exertion in Girls' Soccer.

Purpose: To understand the validity of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) as a measure of girls' training and match internal loads.

Methods: Using the centiMax scale (CR100), session dRPE for breathlessness (sRPE-B) and leg muscle exertion (sRPE-L) were collected across a season of training (soccer, resistance, and fitness) and matches from 33 players (15 [1] y). Differences and associations between dRPE were examined using mixed and general linear models.