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Loturco I, Pereira LA, Moura TBMA, Mercer VP, Betelli MT, Ramos MS, Zabaloy S, Pareja-Blanco F. Jump Squats Performed with Both Light and Heavy Loads Have Similar Effects on the Physical Performance of Elite Rugby Players during the Initial Phase of the Competitive Period. J Hum Kinet 2024; 91:175-188. [PMID: 38689591 PMCID: PMC11057615 DOI: 10.5114/jhk/186340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
We examined the effectiveness of two different jump-squat (JS) loading ranges on the physical performance of rugby players. Twenty-eight elite male rugby players were divided into two JS training groups: a light-load JS group ("LJS"; JS at 40% of the one-repetition maximum [1RM] in the half-squat (HS) exercise) and a heavy-load JS group ("HJS"; JS at 80% HS-1RM). Players completed the distinct training programs over four weeks, three times per week, during the initial phase of the competitive period. Pre- and post-training tests were conducted in the following sequence: vertical jumps, a 30-m speed test, peak power in the JS and the HS, and maximum isometric force in the HS. Additionally, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was assessed at the end of all training sessions throughout the intervention. A two-way ANOVA with repeated measures, followed by the Tukey's post-hoc test, was employed to analyze differences between groups. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Effect sizes were used to assess the magnitude of differences between pre- and post-training data. Except for the RPE values (which were lower in the LJS group), no significant changes were detected for any other variable. In summary, using either a light- (40% HS-1RM) or a heavy-load (80% HS-1RM) JS during the initial phase of the competitive period is equally effective in maintaining physical performance levels attained during the preceding training period (pre-season), with the significant advantage of the light-load protocol resulting in lower levels of the RPE. This finding may have important implications for resistance training programming, especially in disciplines where acute and chronic fatigue is always a problematic issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irineu Loturco
- NAR—Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Sport, Health, and Exercise Science, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, Wales, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - Marina T. Betelli
- NAR—Nucleus of High Performance in Sport, São Paulo, Brazil
- CBRu—Brazilian Rugby Confederation, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Santiago Zabaloy
- Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports, University of Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Fernando Pareja-Blanco
- Physical Performance & Sports Research Center, Department of Sports and Computer Sciences, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
- Faculty of Sport Sciences, Department of Sports and Computer Sciences, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Spain
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Rahilly DO, Whelan N, Moane S. Training Load Monitoring Practices Used by Strength and Conditioning Coaches in Hurling, Gaelic Football, Camogie, and Ladies Gaelic Football. Sports Health 2023; 15:848-854. [PMID: 36518046 PMCID: PMC10606973 DOI: 10.1177/19417381221139338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND No research has investigated the training load (TL) monitoring practices currently used by strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches in Gaelic games. The purpose of this study was to investigate the TL monitoring practices used by S&C coaches across senior intercounty male and female Gaelic game sports. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional. HYPOTHESES It was hypothesized that (1) TL is commonly monitored, (2) various methods are used by S&C coaches to monitor TL, and (3) the level of qualifications of the S&C coach is of a professional standard. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level 4. METHODS A total of 33 (n = 32 male and n = 1 female) S&C coaches participated in the study by completing an online questionnaire that investigated coach biography, coach education, team biography, monitoring practices, rating of perceived exertion, acute:chronic workload ratio, and data implementation. RESULTS The results showed that S&C coaches had varying levels of experience and education. All 33 coaches (100%) stated they monitored the TL of the players. The most common method used to monitor TL was session rating of perceived exertion, which was used by 91% of coaches. Analysis of an open-ended question afforded each participant the opportunity to share additional information, highlighting 3 themes: (1) communication with players, (2) performance testing, and (3) clarity and support among other coaching staff. CONCLUSION Multiple methods are used to monitor TL in Gaelic games. Despite multiple forms of technology available, communication with players provides essential information regarding an athlete's state. CLINICAL RELEVANCE As this is the first study to explore TL monitoring practices used by S&C coaches in Gaelic games, the results may inform the development of educational resources for the guidance of coaches working in Gaelic games in best practice TL monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Declan O Rahilly
- Department of Sport and Early Childhood, Technical University of Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Limerick, Ireland
- ACTIVE Research Group, Technical University of Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Niamh Whelan
- Department of Sport and Early Childhood, Technical University of Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Limerick, Ireland
- ACTIVE Research Group, Technical University of Shannon, Midlands Midwest, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Siobhan Moane
- LIFE Health & Biosciences Research Institute, Technological University of Shannon: Midlands Midwest, Limerick, Ireland
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Peer Presence Increases Session Ratings of Perceived Exertion. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 2021; 17:106-110. [PMID: 34560668 DOI: 10.1123/ijspp.2021-0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aimed to examine the effect of peer presence on session rating of perceived exertion (RPE) responses. METHOD Fourteen males, with mean (SD) age 22.4 (3.9) years, peak oxygen uptake 48.0 (6.6) mL·kg-1·min-1, and peak power output 330 (44) W, completed an incremental cycling test and 3 identical experimental sessions, in groups of 4 or 5. Experimental sessions involved 24 minutes of cycling, whereby the work rate alternated between 40% and 70% peak power output every 3 minutes. During cycling, heart rate was collected every 3 minutes, and session-RPE was recorded 10 minutes after cycling, in 3 communication contexts: in written form unaccompanied (intrapersonal communication), verbally by the researcher only (interpersonal communication), and in the presence of the training group. Session-RPE was analyzed using ordinal regression and heart rate using a linear mixed-effects model, with models fit in a Bayesian framework. RESULTS Session-RPE was voted higher when collected in the group's presence compared with when written (odds ratio = 4.26, 95% credible interval = 1.27-14.73). On average, the posterior probability that session-RPE was higher in the group setting than when written was .53. Session-RPE was not different between the group and verbal, or verbal and written collection contexts. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that contextual psychosocial inputs influence session-RPE and highlights the importance of session-RPE users controlling the measurement environment when collecting votes.
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Griffin A, Kenny IC, Comyns TM, Lyons M. Training Load Monitoring in Amateur Rugby Union: A Survey of Current Practices. J Strength Cond Res 2021; 35:1568-1575. [PMID: 32412966 DOI: 10.1519/jsc.0000000000003637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Griffin, A, Kenny, IC, Comyns, TM, and Lyons, M. Training load monitoring in amateur Rugby Union: A survey of current practices. J Strength Cond Res 35(6): 1568-1575, 2021-Amateur Rugby Union has an inherent risk of injury that is associated with detrimental effects on player welfare and team performance. Training load (TL) is a modifiable risk factor that, when monitored, may provide strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches with opportunities to reduce the risk of injury. The purpose of this study was to explore TL monitoring practices used by S&C coaches working with male and female amateur adult Rugby Union teams and their rationale for using such. Thirty-three (n = 31 male and n = 2 female) S&C coaches representing 62% of the total number of male clubs and 71% of female clubs, playing at the highest national amateur level, participated in the study by completing an online survey. Seventy-three percent of respondents stated that they monitor TL. The most common method of recording TL was the session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE), used in 83% of monitoring systems. Thirty-three percent of the S&C coaches surveyed use the sRPE data to calculate the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) for highlighting when players are at risk of injury. This study is the first of its kind to exclusively examine the TL monitoring practices of S&C coaches working with amateur adult Rugby Union teams. Thirteen S&C coaches responded to the open-ended question and 3 higher order themes were highlighted: (a) communication with players (b) support from other staff and (c) limiting factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Griffin
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; and
- Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Ian C Kenny
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; and
- Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Thomas M Comyns
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; and
- Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Mark Lyons
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; and
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Griffin A, Kenny IC, Comyns TM, Purtill H, Tiernan C, O'Shaughnessy E, Lyons M. Training load monitoring in team sports: a practical approach to addressing missing data. J Sports Sci 2021; 39:2161-2171. [PMID: 33971793 DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2021.1923205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Training load (TL) is a modifiable risk factor that may provide practitioners with opportunities to mitigate injury risk and increase sports performance. A regular problem encountered by practitioners, however, is the issue of missing TL data. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of missing TL data in team sports and to offer a practical and effective method of missing value imputation (MVI) to address this. Session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) data from 10 male professional soccer players (age, 24.8 ± 5.0 years; height, 181.2 ± 5.1 cm; mass, 78.7 ± 6.4 kg) were collected over a 32-week season. Data were randomly removed at a range of 5-50% in increments of 5% and data were imputed using 12 MVI methods. Performance was measured using the normalized root-mean-square error and mean of absolute deviations. The best-fitting MVI method across all levels of missingness was Daily Team Mean (DTMean). Not addressing missing sRPE data may lead to more inaccurate calculations of other TL metrics (e.g., acute chronic workload ratio, training monotony, training strain). The DTMean MVI method may provide practitioners with a practical and effective approach to addressing the negative consequences of missing TL data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Griffin
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.,Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Ian C Kenny
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.,Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Thomas M Comyns
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.,Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Helen Purtill
- Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.,Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Caoimhe Tiernan
- Department of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, Galway, Ireland
| | - Eoin O'Shaughnessy
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
| | - Mark Lyons
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.,Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
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West SW, Williams S, Cazzola D, Kemp S, Cross MJ, Stokes KA. Training Load and Injury Risk in Elite Rugby Union: The Largest Investigation to Date. Int J Sports Med 2020; 42:731-739. [PMID: 33291182 DOI: 10.1055/a-1300-2703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Training load monitoring has grown in recent years with the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) widely used to aggregate data to inform decision-making on injury risk. Several methods have been described to calculate the ACWR and numerous methodological issues have been raised. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between the ACWR and injury in a sample of 696 players from 13 professional rugby clubs over two seasons for 1718 injuries of all types and a further analysis of 383 soft tissue injuries specifically. Of the 192 comparisons undertaken for both injury groups, 40% (all injury) and 31% (soft tissue injury) were significant. Furthermore, there appeared to be no calculation method that consistently demonstrated a relationship with injury. Some calculation methods supported previous work for a "sweet spot" in injury risk, while a substantial number of methods displayed no such relationship. This study is the largest to date to have investigated the relationship between the ACWR and injury risk and demonstrates that there appears to be no consistent association between the two. This suggests that alternative methods of training load aggregation may provide more useful information, but these should be considered in the wider context of other established risk factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen W West
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Sean Williams
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Dario Cazzola
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Kemp
- Medical Services, Rugby Football Union, Twickenham, United Kingdom.,Faculty of Epidemiology and Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London,United Kingdom
| | | | - Keith A Stokes
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.,Medical Services, Rugby Football Union, Twickenham, United Kingdom
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West SW, Williams S, Kemp SPT, Cross MJ, Stokes KA. Athlete Monitoring in Rugby Union: Is Heterogeneity in Data Capture Holding Us Back? Sports (Basel) 2019; 7:sports7050098. [PMID: 31035621 PMCID: PMC6571870 DOI: 10.3390/sports7050098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In an effort to combat growing demands on players, athlete monitoring has become a central component of professional sport. Despite the introduction of new technologies for athlete monitoring, little is understood about the practices employed in professional rugby clubs. A questionnaire was circulated amongst conditioning staff across the 12 Premiership rugby clubs to capture the methods used, relative importance, perceived effectiveness and barriers to the use of multiple different athlete monitoring measurements. Previous injury, Global Positioning System (GPS) metrics, collision counts and age were deemed the most important risk factors for managing future injury risk. A wide range of GPS metrics are collected across clubs with high-speed running (12/12 clubs), distance in speed zones (12/12 clubs) and total distance (11/12 clubs) the most commonly used. Of the metrics collected, high-speed running was deemed the most important for managing future injury risk (5/12 clubs); however, there was considerable variation between clubs as to the exact definition of high-speed running, with both absolute and relative measures utilised. While the use of such monitoring tools is undertaken to improve athlete welfare by minimising injury risk, this study demonstrates the significant heterogeneity of systems and methods used by clubs for GPS capture. This study therefore questions whether more needs to be done to align practices within the sport to improve athlete welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen W West
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Sean Williams
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
| | | | | | - Keith A Stokes
- Department for Health, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
- Rugby Football Union, Twickenham TW2 7BA, UK.
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