Search

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 (VO2), time >90% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), differential ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), session‐RPE training load (sRPE‐TL), percentage sprint decrement (Sdec), acceleration load and distance >90% of maximal sprint speed were recorded during each session. Neuromuscular performance (i.e. countermovement jump, lower‐limb stiffness and isometric hamstring strength) were measured post‐session, 24 h, and 48 h and compared to pre‐session. A univariate analysis of variance was used to compare within‐ and between‐protocol differences. To aid data interpretation, all effects were expressed as an effect size and accompanied by probability values (pMET). The 10 × 40 protocol induced the greatest training load compared to all other protocols (pMET < 0.05), including moderate to very large differences in breathlessness RPE, large differences in Sdec and time >90% VO2max and very large differences in sRPE‐TL. The 5 × 20 protocol induced the lowest training load compared to all other protocols (pMET < 0.05), including moderate to large differences in sRPE‐TL and leg muscle RPE. Heart rate, VO2, sRPE‐TL, leg muscle RPE and Sdec were similar between 5 × 40 and 10 × 20 (pMET < 0.05), but the acceleration load was greater for 10 × 20 when compared to 5 × 40 (pMET < 0.001), and this difference was large. Changes in neuromuscular performance across all timepoints and all protocols were unclear. Larger session volumes increase the demands of RST and by manipulating volume, sprint distance and the number of repetitions, practitioners can alter the internal and external training load. Highlights: The 10 × 40 protocol (i.e. 800 m volume) induced the greatest physiological and perceptual demands, which was demonstrated by a session average heart rate and VO2 of 89% ± 3% and 72% ± 8% of max, respectively, whereas differential RPE were rated hard to very hard on average.Performing 10 repetitions did not substantially increase the average VO2 demands when sprint distance was matched (e.g. 10 × 40 vs. 5 × 40). Rather than prescribing high repetition protocols, practitioners are encouraged to increase sprint distance if a greater aerobic stimulus is desired.There were no differences in the heart rate and VO2 recovery between the 2nd and 3rd minute of inter‐set recovery. Therefore, to reduce session duration while providing adequate recovery of cardiorespiratory function, 2‐min passive rest periods can be prescribed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental fatigue has been shown to negatively influence physical, technical and tactical aspects of sporting performance. However, mental fatigue is not routinely monitored or managed in elite sport and it is not clear whether mental fatigue occurs and/or changes across the varied contextual demands experienced by elite athletes in training, preparation and competition. This study explored self-report measures of mental fatigue across eight training camps and six competition periods (two benchmark tournaments and four international test series) with international netballers (n = 22, 25.9 ± 2.7 years) during the 2018–2019 representative period. Mental fatigue was higher during training camps (p < 0.001; 3.20 [3.12, 3.27]) and preparation camps (p < 0.05; 3.27 [3.19, 3.34]) compared to the competition periods (3.49 [3.44, 3.55]). Significant within-group differences were also identified between individual preparation camps and competition subsets. Higher mental fatigue was reported during the preparation camp for international test series 2 comparative to the preparation camp for benchmark tournament 1 (p = 0.047). For individual competitions; greater mental fatigue was found during the international test series 3 competition in comparison to both the benchmark tournament 1 (p <0.001) and international test series 1 (p = 0.020) competition periods. International representative netballers experience differing levels of mental fatigue across training and preparation camps and competition periods. Practitioners should be aware that athletes report instances of elevated mental fatigue across camps, and competition. Mental fatigue is not limited to competition and thus is recommended to be monitored during periods of training and preparation for competition. International representative netballers experience differing levels of mental fatigue across camp and competition environments. Mental fatigue was higher during training camps and preparation camps compared to the competition periods. Mental fatigue is not limited to competition so is recommended to be monitored during periods of training and preparation for competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous authors have studied the effect of different training procedures on athlete's resistance performance, there are no studies on how the improvement of aerobic resistance is affected by the distribution of training loads. This research sets out to analyse the effectiveness on aerobic activity of distributions with a constant load (CON) and with increments in intensity (INC) over a 4-week period. A total of 30 athletes took part in the analysis (38.7±9.8 years; 174.7±6.5 cm; 72.0±9.8 kg). They were divided into 3 groups of 10 each. One group followed a training plan with a CON distribution and another with an INC distribution. Both groups performed at the same volume and intensity, the only difference between them being the distribution of load over the 4 weeks. The third group trained with a free load distribution during this time. Improvement inV˙O2max and ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2) was analysed before and after the 4-week training period. There was no modification of theV˙O2max in any of the training programmes. The FRE and INC groups showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in theirV˙O2in VT1, and in the CON group there was a significant reduction (p<0.05) in heart rate in VT2. These results show how training periodisation produces different improvement on performance and demonstrate the effectiveness of periodisated programmes, because periodisated programmes obtain equal or higher adaptations with lower training volumes than non-periodisated programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]