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Abstract: Carpels, T, Scobie, N, Macfarlane, NG, and Kemi, OJ. Mind the gap: comparison of external load and load variation between a reserve team in a 1-game week microcycle and its first team in a 2-game week microcycle within an elite professional soccer club. J Strength Cond Res 38(5): e235-e242, 2024-The aim of this study was to quantify and compare weekly external load and within-week load variation of reserve team players (RES) in a 1-game week microcycle to first team players (FT) in a 2-game week microcycle within the same professional soccer club. External load data were collected between 2017 and 2020 for the following parameters: duration, total distance (TD), total high-speed distance (THSD; >19.8 km·h -1 ), high-speed distance (HSD; 19.8-25.2 km·h -1 ), sprint distance (SD; >25.2 km·h -1 ), number of sprints (number of efforts >25.2 km·h -1 ), number of high-speed efforts (number of HS efforts >19.8 km·h -1 ), meters per minute (m·min -1 ), and high-speed meters per minute (HS m·min -1 ). First team players were subcategorized into starters (ST) and nonstarters (NST). Intergroup differences in cumulative weekly load and weekly load patterns were statistically analyzed, whereas training monotony (TM) was quantified to assess intragroup, within-week, load variation. Reserve team players showed similar weekly loads to ST, apart from significant differences ( p < 0.005) in duration (8%), TD (21%), and HS efforts (16%). Similar to ST, RES showed greater values than NST ( p < 0.0005) for duration (10%), TD (9%), THSD (30%), HSD (26%), SD (45%), sprints (40%), and HS efforts (22%). Weekly patterns in RES were different from ST and NST ( p < 0.05). Training monotony was highest for NST for all parameters, apart from the number of sprints. Reserve team players need to be prepared to cope with cumulative weekly loads and the lack of recovery between games that ST face. However, when RES become NST, effective loading strategies need to be designed within the limits of 2-game week microcycles to ensure continuous development., (Copyright © 2024 National Strength and Conditioning Association.)

This study assessed the relative demands of elite field hockey training and competition to determine whether familiar exercise prescription strategies provide an appropriate training stimulus. Sixteen elite male field hockey players (age, 25 ± 4 years; body mass, 70.9 ± 6.6 kg; and maximal oxygen consumption, 61.0 ± 2.1 ml·kg·min [mean ± SD]) participated in the study. Seventy-five elite level competition and 37 training analyses from 8 games and 4 training sessions were obtained. Training duration was longer than competition and covered a greater total distance (109 ± 2.5 vs. 74 ± 0.3 minutes and 7318 ± 221 vs. 5868 ± 75 m; p < 0.001 in both). The distance covered sprinting and running at high intensity was not different between training and competition (114 ± 6 vs. 116 ± 9 m when sprinting and 457 ± 6 vs. 448 ± 7 m for high-intensity running). More high-intensity accelerations were performed during training than in competition (37 ± 3 vs. 20 ± 2). Despite having lower predicted aerobic capacity and covering less distance in competition than in some previous studies, these data support the suggestion that it is high-intensity activity that differentiates international level competition and further suggests that international players can replicate the intensity of competition during small-sided games.

This study investigated the physiological responses to an intensified period of rugby league competition and the subsequent impact on match performance. The participants were 7 rugby league players competing in an international student tournament. The tournament involved three 80-minute games over a 5-day period, with 48 hours between each match. Baseline measures of upper and lower body neuromuscular functions via a plyometric press-up (PP) and countermovement jump (CMJ), respectively (peak power and peak force were measured), blood creatine kinase (CK), and perceptions of well-being were assessed with a questionnaire. These measures were repeated every morning of the competition; neuromuscular fatigue and CK were additionally assessed within 2 hours after the cessation of each game. During each match, player movements were recorded via global positioning system units. There were meaningful reductions in upper (effect size [ES] = -0.55) and lower body (ES = -0.73) neuromuscular functions, and perceptual well-being (ES = -1.56) and increases in blood CK (ES = 2.32) after game 1. These changes increased in magnitude as the competition progressed. There were large reductions in the relative distance covered in high-speed running (ES = -1.49) and maximal accelerations (ES = -0.85) during game 3. Additionally, moderate reductions in the percentage of successful tackles completed were observed during game 3 (ES = -0.59). Collectively, these results demonstrate that during an intensified period of rugby league competition, characterized by only 48 hours between matches, fatigue will accumulate. This cumulative fatigue may compromise high-intensity match activities such as high-speed running, accelerations, and tackling. Furthermore, CMJs and PPs appear to be sensitive measures for monitoring neuromuscular function in rugby league players.