In-Season Internal and External Workload Variations between Starters and Non-Starters—A Case Study of a Top Elite European Soccer Team

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Interpretation of the load variations across a period seems important to control the weekly progression or variation of the load, or to identify in-micro- and mesocycle variations. Thus, the aims of this study were twofold: (a) to describe the in-season variations of training monotony, training strain and acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) through session ratings of perceived exertion (s-RPE), total distance and high-speed running (HSR); and (b) to compare those variations between starters and non-starters. Materials and Methods: Seventeen professional players from a European First League team participated in this study. They were divided in two groups: starters (n = 9) and non-starters (n = 8). The players were monitored daily over a 41-week period of competition where 52 matches occurred during the 2015–2016 in-season. Through the collection of s-RPE, total distance and HSR, training monotony, training strain and ACWR were calculated for each measure, respectively. Data were analyzed across ten mesocycles (M: 1 to 10). Repeated measures ANOVA was used with the Bonferroni post hoc test to compare M and player status. Results: The results revealed no differences between starters vs. non-starters (p > 0.05). M6 had a greater number of matches and displayed higher values for monotony (s-RPE, total distance and HSR), strain (only for total distance) and ACWR (s-RPE, TD and HSR). However, the variation patterns for all indexes displayed some differences. Conclusions: The values of both starters and non-starters showed small differences, thus suggesting that the adjustments of training workloads that had been applied over the season helped to reduce differences according to the player status. Even so, there were some variations over the season (microcycles and mesocycles) for the whole team. This study could be used as a reference for future coaches, staff and scientists.

In-Season Internal Load and Wellness Variations in Professional Women Soccer Players: Comparisons between Playing Positions and Status

“…Therefore, and despite there being players who are the preferred starters, regular changes in the main squad may occur as a function of such intensified periods, which helps to justify the lack of differences according to statuses. While the absence of differences in the analysis of starters versus reserve players is in agreement with the current evidence [ 24 , 50 ], the playing position had a significant influence in an almost matched male sample considering Hooper’s Index measures [ 30 ]. In this sense, it is necessary to point out the possibility that, in women’s soccer, the traditional position-related outputs might be more limited or even non-existent.…”

“…Of note, when the training duration was shortened (e.g., weeks 2 and 7), TM and TS were also impacted in the same direction of declines, thus suggesting that it could be a reasonable strategy when it is necessary to adequately recover players. Notwithstanding, TM and TS peaked respectively in weeks 1 and 2, which is similar to research into male soccer [ 24 , 36 ] and might illustrate the challenge of female athletes to deal with training demands imposed at the beginning of a season.…”

“…However, these intensity measures are still valuable for guiding coaches to understand the dynamics of stimulus and the impact of the training plans on the actual responses of the players as recently shown in women soccer players [ 23 ]. The main evidence about internal intensity variations across the season, while using RPE-based measures, suggests that pre-season is the period in which the internal intensity accumulated in the week and the intensity measures of monotony and strain are typically greater than in the in-season periods [ 24 ]. This can be related with the higher external demands occurring in such a period [ 25 ], as a consequence of the typical strategy of increasing the volume and frequency of training sessions to provide a higher stress on the player’s organism before starting competition.…”

Intra-Season Variations in Workload Parameters in Europe’s Elite Young Soccer Players: A Comparative Pilot Study between Starters and Non-Starters

“…This study is a descriptive-longitudinal approach and followed a cohort design conducted during a 12-months period from June 2017 to July 2018 (4 weeks during the preseason and 46 weeks during the in-season). An approach used in previous studies was adapted in which each month corresponded to a mesocycle [26][27][28].…”

Wearable Inertial Measurement Unit to Accelerometer-Based Training Monotony and Strain during a Soccer Season: A within-Group Study for Starters and Non-Starters

“…Nevertheless, there is scarce information regarding the intragroup differences in starting and non-starting soccer players with respect to the weekly TM and TS at different speed zones and across the periods of a full season. Recently, and in opposition to the previous information, the study from Oliveira et al [16] found that both starters and nonstarters presented small differences. The same authors suggested that training workload adjustments applied over the season helped to reduce differences between player status.…”