Neuromuscular and Endocrine Responses of Elite Players During an Australian Rules Football Season

Abstract

Purpose:To examine variations in neuromuscular and hormonal status and their relationship to performance throughout a season of elite Australian Rules Football (ARF).Methods:Fifteen elite ARF players performed a single jump (CMJ1) and 5 repeated countermovement jumps (CMJ5), and provided saliva samples for the analysis of cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) before the season commenced (Pre) and during the 22-match season. Magnitudes of effects were reported with the effect size (ES) statistic. Correlations were performed to analyze relationships between assessment variables and match time, training load, and performance.Results:CMJ1Flight time:Contraction time was substantially reduced on 60% of measurement occasions. Magnitudes of change compared with Pre ranged from 1.0 ± 7.4% (ES 0.04 ± 0.29) to −17.1 ± 21.8% (ES −0.77 ± 0.81). Cortisol was substantially lower (up to −40 ± 14.1%, ES of −2.17 ± 0.56) than Pre in all but one comparison. Testosterone response was varied, whereas T:C increased substantially on 70% of occasions, with increases to 92.7 ± 27.8% (ES 2.03 ± 0.76). CMJ1Flight time:Contraction time (r = .24 ± 0.13) and C displayed (r = −0.16 ± 0.1) small correlations with performance.Conclusion:The response of CMJ1Flight time:Contraction time suggests periods of neuromuscular fatigue. Change in T:C indicates subjects were unlikely to have been in a catabolic state during the season. Increase in C compared with Pre had a small negative correlation with performance. Both CMJ1Flight time:Contraction time and C may be useful variables for monitoring responses to training and competition in elite ARF athletes.

Physiological Responses to an Intensified Period of Rugby League Competition

“…For the CMJ players were instructed to keep their hands on hips for the entire jump, and to jump as high as possible. As reported previously (10,29), players received no instruction as to the depth of the countermovement performed prior to the concentric phase of the jump. Players performed two practice attempts of both PP and CMJ before performing a single effort of each that was recorded.…”

“…While studies from other team sports have found residual fatigue to compromise performance (10,36), the occurrence of cumulative fatigue during a period of intensified competition and its effects on subsequent match performance in rugby league are yet to be elucidated. With this in mind, the aim of this study was to (1) determine the physiological and perceptual responses to an intensified period of rugby league competition, and (2) determine whether match performance in rugby league players is compromised in the presence of cumulative fatigue.…”

Countermovement Jump Performance Is Not Affected During an In-Season Training Microcycle in Elite Youth Soccer Players

“…Previous studies using such protocols have reported impaired jump performance following competitive match-play in Australian football 3,5 , rugby league 4 and soccer 2,6,7 . Although it is important to quantify jump performance following an acute bout of activity (such as a competitive match), it is also of interest to investigate the response to multiple bouts of exercise (such as training regimens).…”

“…Although it is important to quantify jump performance following an acute bout of activity (such as a competitive match), it is also of interest to investigate the response to multiple bouts of exercise (such as training regimens). Impairments in jump performance may develop when fatiguing or damaging exercise is repeated consecutively over several days compared to an acute activity bout 3 . Understanding the response to such patterns may be as important as oneoff evaluations due to these protocols being more representative of the activity completed by athletes during weekly blocks of training.…”

“…Measures of neuromuscular status in team sports in the applied setting have previously included various vertical jumps such as the countermovement jump (CMJ) and the squat jump (SJ) 2,3,4 .…”