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

Renato Fernandes, João Paulo Brito, Luiz H. Palucci Vieira, Alexandre Duarte Martins, Filipe Manuel Clemente, Hadi Nobari, Victor Machado Reis and Rafael Oliveira
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Renato Fernandes: Sports Science School of Rio Maior–Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
João Paulo Brito: Sports Science School of Rio Maior–Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
Luiz H. Palucci Vieira: Graduate Program in Movement Sciences, MOVI-LAB Human Movement Research Laboratory, Physical Education Department, School of Sciences, UNESP São Paulo State University, Bauru 17033-360, Brazil
Alexandre Duarte Martins: Sports Science School of Rio Maior–Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal
Filipe Manuel Clemente: Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun’Álvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Hadi Nobari: Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Granada, 18010 Granada, Spain
Victor Machado Reis: University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Rafael Oliveira: Sports Science School of Rio Maior–Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, 2040-413 Rio Maior, Portugal

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: The internal intensity monitoring in soccer has been used more in recent years in men’s football; however, in women’s soccer, the existing literature is still scarce. The aims of this study were threefold: (a) to describe the weekly variations of training monotony, training strain and acute: chronic workload ratio through session Rated Perceived Exertion (s-RPE); (b) to describe weekly variations of Hooper Index [stress, fatigue, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and sleep]; and (c) to compare those variations between playing positions and player status. Nineteen players (24.1 ± 2.7 years) from a Portuguese BPI League professional team participated in this study. All variables were collected in a 10-week in-season period with three training sessions and one match per week during the 2019/20 season. Considering the overall team, the results showed that there were some associations between Hooper Index categories and s-RPE like stress or fatigue (0.693, p < 0.01), stress or DOMS (0.593, p < 0.01), stress or s-RPE (−0.516, p < 0.05) and fatigue or DOMS (0.688, p < 0.01). There were no differences between all parameters in playing positions or player status. In conclusion, the study revealed that higher levels of fatigue and DOMS occur concurrently with better nights of sleep. Moreover, any in-season variations concerning internal load and perceived wellness seems independent of position or status in outfield players. The data also showed that the higher the players’ reported stress, the lower the observed s-RPE, thus possibly indicating a mutual interference of experienced stress levels on the assimilation of training intensity by elite women soccer players.

Keywords: muscle soreness; female; stress; fatigue; sleep; perceived exertion; training monotony; training strain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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