The relative contribution of training intensity and duration to daily measures of training load in professional rugby league and union

Weaving, Dan; Dalton-Barron, Nicholas; McLaren, Shaun; Scantlebury, Sean; Cummins, Cloe; Roe, Gregory; Jones, Ben; Beggs, Clive; Abt, Grant

Abstract

This study examined the relative contribution of exercise duration and intensity to team-sport athlete’s training load. Male, professional rugby league (n=10) and union (n=22) players were monitored over 6- and 52-week training periods, respectively. Whole-session (load) and per-minute (intensity) metrics were monitored (league: session rating of perceived exertion training load [sRPE-TL], individualised training impulse, total distance, BodyLoad™; union: sRPE-TL, total distance, high-speed running distance, PlayerLoad™). Separate principal component analyses were conducted on the load and intensity measures to consolidate raw data into principal components (PC, k =4). The first load PC captured 70% and 74% of the total variance in the rugby league and rugby union datasets, respectively. Multiple linear regression subsequently revealed that session duration explained 73% and 57% of the variance in first load PC, respectively, while the four intensity PCs explained an additional 24% and 34%, respectively. Across two professional rugby training programmes, the majority of the variability in training load measures was explained by session duration (~60–70%), while a smaller proportion was explained by session intensity (~30%). When modelling the training load, training intensity and duration should be disaggregated to better account for their between-session variability.

Citation

Weaving, D., Dalton-Barron, N., McLaren, S., Scantlebury, S., Cummins, C., Roe, G., Jones, B., Beggs, C., & Abt, G. (2020). The relative contribution of training intensity and duration to daily measures of training load in professional rugby league and union. Journal of sports sciences, 38(14), 1674-1681. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1754725

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 24, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Apr 21, 2020
• Publication Date: Jul 17, 2020
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 22, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Sports Sciences
• Print ISSN: 0264-0414
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 14
• Pages: 1674-1681
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1754725
• Keywords: Training load; Principal component analysis; Time series; Rugby
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3480913
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02640414.2020.1754725?journalCode=rjsp20
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rjsp20; Accepted: 2020-03-23; Published: 2020-04-21