Relationship Between Pre-Training Subjective Wellness Measures, Player Load, and Rating of Perceived Exertion Training Load in American College Football

Govus, A.D., Coutts, A., Duffield, R., Murray, A., Fullagar, H.

Purpose:
The relationship between pre-training subjective wellness, external and internal training load in American College football is unclear. This study examined the relationship between pre-training subjective wellness (sleep quality, muscle soreness, energy, wellness Z score) and 1) player load and 2) session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE-TL) in American College footballers.

Methods:
Subjective wellness (measured using 5-point Likert scale questionnaires); external load (derived from global position systems [GPS] and accelerometry) and s-RPE-TL were collected during three typical training sessions per week for the second half of an American collegiate football season (eight weeks). The relationship between pre-training subjective wellness and 1) player load and 2) s-RPE training load were analyzed using linear mixed models with a random intercept for athlete and a random slope for training session. Standardized mean differences (SMD) denote the effect magnitude.

Results:
A one unit increase in wellness Z score and energy were associated with a trivial 2.3% (90% confidence interval [CI]: 0.5, 4.2; SMD: 0.12) and 2.6% (90% CI: 0.1, 5.2; SMD: 0.13) increase in player load. A one unit increase in muscle soreness (players felt less sore) corresponded to a trivial 4.4% (90% CI: -8.4, -0.3; SMD: -0.05) decrease in s-RPE training load.

Conclusion:
Measuring pre-training subjective wellness may provide information about players’ capacity to perform within a training session and could be a key determinant of their response to the imposed training demands in American College football. Hence, monitoring subjective wellness may assist in the individualization of training prescription in American College footballers.

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