A Comparison and Analysis of Internal and External Training Load Measures in Female Hockey Athletes

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate the various methods of measuring training load in female hockey athletes and to quantify the physical and physiological demands of female British university hockey. Monitoring athlete load and adjusting training dose accordingly has been shown to increase fitness, minimize injuries, and improve performance during competition in various sports; however, no research had previously been performed on effectively measuring training load in female hockey. An observational approach and repeated measures design were utilized, with ten outfield players from Durham University Hockey Club’s Women’s First Team monitored for the first half of the hockey season. Participants wore Minimax S4, 10 Hz GPS units (Catapult Sports, Melbourne, Australia) and Polar Team2 heart rate monitors (Polar Electro, Kempele, Finland), and completed a submaximal lactate threshold treadmill test and maximal on-field fitness test at the beginning and end of the study. Following Stagno’s training impulse (TRIMP) procedure, a new female TRIMP algorithm (fTRIMP) was developed. The training load measures recorded were differential session rating of perceived exertion, average percentage of maximum heart rate, Stagno’s TRIMP, fTRIMP, individualized TRIMP, total distance, workrate (m·min-1), distance in speed zones, and efficiency index. Female TRIMP was extremely strongly correlated with Stagno TRIMP (r=0.998), with a consistent multiplicative factor of 1.3. Fitness test scores were most strongly correlated with average weekly distance covered at 15.1-19.0 km·hr-1 (r=0.639) and >19.0 km·hr-1 (r=0.842) and efficiency index (r=0.785). On the pitch during competition, participants averaged 88.3 ± 3.1% of their maximum heart rate and covered 5419 ± 886 m, 228 ± 134 m of which was at speeds >19.0 km·hr-1. The demands of training were significantly lower than the demands of competition (p<0.01) for all training load measures. The results of this study provide evidence in support of effective, individualized athlete monitoring in female hockey.