TRAINING LOAD AND RECOVERY IN VOLLEYBALL DURING A COMPETITIVE SEASON: AN INDIVIDUALIZED ANALYSIS AND THE EFFECT OF GAMES FREQUENCY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRAINING

Abstract

The current study investigated the effect of games frequency on distribution of the training load and the state of recovery in different types of training, and variability of loads by the acute-chronic workload ratio during the competitive period of a professional volleyball team. Thirteen male volleyball athletes participated in this study (21.5 ± 1.8 years, 90.9 ± 8.0 kg and 196 ± 7 cm). The Total Weekly Training Load (CTST) was calculated by the sum of the week's internal training loads. The acute-chronic workload ratio (ACWR) for each player was also calculated by the ratio between the CTST of the week and the average CTST of the last four weeks. The recovery status was measured at the beginning (initial TQR) and at the end of the week (final TQR). The average CTST of the competitive season was 3606 ± 970 A.U., the average initial and final TQR was 14.8 ± 1.4 and 13.5 ± 0.8 A.U., respectively. There was a reduction in the CTST of the strength training and court sessions as the frequency of games in the week increased (p <0.05). There was a decrease in the initial TQR with the increase in the number of games per week (p< 0.05). In addition, the final TQR was higher in the week with one game compared to the week with two games. Regarding ACWR, 75% training sessions were within the recommended safety zone (0.8 to 1.3). Therefore, ACWR seems to be a sensitive tool for individualized assessment of training load during the competitive period of a professional volleyball team. In addition, it is suggested to analyze the training load and recovery status according to the frequency of games and the type of training performed to better understand the training stimuli.