Training Load Monitoring in Amateur Rugby Union: A Survey of Current Practices

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Training load (TL) is a modifiable risk factor that, when monitored, may provide strength and conditioning (S&C) coaches with opportunities to reduce the risk of injury. The purpose of this study was to explore TL monitoring practices used by S&C coaches working with male and female amateur adult Rugby Union teams and their rationale for using such. Thirty-Three (n531 male and n52 female) S&C coaches representing 62% of the total number of male clubs and 71% of female clubs, playing at the highest national amateur level, participated in the study by completing an online survey. Seventy-Three percent of respondents stated that they monitor TL. The most common method of recording TL was the session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE), used in 83% of monitoring systems. Thirty-Three percent of the S&C coaches surveyed use the sRPE data to calculate the acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) for highlighting when players are at risk of injury. This study is the first of its kind to exclusively examine the TL monitoring practices of S&C coaches working with amateur adult Rugby Union teams. Thirteen S&C coaches responded to the open-ended question and 3 higher order themes were highlighted: (a) communication with players (b) support from other staff and (c) limiting factors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1568-1575
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Volume35
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • coaching
  • injury
  • monitoring
  • Rugby
  • training load

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