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Training Load and Recovery During a Pre-Olympic Season in Professional Rhythmic Gymnasts
Paula Barreiros Debien1, Bernardo Miloski2, Francisco Zacaron Werneck3
1Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Context:
Rhythmic gymnastics requires a high level of complexity and perfection of technical gestures, associated with well-developed physical and artistic capacities. The training-load and recovery profiles of rhythmic gymnasts across a season are unknown.
Objective:
To analyze the training load and recovery of professional rhythmic gymnasts during 1 season.
Design:
Cohort study.
Setting:
Brazilian National Training Center of Rhythmic Gymnastics and competition facilities.
Patients Or Other Participants:
Eight gymnasts from the Brazilian national senior rhythmic gymnastics group.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) and total quality recovery (TQR) scores were collected daily for 43 weeks. We obtained the session-RPE after each session and TQR score before the first session of the day. Performances during 5 competitions were also recorded. The season was divided into 8 periods. Total weekly internal training load (wITL), training intensity, frequency, duration, recovery, and acute : chronic workload ratio were calculated for analysis.
Results:
The season mean wITL was 10 381 ± 4894 arbitrary units, mean session-RPE score was 5.0 ± 1.6, and mean TQR score was 12.8 ± 1.3. The gymnasts trained an average of 8.7 ± 2.9 sessions per week, with a mean duration of 219 ± 36 minutes. Each competitive period showed increased wITL compared with the previous period. Training-load variables (wITL and session-RPE) and recovery were inversely correlated. Gymnasts were poorly recovered (TQR < 13) during 50.9% of the season (n = 167 times), especially during competitive weeks. Spikes in load (acute : chronic workload ratio ≥ 1.5) occurred across 18.1% of the season (n = 55 times).
Conclusions:
The training-load variables and recovery changed throughout a professional rhythmic gymnastics group season, mainly during competitive periods. The correct distribution of training load is critical to ensure that gymnasts are entering competitions in a recovered state.
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