Comparisons of Accelerometer Variables Training Monotony and Strain of Starters and Non-Starters: A Full-Season Study in Professional Soccer Players

• Main Authors: Hadi Nobari, Rafael Oliveira, Filipe Manuel Clemente, Jose Carmelo Adsuar, Jorge Pérez-Gómez, Jorge Carlos-Vivas, João Paulo Brito
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: acceleration; deceleration; in-season; non-starters; pre-season; soccer
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6547

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to describe weekly average values for training monotony (TM) and training strain (TS) and their variations across the full soccer season, based on the number of accelerations and decelerations; (2) to analyze the differences between starter and non-starter players on weekly average TM and TS values for the pre-season and three in-season periods. In total, 21 professional soccer players were evaluated over 48 weeks during the full-season. The TM and TS were calculated based on the number of accelerations and decelerations at zone 1, zone 2 and zone 3, respectively. The results revealed that starters presented higher values compared to non-starters throughout the full season for all variables analyzed (all, <i>p</i> < 0.05). Generally, there were higher values in the pre-season. Specifically, accelerations at zones 1, 2 and 3 revealed moderate to very large significance of the starters compared to non-starters over the full-season. Decelerations at zone 1, 2 and 3 presented moderate to nearly optimally significant greater weekly averages for starters compared to non-starters during the full season. In conclusion, the TM and TS values were higher for starters compared to non-starters through the full-season, which confirms that the training session does not provide a sufficient load to non-starter soccer players during the full-season.