# Training Load Distribution Across Weekly Microcycles According to the Match Schedule During the Regular Season in a Professional Rink Hockey Team

## TL;DR

This study analyzed how training intensity changes in a professional rink hockey team across different weekly schedules during the season.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into optimizing training load distribution based on match schedules in elite rink hockey.

## Key findings

- Training load decreases as match days approach, with higher loads scheduled earlier in microcycles.
- Pre-season training involves the highest internal training loads compared to in-season phases.
- Significant variations in training intensity were observed within and between microcycle types.

## Abstract

Background. This study aimed to quantify differences in the internal training load (ITL) of an elite rink hockey (RH) team across days within and between three types of microcycles: pre-season, in-season regular, and in-season congested, to provide insights to optimise microcycle scheduling. Methods. One international-level male RH team comprising seven outfielders (29.6 ± 4.7 years; height, 178.9 ± 2.3 cm; body mass, 77.8 ± 5.7 kg) and one goalkeeper (32 years; height, 180.4 cm; body mass, 83.6 kg) was monitored for 21 microcycles. The ITL was assessed using the session rate of perceived exertion (sRPE) and quantified as time based on a triphasic classification commonly utilised in team sports: low-intensity training (LIT, <80% heart rate maximum (HRmax)), medium-intensity training (MIT, 80–90% HRmax), and high-intensity training (HIT, >90% HRmax). Generalized estimating equations were used to examine differences across within-microcycle training days and between seasonal phases, with linear mixed models applied as sensitivity analyses. Results. Across all phases, significant day-to-day variations in ITL were observed within microcycles (all p < 0.001), with both subjective (sRPE) and objective (LIT–HIT) ITLs progressively decreasing as match days (MDs) approached, showing moderate-to-large population-averaged effects with 95% confidence intervals consistently not crossing zero. The pre-season exhibited the highest overall ITL (p < 0.001), characterised by a substantially greater sRPE and increased time spent across all intensity zones, with the largest magnitudes observed for LIT and MIT compared with the in-season phases. Conclusions. Findings suggest that an international-level RH team progressively reduced the ITL as MDs approached with the highest loads scheduled earlier within microcycles. Moreover, the pre-season had the highest ITLs. This ITL distribution may provide useful guidance for RH coaches and support staff in optimising microcycle planning.