Does Warming Up With Wearable Resistance Influence Internal and External Training Load in National Level Soccer Players?
Aaron Uthoff, Aníbal Bustos, Gustavo Metral, John Cronin, Joseph Dolcetti, Michael C Rumpf
Author Information
Aaron Uthoff: School of Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Aníbal Bustos: Department of Evaluation and Prescription of Physical Training, Faculty of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Argentina.
Gustavo Metral: University of the Great Rosary, Santa Fé, Argentina.
John Cronin: School of Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
Joseph Dolcetti: LILA Movement Technology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Michael C Rumpf: School of Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
BACKGROUND: Adding wearable resistance (WR) to training results in superior performance compared with unloaded conditions. However, it is unclear if adding WR during warm-up influences training load (TL) in the subsequent session. The aim of this research was to track TL in soccer players during the transition from late preseason to early in-season and examine whether adding WR to the lower leg during a warm-up influenced TL measures during warm-ups and on-field training sessions after WR was removed. HYPOTHESIS: The addition of WR worn on the lower legs during an on-field warm-up would lead to decreases in relatively high-intensity external TL metrics, such as distance covered >6.11 m∙s and acceleration and deceleration >/<3 m∙s and increases in internal TL during the warm-up, yet would have little effect on the subsequent training session when WR was removed. STUDY DESIGN: Matched-pair randomized design. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. METHODS: A total of 28 soccer players were allocated to either a WR training (WRT = 14) or unloaded (control [CON] = 14) group. Both groups performed the same warm-up and on-field training for 8 weeks, with the WRT group wearing 200 to 600 loads on their lower leg during the warm-up. External TL was measured via global positioning system data and internal TL was assessed using session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE × time per session). RESULTS: No statistically significant between-group differences ( ≥ 0.05) were identified for any TL measurement during either warm-ups or training sessions. Lower leg WR resulted in trivial to moderate effects for all external TL metrics (-16.9% to 2.40%; = -0.61 to 0.14) and sRPE (-0.33%; = -0.03) during the warm-up and trivial to small effects on all external TL metrics (-8.95% to -0.36%; = -0.45 to -0.30) and sRPE (3.39%; = 0.33) during training sessions. CONCLUSION: Warming up with lower leg WR negatively affects neither the quality and quantity of the warm-up nor the subsequent training session once WR is removed. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Using WR on the lower leg during on-field warm-ups may be a means to "microdose" strength training while not unduly increasing TL. However, further research is needed to determine the influence of WR on strength qualities.
