Effects of pre-session well-being perception on internal training load in female volleyball players

Purpose: To evaluate if the internal training load (ITL; Edwards heart rate [HR]-based and session-rating of perceived exertion [RPE] methods) is affected by the presession well-being perception, age, and position in elite (ie, Serie A2) female volleyball training. Methods: Twelve female elite volleyball players (age: 22 [4] y, height: 1.80 [0.06] m, body mass: 74.1 [4.3] kg) were monitored using an HR monitor during 32 team training sessions (duration: 1:36:12 [0:22:24], in h:min:s). Linear mixed-effects models were applied to evaluate if well-being perception (ie, perceived sleep quality/disorders, stress level, fatigue, and delayed-onset muscle soreness) may affect ITL depending on age and tactical position. Results: Presession perceived fatigue influenced ITL according to the session-RPE (P=.032) but not according to the Edwards method. Age was inversely correlated to the Edwards method (P<.001) and directly correlated to the session-RPE (P=.027). Finally, central blockers experienced a higher training load than hitters (P<.001) and liberos (P<.001) for the Edwards method, as well as higher than hitters (P<.001), liberos (P=.003), and setters (P=.008) for session-RPE. Conclusions: Findings indicated that female volleyball players' perceived ITL is influenced by presession well-being status, age, and position. Therefore, coaches can benefit from this information to specifically predict players' ITL in relation to their individual characteristics.