ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF TRAINING LOAD BETWEEN TWO GROUPS OF WOMEN’S ARTISTIC GYMNASTS RELATED TO THE PERCEPTION OF EFFORT AND THE RATING OF THE PERCEIVED EFFORT SESSION

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the internal training load in female artisticgymnastics through subjective perception of effort (PSE) by calculating the sRPE variableand different associated variables. Ten gymnasts participated (age: 14.4 ± 2.9 years; height:1.5 ± 0.1 m; mass: 43.3 ± 12.2 kg) and were divided into two groups according to theircompetitive level and weekly training volume: High Level Gymnasts (HLG) and MediumLevel Gymnasts (MLG). The PSE of each gymnast was recorded daily for four weeks after theend of each training block. The HLG group recorded a significantly higher RPE and sRPEvalue in the specific physical preparation (SST) and in the parallel technical training (UB)contents (p < 0.05) compared to MLG. Statistically significant differences were also obtainedfrom the registered mean values of RPE and sRPE when comparing training content.Furthermore, a direct relationship between volume and workload was observed. Finally, thevariables associated with injury risk control provided relevant information to determine thatthe HLG group had a higher risk of injury than the MLG group. Therefore, the sRPE hasbeen a useful tool to assess the internal training load in women's artistic gymnastics. Suchinformation may help quantify the load in this sport in the future.