Quantification of Pre-Season and In-Season Training Intensity across an Entire Competitive Season of Asian Professional Soccer Players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantify the training load in two microcycles (Ms) from pre- and another two from in-season and to analyze playing position influences on the load experienced by professional soccer players. Nineteen Asian athletes, including four central defenders, four wide defenders, six central midfielders, three wide midfielders, and two strikers participated in this study. The micro-electromechanical system was used to collect training duration, total distance, and data from Zone 1 (0–3.9 km·h−1), Zone 2 (4–7.1 km·h−1), Zone 3 (7.2–14.3 km·h−1), Zone 4 (14.4–19.7 km·h−1), and Zone 5 (>19.8 km·h−1), heart rate maximum (HRmax), and average (HRavg). The load was reduced on the last day of the Ms, with the exception of Zone 5, in M1, where higher values were found on the last day. Significant differences were observed between central and wide defenders for distance covered in Zone 4 (effect-size: ES = −4.83) in M2 and M4 (ES = 4.96). Throughout all the Ms, a constant HRmax (165–188 bpm) and HRavg (119–145 bpm) were observed. There was a tendency to decrease the load on the last day of the Ms. In general, there were higher external training loads in Ms from the pre-season than in-season. Wide defenders and wide midfielders showed higher distances covered with high-intensity running.