Influence of Yo-Yo IR2 Scores on Internal and External Workloads and Fatigue Responses of Tag Football Players during Tournament Competition

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 14;10(10):e0140547. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140547. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to: a) identify changes in jump height and perceived well-being as indirect markers of fatigue, b) determine the internal and external workloads performed by players, and c) examine the influence of Yo-Yo IR2 on changes in jump height, perceived well-being and internal and external workloads during a tag football tournament. Microtechnology devices combined with heart rate (HR) chest straps provided external and internal measures of match work-rate and workload for twelve male tag football players during the 2014 Australian National Championships. Jump height and perceived well-being were assessed prior to and during the tournament as indirect measures of fatigue. Changes in work-rate, workload and fatigue measures between high- and low-fitness groups were examined based on players' Yo-Yo IR2 score using a median split technique. The low- and high-fitness groups reported similar mean HR, PlayerloadTM/min, and distance/min for matches, however the low-fitness group reported higher perceived match-intensities (ES = 0.90-1.35) for several matches. Further, the high-fitness group reported higher measures of tournament workload, including distance (ES = 0.71), PlayerloadTM (ES = 0.85) and Edwards' training impulse (TRIMP) (ES = 1.23) than the low-fitness group. High- and low-fitness groups both showed large decreases (ES = 1.46-1.49) in perceived well-being during the tournament, although jump height did not decrease below pre-tournament values. Increased Yo-Yo IR2 appears to offer a protective effect against player fatigue despite increased workloads during a tag football tournament. It is vital that training programs adequately prepare tag football players for tournament competition to maximise performance and minimise player fatigue.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Athletic Performance*
  • Football*
  • Heart Rate
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Muscle Fatigue*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study was conducted as part of a PhD research project funded by Queensland Oztag (www.queenslandoztag.com.au). Further, this study was supported by a research grant from the University of the Sunshine Coast (1.043.05662). The funding organisations had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.