Purpose: To assess the weekly fluctuations in workload and differences in workload according to playing time in elite female basketball.
Methods: Twenty-nine female basketball players (mean ± standard deviation, age: 21±5yr; stature: 181±7cm; body mass: 71±7kg; and playing experience: 12±5yr) belonging to the 7 female basketball teams competing in the first division Lithuanian Women's Basketball League (LMKL) were recruited. Individualized training loads (TL) and game loads (GL) were assessed using the session-RPE following each training session and game during the entire in-season phase (24 weeks). Percentage (%) changes in total weekly TL (weekly TL+GL), weekly TL, weekly GL, chronic workload, acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR), training monotony, and training strain were calculated. Mixed linear models were used to assess differences for each dependent variable, with playing time (low vs high) used as fixed factor and subject, week, and team as random factors.
Results: The highest changes in total weekly TL, weekly TL, and ACWR were evident in week 13 (47%, 120%, and 49% respectively). Chronic workload showed weekly changes ≤10%, while monotony and training strain registered highest fluctuations in weeks 17 (34%) and 15 (59%), respectively. A statistically significant difference in GL was evident between players completing low and high playing times (p=0.026, moderate), while no significant differences (p>0.05) were found for all other dependent variables.
Conclusions: Coaches of elite female basketball teams should monitor weekly changes in workload during the in-season phase to identify weeks that may predispose players to unwanted spikes and adjust player workload according to playing time.
Keywords: acute:chronic workload ratio; female; periodization; team sports; training load.