Sprint decrement during a simulated rugby sevens tournament is more related to lactate threshold than aerobic capacity
Authors
Date
2022Copyright
This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Rugby sevens is a sport with diverse physiological demands as aerobic fitness, sprint velocity and contact skills each have a significant impact on performance. Training for speed is an important part of physical preparation, but athletes often are unable to attain peak velocity during match play. Understanding the relationship between aerobic capacity and recovery between individual sprints and games may influence training practices. The purpose of the study was to examine the link between indicators of aerobic fitness and sprint decrements during a simulated rugby sevens tournament to guide training practices.
Eleven female members of the Finnish national rugby sevens team were recruited to the study and underwent aerobic capacity testing in the laboratory. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and velocity at which lactate begins to accumulate (LT1) and at which lactate levels begin to rise exponentially (LT2) were measured. After two weeks, participants performed a series of maximal sprint tests followed by a simulated rugby sevens tournament over two days. Each game simulation included six sprints, which were recorded using a radar gun. Correlations were examined between VO2peak / lactate thresholds and peak velocity decrements over the course of the tournament.
Velocity at LT2 was positively correlated with overall sprint decrement (R = 0.763, p = <0.01) and with sprint decrement between the two days of the tournament simulation (R = 0.740, p = <0.01). No correlations were found between VO2peak and overall sprint decrement or sprint decrement between days of the tournament.
The main finding of the study was that sprint decrements during a simulated rugby sevens tournament are more closely related to LT2 than aerobic capacity. Whilst speed training is an important part of physical preparation, athletes and coaches should also focus on improving LT2. This will increase the likelihood that players can attain peak velocity during matches.
...


Keywords
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
- Pro gradu -tutkielmat [25559]
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Effects of Repeated Sprint Training in Hypoxia on Physical Performance Among Athletes : A Systematic Review
Zelenovic, Milan; Kontro, Titta; Stojanovic, Tijana; Alexe, Dan Iulian; Bozic, Danijel; Aksovic, Nikola; Bjelica, Bojan; Milanovic, Zoran; Adrian, Sava Mihai (SciELO Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (ANID), 2021)Repeated sprint training in hypoxia (RSH) represents an innovative method in the process of development and improvement of physical performance among athletes. However, there is less scientific data on this topic. The ... -
Effects of aging and training on sprint performance, muscle structure and contractile function in athletes
Korhonen, Marko T. (University of Jyväskylä, 2009)Cross-sectional studies were conducted to examine sprint running, anaerobic energy production and muscle properties in male sprinters aged 17-88 years. In addition, a 20-week training intervention was carried out to determine ... -
Monitoring Training and Recovery during a Period of Increased Intensity or Volume in Recreational Endurance Athletes
Nuuttila, Olli-Pekka; Nummela, Ari; Häkkinen, Keijo; Seipäjärvi, Santtu; Kyröläinen, Heikki (MDPI AG, 2021)The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of progressively increased training intensity or volume on the nocturnal heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), countermovement jump, perceived recovery, and ... -
Physiological and physical performance changes during a 20-day winter military training course and its subsequent 10-day recovery period
Ojanen, Tommi; Pihlainen, Kai; Vaara, Jani P.; Kyröläinen, Heikki (Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Circumpolar Research Network, 2023)The present study investigated physiological, mental and physical performance changes during a 20-day winter military training course and the following 10-day recovery period. Fifty-eight (age 19 ± 1 years, height 182 ± 6 cm, ... -
Physical performance in relation to menopause status and physical activity
Bondarev, Dmitriy; Laakkonen, Eija; Finni Juutinen, Taija; Kokko, Katja; Kujala, Urho; Aukee, Pauliina; Kovanen, Vuokko; Sipilä, Sarianna (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2018)Objective: The aim of this study was to examine differences in physical performance (muscle power, muscle strength, aerobic capacity, and walking speed) across menopausal stages and potential of leisure physical activity (PA) ...