Monitoring the Prescribed and Experienced Heart Rate Derived Training Loads in Elite Field Hockey Players.

This study examined the congruence between the prescribed and experienced heart rate derived training loads over a five week periodized mesocycle. Twenty-four elite female field hockey players training as part of a national team were monitored prior to an (FIH) Hockey World League tournament. Three on-field training sessions per week were prospectively designed focusing on technical, tactical, and physiologically-oriented hockey drills. A training load value, modelling the periodized weekly loading scheme, was prescribed for each training session and was calculated using normative training load responses from performing on-field hockey drills. Magnitude based inferences focusing on the effect size (ES) and a Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) were utilized to examine the degree of difference and the strength of correlation between the prescribed and experienced training loads. A significant correlation was observed between the experienced and prescribed training loads over the five-week mesocycle [r = 0.92, 90% CL (0.84:0.96)]. The percentage difference and the effect size between the achieved and prescribed training loads were as follows, Week1 demonstrated a 2.0% difference [ES = 0.10, 90% CL (-0.22:0.41)], Week 2 a -5.4% difference [ES = -0.41, 90% CL (-0.75:-0.07)], Week3 a -1.5% difference [ES = -0.09, 90% CL (-0.37:0.20)], Week4 a 7.1% difference [ES = 0.46, 90% CL (0.14:0.78)] and Week5 a 3.5% difference [ES = 0.18, 90% CL (-0.17:0.53)]. This investigation demonstrates the efficacy for coaches to prospectively design on-field training sessions utilizing normative training load data to enhance the congruence between the prescribed and experienced training loads over a periodized mesocycle.