RPE & Wellness

00:04:57:17 - 00:05:24:14
Rikke Grundtvig
Hello and welcome to today's session. I'm Rikke I'm founder of next 11. And today's session is going to be on readiness scores. So what is readiness scores? It's the tools that we use to track a player's inner perception of load. So it's tools that track the player's perception, perception of how the load is that is placed on them, how it feels from the inside.

00:05:24:17 - 00:05:47:29
Rikke Grundtvig
It's tools that we use to measure the experience that people have of how ready do they feel they are. So we see that these tools are growing in popularity. They're becoming more and more popular and for many good reasons. Because it turns out that the experience that players have of the law is a very precise indicator of how they how ready they are.

00:05:48:01 - 00:06:22:19
Rikke Grundtvig
So it's tools that are very useful. And what we see now is that we have on one hand cite the external load that we track with our next 11 system. And then on the other side, you have all these new readiness scores, which are as subjective tool for measuring how the load is perceived from the inside. So what we want to do is couple the two sides, take the external track track load and the internal experience of the load to get that well rounded total understanding of a player load and how it feels for a player.

00:06:22:22 - 00:06:51:28
Rikke Grundtvig
So today we have with us to help us understand the internal load and all these new readiness scores and and class you have. You are coach for elite female soccer players. You work for us as a sports scientist. And what you will do today is take us through two of the most effective tools of these readiness scores. One is the office scale and the other one is super index.

00:06:52:00 - 00:07:15:14
Rikke Grundtvig
And it will take like around 30 minutes and the chat is open. So please ask questions in the chat. I will bring them into the Q&A. But for now, I know Undressed has a very packed schedule for us. So Andreas, can you share with us how you work with this internal load and this new readiness scores?

00:07:15:17 - 00:07:47:23
Andreas Gulstad Kure
Yeah. Thank you. So we're just going to start I'm just going to go to the first slide that we have here. Yes. So this is the structure of the webinar today. Really happy to be to be back and highlighting the PE and the WHOOP index and how you can utilize the perceived load on players and how you can use those informations to plan upcoming training sessions and those players.

00:07:47:25 - 00:08:11:02
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So the structure for today, I'm just going to come with a brief I'll give you a brief introduction to the RB and the whoop index and how it looks in the system. I'm going to give you an introduction to load monitoring and load in more general terms and how that can be differentiated between the external and internal load of players.

00:08:11:04 - 00:08:33:29
Andreas Gulstad Kure
Then we're going to look at some of the more in-depth descriptions of the IRP and the whoop index. And lastly, look at how you can use the information from the IRP and the whoop index. So the internal load and coupled with the external load that we have in the next 11 system as well. It's so kicking it off.

00:08:34:04 - 00:09:02:00
Andreas Gulstad Kure
We have, as I mentioned during the last webinar, we have introduced the ability of rating the perceived exertion for each player in the system now. So as you can see on the left, there's an overview of ratings during a whole week for the whole team. So that gives coaches and in general practitioners insights into the perceived load of each session.

00:09:02:00 - 00:09:35:09
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So you don't you don't only have the external load but also the perceived load of the particular session. And you also get an overview of the week. On the right we have the hoopla index, which is a wellness questionnaire which gives players the ability to further define how that perceived load is in terms of perceived fatigue, perceived muscle soreness, how well they think they slept and for how many hours.

00:09:35:12 - 00:10:07:21
Andreas Gulstad Kure
I will come in more depth with their these parameters. So when we speak about load monitoring and load in general, the load that is placed on players can be defined as being physical and the physiological stresses or demands that's put on players. So it's really a crucial part in trying to mitigate injury risk, trying to ensure that your players are performing.

00:10:07:24 - 00:10:55:09
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So Load is really vital part of keeping your players fit and injury free. It helps practitioners and coaches and in understanding deviations in performance and why players sometimes are performing less than they used to or sometimes more. And it can also be used to plan upcoming training sessions and dose the players. So what we know from the literature is that when the workloads workloads increase and this as we also spoke about during the last webinar, when we have these spikes in workload, then we also see a relation to a decreased player availability due to injuries in elite level team sports.

00:10:55:12 - 00:11:28:27
Andreas Gulstad Kure
Whereas players around the country who has a higher player availability also elicits a higher physical output and tends to perform better subsequently. So that's what we are trying to aim at. We want to keep the player availability high so we have a better opportunity to perform well. What is recommended in the literature and as we do in the system as well, is that you as a practitioner go for a combined approach when monitoring load on the players.

00:11:28:29 - 00:12:00:17
Andreas Gulstad Kure
That means that both getting insight into the external load as the metrics we have in the next 11 system, such as the player load. But combining this with the internal load such as the AP or the hoop index and optimally both, so that that both give an insight into the when we speak about the external load, the actual performance output of the player, but also get an insight into the internal response to that that performance.

00:12:00:19 - 00:12:26:29
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So when we define load, we can further divide it into being external or internal, and I will define this further. When we look at the external load, as I mentioned before, this is defined as the actual work or the actual physical output. That's that the that is performed by the player. So this could be the player load, the player load.

00:12:27:01 - 00:13:00:06
Andreas Gulstad Kure
It is the amount of explosive actions as we see in the system and the external load gives an insight into the physical capacity of the player and the actual work that is being performed by the player. When we look at training sessions, for example, when coaches want to define the load, then the external load can be modulated by factors such as the length of intervals, the amount of repetitions to get the wished stimulus.

00:13:00:09 - 00:13:31:15
Andreas Gulstad Kure
Then on the contrary, if we look at the internal load and how that is defined, then it's the subsequent physiological response to the prescribed external load. So how will the players and how will they individually cope with the stimulus that's imposed through the external workload? So it's really individual process and relates to a lot of contextual factors that I will get into more depth with in the coming slides.

00:13:31:17 - 00:14:01:24
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So internal loads that could be identified as demands on the cardiorespiratory system. So and you would highlight that through heart rate monitoring. It could also be insights into blood lactate levels to get insights into the more anaerobic component of the player. We have those measures, but it can also be insights into the internal load can also be provided by a player's answering.

00:14:01:24 - 00:14:08:08
Andreas Gulstad Kure
These are PE and who. But question is.

00:14:08:11 - 00:14:35:04
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So some examples of some parameters that defines the external loads and that's tracking systems. It could also be performance capacity testing, such as the kind of movement jump that I will not go into further detail on that one. But in terms of tracking systems, we have next to live an accelerometer based data where you get insights into the player load, high intensity actions and shoulder areas.

00:14:35:04 - 00:15:24:28
Andreas Gulstad Kure
It could be the total distance. So in general, the the physical output of the player controlling the internal load is then, as I mentioned before, the response to that work performed. And this could be in terms of heart rate responses. So general heart rate during the session, we can look at heart rate variability, heart rate recovery. It can be insights into the blood lactate concentrations or creatine kinase levels following high intensity exposure, but it can also be insights into the IP and perceived wellness of the players And what defines or divides these parameters in the internal load is that some of them are pretty comprehensive to do this analysis.

00:15:24:28 - 00:16:11:10
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So measuring creatine, kindness levels, blood lactate and heart rate as well. It takes some some system to to measure these parameters, whereas the PE and wellness question is noninvasive and really easy to perform in nature. So looking into some of the models that have been made to describe the relationship between the external and internal load, a study by Felicity and colleagues highlighted how the training outcome is influenced by the external and the internal load and how the step wise influenced the training outcome.

00:16:11:11 - 00:16:39:13
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So as you can see, and I will not go into too much detail with this one, but just highlight how the external internal workload impacts the training outcome. So with the external load in the middle, you can see that the quantity of the exercise organization of the exercise impacts the subsequent internal load, as I also spoke about before, and that could be the amount of sets and repetitions, as I mentioned, into the links.

00:16:39:16 - 00:17:04:10
Andreas Gulstad Kure
It can also be a pitch area. So how long as the pitch is this is it a small set of games that's performed? Is it large sided games that's performed all of these parameters and influences the external load and modulates the internal load? The internal load. And the country is impacted by training stages, for example, of each player.

00:17:04:11 - 00:17:44:07
Andreas Gulstad Kure
You can have a player that's coming back from an injury, meaning that the training status will be different from the other other players who've been who've been participating normally with the team. So that means that the adaption or the internal load of that particular player will be different from the rest of the team. Also factors like genetics and nutrition in terms of especially preparation, how well they recover is also affects us that impact the internal load and thereby also the training outcome.

00:17:44:10 - 00:18:10:21
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So the AP this is how it looks in the app on the left, as you can see, that has been performed as a match and that's an overview of all the players that has been added to the session or has been performing during the match. And then coaches and practitioners gets an overview of how how they perceive the load of that particular match.

00:18:10:25 - 00:18:47:25
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So on the top two players perceived it as being maximal effort and then so on. So it gives coaches an insight into how the players differ in the perceived load during the match. And this will be applied for both matches and training sessions on the right. That's an overview of the scale that defines the app and how how hot the session was, which can also be accessed through the info box in the app.

00:18:47:28 - 00:19:40:01
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So in general, the app provides coaches with insights into the perceived load of the player. And as I mentioned, compared to other internal load indicators, this is a noninvasive in nature and it's a really easy, interpretable solution for coaches. And to get a quick insight into how the how the internal load or perceived subjective internal load was for each player, when we link it to the validity and reliability and some of the studies that has been performed when applying the app, we can see that it has both been shown as being valid and reliable when trying to measure internal load in elite elite sport athletes.

00:19:40:04 - 00:20:21:23
Andreas Gulstad Kure
We also see that there has been significant correlations between and AP direct load measures when compared to heart rate. Ms. Just during training sessions and another study also found that the app showed both strong correlation with lactate values and also heart rate values. So that is also both indicators of internal loading. And we see a correlation between these markers for football players participating in a series of small sided games over several days.

00:20:21:26 - 00:20:50:08
Andreas Gulstad Kure
When we linked the app to the risk of sustaining an injury and that's been some research made made in this area that has highlighted that when linking the app derived training load measures in a football setting over a longer period of time, there was a rise in app values in the free weeks prior to a non-contact injury occurrence.

00:20:50:11 - 00:21:25:13
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So the app was somewhat sensitive and elevated during the period leading up to an injury when utilizing the app. Our our recommendation and my recommendation is that players should answer the question at 30 minutes after a session has ended. And this is due to the possibility that if a player answers the questionnaire straight after the session has ended, the end zone could only reflect the most recent drill and not the whole session.

00:21:25:15 - 00:21:57:29
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So 30 minutes after the session is our recommendation. We also recommend that coaches emphasize that players get familiarized with the scale prior to collecting app values so they can internalize the the rating scale prior to registration. It's also important that that the players don't compare app registrations to others as it can quickly become a competition to not not have the highest load in the app.

00:21:58:01 - 00:22:38:07
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So it's really important that the registration is valid for the player and it doesn't reflect any outside parameters. So this is also how the app looks in the app. So on the left highlighted in blue, you can see the external workload of the player and we have all our stats like the player load, the actions, continuous movements. But on the right as a newly added feature we have the feedback which gives an insight into the internal load through the app values.

00:22:38:10 - 00:23:19:18
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So now we both have the external load parameters, but we also have integrated the internal parameters directly in the app. So this will be visual as soon as the players have answered their questions through the app, then they will pop up in the coach app. So going, going further into detail with the hoop index, which is also a mesh of internal load, and the hoop index when compared to the app is more parameter of subjective readiness for each player prior to participating in training sessions.

00:23:19:18 - 00:24:18:26
Andreas Gulstad Kure
All matches, and it allows coaches to get insight into factors that influence perceived load or perceived readiness, such as fatigue, perceived fatigue, perceived muscle soreness, sleep quality, sleep quantity. And they also have the ability to add a comment to that registration. So this will be made every morning, every day to get coaches an overview of how ready each player are to participate in a session and what is a really positive thing about the hoop index and integrating it through the app is that typically these data is getting information or insights into these parameters of perceived muscle soreness, perceived fatigue in general, which requires the coach or the performance coach speak to the to the players

00:24:18:26 - 00:24:56:19
Andreas Gulstad Kure
individually, which there is no need for now as the de hoop index registrations allows information to these parameters when looking into the validity and reliability. And researchers found that the questionnaire has also proved sensitive and very useful in in highlighting deviations in workloads during a season in elite level team sports. So as the workload increased, we also saw some alterations in the hoop index.

00:24:56:21 - 00:25:37:23
Andreas Gulstad Kure
Another study also highlighted that the hoop index has proven sensitive in detecting season dependent load variations and also during times with congested fixture schedules. So as we also spoke about during the last webinar and periods with two matches during a week, also imposes a significant increase in injury risk and especially during these times, the Hoop index has also proven sensitive in in highlighting this through the questionnaire.

00:25:37:25 - 00:26:10:04
Andreas Gulstad Kure
When we look at how how well de hoop index as a metric or as a parameter links to other load indicators, a study highlighted the the impact of a or sensitivity of the hoop index when compared to another internal load measure. The HIV, where the study actually showed that the hoop index provided a more stable and sensitive measure in monitoring the daily load variations following a match.

00:26:10:06 - 00:26:48:14
Andreas Gulstad Kure
Another study by BI Thorp and colleagues supported this following match play as well, where they found that no heart rate derived measures were sensitive in the daily fluctuations following match play, whereas the hoop index and hoop index derived parameters were sensitive. And so this really supports the supports the the use of applying the internal load measures. And regarding the familiar familiarity and standardization as well.

00:26:48:17 - 00:27:20:05
Andreas Gulstad Kure
And players should also be familiarized with the scale prior to collecting these informations. So they know about the the scales, they know about what a rating of one means, they know about what a rating of seven means and can link it to maximal exertion, for example, or moderate exertion. And again, it's also important that coaches emphasize that players don't compare their registrations with other players.

00:27:20:07 - 00:28:14:25
Andreas Gulstad Kure
And I would also highlight that consistency is key in terms of getting these informations. So you're doing it at a fixed time interval. Every day is really important and then keep on getting these record registrations. So this is how the hoop index look in the app. On the left we can see this and information about the fatigue, the blue circle in the middle highlights the sleep quality and quantity, whereas the red circle highlights the level of muscle soreness just below these registrations, the player has the ability to comment on the registration and so that could be, for example, if the muscle soreness level was elevated or really high, if the player could add a comment

00:28:14:28 - 00:28:53:11
Andreas Gulstad Kure
that he or she feels really sore in the hamstrings due to a lot of sprint work the day prior. So now we're going to look into some of the post session analysis features that we that we now have in the next 11 up. And so as you can see in terms of the broader perspective, when we look at workload management on the left, we have the external load and the next to the workload pyramid where we have the player load, we have four intensity zones, we have the actions time and zones and continuous movements.

00:28:53:11 - 00:29:31:12
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So that is the external load, the actual physical output of the player. And on the right we have the internal load that is the subsequent response to this training. And how will the players cope with the external load and how ready they feel following a session and prior to participating in an upcoming session. So when combining these two insights into the load and we can for example, use them, use the external and the internal workload and insights from these complementary.

00:29:31:15 - 00:30:10:08
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So for example, if we have a player that is overreaching or is in the risk of sustaining an injury, this could potentially be identified with a really high level of internal load or perceived exertion through the app. So that would be a higher level than normal, even though the external workload was lower. So if this mismatch in terms of the internal load and the subjective and perceived load when compared to the actual work, so the subject to load was higher than the external load and that could be an indication of a player who is overreaching.

00:30:10:10 - 00:31:02:16
Andreas Gulstad Kure
I am. Or subject to, to high offload. Contrarily, we also get indications of the each player's or single player's level of fitness maintenance as if a player were to register lower IP values when actually performing a significantly high external workload. So that would be and could be an indication of fitness maintenance and yeah, high player readiness to perform.

00:31:02:19 - 00:31:46:16
Rikke Grundtvig
Because all thank you so much and players for a very nice walkthrough of the readiness scores. We have a couple of questions for you coming in. The first one is around trust and that goes around how do you create a culture of trust on these readiness scores? Because I can imagine that when you're competing to come into the Met team, right, and get that position and you compete all week long and now you score yourself down on readiness, that must be a very complicated situation for any ambitious player.

00:31:46:16 - 00:32:01:18
Rikke Grundtvig
And so how do you reward or how do you motivate players to be honest? And also, do you have any tips for for coaches on how to be someone you can trust with these scores?

00:32:01:21 - 00:32:39:08
Andreas Gulstad Kure
that's a good question because the players are competing against each other all the time. They want to secure the spots, but what we do and why we monitor the load is to keep players fit. And this to elevate performance and mitigate injury risk. So I think this is really a critical point to also tell the players that they really need to be honest and they really need to be direct in the answers because we're used to to protect them from getting injured through to heavy workload.

00:32:39:10 - 00:32:58:00
Rikke Grundtvig
Yeah, okay. And we have another question coming in as well, which is so if you don't have a sports scientist on your team, do you have any tips and tricks, any patterns to look for when you work with readiness scores like the Yoruba Index or the AP scale?

00:32:58:03 - 00:33:31:06
Andreas Gulstad Kure
So it can be they can be used as a standalone metrics and if if I got that right, the AP and the hoopla. So it's a really good way to start it, to be honest. If you if you don't have any other informations on the player, then getting insights into the internal workload of each player is a good start because that's an indication of of how how hard the session was.

00:33:31:08 - 00:33:54:28
Rikke Grundtvig
Yeah, okay. But thank you so much and that that was the questions for this time. If you want to see this session again, there will be a recorded version off tomorrow and you can find the link in the chat. You can find links to the previous webinars in the chat as well. And then we just wanted to share that next time we have two amazing guest coaches joining us.

00:33:54:28 - 00:34:18:25
Rikke Grundtvig
It's Jens Bangsbo and Casper Skovgaard and they are here to share a 30 years of experience when it comes to the academic sports world and being a top coach on the pitch. And they have run the session on data on how data can improve the performance in elite football. So hope to see you then. Stay tuned.