Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecological validity of self-reported wellness measures to assess pre-training and pre-competition preparedness within elite Gaelic football

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Sport Sciences for Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The current investigation aimed to examine the ecological validity of self-reported wellness questionnaires, and specifically ‘Readiness to Train’ (RTT) as an indicator of pre-training and pre-competition preparedness within elite Gaelic football players. Thirty-seven (n = 37) elite male Gaelic football players (age 26 ± 4; height 181 ± 15 cm, weight 86 ± 4 kg) were recruited for the current study which took place during the 2017 competition season. Participants were monitored using global positioning system technology (GPS; 10-Hz; STATSports Viper Pod; STATSports; Newry, UK) and a self-reported questionnaire (Metrifit, Health, and Sport technologies, Ireland) to provide measures of internal load (RPE; sRPE) external load (GPS variables) and wellness questionnaire (Likert scale: 1–5 response) response to training loads. Results showed that irrespective of the model that the percentage RTT prior to training or match-play was not associated with and running performance measures. Activity type (p ≤ 0.0001), muscle soreness (p ≤ 0.0001), sleep quality (p ≤ 0.0001), and sleep duration (p ≤ 0.0001) all effected subsequent running performance during training and match-play. Furthermore, post hoc analysis showed that specific GPS variables and accumulated training load across specific time durations impacted RPE and total internal training load. Our results indicate that RTT is a poor measure of pre-training and competition preparedness, with individual sub-scales of wellness more appropriate to measure preparedness within Gaelic football players. Practitioners should pay close attention to fluctuations in sleep quality, sleep duration, and muscle soreness when planning training loads. Also, accumulated training loads impact players running capacity and perception of RPE highlighting the importance of longitudinally planning within the Gaelic football training process.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Malone S, Solan B, Collins K, Doran D (2017) The metabolic power and energetic demands of elite Gaelic football match play. J Sport Med Phys Fitness 57:543–549

    Google Scholar 

  2. Malone S, Owen A, Mendes B, Hughes B, Collins K, Gabbett TJ (2018) High-speed running and sprinting as an injury risk factor in soccer: can well developed physical qualities reduce risk? J Sci Med Sport 21(3):257–262

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Mangan S, Malone S, Ryan M, McGahan J, O’Neill C, Burns C et al (2017) The influence of match outcome on running performance in elite Gaelicfootball. Sci Med Football 1(3):272–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Malone S, Solan B, Hughes B, Collins K (2017) Duration specific running performance in elite Gaelic football J. Strength Cond Res. 1(4). https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000001972

  5. Malone S, Solan B, Collins KD, Doran DA (2016) Positional match running performance in elite Gaelic football. J Strength Cond Res 30(8):2292–2298

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Mangan S, Malone S, Ryan M, Mc Gahan J, Warne J, Martin D, O'Neill C, Burns C, Collins K (2018) Influence of team rating on running performance in elite Gaelic football. J Strength Cond Res 32(9):2584–2591

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Cullen BD, Roantree MT, McCarren AL, Kelly DT, O'Connor PL, Hughes SM, Daly PG, Moyna NM (2017) Physiologicl profile and activity pattern of Minor Gaelic Football. J Strength Cond Res 31(7):1811–1820

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Malone S, Roe M, Doran DA, Gabbett TJ, Collins KD (2017) Protection against spikes in workload with aerobic fitness and playing experience: the role of the acute: chronic workload ratio on injury risk in elite Gaelic football. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 12(3):393–401

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Armstrong LE, VanHeest JL (2002) The unknown mechanism of the overtraining syndrome: clues from depression and psychoneuroimmunology. Sports Med 32(3):185–209

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Banister EW (1991) Modeling elite athletic performance. In: Green H, McDougall J, Wenger H (eds) Physiological testing of elite athletes. Human Kinetics, Champaign, pp 403–424

    Google Scholar 

  11. Gabbett TJ (2016) The training-injury prevention paradox: should athletes betraining smarter and harder? Br J Sports Med 50(5):273–280

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Malone S, Owen A, Newton M, Mendes B, Collins KD, Gabbett TJ (2017) The acute: chonic workload ratio in relation to injury risk in professional soccer. J Sci Med Sport 20(6):561–565

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Bowen L, Gross AS, Gimpel M, Li FX (2017) Accumulated workloads and the acute:chronic workload ratio relate to injury risk in elite youth football players. Br J Sports Med 51(5):452–459

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Hulin BT, Gabbett TJ, Lawson DW, Caputi P, Sampson JA (2016) The acute:chronic workload ratio predicts injury: high chronic workload may decrease injury risk in elite rugby league players. Br J Sports Med 50(4):231–236

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Malone S, Hughes B, Doran DA, Collins K, Gabbett TJ (2019) Can the workload-injury relationship be moderated by improved strength, speed and repeated-sprint qualities. J Sci Med Sport 22(1):29–34

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Doeven SH, Brink MS, Kosse SJ, Lemmink K (2018) Postmatch recovery of physical performance and biochemical markers in team ball sports: a systematic review. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med 4(1):e000264

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Gormley C, Coyle C, Browne D, O’Hara R, Cullen BD (2018) The effect of competitive Gaelic football match-play on player hormonal status. MSc Strength and Conditioning Carlow Institute of Technology, Carlow

    Google Scholar 

  18. Buchheit M, Racinais S, Bilsborough JC, Bourdon PC, Voss SC, Hocking J, Cordy J, Mendez-Villanueva A, Coutts AJ (2013) Monitoring fitness, fatigue and running performance during a pre-season training camp in elite football players. J Sci Med Sport 16(6):550–555

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Gastin PB, Meyer D, Robinson D (2013) Perceptions of wellness to monitor adaptive responses to training and competition in elite Australian football. J Strength Cond Res 27(9):2518–2526

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Montgomery PG, Hopkins WG (2013) The effects of game and training loads on perceptual responses of muscle soreness in Australian football. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 8(3):312–318

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Saw AE, Main LC, Gastin PB (2016) Monitoring the athlete training response: subjective self-reported measures trump commonly used objective measures: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med 50(5):281–291

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Taylor K, Chapman DW, Cronin JB, Newton MJ, Gill N (2012) Fatigue monitoring in high performance sport: a survey of current trends. J Aust Strength Cond 20:12–23

    Google Scholar 

  23. Gallo TF, Cormack SJ, Gabbett TJ, Lorenzen CH (2016) Pre-training perceived wellness impacts training output in Australian football players. J Sports Sci 34(15):1445–1451

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Malone S, Owen A, Newton M, Mendes B, Tiernan L, Hughes B, Collins K (2018) Wellbeing perception and the impact on external training output among elite soccer players. J Sci Med 21(1):29–34

    Google Scholar 

  25. Gallo TF, Cormack SJ, Gabbett TJ, Lorenzen CH (2017) Self-reported wellness profiles of professional Australian football players during the competition phase of the season. J Strength Cond Res 31(2):495–502

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Ihsan M, Tan F, Sahrom S, Choo HC, Chia M, Aziz AR (2017) Pre-game perceived wellness highly associates with match running performances during an international field hockey tournament. Eur J Sport Sci 17(5):593–602

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Govus AD, Coutts A, Duffield R, Murray A, Fullagar H (2018) Relationship between pretraining subjective wellness measures, player load, and rating-of-perceived-exertion training load in American college football. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 13(1):95–101

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. McGahan J, Lacey S, Burns C, O'Neill C (2019) Variation in trainig loa markers of wellness across a season in an elite Gaelic football team. Aust J Strength Cond 27(3):6–14

    Google Scholar 

  29. McGahan J, Burns C, Lacey S, Gabbett T, O'Neill C (2019) Relationship between load and readiness to train in a Gaelic football pre-competition training camp. Aust J Strength Cond 27(1):28–35

    Google Scholar 

  30. Foster C, Daines E, Hector L et al (1996) Athletic performance in relation to training load. Wis Med J 95(6):370–374

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Franchini M, Ferraresi I, Petruolo A, Azzalin A, Ghielmetti G, Schena F, Impellizzeri FM (2017) Is a retrospective RPE appropriate in soccer? Response shift and recall bias. Sci Med Footb 1(1):53–59

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Young D, Beato M, Mourot L, Coratella G (2020) Match-play temporal and position-specific physical and physiological demands of senior hurlers. J Strength Cond Res 34(6):1759

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Young D, Coratella G, Malone S, Collins K, Mourot L, Beato M (2019) The match-play sprint performance of elite senior hulers during competitive games. PLoS ONE 14(4):e0215156

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Beato M, Bartolini D, Ghia G, Zamparo P (2016) Accuracy of a 10 Hz GPS unit in measuring shuttle velocity performed at different speeds and distances (5–20 M). J Hum Kinet 54:15–22

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  35. Beato M, Devereux G, Stiff A (2018) Validity and reliability of global positioning system units (Statsports Viper) for measuring distance and peak speed in sports. J Strength Cond Res 32(10):2831–3837

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Mangan S, Ryan M, McGahan J, Malone S, O'Neill C, Burns C, Collins K (2017) Seasonal changes in Gaelic football Match-play running performance. J Strength Cond Res 33(6):1685–1691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Young D, Malone S, Collins K, Mourot L, Beato M, Coratella G (2019) Metabolic power in hurling with respect to position and halves of match-play. PLoS ONE 14(12):e0225947

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Malone S, Hughes B, Roe M, Collins K, Buchheit M (2017) Monitoring player fitness, fatigue status and running performance during an in-season training camp in elite Gaelic football. Sci Med Footb 1(3):229–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Buchheit M, Hader K, Mendex-Villanueva (2012) Tolerance to high-intensity intermittent running exercise: do oxygen uptake kinetics really matter? Front Physiol 3(406):1–13

    Google Scholar 

  40. Meckel Y, Doron O, Eliakim E, Eliakim A (2018) Seasonal variations in physical fitness and performance indices of Elite Soccer players. Sports 14:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  41. Milewski MD, Skaggs DL, Bishop GA, Pace JL, Ibrahim DA, Wren TA, Barzdukas A (2014) Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes. J Pediatr Orthop 34(2):129–133

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Thorpe RT, Strudwick AJ, Buchheit M, Atkinson G, Drust B, Gregson W (2015) Monitoring fatigue during the in-season competitive phase in Elite Soccer players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform 10(8):958–964

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to state that they have no conflicts of interest to declare while also thanking the management and players of the teams involved in the current investigation

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dublin GAA, Parnell Park, Dublin, Ireland

    Bryan D. Cullen & Shane Malone

  2. School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Bryan D. Cullen

  3. School of Computing, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

    Andrew L. McCarren

  4. Gaelic Sports Research Centre, Institute of Technology Tallaght, Technological University Dublin, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland

    Shane Malone

  5. The Tom Reilly Building, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science, Liverpool John Moore’s University, Liverpool, UK

    Shane Malone

Authors
  1. Bryan D. Cullen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrew L. McCarren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shane Malone
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shane Malone.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Trust and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cullen, B.D., McCarren, A.L. & Malone, S. Ecological validity of self-reported wellness measures to assess pre-training and pre-competition preparedness within elite Gaelic football. Sport Sci Health 17, 163–172 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-020-00667-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-020-00667-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation