PhD presentation-Carlos Balsalobre

Carlos Balsalobre-Fernández
Monitorización y estudio de las relaciones entre la carga de
entrenamiento, la producción de fuerza, la fatiga y el
rendimiento en corredores de alto nivel
Monitoring and study of the relationships between training load, force
production, fatigue and performance in high-level distance runners
Tesis Doctoral Internacional International PhD Thesis

Index
1. Theoretical Background
2. Empirical work
1. Materials & Methods
2. Main results
1. Paper 1
2. Paper 2
3. Paper 3
3. Discussion & Conclusions
4. Limitations and
prospectives
3. Practical applications

Theoretical background

Art
Science
Training

Scientiﬁc approach
Collect data
Analyze it
Make decisions

Scientiﬁc approach
MONITORING

• MONITORING
• Systematic, frequent collection
of relevant, objective data
during training in order to
better understand how the
training process is going
• Helps to make adjustments to
the training loads and prevent
overreaching-overtraining
• Several neurophysiological
and physiological markers
have been used in the
literature
RPE
CMJ
Lactate
HRV
HRR
Anxiety
Sleep qualitySpeed
TRIMPs
CPK
Hormones
…
Strength

DO IT SIMPLE, BUT DO IT
RIGHT!

SIMPLE, NON-INVASIVE MARKERS
RPE CMJ
Salivary
Cortisol

• Speciﬁcally, CMJ is
being widely used
because of its
ability to detect
acute
neuromuscular
fatigue
• Sanchez-Medina et
al. 2011

• Moreover, it has been
shown that world-class
runners from Kenya
have better
neuromuscular function
while jumping than non-
elite caucasians
• These variables seems
to inﬂuence running
economy, a key variable
in distance running
Sano K, Ishikawa M, Nobue A, Danno Y, Akiyama M, Oda T, et al.
Muscle-tendon interaction and EMG proﬁles of world class endurance
runners during hopping. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2012/12/12 ed.
2013;113(6):1395–403.

runners from Kenya
have better
elite caucasians
in distance running Stretching-shortening amplitude
50
62,5
75
87,5
100
Kenyans Caucasians
2013;113(6):1395–403.

runners from Kenya
have better
elite caucasians
in distance running Jump height
50
62,5
75
87,5
100
Kenyans Caucasians
2013;113(6):1395–403.

runners from Kenya
have better
elite caucasians
in distance running Contact time
50
62,5
75
87,5
100
Kenyans Caucasians
2013;113(6):1395–403.

• Thus, in the past few
years the interest of
strength training for
distance running have
raised, since ST have
been demonstrated to
increase RE and distance
running performance
• Elite runners most likely
won’t increase their
VO2max levels; other
variables such RE have
been proposed to be more
critical for elite distance
running performance

Endurance+Strength Endurance
Increases in strength and RE
NO changes in strength nor
RE. Decrease in jump
performance
No changes in VO2max nor
VT2
No changes in VO2max nor
VT2
14wk of heavy weight training or control

Just a few studies with high-level athletes

Purpose 1
-Paper 1-
Purpose 2
-Paper 2-
Purpose 3
-Paper 3-
To study the
relationships
between training
load, CMJ, RPE and
salivary cortisol
throughout a season
in elite runners, and
compare its values
before best and
worst performances
To study the
evolution of
strength throughout
the season as well
as to analyze its
correlations with
training load and
salivary cortisol
To analyze the
effects of the most
important
competition of the
season on the CMJ,
salivary cortisol and
RPE, and to study
its correlations

Empirical work

Materials & Methods

• 15 (12 men) high-level middle and long distance runners from
CAR Madrid
• Age: 26.3 ± 5.1 yrs
• BMI: 19.7 ± 1.1 kg/m2
• 1500-PB:
• 3:38-3:58 (M)
• 4:12-4:23 (W)
• 10k-PB:
• 29:24-31:31 (M)
• 33:45-35:56 (W)
Materials & Methods
-Participants-

Strength
Performance
CMJ
Salivary
cortisol
Training
load
Materials & Methods
-Study design-
General overview

PerformanceCMJ
Salivary
cortisol
Training
load
Materials & Methods
-Study design-
General overview
1 season follow-up (Oct-Sept)
Strength

Materials & Methods
-Training load-
Km Training zone Session-RPE
External load
Training diaries
Total number of KM of
each session
External load
Training diaries
Classiﬁcation of the training in
1 of 3 zones designed with
respect to training pace
Zone1: 3:45-3:10min/km
(long distance sets)
Zone2: 3:10-2:50min/km
(middle distance sets)
Zone3: <2:50min/km
(short distance/sprints sets)
Internal load
Collected after training
on-ﬁeld or via WhatsApp
Borg 0-10
“How hard was the
training session today,
with 0 being very, very
light and 10 being very,
very hard?”

Materials & Methods
-Salivary-free cortisol-
• Recollection tubes were given to
each athlete for the collection of the
saliva samples
• Immediately after they awake
(8:30-9am), with an empty stomach,
athletes chewed the cotton inside
the tube for 60s and then stored it in
their refrigerator (about -20ºC) until
they came to the training center.
Samples were collected at the same
day of the week
• Sample tubes were then collected at
the High Performance Center of
Madrid and analyzed on the UPM
biochemical lab following
manufacturer’s instructions

Materials & Methods
-Salivary-free cortisol-
Cortisol concentrations (in ng/mL) were calculated via
absorbance using an ELISA kit (CV: 4.3-5.6%)

Materials & Methods
-Countermovement Jump-
• Hands on hips
• Countermovement until 90º of knee
ﬂexion followed by a powerful
extension of hips, knees and ankles
• Athletes were encouraged to jump
as high as possible
• Knees straight during the ﬂight-time
• 3 jumps were performed, average
value (jump height, in cm.) were
recorded (ICC =0.979-0.990)
• Infrared system was used (i.e.
Optojump)

Materials & Methods
-50m sprint-
• Standstill positon
• 1 meter behind the start
photocell
• Athletes were
encouraged to run as fast
as possible until cutting
the stop photocell
• 2 sprints were performed,
the best one (time, in s)
was recorded (CV:
0.33-1.2%)

Materials & Methods
-Half squat force production-
• Incremental test on a smith
machine
• T-Force linear velocity
transducer
• 50 to 100kg (10kg increments)
• 2 repetitions with each load
(2min passive rest between
loads). CV: 5.4-6.7%
• Eccentric phase until 90º of knee
ﬂexion followed by an explosive
concentric contraction
• Athletes were encouraged to
perform the concentric phase as
fast as possible

Materials & Methods
-Half squat force production-
Recorded variables
Mean propulsive velocity (in m/s); Mean propulsive power (in
W); Peak Rate of Force Development (RFD, in N/s); 1-RM (in kg)
MPV(m/s)
0,5
0,625
0,75
0,875
1
Load (kg)
50 60 70 80 90 100
R² = 0,9851

Main results

Main results
PURPOSE: To study the relationships between training
load, CMJ, RPE and salivary cortisol throughout a season
in elite runners, and compare its values before best and
worst performances
Paper 1

Longitudinal design (39 wk Oct-Jul)
15 HL athletes
Correlations & comparison of means study
Measured variables
Training load (every day)
CMJ & salivary-free cortisol (once a week)
Performance (time; every RFEA ofﬁcial race)
Statistical analyses
Paired samples T-test
Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefﬁcient
Effect size (Hedge’s g)
α = 0.05
Main results
-Paper 1-

Main results
-Paper 1-
Correlations between the season average
values of the studied variables
Session-RPE Cortisol KM run Training zone
CMJ -0.489* -0.777** 0.133 -0.231
Session-
RPE
0.551* 0.168 -0.130
Cortisol -0.051 -0.028
KM run -0.599*
*p < 0,05; **p < 0.001

Main results
-Paper 1-
Correlations between the weekly values of the
studied variables
Session-RPE Cortisol KM run Training zone
CMJ -0.426* 0.556** -0.593** 0.437*
Session-
RPE
-0.037 0.444* -0.080
Cortisol -0.366 0.171
KM run -0.044
*p < 0,05; **p < 0.001

Main results
-Paper 1-
Season Best vs Worst competitions
CMJ
%ofseasonaverage
75
85
95
105
115
125
135
Best Worst
99%
109%
+8.5%
ES = 0.65
p< 0.001

Main results
-Paper 1-
RPE
%ofseasonaverage
75
85
95
105
115
125
135
Best Worst
113,8%
96,5%
-17.6%
ES = 0.94
p< 0.05

Main results
-Paper 1-
Cortisol
%ofseasonaverage
75
85
95
105
115
125
135
Best Worst
100,8%
130,8%
+22.9%
ES = 0.52
p> 0.05

Main results
-Paper 1-
KM
%ofseasonaverage
75
85
95
105
115
125
135
Best Worst
102,7%
89,3%
-15%
ES = 0.48
p> 0.05

Main results
-Paper 1-
Training zone
%ofseasonaverage
75
85
95
105
115
125
135
Best Worst
111%
105,5%
-5.2%
ES = 0.21
p> 0.05

Main results
PURPOSE: To study the evolution of strength
throughout the season as well as to analyze its
correlations with training load and salivary cortisol
Paper 2

Longitudinal design (47 wk Oct-Sep)
15 HL athletes
Measured variables
Training load (every day)
Squat force production & 50m sprint (5 times over the study)
Salivary-free cortisol (once a week)
Repeated measures ANOVA (bonferroni post hoc)
Estimation of % of change
α = 0.05
Main results
-Paper 2-

Main results
-Paper 2-
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
Sprint MPV MPP RFD RM
-1,6%
-30,2%
-2,6%
3,1%
-0,4%
* *p< 0.05

Main results
-Paper 2-
RFD(N/s)
800
950
1100
1250
1400
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
*
*p< 0.05

Main results
-Paper 2-
Correlations between the training periods
average values of the studied variables
MPV MPP RFD RM CORT RPE KM ZONE
Sprint -0.769** -0.795** -0.247 -0.823** 0.737** 0.560* 0.072 -0.463*
MPV --- 0.910** 0.462* 0.918** -0.335 -0.650** -0.142 0.288
MPP --- 0.478* 0.960** -0.430 -0.602** 0.013 0.269
RFD --- 0.414 -0.33 -0.415 -0.117 -0.192
RM --- -0.514* -0.650** -0.134 0.408
CORT --- 0.318 0.053 -0.528*
RPE --- -0.034 -0.082
KM --- -0.597**
*p < 0,05; **p < 0.001

Main results
-Paper 2-
MPV(m/s)
0,5
0,575
0,65
0,725
0,8
RPE (0-10)
4 4,75 5,5 6,25 7
r = 0.650
RPE-MPV

Main results
-Paper 2-50-msprint(s)
5,5
6,125
6,75
7,375
8
Salivary-free cortisol (ng/mL)
8 10,75 13,5 16,25 19
r = 0.737
Cortisol-Sprint

Main results
Paper 3
PURPOSE: To analyze the effects of the most important
competition of the season on the CMJ, salivary cortisol
and RPE, and to study its correlations

Main results
-Paper 3-
Observational design (National Champ + 4-week baseline)
10 HL (7men) athletes
Measured variables
Salivary-free cortisol & CMJ (once a week during the BL)
Salivary-free cortisol (awakening, before and after the race)
CMJ (before and after the competition)
RPE (after the competition)
Paired-samples T-test
α = 0.05

ES = 0.47
p< 0.001
Main results
-Paper 3-
%ofbaselinevalue
95
100
105
110
CMJ
106,5%
100%
Baseline
Competiiton day
Baseline vs. competition day

ES = 1.59
p< 0.001
Main results
-Paper 3-
%ofbaselinevalue
70
100
130
160
190
220
Salivary cortisol
217,5%
100%
Baseline
Competiiton day
Baseline vs. competition day

Main results
-Paper 3-
Cortisol increase-CMJ increase
(BL to competition day)
CMJheightincrease(%)
-3,5
0
3,5
7
10,5
14
Cortisol increase (%)
0 100 200 300 400
r = 0.688
p< 0.05

Main results
-Paper 3-
Jumpheight(incm)
31
31,6
32,2
32,8
33,4
34
CMJ
31,8
33,2
Pre Post
-3.9%
ES = 0.34
p< 0.05
Pre vs. post competition

Main results
-Paper 3-
Salivaryfreecortisol(ng/mL)
0
8,8
17,6
26,4
35,2
44
Salivary cortisol
43,4
26,7
Pre Post
+98.3%
ES = 0.82
p< 0.05
Pre vs. post competition

Main results
-Paper 3-
CMJ loss-Cortisol increase
(Pre-post competition)
CMJloss(%)
0
1,75
3,5
5,25
7
Cortisol increase (%)
-75 0 75 150 225 300
r = 0.782
p< 0.05

Main results
-Paper 3-
CMJ loss-RPE
CMJloss(%)
-10,5
-7
-3,5
0
3,5
7
10,5
14
RPE (0-10)
6,5 7,375 8,25 9,125 10
r = 0.762
p< 0.05

Discussion & Conclusions

• Previous data in the
literature have shown the
importance of monitoring
RPE, salivary cortisol or
CMJ in highly trained
athletes.
• For example, Jiménez-Reyes
et al (2011) studied weekly
CMJ performance for three
consecutive seasons in
high-level sprinters, and
observed that there was a
6%diff between SB and SW
-Paper 1-

• Other studies have analyzed
the relationship between
salivary cortisol and
muscular performance in
trained athletes.
• Our results are in line with
those obtained by Kraemer
et. al (2004) who
demonstrated that football
players starting with high
cortisol levels had lower
CMJ heights by the end of
the season
-Paper 1-

-Paper 1-
CONCLUSION 1
Systematic monitoring of CMJ, RPE and salivary
cortisol may provide helpful information of the
training process and the readiness for the
competition

• Our data showed that season RPE
values were signiﬁcantly related to
season strength levels; weaker
athletes being those with higher
RPE throughout the season
• The strength-endurance program
conducted (15-20RM) didn’t seem
appropriate to increase strength in
elite runners.
• This is in line with current
research, that recommends
explosive and/or maximal strength
training to improve distance
running, mainly via increases in
running economy
-Paper 2-

-Paper 2-
CONCLUSION 2
RPE is related to strength performance and its
monitoring could be helpful to control
resistance training in elite runners
CONCLUSION 3
A strength-endurance type of training doesn’t
seems appropriate to increase the force
production capabilities of such athletes

• Finally, it was observed
that post competition
CMJ loss signiﬁcantly
correlates with cortisol
increase and RPE
• Several studies have also
found that post-exercise
CMJ loss is highly
correlated with markers
of fatigue such as blood
lactate or ammonia
concentrations (Sanchez-
Medina et al 2011)
-Paper 3-

-Paper 3-
CONCLUSION 4
Controlling pre-post competition CMJ decrease
could help detect the degree of fatigue the
athlete has reached in the race

Limitations and prospectives

Sample size
Systematic
monitoring ITL

Very difﬁcult to recruit high-level athletes, specially
for long-term studies
New technologies offer a promising future solution

ResearchKit
Largest study on Parkinson’s disease=1700 patients
6h after RK announcement=+7000 patients

Wearable devices can measure physiological
parameters in a non-invasive, affordable way
Systematic monitoring of ITL

HRV
Blood pressure
Lactate
Mov. velocity
Muscle power
O2 saturation
Muscle glycogen
Sweating rate
Body temperature

Practical applications

Acknowledgements

Questions & Answers

PhD presentation-Carlos Balsalobre

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