A detailed quantification of differential ratings of perceived exertion during team-sport training

Objectives To investigate the application of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) to team-sport training.DesignSingle cohort, observational study. Methods Twenty-nine professional rugby union players were monitored over a six-week intensified training period. Training sessions were classified as: High-Intensity Intervals (HIT), Repeated High-Intensity Efforts (RHIE), Speed, Skill-based Conditioning (SkCond), Skills, Whole-Body Resistance (RT), or Upper-Body Resistance (URT). After each session, players recorded a session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE; CR100®), along with differential session ratings for breathlessness (sRPE-B), leg muscle exertion (sRPE-L), upper-body muscle exertion (sRPE-U), and cognitive/technical demands (sRPE-T). Each score was multiplied by the session duration to calculate session training loads. Data were analysed using mixed linear modelling and multiple linear regression, with magnitude-based inferences subsequently applied.ResultsBetween-session differences in dRPE scores ranged from very likely trivial to most likely extremely large and within-session differences amongst dRPE scores ranged from unclear to most likely very large. Differential RPE training loads combined to explain 66–91% of the variance in sRPE training loads, and the strongest associations with sRPE training load were with sRPE-L for HIT (r = 0.67; 90% confidence limits ±0.22), sRPE-B for RHIE (0.89; ±0.08) and SkCond (0.67; ±0.19), sRPE-T for Speed (0.63; ±0.17) and Skills (0.51; ±0.28), and sRPE-U for resistance training (RT: 0.61; ±0.21, URT: 0.92; ±0.07). Conclusions Differential RPE can provide a detailed quantification of internal load during training activities commonplace in team sports. Knowledge of the relationships between dRPE and sRPE can isolate the specific perceptual demands of different training modes.