Shaun McLaren

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Durham University

The aim of the study was to quantify and compare the effects of repeated-sprint training (RST) vs. short-bout high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on hamstring architecture and physical fitness in rugby league players. A parallel, 2-group, pretest posttest design was used, whereby 24 representative U20 players were assigned to either RST or shor...

Repeated-sprint training (RST) involves maximal-effort, short-duration sprints (≤10 seconds) interspersed with brief (≤60 seconds) recovery periods. It can enhance a range of physical qualities to help prepare intermittent sport athletes for the high-intensity demands of competition. This review provides a scientific basis for applying running-base...

We aimed to assess validity of a sport-specific intermittent-variable submaximal fitness test (SMFT) as an indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness. In a 12-week repeated measures design, eighteen male senior football (soccer) players were monitored. Each week, a standardised Y-shape passing drill (practical SMFT) was administered immediately followi...

We examined the effects of repeated sprint training (RST) session volume on acute physiological, neuromuscular, perceptual and performance outcomes. In a randomised, counterbalanced, and crossover design, 14 healthy and trained male and female athletes (age: 23 ± 3 years) completed two sets of 10 × 40 m (10 × 40), 5 × 40 m (5 × 40), 10 × 20 m (10 ×...

Objectives: To evaluate the criterion and longitudinal validity of field- and laboratory-derived heart rate (HR) indices of resting and submaximal fitness tests (SMFTs) as measures of cardiorespiratory fitness. Design: Observational, repeated measures. Methods: Twenty-nine semi-professional footballers participated. Laboratory assessments took plac...

Objectives: To evaluate the criterion and longitudinal validity of field- and laboratory-derived heart rate (HR) indices of resting and submaximal fitness tests (SMFTs) as measures of cardiorespiratory fitness. Design: Observational, repeated measures. Methods: Twenty-nine semi-professional footballers participated. Laboratory assessments took pl...

This study analysed the longitudinal relationship between short sprint time and the leap-for-distance test using novel motion tracking in young soccer players. Players (n = 144, age 14.8 ± 1.8 years) from six English Elite Player Performance Plan category three clubs completed two linear sprints (10 m, 20 m) and a leap-for-distance test (cm), on th...

Background: Submaximal fitness test (SMFT) outcome measures are frequently collected with a wide array of technologies and methodological approaches. Purpose: To examine the test–retest reliability of various SMFT outcome measures derived from different protocols and analytical techniques. Methods: Twenty-six semiprofessional adult soccer players p...

Background Repeated-sprint training (RST) is a common training method for enhancing physical fitness in athletes. To advance RST prescription, it is important to understand the effects of programming variables on physical fitness and physiological adaptation. Objectives This study (1) quantifies the pooled effects of running RST on changes in 10 a...

Background: Submaximal fitness tests (SMFT) outcome measures are frequently collected with a wide array of technologies and methodological approaches. Purpose: To examine the test-retest reliability of various SMFT outcome measures derived from different protocols and analytical techniques. Methods: Twenty-six semi-professional adult soccer players...

Background Repeated-sprint training (RST) involves maximal-effort, short-duration sprints (≤ 10 s) interspersed with brief recovery periods (≤ 60 s). Knowledge about the acute demands of RST and the influence of programming variables has implications for training prescription. Objectives To investigate the physiological, neuromuscular, perceptual...

Purpose: To survey team-sport practitioners on current practices and perceptions of submaximal fitness tests (SMFTs). Methods: A convenience sample of team-sport practitioners completed an online survey (September to November 2021). Descriptive statistics were used to obtain information of frequencies. A mixed-model quantile (median) regression...

Understanding the physical qualities of athletes can lead to improved training prescription, monitoring, and ranking. Consequently, testing and profiling athletes is an important aspect of strength and conditioning. However, results can often be difficult to interpret because of the wide range of available tests and outcome variables, the diverse f...

Purpose: To examine the construct validity and reliability of 2 single items for fatigue and recovery in dancers. The construct validity was assessed using reference instruments: the fatigue items of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS). A secondary aim was to explore the respondent interpretation of these 2...

Various terms used in sport and exercise science, and medicine, are derived from other fields such as epidemiology, pharmacology and causal inference. Conceptual and nomological frameworks have described training load as a multidimensional construct manifested by two causally related subdimensions: external and internal training load. In this artic...

Background Submaximal fitness tests (SMFT) are a pragmatic approach for evaluating athlete’s physiological state, due to their time-efficient nature, low physiological burden and relative ease of administration in team sports settings. While a variety of outcome measures can be collected during SMFT, exercise heart rate (HRex) is the most popular....

Purpose: To survey team-sports practitioners on current practices and perceptions of submaximal fitness tests (SMFT). Methods: A convenience sample of team-sports practitioners completed an online survey (September to November 2021). Descriptive statistics was used to obtain information of frequencies. A mixed-model quantile (median) regression was...

Background Sided games (i.e., small sided, medium sided, large sided) involve tactical, technical, physical, and psychological elements and are commonly implemented in soccer training. Although soccer sided-games research is plentiful, a meta-analytical synthesis of external load exposure during sided games is lacking. Objective The objective of t...

Team-sports staff often administer non-exhaustive exercise assessments with a view to evaluating physiological state, to inform decision making on athlete management (e.g., future training or recovery). Submaximal fitness tests have become prominent in team-sports settings for observing responses to a standardized physical stimulus, likely because...

Background: Sided-games (i.e., small- [SSG], medium- [MSG], large-sided [LSG]) involve tactical, technical, physical and psychological elements and are commonly implemented in soccer training. Although soccer sided-games research is plentiful, a meta-analytical synthesis of external load exposure during sided-games is lacking. Objective: The objec...

A recent paper called for the abandonment of the term load (and training load) when used outside its mechanical meaning, claiming it is “unscientific” and “breaches scientific principles.” In this article, we explain why its use does not breach any scientific principles and we clarify the process of labelling, conceptualising and operationalising a...

Background Submaximal Fitness Tests (SMFT) are a pragmatic approach for evaluating athlete’s physiological state, due to their time-efficient nature, low physiological burden and relative ease of administration in team-sports settings. Whilst a variety of outcome measures can be collected during SMFT, exercise heart rate (HRex) is the most popular....

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Purpose The transition into full-time training represents a key period in the development of young soccer players. Here we compared the weekly training loads (matches, feld-, and resistance-training) of English Premier-League Academy soccer players from under-16 (U16), under-18 (U18) and under-23 (U23) age-groups during a training meso-cycle. Metho...

Team-sports staff often administer non-exhaustive exercise assessments with a view to evaluating current physiological state or fitness–fatigue status, to inform decision-making on athlete management (e.g., future training or recovery). Submaximal Fitness Tests (SMFT) have become prominent in team-sports settings for observing responses to a standa...

We aimed to examine the reliability, validity and sensitivity of an individualised sub-maximal fitness test (SMFTIFT60). Nineteen elite rugby league players performed a one-week test-retest of SMFTIFT60. Typical Errors and ICCs were: small (<3.5%) and extremely high (>0.90) for accelerometer-derived variables; moderate (<2.5% points) and moderate t...

This project repository contains a documentation including data and analysis files to be able to reproduce all results presented in the main paper. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/UP4HT

Plot displays individual change scores in HRex following recovery (ΔRecovery, blue) and following training strain (ΔStrain, red) during the 12-week study period. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244412.s004

Individual monitoring data are visualized for each player during the observational period. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244412.s002

Plot displays individual HRex for recovered (blue) and strained (red) state during the 12-week study period. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244412.s003

Individual data are summarized for recovered and strained state. Group data summarizes mean individual data. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244412.s005

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244412.s001

We investigated the reliability of fundamental movements in thirteen youth football players (mean age = 16.8 ± 0.6 y). Following a habituation warm-up, players performed three trials of stride-for-distance and bodyweight squats between two weeks. A motion tracking device was used to measure stride distance and squat depth. The weekly mean changes i...

Velocity-based training (VBT) is a contemporary method of resistance training that enables accurate and objective prescription of resistance training intensities and volumes. This review provides an applied framework for the theory and application of VBT. Specifically, this review gives detail on how to: use velocity to provide objective feedback,...

(Postprint) Purpose: To investigate short-term training and recovery-related effects on heart rate during a standardized submaximal running test. Methods: Ten elite badminton players (7 females and 3 males) were monitored during a 12-week training period in preparation for the World Championships. Exercise heart rate (HRex) and perceived exertion...

Purpose To investigate short-term training and recovery-related effects on heart rate during a standardized submaximal running test. Methods Ten elite badminton players (7 females and 3 males) were monitored during a 12-week training period in preparation for the World Championships. Exercise heart rate (HRex) and perceived exertion were measured...

Purpose: To understand the validity of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) as a measure of girls’ training and match internal loads. Methods: Using the centiMax scale (CR100), session dRPE for breathlessness (sRPE-B) and leg muscle exertion (sRPE-L) were collected across a season of training (soccer, resistance, and fitness) and match...

Purpose: To quantify changes in differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) across a 2-wk repeated-sprint-training intervention that improved high-intensity intermittent-running ability and linear speed of semiprofessional soccer players. Methods: Thirteen players completed 3 (sessions 1-3) or 4 (sessions 4-6) sets of 7 sprints (group 1 [n...

This study examined the relative contribution of exercise duration and intensity to team-sport athlete’s training load. Male, professional rugby league (n = 10) and union (n = 22) players were monitored over 6- and 52-week training periods, respectively. Whole-session (load) and per-minute (intensity) metrics were monitored (league: session rating...

In recent years, an understanding has developed that sports injuries are the emergent outcomes of complex, dynamic systems. Thus, the influence of local contextual factors on injury outcomes is increasingly being acknowledged. These realisations place injury prevention research at a crossroads. Currently, injury prevention researchers develop unive...

We assessed the reliability of fundamental movement skills in young male footballers within one session. 197 players from 5 English category 3 football academies across U9 - U18 age groups volunteered (mean: age = 12.6 ± 2.8 years; stature = 156 ± 17 cm; weight = 47 ± 15 kg; years from peak height velocity (PHV) = - 1.1 ± 2.3). Motion tracking of s...

The aim of this study was to investigate the differences and long-term reliability in perceptual, metabolic, and neuromuscular responses to velocity loss resistance training protocols. Using a repeated, counterbalanced, crossover design, twelve team-sport athletes completed 5-sets of barbell back-squats at a load corresponding to a mean concentric...

In addition to the high technical and tactical demands, soccer match-play requires players to possess well-developed aerobic, anaerobic and neuromuscular capacities. Therefore, physical conditioning strategies aiming to develop these capacities are integral to the training process. To implement a successful conditioning programme, the physiological...

Endurance and strength training are effective strategies for counteracting age-associated reductions in physical performance in older adults, with a combination of both exercise modes recommended to maximise potential fitness benefits. This meta-analysis sought to quantify the effects of same-session combined endurance and strength training on fitn...

Repeated-sprint training (RST) has the potential to be an effective multi-component training method for the physical development of team-sports players. Improvements in speed, power and aerobic fitness have previously been reported following RST. However, it is possible that the specific protocol used, modulates training responses and subsequent ad...

Purpose Understanding differences in locomotor and collision characteristics between phases of play can help rugby league coaches develop training prescription. There are no data currently available describing these differences at the elite international level. The aim of our study was to determine the differences in average speed (m∙min⁻¹), high-s...

INTRODUCTON: Submaximal fitness tests offer a valid and feasible means of quantifying physiological function during exercise (Buchheit et al., 2012). Understanding the reliability of these tests is important for interpreting individual changes, which may be used to infer on fitness or fatigue. We therefore aimed to compare the test-retest reliabili...

Purpose: Prescribing resistance training using velocity loss thresholds can enhance exercise quality by mitigating neuromuscular fatigue. Since little is known regarding performance during these protocols, we aimed to assess the effects of 10%, 20%, and 30% velocity loss thresholds on kinetic, kinematic, and repetition characteristics in the free-...

Professional collision-sport athletes report uniquely large energy expenditures across the season (1-4), as determined by gold standard assessment of resting metabolic rate (RMR (5)) and total energy expenditure (TEE (6)). Such expenditures are possibly a consequence of strenuous match demands, which repeatedly expose players to substantial exercis...

Differences exist between coach prescribed and player reported sessional perceived exertion (Brink et al., 2014; Kraft et al., 2018), yet it is not clear whether this is true for training sessions prescribed via differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE). Therefore, our aim was to compare coach prescribed and player reported dRPE. Following...

Objective: We aimed to compare the post-intervention time-course changes in active knee extension (AKE) and active lumbar flexion (ALF) range of motion in response to unilateral posterior–anterior (UPA) mobilizations of the lumbar spine (L4/5 zygapophyseal). Methods: Twenty-four asymptomatic participants (maleness: 0.58, age [mean ± standard deviat...

Background: Lumbar mobilizations are used to clinically treat the lumbar and hamstring region. However, evidence is limited regarding the effectiveness of specific mobilization methods. Objective: To compare central and unilateral posterior - anterior mobilizations (CPA, UPA) of the lumbar spine on lumbar and hamstring range of motion (ROM), and...

INTRODUCTION Monitoring training load (TL) is an important aspect of player management in rugby league (RL). Running-based external TLs are typically expressed as locomotor output over set arbitrary or relative speed thresholds. The physiological justification for arbitrary speed thresholds has been questioned, however, with relative speed thresho...

Dalton-Barron, NE, McLaren, SJ, Black, CJ, Gray, M, Jones, B, and Roe, G. Identifying contextual influences on training load: an example in professional rugby union. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-We aimed to investigate the contextual factors influencing training load (TL), as determined by session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE-TL),...

Group and Individual Responses to a 4-Week Sled Intervention in Young Professional Rugby Union Players

We aimed to compare differentiated training loads (TL) between fitness responders and non-responders to an eight-week pre-season training period in a squad of thirty-five professional rugby union players. Differential TL were calculated by multiplying player’s perceptions of breathlessness (sRPE-B) and leg muscle exertion (sRPE-L) with training dur...

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability and usefulness of a proposed 4-min individualised submaximal shuttle run test (SSRIndiv) in elite rugby league players. Materials and methods: Twenty-two elite rugby league players competing in the National Rugby League competition (23.2 ± 3.4 years, 186.8 ± 5.4 cm, 100.2 ± 8.5 kg...

Background: The associations between internal and external measures of training load and intensity are important in understanding the training process and the validity of specific internal measures. Objectives: We aimed to provide meta-analytic estimates of the relationships, as determined by a correlation coefficient, between internal and externa...

(1) Background: Differential RPE (dRPE) separates scores for breathlessness (RPE-B), leg muscle exertion (RPE-L) and technical/cognitive exertion (RPE-T). Limited information for dRPE is available in soccer match play, yet these measurements may help inform practitioners training and recovery strategies. This preliminary study investigated the effe...

The aims of this study were to describe the internal and external match load (ML) of refereeing activity during official matches and also to investigate the relationship among the methods of ML quantification across a competitive soccer season. A further aim was to examine the usefulness of differential perceived exertion (dRPE) as a tool for monit...

Session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE) are a popular tool for monitoring exercise intensity across a range of sports. Despite this, little is known regarding the application of sRPE to rowing ergometry. We therefore aimed to explore the validity of sRPE for monitoring training intensity during indoor rowing training. A thirty-six-year-old, fe...

Objectives: To investigate the application of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) to team-sport training. Design: Single 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),...

Objectives: To examine the within- and between-player variability of physical performance and player match loads in professional rugby union. Design: A single cohort, observational study. Methods: Physical match performance data were collected from 28 male, professional, English Championship players over 15 competitive matches. Using microsensors...

To investigate the sensitivity of differential ratings of perceived exertion (dRPE) as measures of internal load. Twenty-two, male, university soccer players performed two maximal incremental exercise protocols (Cycle, Treadmill) on separate days. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), maximal heart rate (HRmax), peak blood lactate concentration (B[La]pea...

Purpose: To compare the effects of two repeated-sprint training programs on fitness in soccer. Methods: Fifteen semi-professional soccer players (age 24 ± 4 y; body mass 77 ± 8 kg) completed 6 repeated-sprint training sessions over a two week period. Players were assigned to a straight-line (STR) (n = 8; 3-4 sets of 7 × 30-m) or change of direct...