International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2013,8, 62-69

2013 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Factors Affecting Perception of Effort (Session Rating

of Perceived Exertion) During Rugby League Training
Thomas W.J. Lovell, Anita C. Sirotic, Franco M. Impellizzeri, and Aaron J. Coutts

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE)
for monitoring training intensity in rugby league. Methods: Thirty-two professional rugby leagiie players
participated in this study. Training-load (TL) data were collected during an entire season and assessed via
microtechnology (heart-rate [HR] monitors, global positioning systems [GPS], and accelerometers) and sRPE.
Within-individual correlation analysis was used to determine relationships between sRPE and various other
measures of training intensity and load. Stepwise multiple regressions were used to determine a predictive
equation to estimate sRPE during rugby league training. Results: There were significant within-individual
correlations between sRPE and various other interhal and external measures of intensity and load. The step-
wise multiple-regression analysis also revealed that 62.4% of the adjusted variance in sRPE-TL could be
explained by TL measures of distanc, impacts, body load, and training impulse (y = 37.21 -i- 0.93 distance
- 0.39 impacts + 0.18 body load + 0.03 training impulse). Furthermore, 35.2% of the adjusted variance in
sRPE could be explained by exercise-intensity measures of percentage of peak HR (%HRpeak). impacts/min,
m/min, and body load/min (y = -0.01 + 0.37%HRpeak + 0.10 impacts/min + 0.17 m/min + 0.09 body load/
min). Conclusion: A combination of internal and external TL factors predicts sRPE in rugby league training
better than any individual measures alone. These findings provide new evidence to support the use of sRPE
as a global measure of exercise intensity in rugby league training.

Keywords: training load, microtechnology, training intensity, GPS, internal training load, external training load

Physical training forms the foundation for the
development of an athlete's physical, physiological, and
performance characteristics.''^ Therefore, the ability for
coaches and sports scientists to monitor specific training
doses applied to individual athletes is essential to opti-
mize the process of training.^ This is especially important
in the team-sport setting, where players with different
fitness levels may not have similar training responses to
the same training session."* At present, however, while
there are many different approaches to monitoring train-
ing load or dose in team sports, the validity of these for
team sports has not been properly inyestigated.
The recent development of microtechnologies such
as heart-rate (HR) monitors, global positioning systems
(GPS), and accelerometers has allowed for very detailed
information on the external (ie, distance) and internal (ie,
HR) training loads (TL) to be measured in team-sport
training.' These devices are now widely used in many
professional sport teams to moiiitorTLs.^ However, these
devices are expensive, require high technical expertise.
Lovell and Coutts are with the Sport and Exercise Discipline
Group, UTS: Health, University of Technology, Sydney, Austra-
lia. Sirotic is with the Parramatta Eels Rugby League Football
Club, Parramatta, Australia. Impellizzeri is with CeRiSM,
University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
and risk the loss of data due to technical error.'''^ More-
over, the measurement of external TL merely describes
the activity a player has completed and may not accurately
depict the physiological stress imposed on individual
athletes. Accordingly, internal TL has been suggested to
be the most efficacious method for monitoring an athlete's
response to a training dose.*
Session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) was
proposed as a simple, noninvasive, and inexpensive
method for monitoring internal TL. sRPE has since been
validated for many endurance'''" and team sports.^'^"
Based on psychophysical constructs, the sRPE method is
understood to provide a global indicator of exercise inten-
sity, providing an accurate measure of an individual's
response to a training dose.'^ Recent studies have vali-
dated the sRPE method for intermittent team sports such
as soccer''* and basketball," with internal TL measures
of HR and blood lactate providing strong relationships
with sRPE. These findings have lead to widespread use
of sRPE to monitor TLs in team sports.
In contrast to these findings, sRPE has recently
been questioned for its validity in collision sports such
as rugby league.'^ It has been suggested that the sRPE
method is unable to reflect the underlying physiological
stress arising from frequent collisions and intermittent,
high-intensity activity.'^ Moreover, no studies to date have
properly assessed the relationship between external TL

62

and perceived exertion. Accordingly, the purpose of this
study was to examine the validity of sRPE for monitor-
ing training intensity in rugby league. In particular, we
examined the internal and external factors that contribute
to perceived exertion in rugby league training.
Methods
Participants
Thirty-two professional rugby league players from the
same National. Rugby League (NRL) club participated
in this study. The participants had the following char-
acteristics: age 24.4 4.1 years, height 184.8 5.3 cm,
body mass 98 10 kg, NRL experience 62 76 matches.
Before this study, players had completed an 8-week
period of active recovery. A written consent form was
obtained from each subject before the commencement of
the study. Before any testing, ethical approval was granted
by an institutional human research ethics committee.
Study Design
This study used a prospective longitudinal research design
where training load data were collected during an entire
season, which included 17 weeks preseason training and a
26-week competition period. TL measures were assessed
via microtechnology (HR, GPS, and accelerometer) and
perception of effort (sRPE) during each training ses-
sion. Before the study, players were familiarized with
all methods. Both HRresi and HRpeak were determined
for each player before the corhmencement oif the study.
Relationships between the internal- and external-load
measures were examined.
Physical Training
The training program was prescribed and implemented
by the NRL club's coaching staff during the entire study.
During the preseason period, each player usually com-
pleted 4 or 5 training sessions per week. The typical week
consisted of 2 skills sessions, 2 conditioning sessions,
and 1 skills-conditioning session. In addition, wrestling
and speed training were commonly incorporated into
existing sessions on 2 occasions per week. During the
competition period, each player usually completed 2 or
3 skills sessions per week. Training sessions were typi-
cally conducted together with the entire training squad.
All sessions could be identified as one of the following
5 training modes:
Conditioninglargely high-intensity running aimed
at improving players' aerobic fitness, rugby-league-
specific endurance, and match-fitness
Skillsfocused on refining rugby league skills and
team tactics and strategy
, high-intensity
conditioning games aimed at improving rugby-
league-specific fitness and performance of skills
under fatigue
Using Session RPE in Rugby League 63
Speedshort, intense drills aimed at ihiproving
speed, agility, and running technique
Wrestlehigh-intensity contact sessions aimed at
improving both tackling and wrestling techniques
internal TL
The TL for each session was calculated usihg the sRPE
method for each player duririg the study period." sRPE
was measuf-ed to determine intensity using Borg's CR-10
scale,'^ which was collected -30 minutes after each train-
ing session. sRPE was then multiplied by session duration
to calculate TL (sRPE-TL). All players who participated
in this study had been familiarized with this RPE scale
according to standard procedures" before cmhiencing
the study. .
HR was collected during each training session (every
5 s) using Polar HR straps as an additional measure of
training intensity (T14, Polar, Oy, Finland). The data
were continuously transmitted to a GPS monitor (SPI
Pro, GPSports, Fyshwick, Canberra, Australia) before
being analyzed using proprietary.software. Measures of
both HRresi and HRpeak were required for each participant
to determine individual HR training zones. HRresi was
calculated from the lowest HR observed for each player
while at rest, while HRpeak was calculated from the high-
est HR achieved during the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery
Test Level 1 (YoYo IR 1 ), '" at the start and at the midpoint
of the observation period. The YoYo IRl was used as it
was a normal part of each player's physiological- and
performance-testing regimen and was conducted accord-
ing to previously described methods.'^ It has previously
been reported that players achieve 99% 1 % of their
HRpeak during the YoYo IRl.'^ All players were familiar
with the field-testing procedures, as they were part of
their usual fitness-assessment program.
In addition, an HR-based training impulse (TRIMP)
was used in this study to determine internal TL. Banister's
TRIMP'* is calculated according to training duration,
HRpeak, HRrest, and HR, and is expressed in the follow-
ing formula: ' . '
TL = D(AHR ratio) e*('^'^'* ""'^
where D = duration of training session, and b = 1.92 for
males.
External TL
External-load measures of distance, high-speed running
(HSR), body load, and impacts were measured during
each session. Distance and HSR (>15 km/h) were col-
lected concurrently during each session using 5-Hz GPS
devices (SPI Pro, GPSports, Canberra, Australia). GPS
devices have been shown to provide an acceptable level of
accuracy and reliability for distance and speed measures
duririg high-intensity, intermittent exercise."''^
. Player impact measures and body load were gathered
from triaxial accelerometer data provided in g force and
sampled at 100 Hz. Previous research has reported an
64 Lovell et al

acceptable level of reliability for triaxial accelerometers
both within and between devices in team sports.'^ The
measure of impacts is determined from the summed
accelerations from 3 accelerometer planes. The load
and intensity measures for these impacts were identified
as total number of impacts and impacts/min, respec-
tively. The intensity of impacts was graded according
to the following acceleration zones provided by system
manufacturers: 5.0 to 6.0 g, light impact (zone 1); 6.01
to 6.5 g, light to moderate impact (zone 2); 6.51 to 7.0 g,
moderate to heavy impact (zone 3); 7.01 to 8.0 g, heavy
impact (zone 4); 8.01 to 10.0 g, very heavy impact (zone
5); and >10.0 g, severe impact (zone 6).
Body load provides a measure of total stress result-
ing from accelerations, decelerations, changes of direc-
tion, and impacts. The load and intensity measures were
identified as total player body load and body load/min,
respectively. Body load was calculated automatically
using a custom algorithm included in the proprietary
software provided by the manufacturers (TeamAMS
Version 17, GPSports, Canberra, Australia). Briefly, the
body load is derived from the square root of the sum of
the squared instantaneous rate of change in acceleration
in each of the 3 vectors (x-, y-, and z-axes). The body-load
intensities were then classified into 6 discrete acceleration
zones (described previously), and a loading factor (ie,
a loading factor of 1-6 for zones 1-6, respectively) was
applied to each zone. The body load for each zone was
multiplied by the player's body mass and then summed
and expressed in arbitrary units (AU).
ods were used for the calculation of means, SDs, and
Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients. The
multiple-regression, ANOVA, and collinearity statistics
and linear-regression analysis were conducted using the
PASW statistical software package (Version 17, Chicago,
IL). Statistical significance was set at P < .05. The data
are presented as means and SD unless otherwise stated.
Results
A total of 2400 individual training sessions with a mean
duration of 35.9 16.9 minutes were observed during
this study, with 32 players eaeh providing 75.2 25.7
sessions. Mean load and intensity measures are presented
in Table 1. Table 2 shows the number of sessions, mean
intensity, and mean load of all 5 training modalities.
Figure 1 shows the proportion of all training sessions
when categorized by intensity measures of %HRpeak and
Table 1 Load and Intensity Measures for All
Training Sessions, Mean SD, N = 2400
Measure
Load
sRPE-TL (AU) 229 131
distance (m) 2801 1578
high-speed running (m) 392 316
body load (AU) 63,466 70,409

Statistical Analyses impacts (N) 451 493

training impulse (AU) 29 80
Within-individual correlations between the RPE-based
measures of training intensity and load and HR-, GPS-, Intensity
and accelerometer-derived measures of intensity and sRPE(AU) 6.5 1.9
load were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coef- speed (m/min) 79 38
ficient. The following criteria were adopted to interpret
the magnitude of the correlation (r) between test mea- high-speed running (m/min) 1212
sures: <.l trivial, .1 to .3 small, .3 to .5 moderate, .5 to .7 body load (AU/min) 1903 2127
large, .7 to .9 very large, and .9 to 1.0 almost perfect.^ impacts (N/min) 1315
Differences between the mean within-individual corre-
percent peak heart rate 72 9
lations between all of the methods were assessed using
a 1-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post hoc to locate Abbreviations: sRPE, session rating of perceived exertion; TL, training
differences. A stepwise multiple regression was used load; AU, arbitrary units.
to determine a predictive equation to estimate sRPE
of rugby-league-specific training from internal- and
external-load measures. Partial correlation coefficients Table 2 Load and Intensity Measures of All
were also calculated to assess the relationship between Sessions, Divided Into Training Modes, Mean
RPE-based measures and various other intensity and load SD
measures. CoUinearity-tolerance statistics were calcu-
lated to determine the correlation between the predictor Training type sRPE sRPE-TL
variables. The collinearity-tolerance statistics are used Conditioning 398 8.8 1.1 249 120
to determine when a predictor is too highly correlated Skills 1097 5.6 1.3 245 82
with one or more of the other predictors. If the predictor
variables are highly correlated with each other, the influ- Skills conditioning 365 7.2 1.5 337 189
ence of one variable on the response variable cannot be Speed 262 4.7 1.0 82 38
separated from the other predictor variable. Therefore, Wrestling 278 7.4 1.7 130 53
any variable that had a tolerance level of less than .10
Abbreviations: sRPE, session rating of perceived exertion; TL, train-
was not included in the model. Standard statistical meth-
ing load.
 Using Session RPE in Rugby League 65

sRPE. Within-individual correlations between the RPE-
based measures of intensity and load and various other
training-intensity and -load measures are presented in
Eigure 2. Within-individual correlations divided between
training modes are shown in Table 3.
The stepwise multiple-regression analysis revealed
that 62.4% ofthe adjusted variance in sRPE-TL could be
explained by exercise-load measures of distance, impacts,
body load, and TRIMP Cy = 37.21 + 0.93 distance - 0.39
impacts -h 0.18 body load -i- 0.03 TRIMP; adjusted R^ =

I %HR peak
CU RPE

Low Moderate High

Intensity

Figure 1 Proportion of training sessions at lower, moderate, and higher intensities when determined by percent peak heart rate
(%HRpcak) and session rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Intensity zones for %HRpcak were classed as low (<75%, n = 1488),
moderate (75-%, n = 686), and high (>85%, n = 226). Intensity zones for RPE were classed as low (RPE < 4, n = 372), moderate
(RPE 4-7, n = 960), and high (RPE > 7, n = 1068).

A.
(D
i l 0.85-
o
^ 0.70-
o

5 0.55-
o

0.40^

Distance (m) HSR (m) Body Load (AU) Impact (N) TRIMP (AU)
0.80-1 B.
ent

0
0.60-
0
0 4
0.40- <1
n
Correlati

<
0.20-

0.00-

Speed (m/min) HSR (fn/min) Body Loacl (AU/min) Impacts (n/min) %HRpeak

Figure 2 Within-individual correlations betv/een session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and sRPE training load with various
other measures of (A) training load and (B) training intensity (mean SD). Abbreviations: HSR, high-speed running; AU, arbitrary
units; TRIMP, training impulse; %HRpeak, percent peak heart rate.
66 Lovell et al

62, F5,2394 - 796.08, P < .001). The collinearity statis-
tics for this niultiple regression were acceptable, with
tolerance levels at .487, .170, .217, and .965. Further-
more, 35.2% of the adjusted variance in sRPE could be
explained by exercise-intensity measures of %HRpeak.
impacts/min, m/min, and body load/min (y = -0.01 +
0.37%HRpeak + 0.10 impacts/min + 0.17 m/min + 0.09
body load/min; adjusted /?2 = -35, ^5,2393 = 260.02, P <
.001). The collinearity statistics for this multiple regres-
sion were acceptable, with tolerance levels at .787,.
.155, .341, and .249 respectively. Partial correlations.
standardized coefficients, and the level of significance
of predictors are shown in Table 4.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine the validity
of sRPE for monitoring training intensity and load in
rugby league. In particular, ihe internal and external
factors that contribute to perceived exertion in rugby
league training were assessed. The main finding of the

Table 3 Within-Individual Correlations for sRPE and sRPE-TL With Various Measures of Load and
Intensity, Mean SD
Measure Conditioning Skills Skills conditioning Speed Wrestling
n players (n sessions) 22(15.32.9) 32(34.313.0) 22(13.72.2) 12(108I.O) 13(12.21.4)
sRPE-TL
distance (m) 0.80 0.11 0.69 0.10 0.88 0.05 0.79 0.12 0.37 0.19
high-speed running (m) -0.23 0.20 0.53 0.15 0.84 0.08 0.43 0.15 0.16 0.21
body load (AU) 0.63 0.15 0.51 0.17 0.64 0.14 0.58 0.19 0.45 0.22
. impacts (n) 0.69 0.14 0.57 0.11 0.75 0.16 0.73 0.15 0.30 0.22
TRIMP (AU) 0.68 0.19 0.45 0.16 0.75 0.23 0.56 0.29 0.56 020
sRPE
speed (m/min) 0.25 0.32 0.27 0.19 0.26 0.20 0.13 0.30 0:02 0.14
high-speed running (m/
min) . 0.03 0:24 0.23 0.22 0.28 0.23 0.25 0.24 0.20 0 1 6
body load (AU/min) 0.37 0.25 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.25 0.15 0.31 0.14 0 2 7
impacts (n/min) 0.36 0.30 0.28 0.18 0.36 0.23 0.13 0.33 0.12O15
percent peak heart rate 0.22 0.33 0.26 0.19 0.25 0.34 0.16 0.32 0.48 0.27
Abbreviations: sRPE, session rating of perceived exertion; TL, training load; AU, arbitrary units.

Table 4 Partial Correlations, Standardized Coefficients, and Level of Significance for Predictors of
sRPE-TL and sRPE
Partial correlation Standardized coefficient (/3) Significance of

sRPE-TL
Distance (m) .726 .927 .001
High-speed running (m)
body load (AU) .139 .184 .001
impacts (n) -.252 -.387 .001
training impulse (AU) .050 .031 .015
sRPE
Speed (m/min) .130 .180 .001
High-speed running (m/min)
body load (AU/min) .055 .089 .001
. impacts (n/min) .046 .095 .001
percent peak heart rate .380 .373 .001
Abbreviations: sRPE, session rating of perceived exertion; TL, training load; AU, arbitrary units. All correlations significant at P < .05.

study was the significant within-individual correlations
between sRPE and various other internal and external
measures of intensity and load. It was also observed that
a combination of internal and external TL factors predicts
sRPE in rugby league training better than any individual
measures alone. These results further demonstrate the
validity of sRPE as an indicator of training intensity for
rugby-league-specific training.
Similar to previous team-sport studies,^'*'" moder-
ate to very large within-individual correlations were
observed between sRPE-TL and the various TL measures.
These results agree with those of Impellizzeri et al,^ who
reported large to very large correlations between HR and
sRPE (r = .5O-.85) during soccer-specific training in 19
young soccer players. Similar correlations (r= .62) were
also reported by Waldron et al,^' who observed rugby
league matches in 12 elite rugby league players. However,
that study used pooled data from a relatively small sample
size, differing from the within-individual correlations
observed in the current study. While our findings are
similar to those of several previous studies,^'^'" stronger
relationships between RPE and HR have been observed
during steady-state endurance exercise.^''" Collectively,
these observations suggest that factors other than HR con-
tribute to the perception of effort during high-intensity,
intermittent activity such as rugby league training.
A new finding from this study is the large and very
large within-individual correlations between sRPE and
various GPS-derived measures of external load and
intensity. Specifically, load measures of distance and
HSR provided very large (r - .82) and large (r = .62)
correlations, respectively, with sRPE-TL,, while intensity
measures of m/min and HSR/min provided moderate
(r = .47, .30) correlations with sRPE. While no known
previous studies have examined this relationship in team
sports, similar findings have been reported ih swim-,
ming,'" where large correlations (r = .65) were reported
between distance swum during a training session and
sRPE in 12 well-trained swimmers. The current results
show that both total distance and the distance traveled at
high speed significantly affect perceived exertion in rugby
league training. Respective intensity measures similarly
affect sRPE; however, these provided weaker correlations
than the load measures. It is likely that these poorer cor-
relations are a result of the many additional factors that
contribute to the perception of intensity in intermittent
team-sport exercise.
In contrast to previous research conducted with
professional soccer players,^^ large correlations were
observed between sRPE-TL and accelerometer-derived
measures of body load (r = .57) and impacts (r - .55).
Similarly, intensity measures of body load/min (r - .42)
and impacts/min (r - .45) provided moderate correla-
tions with sRPE. These results disagree with recent work
from Gomez-Piriz et al,^^ who reported a low correlation
between sRPE and body load {r- .23). Possible reasons
for the different findings are the alternative RPE scales
and methods of statistical analysis employed in each
Using Session RPE in Rugby League 67
study. For example, Gomez-Piriz et aP^ employed Borg's
6-to-20 ratio scale, while the current study used Borg's
CR-IO. In addition, the current study reported within-
player correlations from a large sample (N = 2400), while
the previous study used pooled data from a relatively
small sample (N = 130). Accordingly, the current methods
provide a more valid means for assessing the validity
of load monitoring for athletes, especially when these
measures are used to assess training within individuals.
Taken collectively, both GPS- and accelerometer-derived
measures of exercise load and intensity relate strongly to
sRPE-TL and sRPE, providing new evidence to support
sRPE's validity in rugby league training.
While the combined results from all training ses-
sions have shown sRPE to be a valid measure of TL, the
comparison of different training types provides a deeper
understanding of the factors that affect sRPE in rugby
league training. The within-individual correlations taken
from each of the training niiodes (Table 3) showed that
sRPE-TL correlated with various measures of TL in all
training types. These findings agree with research in
women's soccer,^ where TRIMP provided moderate to
very large correlations (r = .45-0.75) with sRPE-TL in
a variety of training types. Furthermore, HR was signifi-
cantly related to sRPE-TL and sRPE during wrestling
drills, with TRIMP and %HRpeak sharing large (r - .56)
and moderate (r = .48) correlations. While most TL mea-
sures provided poorer correlations during wrestling ses-
sions, this may be due to the brief, intense, and physical
nature of these particular drills. Moreover, low to moder-
ate correlations were found between sRPE and various
training-intensity measures in all other training modes.
We suggest that this poor relationship may be due to the
combination of many different factors that contribute to
intensity in intermittent team-sport exercise, rather than
HR-, GPS-, and accelerometer-derived methods alone.
Similar to previous research on small-sided games
in soccer,^ the current study showed that a combina-
tion of various load and intensity measures collectively
explains more of the variance in sRPE than any individual
measures alone. However, no known previous research
has assessed both internal and external TLs in relation
to sRPE during team-sport training. The stepwise mul-
tiple regression for sRPE-TL showed that measures of
distance, impacts, body load, and TRIMP accounted for
62.4% of the variance during rugby league training ses-
sions. Similarly, the stepwise multiple regression could
explain 35.2% of the variance in sRPE with intensity
measures of %HRpeai(. impacts/min, m/itiin, and body
load/min. Collectively, these results provide further evi-
dence suggesting that a niyriad of internal and external
factors contribute to sRPE and sRP-TL. For example, it
has been suggested that additional psychobiological fac-
tors such as blood lactate, metabolic acidosis, ventilatory
drive, respiratory gases, catecholamines, -endorphins,
and body temperature are also related to perception of
effort during intermittent exercise.^' However, the rela-
tionship of these factors to sRPE during high-ihtensity
68 Lovell et al
intermittent exercise is yet to be determined. It is likely
that if any of these measures were used to quantify TL
or intensity independently, different information on the
training stress would be provided. We therefore suggest
that care be taken when using different monitoring meth-
ods to compare TL.
To our knowledge, no previous studies have com-
pared the distribution of training according to intensity
using different measures. The current findings show that
when sessions are categorized into low-, moderate-, and
high-intensity zones by both %HRpeak and sRPE (Figure
1), contrasting information is provided by each of the
measurement methods. While it is possible that the arbi-
trary cutoff points for sRPE and HR are not at the same
intensity (ie, an HR of 75% may not be equivalent to an
RPE of 4), these individual demarcatioh points for low,
moderate, and high have been used by previous stud-
ies 24.25 jjie difference in demarcation points between
these methods may explain some of the variation in the
distribution of training intensities; however, there is a
remarkable difference in the proportion of high and low
training intensities provided by HR and sRPE measures.
This finding suggests that different monitoring methods
provide different information on the stimulus applied to
individuals during training. For example, in a wrestling
session, m/min is generally low while sRPE is high.
Conversely, in a skills session, m/min is generally much
higher, yet sRPE moderate. It therefore appears that
the increased effort in wrestling sessions may not be
accounted for appropriately using HR, GPS, or acceler-
ometer measures, which further demonstrates the advan-
tages of sRPE for assessing TL in rugby league training.
These findings also provide further evidence that care
should be taken when comparing TL between studies or
within a club when using different monitoring methods.
In summary, our findings provide further evidence
that sRPE is a valuable global indicator of exercise load
and intensity in team-sport training. In particular, this
study is the first to validate sRPE in a collision sport such
as rugby league. The study demonstrated that various
internal and external TL measures independently relate
to RPE-based measures during rugby league training. A
combination of these various HR, GPS, and accelerom-
eter measures was also shown to explain much of the
variance in sRPE and sRPE-TL. Since these methods
of monitoring exercise can be expensive and time-
consuming and require expertise, we suggest that sRPE
provides a simple yet valid alternative for coaches and
sports scientists to monitor rugby league training.
Practical Applications
sRPE may be used as a simple and reliable tool to moni-
tor TL in rugby league training. This method provides
a valid and cost-effective means for coaches and sports
scientists to monitor training intensity during training. In
particular, sRPE allows coaches to monitor the specific
internal training dose applied to individual players. How-
ever, care should be taken when comparing TL between
studies or in a club setting when using different monitor-
ing methods. Moreover, accounting for session duration
accurately should also be considered when using sRPE
in team-sport training. While only accounting for time at
work may provide better associations with various load
measures, the logistical difficulty in achieving this with
large groups of players may be limiting. It is therefore
suggested that using sRPE in the traditional manner, as
suggested by Foster et al," would be the most practical
method to quantify TL in rugby league training.
Conclusions
In summary, sRPE provided significant within-individual
correlations with various other measures of training
intensity and load during rugby league training. It was
also observed that a combination of internal and external
TL factors predicts sRPE in rugby league training better
than any individual measures alone. These findings pro-
vide new evidence to support the use of sRPE as a global
measure of exercise intensity in rugby league training.
Acknowledgments
This research was conducted with the support of the Parramatta
Eels Rugby League Football Club, Parramatta, Australia.
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