Comparison of perceived internal load between coaches and swimmers in Costa Rica
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24310/riccafd.14.2.2025.21460Keywords:
rated perceived exertion, exercise intensity, monitoring, performance, concordanceAbstract
This study examined the concordance between perceived internal training load among Costa Rican swimmers (n=24) and their coaches (n=3) across three national teams. Using Foster's Formula, 54 training sessions were analyzed over four weeks. Significant differences (p<0.05) were found in 13 of 54 sessions. High-intensity sessions showed the lowest concordance values (Team 1=33.3%, Team 2=31.3%, Team 3=2.8%) with substantial underestimation rates (Team 1=66.7%, Team 2=68.7%, Team 3=97.2%). Medium-intensity sessions demonstrated moderate concordance (~60%), while low-intensity sessions showed the highest agreement (Team 1=87.5%, Team 3=100%, except Team 2=42.9%). Longitudinal analysis revealed distinct temporal patterns among teams. The pronounced divergence during high-intensity training suggests systematic underestimation by swimmers, potentially impairing physiological adaptations and performance outcomes. These findings highlight the need for improved load monitoring strategies and communication in competitive swimming environments.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Álvarez J, Murillo V. Comparación entre las cargas planificadas y ejecutadas en el entrenamiento de fútbol sala: La doble escala. Retos. 2016;29:48-52.
Akubat I, Patel E, Barrett S, Abt G. Methods of monitoring the training and match load and their relationship to changes in fitness in professional youth soccer players. J Sports Sci. 2012;30(14):1473-80.
Aranzana M, Salguero A, Molinero O, Boleto AF, Márquez S. Relación de la carga interna de entrenamiento, optimismo y resiliencia con los niveles de estrés-recuperación en nadadores. Cuadernos de Psicología del Deporte. 2018;18(1):43-54.
Barnes KR. Comparisons of Perceived Training Doses in Champion Collegiate-Level Male and Female Cross-country Runners and Coaches over the Course of a Competitive Season. Sports Med Open. 2017;3(1):38.
Barroso R, Cardoso RK, Carmo EC, Tricoli V. Perceived Exertion in Coaches and Young Swimmers with Different Training Experience. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2014;9(2):212-6.
Barroso R, Salgueiro DF, do Carmo EC, Nakamura FY. The effects of training volume and repetition distance on session rating of perceived exertion and internal load in swimmers. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2015;10(7):848-52.
Bell GJ, Coutts AJ, Wallace L, Simpson N, Slattery K. Utilización del Índice de Esfuerzo Percibido de la Sesión para Monitorear la Carga de Entrenamiento en Nadadores. PubliCE. 2008.
Bourdon P, Cardinale M, Murray A, Gastin P, Kellmann M, Varley M, et al. Monitoring Athlete Training Loads: Consensus Statement. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2017;12(2):161-70.
Borg G. Borg's Perceived Exertion and Pain Scales. Human Kinetics; 1998.
Borresen J, Lambert MI. The Quantification of Training Load, the Training Response and the Effect on Performance. Sports Med. 2009;39(9):779-95.
Brink MS, Frencken GP, Jordet G, Lemmink KA. Coaches' and players' perceptions of training dose: Not a perfect match. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2014;9(3):497-502.
Cejuela R, Esteve-Lanao J. Training load quantification in triathlon. J Hum Sport Exerc. 2011;6(2):218-32.
Collette R, Kellmann M, Ferrauti A, Meyer T, Pfeiffer M. Relation Between Training Load and Recovery-Stress State in High-Performance Swimming. Front Physiol. 2018;9:1-14.
Coyne JOC, Coutts AJ, Newton RU, Haff GG. The Current State of Subjective Training Load Monitoring: Follow-Up and Future Directions. Sports Med Open. 2022;8(53):1-11.
Cruz R, Alves DL, Domingos P, De Oliveira F, Lima JRP. Controlando a intensidade do treinamento: Concordância entre treinadores e jovens atletas de atletismo. Rev Andal Med Deporte. 2019;12(3):226-9.
De Andrade FC, Alves R, Miloski B, de Oliveira AH, Zacaron F, Bara M. Influence of Training Loads on Performance and Recovery in Swimmers. Rev Educ Fís UEM. 2015;26(2):267-78.
De Andrade FC, Nogueira RA, Miloski B, Cordeiro A, Werneck FZ, Bara M. Comparison of the training load intensity planned by the coach with the training perceptions of the swimming athletes. Med Ital Arch Sci Med. 2015;174(1):415-22.
Feijen S, Tate A, Kuppens K, Barry LA, Struyf F. Monitoring the swimmer's training load: A narrative review of monitoring strategies applied in research. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2020;30(11):2037-43.
Ferreira MR, dos Santos G, Gomes SS, Figueira A, de Oliveira RS, Borin JP. Alteraciones emocionales y la relación con las cargas de entrenamiento en nadadores de alto rendimiento. Rev Bras Cienc Esporte. 2015;37(4):376-82.
Foster C, Florhaug JA, Franklin J, Gottschall L, Hrovatin LA, Parker S, et al. A New Approach to Monitoring Exercise Training. J Strength Cond Res. 2001;15(1):109-15.
Foster C, Heimann KM, Esten PL, Brice G, Porcari JP. Differences in perceptions of training by coaches and athletes. S Afr J Sports Med. 2001;8(2):3-7.
Fusco A, Knutson C, King C, Mikat RP, Porcari JP, Cortis C, et al. Session RPE During Prolonged Exercise Training. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2020;15(2):292-4.
Fusco A, Sustercich W, Edgerton K, Cortis C, Jaime SJ, Mikat RP, et al. Effect of Progressive Fatigue on Session RPE. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2020;5(1):15.
García-Ramos A, Feriche B, Calderón C, Iglesias X, Barrero A, Chaverri D, et al. Training load quantification in elite swimmers using a modified version of the training impulse method. Eur J Sport Sci. 2014;15(2):85-93.
Haddad M, Stylianides G, Djaoui L, Dellal A, Chamari K. Session-RPE Method for Training Load Monitoring: Validity, Ecological Usefulness, and Influencing Factors. Front Neurosci. 2017;11(612):1-14.
Halson S. Monitoring training load to understand fatigue in athletes. Sports Med. 2014;44(2):139-47.
Ieno C, Baldassarre R, Pennacchi M, La Torre A, Bonifazi M, Piacentini MF. Monitoring Rating of Perceived Exertion Time in Zone: A Novel Method to Quantify Training Load in Elite Open-Water Swimmers? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2021;16(10):1551-5.
Impellizzeri F, Marcora S, Coutts A. Internal and External Training Load: 15 Years On. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2018;14(2):1-4.
Inoue A, Bunn PS, Carmo EC, Lattari E, Silva EB. Internal Training Load Perceived by Athletes and Planned by Coaches: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med Open. 2022;8(35):1-32.
Inoue A, do Carmo EC, de Souza Terra B, Moraes BR, Lattari E, Borin JP. Comparison of coach-athlete perceptions on internal and external training loads in trained cyclists. Eur J Sport Sci. 2021;22(8):1261-7.
Matsumoto R, Rojo JR. Comparación entre la percepción subjetiva del esfuerzo planificada por el técnico y a auto-percibida por los atletas jóvenes de natación. Rev Peru Cienc Act Fís Deporte. 2020;7(4):999-1007.
Mujika I. Quantification of Training and Competition Loads in Endurance Sports: Methods and Applications. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2016;12(2):1-25.
Murphy AP, Duffield R, Kellett A, Reid M. Comparison of athlete-coach perceptions of internal and external load markers for elite junior tennis training. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2014;9(5):751-6.
Nakamura FY, Moreira A, Aoki MS. Monitoramento da carga de treinamento: A percepção subjetiva do esforço da sessão é um método confiável? J Phys Educ. 2010;21(1):1-11.
Paul D, Read P, Farooq A, Jones L. Factors Influencing the Association Between Coach and Athlete Rating of Exertion: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med Open. 2021;7(1):1.
Psycharakis SG. A Longitudinal Analysis on the Validity and Reliability of Ratings of Perceived Exertion for Elite Swimmers. J Strength Cond Res. 2011;25(2):420-6.
Sinnott-O'Connor C, Comyns TM, Warrington GD. Validity of Session-Rate of Perceived Exertion to Quantify Training Loads in Paralympic Swimmers. J Strength Cond Res. 2021;35(9):2611-5.
Soligard T, Schwellnus M, Alonso JM, Bahr R, Clarsen B, Dijkstra HP, et al. How much is too much? (Part 1) International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport and risk of injury. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(17):1030-41.
Toubekis AG, Drosou E, Gourgoulis V, Thomaidis S, Douda H, Tokmakidis SP. Competitive Performance, Training Load and Physiological Responses During Tapering in Young Swimmers. J Hum Kinet. 2013;38:125-34.
Víquez F, Araya GA. Determinación de factores relacionados con el abandono de la práctica deportiva en exnadadores costarricenses. MHSalud. 2007;4(2):1-17.
Wallace L, Coutts A, Bell J, Simpson N, Slattery K. Using Session-RPE to Monitor Training Load in Swimmers. Strength Cond J. 2008;30(6):72-6.
Wallace LK, Slattery KM, Coutts AJ. The Ecological Validity and Application of the Session-RPE Method for Quantifying Training Loads in Swimming. J Strength Cond Res. 2009;23(1):33-8.
Wallace LK, Slattery KM, Impellizzeri FM, Coutts AJ. Establishing the Criterion Validity and Reliability of Common Methods for Quantifying Training Load. J Strength Cond Res. 2014;28(8):2330-7.
Winter EM, Maughan RJ. Requirements for ethics approvals. J Sports Sci. 2009;27(10):985.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All the contents published in Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte are subject to the Creative Commons Reconocimento-NoComercia-Compartirigual 4.0 license, the full text of which can be found at <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0>
They may be copied, used, disseminated, transmitted and publicly exposed, provided that:
The authorship and original source of your publication (Journal, editorial and URL of the work) are cited.
They are not used for commercial purposes.
The existence and specifications of this use license are mentioned.
Copyright is of two kinds: moral rights and patrimonial rights. Moral rights are perpetual, inalienable, inalienable, inalienable, inalienable and imprescriptible prerogatives.
In accordance with copyright legislation, Revista Eviterna recognizes and respects the moral rights of the authors, as well as the ownership of the economic right, which will be transferred to the University of Malaga for dissemination in open access.
The economic rights refer to the benefits obtained by the use or disclosure of the works. Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte is published in open access and is exclusively authorized to carry out or authorize by any means the use, distribution, disclosure, reproduction, adaptation, translation or transformation of the work.
It is the responsibility of the authors to obtain the necessary permissions of the images that are subject to copyright.
9.png)
