Polar team pro

The peak sprint speed (PSS) was measured during a 30-m linear sprint test using the Polar Team Pro, combining a Global Positioning System (GPS) with a heart rate sensor. The Polar Team Pro is accurate and reliable in determining peak speed, as previously revealed in a concurrent-validity study conducted with a radar gun [41 ]. The PSS obtained in each of the two trials was collected, and the best score was used to further data treatment. The 30-m sprint test was marked on the synthetic turf, and the players always started with the same preferred leg in front. The coefficient of variation presented by the players (within-players variability) in the PSS was 3.0%.

The participants underwent 8 weeks of high-intensity exercise training, which involved 1 h of training performed 3 times per week. The training program was accepted as completed when participants performed a minimum of 20 sessions, and training was terminated at a maximum of 26 sessions over the 8-week period. The training included a combination of small-sided floorball matches and interval-based cycle training (spinning). This mixed modality, high-intensity training program was selected to maintain participant motivation and avoid overuse injuries. Participants were required to participate in at least one session of floorball and one session of spinning per week with the option to select the third session based on preference. Each training session was monitored by members of the research team and encouragement was provided to facilitate high-intensity exercise. Additionally, heart rate (HR) was monitored continuously (POLAR TEAM Pro, Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland) throughout the exercise sessions to quantitatively ensure a high exercise intensity was maintained (average HR of the entire session > 75% HR_max). HR data were quantified using time spent in HR zones, where Zone 1 was ≤60% HR_max, Zone 2 was 61 to 70% HR_max, Zone 3 was 71 to 80% HR_max, Zone 4 was 81 to 90% HR_max, Zone 5 was ≥91% HR_max, as defined by POLAR TEAM Pro (Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland).

Training load was calculated as a weekly score by summing the total work completed in sports practice, metabolic conditioning, strength training, and gameplay. Following each training session, a session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) was calculated based on a 1–10 Likert scale. The sRPE was completed by taking the total training time and the athletes' subjective rating. Total Weekly Load (TWLoad) and standard deviation were calculated using all sRPE values for the week. The weekly resistance training load was calculated by summing the total weight lifted during each session (sets x repetitions x load). Practice and game metrics (distance, heart rate, velocities, and accelerations) were calculated through the Polar Team Pro system (Polar Team Pro, Polar Electro, Kempele, FI) sampling at 10 Hz. All metrics were calculated using Polar’s proprietary collection and analysis software. Training monotony was calculated by taking the mean daily load and normalizing it by the weekly standard deviation of the training load. Training strain was calculated by taking TWLoad and multiplying it by the monotony score.