TABLE 4.
Detailed description of included studies
| Article (1st Author) and experimental design | Population (n,level, sex, age) | Study duration | Type of external load | Type of internal load | effindex calculation | Main findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akubat et al. [31] Correlational study | 10 soccer players, amateur, male 20 ± 1 years. | 2 weeks | TD and HSR (> 15 km/h) | iTRIMP based on individual’s exponential heart rate-blood lactate profile | iTRIMP:TD; iTRIMP:HSR. During 30 min of Ball-Sport Endurance andSprint Test. | The iTRIMP:HSR was significantly correlated with vOBLA (r = 0.65; p = 0.04) and TD: iTRIMP with vLT (r = 0.69; p = 0.03). However, VO2max showed trivial to small correlation with these ratios. The results of this study suggest the use of these ratios in the assessment of aerobic fitness. |
| Kempton et al. [14] Prospective single cohort | 18 rugby players, elite, male, 24.2 ± 3.6 years. | 1 season | TD and Hsr (> 14,4 km/h) | Banister´s trimp | TD: TRIMP and HSR: TRIMP. During full games. | The Effindex for both TRIMP: HSR and TRIMP:TD ratios was greater in the first 10-min of each half compared to later match stages (p < 0.001). |
| Suarez-Arrones et al. [7] Prospective single cohort | 30 Soccer players, elite, male, not reported. | 2 seasons | Mean speed in m·min-1 | Mean exercise intensity in %HRmax | Mean speed: % HRmax. During the first half games. | The measures among position-specific players indicated that those with less overall running performance during matchplay showed the worst Effindex. |
| Buchheit et al. [32] Prospective single cohort | 12 Soccer players, elite, male, 24.6 ± 5.3 years. | 8 days | Mean speed in m·min-1 | sRPE | sRPE: mean speed in m·min-1. During training sessions. | The sRPE: m·min-1 ratio was reduced throughout the training days (1st to 8th day). |
| Gallo et al. [11] Prospective single cohort | 36 Australian football players, elite, male, 22 ± 2.5 years. | 10 weeks | Mean speed in m·min-1, HSR (individual speed threshold range of 16.9 -19.7 km/h), PL per min and PLslow per min | sRPE | Mean speed in m·min-1: sRPE; HSR:sRPE; PL:sRPE; PLslow:RPE. During training sessions. | The Effindex mean speed:sRPE (p < 0.025) and PLslow:RPE (p < 0.001) were significantly impacted by pre-training wellness questionary Z-scores. |
| Malone et al. [22] Correlational study | 25 Hurling players, not reported, male, 24 ± 4 years. | 3 weeks | TD, HSR (≥ 17 km/h) and HSR (≥ 22 km/h) | iTRIMP based on individual’s exponential heart rate-blood lactate profile | HSR (≥ 22 km/h): iTRIMP HSR (≥ 17 km/h): iTRIMP TD: iTRIMP. During specific simulated match play. | The Effindex was correlated with fitness measures, i.e. association between TD: iTRIMP and vOBLA, r = 0.56; TD: iTRIMP and VO2max, r = 0.52. External load only showed limited correlation. |
| Torreno et al. [9] Prospective single cohort | 26 Soccer players, elite, male, 27.3 ± 3.4 years. | 2 seasons | Mean speed in m·min-1 | Mean exercise intensity in %HRmax | Mean speed: % HRmax. During full games. | The soccer players that showed higher overall match activity profiles had the highest Effindex. The Effindex during the match was 1.3 ± 0.2 with substantial differences between first and second halves (1.4 ± 0.2 vs. 1.3 ± 0.2, respectively). |
| Akubat et al. [10] Correlational study | 10 Soccer players, amateur, male, 20 ± 1 years. | 2 weeks | TD, HSR (> 15 km/h), PL, MMP and HP (> 20 W.kg-) | iTRIMP based on individual’s exponential heart rate-blood lactate profile | TD:iTRIMP; HSR: iTRIMP; PL: iTRIMP; MMP: iTRIMP and HP: iTRIMP. During 30 min of Ball-Sport Endurance and Sprint Test. (BEAST90mod) | The Effindex in rested conditions, showed large relationships with measures of fitness. The largest relationship was 0.69 (TD: iTRIMP), for vLT and 0.67 (HP: iTRIMP) for vOBLA. When the players are under fatigue conditions or not fully recovered there were moderate changes in some ratios as TD: iTRIMP, PL: iTRIMP and MMP: iTRIMP; and the relationships with fitness became weaker. |
| Delaney et al. [33] Prospective single cohort | 38 Rugby players, elite, male, 23 ± 3 years. | 50 days | Mechanical work, Impulse, Metabolic work, Hp distance, Acc/Dec load, HSR and TD. | sRPE and TRIMP based on banister model | sRPE or TRIMP: Mechanical work; Impulse; Metabolic work; Hp distance; Acc/dec load; HSR; TD. During training. | The Effindex was considered appropriate for tracking individual responses to a pre-season. The appropriate variables considered for Effindex calculation were TRIMP integrated with Acc, HSR, metabolic work, and mechanical work. |
| Fox et al. [30] Prospective single cohort | 15 Basketball players, semiprofissional, 20.4 ± 4.5 years. | 9 weeks | PL | sRPE and SHRZ based on Edwards model | sRPE: PL and SHRZ:PL. During training and competition. | A higher sRPE:PL ratio was observed in competition compared with training situations. However, SHRZ:PL ratio showed no significant result. |
| Malone et al. [29] Prospective two teams cohort | 48 Soccer players, elite, male, 25.3 ± years. | 1 season | TD, HSR (> 19.8–25.2 km/h), PL and PLslow | sRPE | TD:sRPE, HSR:sRPE, PL: sRPE, PLslow:sRPE. During training sessions | A reduction in wellbeing resulted in a negative impact in Effindex. The wellbeing Z-score of −1 resulted in −0.49 ± 0.12 m.min−1, −1.20 ± 0.08 m.min−1, −0.02 ± 0.01 AU min−1 in TD: sRPE, HSR: sRPE and PLslow: sRPE respectively. |
| Grünbichler et al. [21] Prospective single cohort | 14 Soccer players, second league, male, 22.6 ± years. | 13 weeks | ED | TRIMPMOD | ED: TRIMPMODDuring full games. | Effindex was negatively influenced by time duration of the session of the day before the match (β = -.216, p = .007). The training loads assessed during the days before a match were able to predict match Effindex. |
| Reinhardt et al. [12] Prospective cohort and correlation study | 55 Soccer players, sub-elite, male, 24.6 ± 3.7 years. | 3 seasons | Mean speed in m·min-1 and mean of speed multiplied by number of Acc (> 2 m/s2) | Mean exercise intensity in %HRmax | Mean speed: %HRmax; mean of speed multiplied by number of Acc: %HRmax (PI). During full games. | Effindex among tactical positions displayed differences and the two types of Effindex calculation were reduced in the 2nd half. PI underwent less influence of distance covered by walking and jogging than mean speed:%HRmax. Effindex calculation based in PI equation was considered more adequate to detect fatigue. |
| Taylor et al. [13] Correlational study | 12 rugby players, academy, male, 17.6 ± 0.44 years. | 3 weeks | TD, PL, MMP, HRS (> 15 km/h), HSR (> 18 km/h), iHSR | iTRIMP based on individual’s heart rate-blood lactate profile | TD: iTRIMP; PL: iTRIMP; MMP: iTRIMP, iHSR: iTRIMP, HSR (> 15 km/h): iTRIMP, HSR (> 18 km/h): iTRIMP. During three exercise protocols. | Reliability of Effindex results were described. All Effindex calculation presented large to very large associations with vLT and vOBLA in the three exercise protocols. However, VO2max demonstrated small to moderate association with the ratios in the three exercise protocols used. TD: iTRIMP showed a similar reliability when compared to other more complex external load measures such as PL and MMP. |
Acc = Acceleration; Dec = Deceleration; ED = Equivalent distance; HP = Distance covered at high metabolic power; HSR = High speed running; iHSR = Individual high speed running; ITRIMP = Individual training impulse; MMP = Mean metabolic power; vOBLA = Velocity at onset of blood lactate accumulation; %HRmax = Percentage of maximum heart rate; PI = Performance index; PL = Player load; PLslow = Player load slow; SRPE = session Rating of perceived exertion; SHRZ = Summated heart rate zones based in Edwards model; TD = Total distance; VO2max = maximal oxygen uptake; TRIMPMOD = Modified training impulse; vLT = Velocity at lactate threshold.