Seasonal strength performance and its relationship with training load on elite runners

The aim of this study was to analyze the time-course of force production of elite middle and long-distance runners throughout an entire season and at the end of the off-season,as well as its relationships with training load and hormonal responses. train-ing load was recorded daily throughout an entire season by measuring and evaluating the session distance (km),training zone and session-rpe in a group of 15 elite middle and long-distance runners (12 men,3 women; age = 26.3 ± 5.1yrs,bmi = 19.7 ± 1.1). also,basal salivary-free cortisol levels were meas-ured weekly,and 50-metre sprints,mean propulsive velocity (mpv),mean propulsive power (mpp),repetition maximum (rm) and peak rate of force development (rfd) of half-squats were measured 4 times during the season,and once more after the off-season break. there were no significant variations in force production during the season or after the off-season break,except for the rfd (-30.2%,p = 0.005) values,which changed significantly from the beginning to the end of the season. signif-icant correlations were found between session-rpe and mpv (r = -0.650,p = 0.004),mpp (r = -0.602,p = 0.009),rm (r = -0.650,p = 0.004),and the 50-metre sprint (r = 0.560,p = 0.015). meanwhile,salivary-free cortisol correlated significantly with the 50-metre sprint (r = 0.737,p < 0.001) and the rm (r = -0.514,p = 0.025). finally,the training zone correlated with the 50-metre sprint (r = -0.463,p = 0.041). session-rpe,training zone and salivary-free cortisol levels are related to force produc-tion in elite middle and long-distance runners. monitoring these variables could be a useful tool in controlling the training pro-grams of elite athletes. © 2014,journal of sports science and medicine.