Training Impulse (Trimp) During Practice And Games For Elite Level Youth Ice Hockey Players

Abstract

Training progressions and sufficient recovery are integral to enhancing exercise performance. Athletes in individual sports (i.e., cycling, running, swimming, triathlon) can use one of numerous techniques such as heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, or lactate threshold velocity to determine exercise intensity. However, in team sport activities the exercise intensity for each athlete is much more difficult to predetermine as members of the team usually perform similar activities which would not necessarily be of the same relative intensity. Likewise, technology has not been as easily utilized in team sports as it has been in individual sports. Recent advances have allowed for heart rate to be collected during team activities through the use of coded heart rate belts which prevent interference between belts worn by teammates. Also, training impulse (TRIMP) equations, where both exercise intensity (from heart rate) and duration of the activity are used to determine exercise load, have been developed and revised. Stagno et al. (2007) recently modified the TRIMP technique for use with team sports. To determine TRIMP values for elite youth ice hockey players during practice and games within a single week during the middle of their season. Seven forwards and five defensemen (mean age: 15.8 + 0.4 years) served as the participants for this study following informed consent. A week of two practices (Tuesday and Thursday) and three games (two on Saturday, one on Sunday) were monitored during the middle of the season (week 15 of 29). In a 29 week season, the team played games on 24 weekends. Heart rate data was collected using coded heart rate monitors that stored the data in the strap. After the practices and games the TRIMP values were determined using the modified equation developed by Stagno et al. (2007) in which heart rates between 65-100% of maximal were divided into 5 zones (1 = 65-71%, 2 = 72-78%, 3 = 79-85%, 4 = 86-92%, 5 = 93-100%). The number of minutes spent in each zone was then multiplied by a weighting factor and the values then summed to determine total TRIMPs. Maximal heart rate was estimated using the equation developed by Gellish et al. (2007). RESULTS (mean + SD): The games were similar in total TRIMPs to the practices. However, a much greater number of TRIMPs in zone 5 were reported in games than in practice sessions. The TRIMP values for the practices and games were lower than those reported by Stagno et al. (2007) for elite male field hockey players. Whether these differences were due to the level of athlete, the age of the athlete, or the time of season will require further research. Use of TRIMPs should give the coach a quantifiable means of examining practice sessions and games for team activities and thus a greater means of assessing and comparing the physiological load of the training sessions.