Sport-Specific Outdoor Rehabilitation in a Group Setting: Do the Intentions Match Actual Training Load?

Context:Previous research has shown a weak relationship between intended and actual training load in various sports. Due to variety in group and content, this relationship is expected to be even weaker during group rehabilitation.Objective:The goal of our study was to examine the relationship between intended and actual training load during sport-specific rehabilitation in a group setting.Design:Observational study.Setting:We performed this study during three outdoor rehabilitation sessions.Participants:Nine amateur soccer players recovering from lower limb injury participated in our study (age 22 ± 3 y, height 179 ± 9 cm, body mass 75 ± 13 kg).Main Outcome Measures:We collected physiotherapists’ ratings of intended exertion (RIE) and players’ ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Furthermore, Zephyr Bioharness 3 equipped with GPS-trackers provided heart rate and distance data. We computed heart rate-based training loads using Edwards’ method and a modified TRIMP.Results:Overall, we fo...