Load Monitoring in a Two-Game Week
A 17-year-old centre midfielder plays two matches in five days: 90 minutes on Saturday and a full 90 again on Wednesday. Between games she completes one light recovery session (30 minutes) and one gym session (45 minutes of lower-body strength). Her coach logs session RPE after each activity using the Borg CR-10 scale: Saturday match = 8, Sunday recovery = 2, Monday gym = 6, Wednesday match = 7. Her baseline weekly load over the previous four weeks averaged 1,800 arbitrary units (AU). She reports calf tightness on Monday morning but no pain on sprinting, and she sleeps 6.5 hours per night across the block. The coach wants to know whether to start her in the Wednesday match and how to adjust Thursday.
1. Calculate the total session-RPE load for the five-day block and compare it with her baseline. What does the comparison tell you about her readiness for the Wednesday match?
Read the worked answer
Session load = RPE x minutes.
- Saturday match: 8 x 90 = 720 AU
- Sunday recovery: 2 x 30 = 60 AU
- Monday gym: 6 x 45 = 270 AU
- Wednesday match: 7 x 90 = 630 AU
Total across the block = 720 + 60 + 270 + 630 = 1,680 AU in five days.
Her baseline of 1,800 AU is a weekly figure, roughly 257 AU per day. The block delivers 1,680 AU in five days, about 336 AU per day, so her daily average load is roughly 30% above baseline. That is a meaningful spike, especially since two high-intensity match efforts are packed into five days rather than spread across seven.
The load alone does not disqualify her from playing Wednesday, but it flags elevated injury risk and likely fatigue. Combine it with her reported calf tightness and 6.5 hours of sleep (below the 8-9 hours recommended for adolescent athletes) and the picture is a player accumulating strain with incomplete recovery. A defensible judgement is to start her but manage minutes, or to use her as an impact substitute, while monitoring the calf during warm-up. The decision should reference both the load spike and the recovery markers, not load in isolation.
2. The coach asks whether the Monday gym session was a good idea. Evaluate it using the acute:chronic workload concept and recovery principles.
Read the worked answer
The Monday gym session added 270 AU (16% of the block total) on the day between two matches, when the priority should be restoration. Its placement is questionable for three reasons.
First, the acute:chronic ratio. Her chronic weekly load is 1,800 AU. The gym session contributes a substantial acute spike in the 48 hours before a second match, pushing the acute:chronic ratio above the commonly cited 1.3 'sweet spot' threshold when combined with match load. Ratios above roughly 1.5 are associated with increased injury risk in team-sport athletes.
Second, the type of work. Lower-body strength training causes muscle damage and soreness that compounds match-induced fatigue. A gym session is better placed at least 72 hours from a match, or replaced with a low-load recovery modality (pool walking, mobility, light cycling) in a two-game week.
Third, recovery markers. With 6.5 hours of sleep and calf tightness, her recovery capacity is already reduced. Adding a 45-minute strength stimulus competes with the adaptation and repair the match demanded.
A better plan would move the gym session to Thursday (post-second-match, with a full recovery day before it) or drop it entirely in this congested week. The session itself was not harmful in isolation; its timing within a compressed schedule is the problem.
3. Design Thursday's session and justify each element using recovery and load-management evidence.
Read the worked answer
Thursday is 24 hours after the Wednesday match, so the goal is active recovery and monitoring, not loading.
Recommended session (30-40 minutes):
- Low-intensity aerobic work (15-20 minutes): easy cycling or pool walking at RPE 2-3. This promotes blood flow and metabolite clearance without adding meaningful load (roughly 40-60 AU).
- Mobility and soft-tissue work (10 minutes): focus on calves, hips and thoracic spine, given the reported tightness.
- Reassessment: check the calf with a progressive run-through (jog, stride, submaximal sprint). If pain or tightness persists at sprint pace, refer for assessment before Friday.
- No strength training. Defer the missed gym session to Friday or Saturday, at least 72 hours from the Wednesday match, and reduce volume by roughly 30% given the accumulated block load.
Justification: active recovery at low RPE supports circulation and perceived recovery without adding to the acute load spike. Sleep should be prioritised (target 8-9 hours), and nutrition should include adequate protein and carbohydrate to support repair and glycogen restoration. The total Thursday load should stay under roughly 100 AU to allow the acute:chronic ratio to settle before the next training week. Documenting the calf check creates an objective decision point rather than relying on how she feels.