For the first time, this study aims to provide the actual loading periodization and session content programming in elite football, collected from hundreds of elite practitioners using a large-scale online survey.
You will also find in this study:
- The very large majority of practitioners reported, irrespective of their periodization and programming model, systematically seeking a daily alternation of training load, orientations, and contents.
- Beyond the alternation per se, there was some consistent agreement in terms of load dynamic within each possible microcycle, with only the longer turnovers allowing practitioners to fit high-load sessions midweeks (i.e., one and two high-load sessions midweek for 6- and 7-day turnovers, respectively).
- The programming of both compensation and supplementation work is preferred to be spread over a couple of days and tends to be aimed at reaching some specific physiological and locomotor targets while keeping a clear technical component in the drills. The most important drivers of this individual work are mainly the minutes played and the position in the microcycle, which logically come before player profiles and preferences.
