Workloads in Collegiate Women's Lacrosse Athletes During a Division II National Championship Season

Sutton, PJ, Mumford, PW, and Sunderland, KL. Workloads in collegiate women's lacrosse athletes during a Division II national championship season. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-A comprehensive examination of the external and internal workloads in collegiate women's lacrosse athletes has yet to be reported. Thus, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the absolute and relative external and internal training and game workloads of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II women's lacrosse athletes throughout an entire season. Data from 19 Division II women's lacrosse athletes were analyzed, encompassing each training session and game across an entire competitive season (February-May). External workloads were assessed using a wearable global positioning system, whereas internal workloads were determined through heart rate (HR) variables and session rating of perceived exertion. Game days were associated with significantly (p < 0.05) greater absolute external and internal workloads. However, when comparing workloads relative to session duration, relative workloads between training and games were no longer significant (p > 0.05) for total distance, high-speed running (≥15 km·h-1), HR-derived training impulse, or caloric expenditure. Nonetheless, relative sprint distance (>19 km·h-1) was significantly lower during games, whereas high-intensity accelerations (>2 m·s-2) and decelerations (