OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE VARIABLES FOR MONITORING OF DIFFERENT SEASON CYCLES IN BASKETBALL PLAYERS

The present study aimed to evaluate, compare and relate load and training tiredness during a periodization cycle in basketball players. Eight professional male athletes aged 21.9 +/- 3.4 years, all of whom participated in the Sao Paulo basketball championship, special division, took part in this study. The macrocycle analyzed encompassed 19 weeks divided into the following periods: Preparatory, Competitive I, and Competitive II (having 4, 6, and 9 weeks, respectively). The authors daily evaluated the athletes on subjective perception of tiredness and training load and monitored the athletes' upper limb power by quantifying their ability to throw a medicine ball. Athletes presented less fatigue (p <0.005) in the Preparatory period (13.71 +/- 1.30) compared with the Competitive I (14.68 +/- 1.51) and Competitive II (14.63 +/- 1.22) periods. Their ability to throw the medicine ball decreased (p <0.005) in the Competitive period II (3.59 +/- 0.30) compared with the Preparatory (3.80 +/- 0.36) and Competitive I (3.86 +/- 0.26) periods. Their monotony decreased (p < 0.001) in the Competitive period II (1.18 +/- 0.43) compared with the Preparatory (2.50 +/- 2.01) and Competitive I (2.10 +/- 1.61) periods. The results revealed the effectiveness of monitoring load and tiredness of athletes by means of the proposed method to assist in training organization during a macrocycle.