Maximum aerobic speed as a way to improve social interactions in rugby union

Abstract

During the last decades, rugby union focused on players’ physical development as the main way of performance optimization. Consequently, a tremendous amount of research attention has been devoted to better understanding the main training parameters, neglecting however to study the effects of physical conditioning on group dynamics. In the present research, a quasi-experimental design in ecological conditions was used to analyze the effects of effort intensity on social interactions, especially during the rest periods of physical training. Semiprofessional rugby union players (N = 61; M_age = 23.78, SD = 7.03 years) participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to four conditions consisting of three 5-min runs. With counterbalancing, the participant sample was divided into four groups. A control group ran at 50% Maximum Aerobic Speed (MAS) while the three experimental groups ran at three different effort intensities (80%, 90%, and 100% MAS) in a counterbalanced order (i.e., linear increase/linear decrease/and quadratic evolution of effort intensity). The results showed a positive relationship between effort intensity and the number of intragroup social interactions during rest periods, this result being accrued at the end of the training session. Interestingly, the results suggested that ending a conditioning session at 100% MAS after a linear progression of effort intensity might influence social identity mobility between different levels of self-abstraction, leading to more cooperation between group members. Overall, this research offers a psychosocial view of training effects that invites academics and coaches to consider effort intensity as a way to develop social bonding in rugby.

 Lay summary: This study supports the perspective that “working hard” during conditioning influence social interactions between players. As a consequence, our results suggest that conditioning may be a powerful approach to build a feeling of “us-ness” that participates in optimizing group dynamics, and ultimately, performance in rugby.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

•   In order to benefit from the positive influence of conditioning on social interactions within a team coach should:

  •   • Prefer incremental conditioning ending at the highest intensity, to non-linear training

  •    • Encourage emotional expression norms by appointing congratulating behaviors during rest periods and more particularly at the end of the training session

  •    • Employ rest zone on the pitch so as to facilitate social bonding between players

Ethical statement

The research meets the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country. All subjects gave written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Credit author statement

Antoine Relave: Methodology, Investigation, Writing—Original Draft, Visualization, Project administration. Mickaël Campo: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing, Supervision. Christophe Hautier: Resources, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing—Review & Editing. Michel Nicolas: Writing—Review & Editing, Supervision

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the first author, [AR], upon reasonable request.

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1212328. To obtain the author’s disclosure form, please contact the Editor.

Notes

1 We can note that maximal heart rates measured at 100% MAS remained below the maximum. This could be due to the relative brevity of the effort (5 min).