Italian Journal of Sports rehabilitation and Posturology

2872- 2896

Authors: Adriano Vretaros

Planning the periodization of training loads in harmony with the different periods of the season is a unique role for members of the sports team staff. Therefore, the objective of this study is to describe the distribution of training loads in microcycles and mesocycles in competitive basketball through a narrative review of the literature. In a consultation in three electronic databases (Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct) in Portuguese, English and/or Spanish, a total of 45 primary scientific articles were chosen that addressed the distribution of training loads in basketball and team sports in set with 21 complementary secondary references on the main thematic. It was demonstrated that compulsory load is a basic entity necessary to raise performance levels in the sporting form. Monitoring and numerically controlling the external load imposed can result in favorable responses in the internal load of athletes. In this aspect, some key metrics collaborate effectively, such as: acute-chronic workload ratio, monotony index and strain index. Short-term microcycles make it possible to see the horizontal distribution of loads, built session after session. In contrast, mesocycles group several consecutive microcycles to adjust loads vertically. Invariably, a rational and logical long-term distribution can result in improvements in athletic performance and low injury incidence. However, to achieve these objectives through the systematic periodization of loads, it is necessary to face pedagogical problems that belong to a multidimensional sphere. That is, we are manipulating an extremely complex and imperfect construct, with great dependence on the interpretation made by responsible practitioners.