Home-based training program during the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine: training load, motivation, and wellbeing in professional elite female basketball players

BACKGROUND: Due to the quarantine caused by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), professional team-sports adapted their training routine to maintain the athletes' performance and minimize the negative emotional effects. The aim of the present study was to describe a home -based training program and extra-activities applied during the quarantine in elite professional female basketball players, and to compare the internal training load (ITL), session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE), motivation, and wellbeing responses before and during the quarantine. METHODS: Nine female elite players (25.7 +/- 7.0 years; 180.0 +/- 8.0 cm; 79.0 +/- 11.0 kg) belonging to a professional basketball team performed a home-based training program during the quarantine. ITL, s-RPE, training motivation, and wellbeing were examined before (phase 1), at the beginning (phase 2), and during (phase 3) the quarantine. RESULTS: ITL was higher (main effect) in phase 1 (449.5 +/- 62.8 a.u.) compared to phase 2 (265.5 +/- 39.0 a.u.) and phase 3 (423.1 +/- 18.7 a.u.); s-RPE was higher in phase 1 (4.50 +/- 0.63 a.u.) compared to phase 2 (3.8 +/- 0.6 a.u.), but not to phase 3 (4.37 +/- 0.79 a.u.). Motivation was higher in phase 1 (3.6 +/- 0.3 a.u.) compared to phase 2 (2.3 +/- 0.6 a.u.) and phase 3 (2.4 +/- 0.5 a.u.). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study demonstrated that extra-activities involving online athletes' socialization were implemented to rouse the motivation, but the quarantine period induced a reduction in ITL and influenced the player's training motivation. (Cite this article as: Moscaleski L, Paludo AC, Panissa VL, de Lima SI, Okano AH, Moreira A. Home-based training program during the SARS-CoV-2 quarantine: training load, motivation, and wellbeing in professional elite female basketball players. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 2022;62:1110-7. DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.21.12390-4)