Physical fitness of elite women's rugby union players over a ...

insufficient rest prior to the sprint test could be the contributing factors for the non-positive
result.
2.5.3 Muscle Strength
An investigation by Granados et al. (2004) on the changes in upper and lower body strength
during a female competitive field hockey season, reported no changes in upper and lower
body strength, although the athletes were stronger during pre-season and in-season compared
with post-season. This is consistent with findings by Baker (2001b), whereby professional
rugby league players maintained upper and lower body strength in both elite and amateur
rugby league players throughout a competition season. It has been suggested that a lack of
strength gains in experienced athletes could be due to their greater strength training
background (Baker, 2001b; Baker & Newton, 2006), concurrent training (Kraemer et al.,
2004) and a decrease in resistance training volume (Argus et al., 2009; Koutedakis, 1995)
2.5.4 Aerobic Fitness
National male rugby players may exhibit significant increase in aerobic fitness during the
preparatory phase of the season (Holmyard & Hazeldine, 1993; Gabbett, 2005a; Tong &
Mayes, 1995) and no significant changes in aerobic power in the later part of the season
(Holmyard & Hazeldine, 1993; Gabbett, 2005a). However, it has also been suggested the there
is no significant change in aerobic fitness of college female field hockey players over the
entire season Astorino et al., (2004). The improvement in the aerobic endurance of National
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