Unlocking the Training Process: How Different Training Tasks Shape the Physiology and Biomechanics of Professional Futsal Players

Carlos Serrano¹António Ferraz^2,3João Nuno Ribeiro^2,4*Enrique Ibañez⁵Bruno Travassos^2,6

• ¹Universidad Europea de Madrid, Department of Sports Sciences. Faculty of Medicine, Health and Sports., Madrid, Spain
• ²Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Castelo Branco, Portugal
• ³CIFD Sports Research and Training Center, Jean Piaget University of Angola, Luanda, Angola
• ⁴School of Education, Communication and Sports,, Instituto Politécnico da Guarda, Guarda, Guarda, Portugal
• ⁵University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain
• ⁶Portugal Football School, Portuguese Football Federation, Oeiras, Portugal

Introduction: Despite the characterization of physical and technical tactical demands of futsal SSCGs, there remains a need to better understand the physiological and biomechanical loads of each training task to determine its workload during training sessions further. The present study aims to analyze and classify the physiological and biomechanical demands of different futsal training tasks in order to enhance the understanding of these demands and their implications for elite futsal players' performance. Methods: Conducted over three seasons with a professional futsal team, the research systematically categorized training exercises into six task types: introductory, analytical, mid-court, ¾ court, full-court, and superiority/inferiority tasks. The WIMU PROTM device was used to monitor physiological and biomechanical metrics and to assess how variations in task type influence. Results: Superiority/inferiority tasks, followed by full-court tasks, showed significantly higher physiological and biomechanical loads compared with introductory, analytical, and mid-court tasks. These differences (p ≤ 0.05) were associated with higher values of rate average, total distance covered, and high-speed running per minute for the physiological load, as well as greater number of accelerations, decelerations, and player load per minute for the biomechanical load. Discussion: A visual four-quadrant efforts assessment provided insights into the contribution of each task category through its specific load distribution, revealing significant variations associated with player numbers, field dimensions, and task objectives. These findings suggest that specific task configurations can be strategically used to optimize training outcomes by aligning physical demands with coaching objectives.