The Effect of Rifle Carriage on the Physiological and Accelerometer Responses During Biathlon Skiing

PURPOSE: Investigate the effect of biathlon rifle carriage on physiological and accelerometer-derived responses during biathlon skiing. METHODS: Twenty-eight biathletes (11F, 17M) completed two XC skiing time-trials (~2,300 m), once with and once without the biathlon rifle, with concurrent measurements of HR, skiing speed and accelerations recorded from three triaxial accelerometers attached at the Upper-spine, Lower-spine and Pelvis. Exercise intensity was quantified from HR, skiing speed as well from accelerometry-derived PlayerLoad™ per minute (PL·min(−1)) and average net force (AvF(Net)). All metrics were analyzed during Uphill, Flat and Downhill sections of the course. Relationships between accelerometry-derived metrics and skiing speed were examined. RESULTS: Time-trials were faster for males compared with females (mean difference: 97 ± 73 s) and No-Rifle compared to With-Rifle (mean difference: 16 ± 9 s). HR was greatest during Downhill (183 ± 5 bpm), followed by Uphill (181 ± 5 bpm) and was lowest in the Flat sections (177 ± 6 bpm, p <0.05). For PL·min(−1) and AvF(Net) there were 3-way Rifle x Gradient x Sensor-Position interactions. Typically, these metrics were greatest during Uphill and Flat sections and were lowest during Downhill sections. Rifle carriage had no impact on the AvF(Net) at the Lower-Spine or Pelvis. Significant positive linear relationships were identified between skiing speed and accelerometer-derived metrics during Uphill, Flat and Downhill skiing (r = 0.12–0.61, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The accelerometry-derived approach used in this study provides the potential of a novel method of monitoring the external demands during skiing. In particular, AvF(Net) with sensors located close to the center of mass displayed greatest utility because it followed the expected response of external intensity where responses were greatest during uphill sections, followed by flats and lowest during downhills. In addition, there were significant positive relationships between AvF(Net) and skiing speed ranging from small to large. Accelerometry-derived measures could provide useful estimates of the external demands in XC skiing and biathlon.