Author(s): AUGHEY, R., O’BRIEN, B., WORN, R., O’GRADY, M., Institution: FEDERATION UNIVERSITY, Country: AUSTRALIA, Abstract-ID: 1200

INTRODUCTION:
Exercise training is ubiquitous in contemporary research, is used to enhance performance in athletes, to test the interaction of training with other interventions, and to deliver clinical benefits across diverse populations. It is unknown how many studies apply foundational exercise training and periodisation principles such as a taper in these studies. Failing to correctly apply these training principles can drastically influence exercise test outcomes and therefore potentially contribute to yet unidentified Type I and type II errors. The objective of this study was therefore to map the literature to determine the scope of the problem by the number of studies that accurately apply and document periodisation as well as key training principles like progressive overload, specificity, individualisation, and reversibility.
METHODS:
A search of Scopus with search terms "exercise training" OR "physical training" OR "endurance training" OR "resistance training" OR "strength training" OR "high intensity interval training" OR HIIT OR "aerobic training" OR "combined training" OR "concurrent training" was conducted on articles published between 2000 and 2026. Outputs were downloaded as a .csv and mention of the key training principles was conducted on the title and abstract using a custom extraction tool in Python with a Triage score for keyword hits calculated as the number of principles listed as present plus type of training intervention signal hits. A high Triage score indicates studies clearly stated the type of training intervention with specific mention of training principles and was stratified as Red (<5), Amber (5-9) and Green (≥10).
RESULTS:
: A total of 88422 studies were included in the analysis. Studies were predominantly focussed on performance outcomes from training. Of these studies, only 9% returned a Green Triage rating, 18% Amber, and 73% Red.
CONCLUSION:
The overwhelming majority of exercise training studies identified in this initial scoping activity do not include keyword reference to most training principles. This lack of reporting, and potentially therefore adherence to training principles is known to occur in oncology research (1) and appears to be more widespread. The influence of failing to design high quality training in research can be illustrated via the effect of periodisation and the inclusion of a taper in a training program. A taper can enhance performance by up to 2-3% (2) and thus be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful training intervention, or clinical outcome. At the very least the interpretation of study results without clear exercise training context is severely compromised. The next stage of this research will examine full-text of studies to identify the full extent of the problem.
[1] Bosquet et al., 2007 / [2] Bland et al., 2021