Managing Load in Football Using Internal & External Data

In today’s elite football environment, load monitoring has become a non-negotiable component of high-performance coaching. Balancing training stimulus, recovery, and performance demands is complex, and it requires more than just distance data.

This guide, based on our webinar hosted by SL Benfica’s Lead Sport Scientist Catarina Bajanca, explores how combining internal and external load data provides deeper insight into player responses, supports daily decision-making, and enhances player development across all levels of the game. You can watch the full webinar recording on Managing Load in Football Using Internal and External data below.

Contents:

• Internal vs. External Load – What’s the Difference?
• SL Benfica Women’s Team: A High-Performance Model
• Load Monitoring in Action: A 4-Part Framework
• Drill Planning
• Training Monitoring
• Data Reporting
• Load Planning
• Using Heart Rate Data for Recovery
• Managing Player Workload
• Data Interpretation and Reporting
• Key Messages and Takeaways

Internal vs. External Load – What’s the Difference?

External Load refers to the mechanical demands placed on a player. These are typically captured using GPS technologies and include:

• Total distance
• High-speed running (HSR)
• Accelerations and decelerations
• Maximum velocity

Internal Load reflects how a player’s body responds to those demands. Internal data is captured through tools like heart rate monitoring and subjective measures. It includes:

• Heart rate (HR)
• Training impulse (TRIMP)
• Time spent in HR zones
• Rating of perceived exertion (RPE)

Why does this matter?
Two players can cover the same distance at the same speed, yet show different heart rates and internal responses. Without internal data, you’re only seeing part of the picture.

Why Context and Individualization Matter

To illustrate, consider two players running the same 70 meters in 10 seconds:

• Player 1’s max velocity: 8.0 m/s
• Player 2’s max velocity: 8.8 m/s

Though their pace is identical, their relative effort differs — Player 1 is running at 87.5% of max velocity, Player 2 at 80%. This difference also shows up in their internal responses (e.g., heart rate).

That’s why individualizing training plans based on both internal and external data is crucial.

SL Benfica Women’s Team: A High-Performance Model

Catarina Bajanca has led the sports science program at SL Benfica Women’s Team since its inception. Now in its seventh season, the club has become a dominant force in Portugal and a regular contender in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

For the past two years, the team has operated within a centralized infrastructure, sharing facilities with the men’s first team.

This allows access to:

• Conduct gym, pitch, and recovery sessions in one place
• Maintain a fully professional staff including S&C coaches, nutritionists, psychologists, physiotherapists, and medical experts
• Base all decision-making on a centralized performance system

Load Monitoring in Action: A 4-Part Framework

Benfica approaches load monitoring through four pillars:

Drill Planning

Load management starts with intentional session design. Each drill is mapped with an expected stimulus — extensive or intensive, based on:

• The overall microcycle structure
• Match congestion and travel
• Positional demands

For example, small-sided games may be used to generate high internal load with less mechanical volume.

Drill Planning Example 1 – Matching Game Demands

The image above displays both internal and external load data captured during a match. The black line represents the percentage of Heart Rate Max, and the purple line is Movement Intensity, which adds context to the internal data.

We can see from the graph that the match has periods of high intensity, others are lower intensity, and this fluctuates a lot during the match, which is also important to consider. Each player is different and reacts to the external load differently.

Each dot represented is a player, and you can see the amount of time each player spent in each heart rate zone. As you can see, it’s very individual.

The match can also have high variability, considering things like substitutions, the pitch conditions, type of match.

Catarina uses the match data to plan training and make sure that each training is different, but also always considering the match.

Drill Planning Example 2 – Half Pitch Game

The image above shows data taken from a training session, 5 against 5 of an almost half-pitch game. This chart highlights the intensity during this practice, with a lot of time spent by the players between 80-90% of the Heart Rate Max. This illustrates how you can have internal load demands in different tasks; it doesn’t have to be just the game, and you don’t have to replicate the game completely to have this stimulus.

Drill Planning Example 3 – Small-Sided Game

In the image above, we can see that during this small-sided game, players were spending time between 80-90% of max heart rate, but in terms of external load, there was not very significant accumulation of high intensity or total distance. In this period, there was 800 meters of total distance, 10 meters of high-speed running, six high intensity accelerations and decelerations.

This is a good example of how you can have a good exercise that targets a good amount of internal load, but in terms of external load you don’t see that much.

Training Monitoring

Monitoring training in real time allows coaches to adapt on the fly. During training, you can talk to the head coach or assistant coach and let them know if the players are doing the exercise to the desired intensity or if the players are having enough rest between sets.

There are three things that Catarina likes to consider when it comes to training monitoring:

• Whether the drill demands were in line with what was planned
• Considering the player’s typical values for each MD type (MD-4, MD-3 etc.)
• Suggest adjusting loads when necessary – for example, if players are far from their goal at the end of a session.

Data Reporting

When it comes to data reporting, this involves sharing training reports with the multidisciplinary team (MDT) and coaching staff.

There are three key considerations, starting with the daily objective: What was planned versus what actually occurred? This comparison helps initiate meaningful discussions with the coaching team — identifying what went well, what didn’t, and where discrepancies arose.

From there, the conversation shifts to talk about the next training. Based on today’s session, are we staying on track with tomorrow’s plan? Or do we need to make adjustments? The microcycle objectives are also considered, so possible adjustments needed for the next sessions, not just the next one, but maybe the next couple of ones, and then individual highlights.

This also provides the opportunity to highlight individual observations. For example, one player may have exceeded their intended load, while another may have fallen short. Identifying these variations is, in our view, one of the most important aspects of the process. We understand that there’s a lot of variability between players.

Load Planning

There are a lot of terms that pop up when we’re talking about load planning and load prioritization. But it is important to organize these terms and understand what we want to do each day of the week of the microcycle in preparation for the match.

In the above example, the idea here is to show that it is important to organize all these different stimuli on different days of the week because these are all stimuli that happen during a match. It is important to replicate them during training to make sure that the players are prepared to perform in a match, which is their main objective.

Let’s look at MD-3 for example. We can have an extensive stimulus. We can have high-speed running, and we can have time in 80 to 90% of the maximum heart rate. In MD-4, we might have accelerations and decelerations because it’s further away from the match.

The most important message here is to make sure to organize all these concepts and understand what you want on each day of the week.

Recovery

Heart rate monitoring also plays a valuable role in supporting player recovery, an essential aspect of performance management. During Return-to-Play sessions, both in the gym and on the pitch, heart rate data can be collected at various stages (early, mid, and late in the session) depending on the day and training context. It’s important to understand how the player is coping with all that load.

Other examples of how we can use heart rate data in recovery is during MD+1 low intensity runs. Here we also track the heart rate to understand and take into consideration that workload too. Low intensity cycling is also something we’ve done a few times this season, mainly during mid-week recovery sessions.

The players would be on a bike, low intensity cycling, and then on the iPad in front of them, they could see their heart rate and make sure that they were in the intended zone, and they could modify the load on the bike to make sure that they were in that zone.

Managing Player Workload

When it comes to managing player workload, there are three important things to consider.

1: Analysis of differences between the training demands on different match days

The first is the analysis of differences between the training demands on different match days during the week. We like to plan the week considering the match, so we have match data, and then we will say, ‘Okay, on this day, I want to do X percent of this, X percent of that, considering the match.’

All this is individual, because one centre back doesn’t do the same as a winger, and one midfielder doesn’t do the same as a forward, for example. It is important to individualize, and two forwards might not do the same thing. So we look at things on an individual basis, and then we plan the week according to that.

2: Analysis of accumulated loads

It’s also important to analyze accumulated loads by the players and compare that with historical data, because some players might be able to do something during a match but may not be able to always replicate it during training.

We have to take into consideration their historical data because we don’t want to have a player who, in the last couple of months, accumulated something and in the next week is going to accumulate double that.

3: Analysis of player’s accumulated load, AC ratio, and load variations to plan next week

The last point is the analysis of the players’ accumulated load, Acute: Chronic ratio, and load variations, and use this to plan the next week accordingly.

We might want some variations, we might want some increasing load, decreasing load, but we don’t want big increases or big decreases. It’s important to maintain the fluctuations in a way that it is not going to be bad for the player, and it’s not going to fluctuate too much.

Data Interpretation and Reporting

When it comes to data interpretation and reporting, everything is centred on the player. We have daily reports, microcycle reports, subjective data, GPS data, heart rate data, and physical evaluation data.

All of this data is put together and influences the feedback that we give about the player to the coaching staff and the MDT. Everything is taken into consideration, because everything matters.

Based on that, we analyze and interpret, and we make a decision, and based on that decision, we might be able to change or adapt something that will lead us to a different analysis and interpretation.

Decision with analysis and interpretation will always be together because that drives our decision-making. So to track, plan, and record everything, we have a centralized system so everything is connected. That makes it easier to integrate all the data, plan the weeks ahead, and helps us give reports.

Putting the Puzzle Together

Catarina emphasizes that effective load management is only one piece of the puzzle. While players spend a significant portion of their day at the club, the rest of their time is spent independently, and how they choose to manage that time can vary greatly. Some players have more experience and a better understanding of their own needs, while others may require more guidance to make informed decisions about recovery, nutrition, and overall well-being.

Key Takeaways

• Context is Key – Understanding the player goes beyond data. It’s essential to consider their role within the team, their environment, and the broader context in which they’re operating. Without this insight, there’s a risk of drawing inaccurate conclusions. Effective decision-making starts with knowing your players and the setting they’re in—context should always guide your interpretation and actions.

• Communication with MDT & Coaching Staff – Effective communication is essential. Ensuring a constant flow of information—across training, recovery, gym work, and beyond—is critical to supporting the player, who remains at the center of the process. When all departments, including physiotherapists, nutritionists, psychologists, and coaches, are aligned and informed, it enables timely adjustments and more individualized support. This collaborative approach helps ensure that each player receives what they need.

• Focus on the Player – There are no two players who are the same. Even the same player may respond differently to identical external loads on different days. It’s essential to understand how training impacts each individual player in order to appropriately adjust their training loads, recovery strategies, and overall support.