{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,2]],"date-time":"2025-11-02T02:32:32Z","timestamp":1762050752721,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,11]],"date-time":"2022-05-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1652227200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Monitoring physical freshness is essential in assessing athletes\u2019 conditions during training periods, training sessions, or competitions. To date, no single physical freshness scale has been successfully validated against training load variables and widely used scales measuring different facets of physical freshness. Objective: In this study, we develop and test the practical utility of a perceived physical freshness (RPF) scale to monitor the condition of the athletes and to prevent excessive fatigue and insufficient recovery during training sessions or competitions. Methods: Sixteen professional male soccer players (mean \u00b1 SD age 26 \u00b1 4 years) were enrolled. Training load (TL), monotony, strain, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), well-being indices (sleep, stress, fatigue, and muscle soreness), total quality recovery (TQR) and RPF were determined each day for two weeks of training, including a week intensified training (IW) and a week taper (TW). The validity of the RPF scale was assessed by measuring the level of agreement of a player\u2019s perceived physical freshness relative to their TL variables, recovery state and well-being indices during each training phase (IW and TW) and during the overall training period (TP). Results: RPF increased during the TW compared to IW (ES = 2.31, p &lt; 0.001, large). For the TP, IW and TW, weekly RPF was related to weekly TL (r = \u22120.81, r = \u22120.80, r = \u22120.69, respectively), well-being (r = \u22120.91, r = \u22120.82, r = \u22120.84, respectively) and TQR (r = 0.76, r = 0.91, r = 0.52, respectively), all p &lt; 0.01. For the TP, IW and TW, daily RPF was related to TL (r = \u22120.75, r = \u22120.66, r = \u22120.70, respectively), well-being (r = \u22120.84, r = \u22120.81, r = \u22120.78, respectively) and TQR (r = 0.82, r = 0.81, r = 0.75, respectively), all p &lt; 0.01. Conclusions: RPF was effective for evaluating the professional soccer players\u2019 physical freshness and may be a strategy for coaches to monitor the physical, psycho-physiological, and psychometric state of the players before training session or matches.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph19105836","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,11]],"date-time":"2022-05-11T10:19:46Z","timestamp":1652264386000},"page":"5836","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["A Practical Approach to Assessing Physical Freshness: Utility of a Simple Perceived Physical Freshness Status Scale"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5309-8863","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Okba","family":"Selmi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Unit, Sportive Performance and Physical Rehabilitation, High Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, Kef 7100, Tunisia"},{"name":"High Institute of Sports and Physical Education, Ksar Said, University of Manouba, Tunis 2010, Tunisia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1865-1971","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Danielle E.","family":"Levitt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9813-2842","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Filipe Manuel","family":"Clemente","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun\u2019\u00c1lvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal"},{"name":"Delega\u00e7\u00e3o da Covilh\u00e3, Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7951-8977","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hadi","family":"Nobari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiology, School of Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura, 10003 C\u00e1ceres, Spain"},{"name":"Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil 56199-11367, Iran"},{"name":"Department of Motor Performance, Faculty of Physical Education and Mountain Sports, Transilvania University of Bra\u015fov, 500068 Bra\u015fov, Romania"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2662-6920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giulia","family":"My","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological and Environmental Science and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2822-9929","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonella","family":"Muscella","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological and Environmental Science and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6572-5809","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katsuhiko","family":"Suzuki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama 359-1192, Japan"}]},{"given":"Anissa","family":"Bouassida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Unit, Sportive Performance and Physical Rehabilitation, High Institute of Sports and Physical Education of Kef, University of Jendouba, Kef 7100, Tunisia"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ouergui, I., Franchini, E., Selmi, O., Levitt, D.E., Chtourou, H., Bouhlel, E., and Ardig\u00f2, L.P. 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