High metabolic load distance (HMLD)

High metabolic load distance is the distance a player covers while their estimated metabolic power is above 25.5 W/kg. It counts hard accelerations and decelerations as well as fast running.

Category
Distance
Unit
Metres (m)

How it is calculated

HMLD = Σ distance where metabolic power > 25.5 W/kg

The app estimates metabolic power at every moment from speed and acceleration, then adds up the distance covered while it was above 25.5 W/kg.

HMLD per minute divides that distance by session minutes. The app uses it to rate session intensity.

How to read it

A player can cover high HMLD without much high-speed running, for example in a session full of short accelerations and changes of direction. That makes HMLD a fuller measure of demand than HSR alone.

Where you see it in the app

Metric Athlete player screen: acute:chronic workload ratio, readiness, sessions and distance over 28 days, a daily load chart and recent sessions.
The coach web app, shown with example data. Not real players.

Questions

Why 25.5 W/kg?

It is a widely used threshold for high metabolic load. STATSports uses the same value for its HML distance.

References

  1. Osgnach C, Poser S, Bernardini R, Rinaldo R, di Prampero PE (2010). Energy cost and metabolic power in elite soccer: a new match analysis approach. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 42(1), 170–178.
  2. Minetti AE, Moia C, Roi GS, Susta D, Ferretti G (2002). Energy cost of walking and running at extreme uphill and downhill slopes. Journal of Applied Physiology, 93(3), 1039–1046.

Next in Distance

Explosive distance
All metrics