| Summary: | The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine the sensitivity of the sEMG shorts-derived training load (sEMG-TL) during different running speeds; and (2) to investigate the relationship between the oxygen consumption, heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), accelerometry-based PlayerLoad<sup>TM</sup> (PL), and sEMG-TL during a running maximum oxygen uptake (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">V</mi></mrow><mo mathvariant="normal">˙</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub>) test. The study investigated ten healthy participants. On day one, participants performed a three-speed treadmill test at 8, 10, and 12 km·h<sup>−1</sup> for 2 min at each speed. On day two, participants performed a <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">V</mi></mrow><mo mathvariant="normal">˙</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub> test. Analysis of variance found significant differences in sEMG-TL at all three speeds (<i>p</i> < 0.05). A significantly weak positive relationship between sEMG-TL and %<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">V</mi></mrow><mo mathvariant="normal">˙</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub> (<i>r</i> = 0.31, <i>p</i> < 0.05) was established, while significantly strong relationships for 8 out of 10 participants at the individual level (<i>r</i> = 0.72–0.97, <i>p</i> < 0.05) were found. Meanwhile, the accelerometry PL was not significantly related to %<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">V</mi></mrow><mo mathvariant="normal">˙</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>O<sub>2max</sub> (<i>p</i> > 0.05) and only demonstrated significant correlations in 3 out of 10 participants at the individual level. Therefore, the sEMG shorts-derived training load was sensitive in detecting a work rate difference of at least 2 km·h<sup>−1</sup>. sEMG-TL may be an acceptable metric for the measurement of internal loads and could potentially be used as a surrogate for oxygen consumption.
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