Anthropometrics, Cardiorespiratory Fitness, And Explosive Strength Of Men’s And Youth’s Mexican National Beach Handball Teams

Abstract

Handball (HB), a team/ball sport, requires high levels of aerobic fitness and explosiveness. HB, like soccer and volleyball, can also be played on the beach. Beach handball (BHB) requires two teams of four players who play in a 27 x 12 m area for two sets of 10 minutes. BHB is a relatively new sport. In 2004, the first world beach handball championship took place. In Mexico, the number of youths who play it has been increasing. Although an abundance of anthropometric and fitness performance data is available for HB players, this is not the case for BHB players. Practitioners in BHB would benefit if this kind of data were at their disposal. PURPOSE: To explore differences in anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory fitness, and explosive strength between players of the men’s and youth’s Mexican national BHB teams. METHODS: Cross-sectional data were collected from 34 male players: 21 youth (Yu) (age: 14.71 ± 0.561ys; weight: 67.00 ± 11.01 kg) and 13 elite (El) players (age: 26.38 ± 6.00ys; weight: 87.25 ± 14.98 kg). Maximal aerobic speed (MAS) was calculated by performing a time trial over a set distance of 2 km, maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) via a 12-min Cooper test, and explosive leg strength via counter movement jump (CJM). Statistical analyses included t-tests in SPSS. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The groups presented differences in a) weight (Yu 67.00 ± 11.01 vs. El 87.25 ± 14.98; p = 0.00), b) BMI (Yu 21.15 ± 2.40 vs. El 26.25 ± 4.19; p = .001), and c) VO2 max (Yu 45.61 ± 5.95 vs. El 50.65 ± 7.16; p = 0.045), but not in a) height (Yu 1.77 ± 0.08 vs. El 1.82 ± 0.06; p = 0.064), b) CMJ (Yu 30.49 ± 5.61 vs. El 30.46 ± 4.99; p = 0.990), or c) MAS (Yu 14.43 ± 1.54 vs. El 14.07 ± 1.53; p = 0.506). CONCLUSION: The scores of the selected variables offer a preliminary investigation of the differences in anthropometrics, cardiorespiratory fitness, and explosive strength between players of the elite´s and youth’s Mexican national HBH teams. Body composition (fat vs. fat-free mass) is related to BMI, VO2 max, CMJ, and MAS. Therefore, future research should investigate a) why elite´s and youth’s test scores are not different in regard to MAS and CMJ, b) body composition, and c) how the latter translates into fitness test scores and performance metrics. Possible limitations may include cross-sectional design and small/unequal sample sizes.