Abstract
Background: In sport and in top performance sport in particular, the continuous monitoring of body composition (BC) may regulate the training process, affecting positively athletes' top form. BC is, therefore, considered to be one of the components of the physical fitness of athletes. Research studies dealing with BC in women volleyball players are often focused on a lower performance level when compared with the submitted study. The problem in the field of results comparison is with the variety in the methodology used in BC assessment. Objective: The objective of our study is to describe the body composition (BC) profile of top performance women volleyball players and verify whether there are differences in the chosen parameters between them. The examined group consists of women volleyball players of two teams which were participants in the European Champions League (T1, n = 12; T2, n = 9). Methods: By means of multifrequency bioimpedance analysis, we observed Lean Body Mass (LBM), Fat Mass (FM), Body Cell Mass (BCM), relative BCM (BCMrel), ExtraCellular Mass (ECM) and their mutual ratio (of ECM/ BCM), Cell Quote (CQ), phase angle (α), Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Total Body Water (TBW) while making a distinction between ExtraCellular (ECW) and IntraCellular (ICW) Water. One-way ANOVA and Cohen's d were used for the comparison of differences between the monitored teams. Results: Differences in the examined parameters of body composition between the screened samples were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Effect size revealed moderate differences for other parameters (α, ECM, BCM, ECM/ BCM, BMR, FM and CQ). Fat mass percentage in our women players was lower in comparison to values recorded in women players in most other studies. The relatively high values of TBW, LBM and ECM/BCM in women volleyball players of both teams indicate their good performance capacity. Conclusions: The body composition profile revealed the appropriate predispositions of the observed players for their performance in volleyball. The measured parameters of BC corresponding to top performance sport are better than in high performance sport or in the general population. Our values of BC in elite women volleyball players can serve as standards for other athletes attempting to achieve international level.
Highlights
Body composition (BC) is considered one of the components of the physical fitness of athletes
Significant differences were found in the amount of fat mass (FM) or somatotype in women players of series A1 and A2 in the Italian league (Gualdi-Russo & Zaccagni, 2001)
The multi-frequency whole body bioimpedance method detected the values of individual parameters, identifying the BC of women volleyball players, at a level corresponding to top performance sport as compared to high performance sport or the general population
Summary
Body composition (BC) is considered one of the components of the physical fitness of athletes. The continuous monitoring of BC may regulate the training process affecting positively the top form of sporters. Häkkinen (1993) suggested that, in volleyball, as in other sports, technical and tactical skills, anthropometric characteristics and individual physical performances are the most important factors in the success of a team. An excessive amount of adipose tissue is considered an unused mass, because the athlete’s body has to repeatedly cope with gravitation during locomotion and jumps (Reilly, 1996) which results in a lowering of performance and an increase of demands on energy during the performance of a particular action. In sport and in top performance sport in particular, the continuous monitoring of body composition (BC) may regulate the training process, affecting positively athletestop form. The problem in the field of results comparison is with the variety in the methodology used in BC assessment
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