Individual Physiological Demands Of Top Level Players Form Different Team Sports During Matches

Abstract

PURPOSE: According to changes in rules and the development towards higher professionalism in team sports the demands on each player seem to have increased during the last years. The aim of this study was to assess individual physiological demands of players from different team sports during matches with respect to their individual endurance capacities. METHODS: 60 players from four different team sports of the 1st and 2nd German division (n=14 from handball (H), n=22 from soccer (S), n=7 from basketball (B), and n=17 from field-hockey (FH)) were investigated. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and maximal heart rates (HRmax) were determined by means of an incremental treadmill test with spirometry. Individual players' heart rates were measured continuously during one match for each individual player using the Polar team system. Heart rates during the matches were categorized into 5 intensity zones orientated at HRmax: below 70% (zone 1), 71-85% (zone 2), 86-90% (zone 3), 91-95% (zone 4), and above 95% (zone 5) of HRmax. Data were analyzed using two way ANOVA and post-hoc t-test. They are presented as mean ± SD. RESULTS: VO2max [ml/min/kg] values of the different teams were: H: 42.9 ± 3.8; S: 54.8 ± 5.3; B: 43.3 ± 2.8; FH: 56.0 ± 6.1. VO2max of S and FH were significantly higher as compared to H and B. HRmax [b/min] values were: H: 193 ± 8, S: 195 ± 8, B: 195 ± 8; FH: 191 ± 6. HRmax did not differ between the different sports. Regarding individual demands during the matches, players spent significantly less time in the low-intensity zone 1 and the high-intensity zone 5 as compared to the middle intensity zones 2, 3, and 4 (2p ≤ 0.005) in all 4 different sports. We could not find any significant differences between time spent in the different intensity zones between the 1st and 2nd halves of the matches. Endurance capacity was negatively correlated with total playing time spent in the low intensity heart rate zone 1 in all 4 team sports. CONCLUSIONS: Players of the investigated four team sports (H, S, B, and FH) were individually playing at a moderate to high intensity level considering their individual percentual use of HRmax. The described negative correlation between VO2max and time spent in low intensity zones is probably due to the fact that the fitter players have been running with higher velocities as compared to the less fit players.