Performance Changes and Recovery Time in U20 and Older Handball Players after a High-Intensity Sprint Exercise

Stefanie Klatt,Melanie Kossmann,Alexander Ferrauti,Laura Hottenrott,Frowin Fasold

doi:10.3390/app11115301

Stefanie Klatt, Melanie Kossmann + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115301

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Abstract

This study used a single bout of repeated high-intensity sprint exercise as a variable to compare the performance and recovery time of handball players within a typical age range for team sport athletes. Two test groups (U20 players, n = 12, mean age = 18 years; senior players, n = 17, mean age = 27 years) were observed during and after their performance of a high-intensity interval exercise consisting of four sets of 6 × 40 m all-out change-of-direction sprints. U20 players outperformed senior players in all sprint sets. The groups’ physiological responses and perceived exertion and stress levels were measured immediately before and after the exercise and also after 24, 48, and 72 h. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed no interaction effects between age and measurement time points on jump height, muscle soreness, and perceived stress levels after the high-intensity interval exercise. However, the U20 athletes showed marginally, but not statistically significant lower creatine kinase (CK) values than the seniors 72 h after the exercise. The vagal heart rate variability (HRV) parameter rMSSD indicated a faster recovery for the U20 athletes compared to the senior players 24 h after the sprint intervals. Overall, the results demonstrate that repeated sprint intervals do not differently affect the physical performance ability (i.e., jump height) of U20 and senior players. Single parameters related to the players’ ability to recover, such as CK and HRV values, show some variations as a function of age. Based on this, coaches may want to consider a longer recovery period after a high-intensity exercise for senior players compared to younger ones.

Highlights

In many sports, such as handball, the main teams often consist of players of a broad age range
The recovery of the autonomic nervous system after an exercise stimulus can be detected by the measurement of cardiac vagal control using beat-to-beat heart rate recording in an orthostatic test and the calculation of heart rate variability (HRV) indices [4,5]
The current study explored whether physical performance and recovery are affected by age, within an age span typical for team sport athletes, after a high-intensity interval exercise

Summary

Introduction

In many sports, such as handball, the main teams often consist of players of a broad age range. In the 2019 World Men’s Handball Championship, for example, the players mean age across all teams was 26 years, with ages ranging from 17 (Haukur Þrastarson, Iceland) to 42-years (Nikola Marinovic, Austria). Experience can help to bring calm and tactical stability into the game, while the often better physical fitness of young players can make the game fast and dynamic (e.g., in soccer [1,2]). This combination of skills and abilities can be an optimal prerequisite in order to meet the high physiological and psychological requirements of sports like handball—a multidirectional sport with very diverse muscle stress and metabolic processes [3].

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