Physiological responses and activity demands remain consistent irrespective of team size in recreational handball

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of team size on acute physiological, perceptual, and activity demands of recreational handball to provide a better understanding for the potential prescription of recreational handball to achieve health benefits. Active, male college students (N=22) completed 3-, 4-, and 5-a-side handball game formats across three separate sessions following a repeated-measures, crossover design. Heart rate (HR), blood lactate concentration (BLa), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), distance covered, and frequency of accelerations/decelerations were monitored during games. Each game format elicited vigorous intensities with a mean HR in the range 82-85%HR_max and post-game BLa in the range 3.9-4.4 mmol·L^-1. No significant differences (P>0.05) in absolute (ηp²=0.40), relative mean HR (ηp²=0.43), BLa (ηp₂=0.16), total distance (ηp₂=0.32), total accelerations (ηp²=0.23), or total decelerations (ηp₂=0.23) were observed between game formats. A significant effect was observed for RPE (ηp²=0.51), where 3-a-side games elicited a higher RPE than 5-a-side games (P=0.03, large). Modifying player number has a negligible effect on the physiological and activity demands encountered during recreational handball games. Recreational handball consisting of 3-5 players imposes similar intermittent workloads, resulting in vigorous physiological responses concomitant with those recommended for overall health improvements as part of regular training.

Keywords: Blood lactate concentration; Health promotion; Heart rate; High-intensity interval training; Physical demands; Physical fitness.

FIG. 1

Mean ± standard deviation proportion of game time spent in different heart rate intensity zones during handball games with different team sizes in recreational players (n=12). Note: %HR_max = percentage of maximum heart rate; † significantly (P≤0.05) different to 71–80%HR_max and 81–90% HR_max; ‡ significantly (P≤0.05) different to 71–80%HR_max; § significantly (P≤0.05) different to 91–100% HR_max.

FIG. 2

Effect sizes (ES) with 90% confidence intervals (CI) for pairwise comparisons between heart rate intensity zones during handball games with different team sizes in recreational players (n=12). Note: %HR_max = percentage of maximum heart rate; unclear effect = CI overlapped ±0.2, moderate effect = 0.6–1.19, large effect = 1.2–1.99, and very large effect = >2.0.

FIG. 3

Mean ± standard deviation distance covered working in different speed zones during handball games with different team sizes in recreational players (n=12). Note: † significantly (P≤0.05) different to zones above 12 km·h^-1; ‡ significantly (P≤0.05) different to all other zones; § significantly (P≤0.05) different to zones above 18 km·h^-1; ¶ significantly (P≤0.05) different to 12.01–18 km·h^-1 and 18.01–23.99 km·h^-1; # significantly (P≤0.05) different to 12.01–18 km·h^-1.

FIG. 4

Effect sizes (ES) with 90% confidence intervals (CI) for pairwise comparisons between distance intensity zones during handball games with different team sizes in recreational players (n=12). Note: unclear effect = CI overlapped ±0.2, moderate effect = 0.6–1.19, large effect = 1.2–1.99, and very large effect = >2.0.

FIG. 5

Mean ± standard deviation accelerations (A) and decelerations (B) performed in different intensity zones during handball games with different team sizes in recreational players (n=12). Note: ‡ significantly (P≤0.05) different to 0.5–0.99 m·s^-2 and >2 m·s^-2; ¶ significantly (P≤0.05) different to 0.5–0.99 m·s^-2.

FIG. 6

Effect sizes (ES) with 90% confidence intervals (CI) for pairwise comparisons between acceleration and deceleration intensity zones during handball games with different team sizes in recreational players (n=12). Note: unclear effect = CI overlapped ±0.2, very large effect = >2.0.