Peak Locomotor Intensity in Elite Handball Players: A First Insight Into Player Position Differences and Training Practices

Fleureau, Antoine; Rabita, Giuseppe; Leduc, Cédric; Buchheit, Martin; Lacome, Mathieu

doi:10.1519/jsc.0000000000004247

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Concretely, wingers showed the highest amount of high-intensity runs, pivots received the most impacts, and center throwed the most passes ( Figure 2 and Table 6 ). These findings are consistent with those from previous studies ( 9 , 10 , 16 , 36 ), showing that pivots cover the shortest distance at sprinting, but still operate at high-intensity due to high number of impacts ( 10 , 36 ). In contrast, wingers show the lowest number of impacts ( 10 ) and perform together with center backs the greatest amount of high-intensity runs ( 12 , 16 , 35 , 36 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…These findings are consistent with those from previous studies ( 9 , 10 , 16 , 36 ), showing that pivots cover the shortest distance at sprinting, but still operate at high-intensity due to high number of impacts ( 10 , 36 ). In contrast, wingers show the lowest number of impacts ( 10 ) and perform together with center backs the greatest amount of high-intensity runs ( 12 , 16 , 35 , 36 ). Additionally, backs are characterized by a substantially higher number of passes and shots ( 10 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Also, studies show that fatigue may occurs in certain phases of a match, mainly towards the end of the halftimes ( 2 , 18 ). Furthermore, recent studies show position-specific fatigue effects ( 16 , 37 ). Explanations for lower high intensity running activities in the second half in our study may be related to the scoreline and subsequent tactical changes (e.g., formation and player rotation) or individual fatigue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Match summary statistic files ( n = 394) were exported using the Kinexon system software (Kinexon Web Application, HBL-Cloud). The players were grouped into the following positions: wing (right and left winger), center (right and left back, center back), and pivot ( 16 ). The match outcomes were grouped into win, lost, and draw.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, other studies found differences between winning and losing teams in high-intensity actions ( 14 , 15 ). Also, differences between playing positions were comprehensively investigated in previous studies ( 9 – 12 , 16 ), indicating specific profiles for wingers, centers, and pivots. Additionally, fatigue during certain match periods was studied ( 2 , 3 , 17 , 18 ) and the findings reveal that high-intensity movements as the number of stops, change of directions, and also one-to-one situations ( 3 ) as well as distances covered at fast running and sprinting ( 17 ) decrease from first to second half and also towards the end of both halves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical match demands of four LIQUI-MOLY Handball-Bundesliga teams from 2019–2022: effects of season, team, match outcome, playing position, and halftime

Saal

Baumgart

Wegener

et al. 2023

Front. Sports Act. Living

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IntroductionDue to the development in team handball, there is a need to optimize the physical capacities of team handball players for which knowledge of the physical match demands is essential. The aim of this study was to investigate the physical match demands of four LIQUI-MOLY Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) teams across three seasons with respect to the effects of season, team, match outcome, playing position, and halftime.MethodsA fixed installed local positioning system (Kinexon) was used, collecting 2D positional and 3D inertial measurement unit data at 20 and 100 Hz, respectively. The physical match demands were operationalized by basic (e.g., distance, speed, and acceleration) and more advanced variables (e.g., jumps, throws, impacts, acceleration load, and metabolic power). A total of 347 matches (213 with an additional ball tracking) were analyzed from four teams (one top, two middle, and one lower ranked) during three consecutive seasons (2019–2022). One-way ANOVAs were calculated to estimate differences between more than two groups (e.g., season, team, match outcome, playing position). Mean differences between halftimes were estimated using Yuen’s test for paired samples.ResultsLarge effects were detected for the season (0.6≤ξ^≤0.86), team (0.56≤ξ^≤0.72), and playing position (0.64≤ξ^≤0.98). Medium effects were found for match outcome (ξ^≤0.36) and halftime (ξ^≤0.47).ConclusionFor the first time, we provide a comprehensive analysis of physical match demands in handball players competing in the LIQUI-MOLY Handball-Bundesliga. We found that physical match demands differ on that top-level with up to large effect sizes concerning the season, team, match outcome, playing position, and halftime. Our outcomes can help practitioners and researchers to develop team and player profiles as well as to optimize talent identification, training, regeneration, prevention, and rehabilitation procedures.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Physical match demands of four LIQUI-MOLY Handball-Bundesliga teams from 2019–2022: effects of season, team, match outcome, playing position, and halftime

Saal

Baumgart

Wegener

et al. 2023

Front. Sports Act. Living

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The burdens of sitting on the bench – comparison of absolute and relative match physical load between handball players with high and low court time and implications for compensatory training

Büchel,

Döring,

Baumeister

2024

Journal of Sports Sciences

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Testing in Intermittent Sports—Importance for Training and Performance Optimization in Adult Athletes

VIGH-LARSEN,

JUNGE,

CIALDELLA-KAM

et al. 2024

Medicine &Amp; Science in Sports &Amp; Exercise

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Performance in intermittent sports relies on the interplay between multiple physiological systems determining the capacity to perform short explosive efforts as well as repeated intense actions with limited recovery over the course of an entire game. Testing should reflect these demands to allow for sport- and position-specific capacity analyses that eventually may translate into optimized training and improved performance. This may include individual load management and optimized training prescription, intensity targeting for specific positions or individual athletes, as well as benchmarking for monitoring of training progression and enhanced engagement of athletes. This review provides an overview of available tests in different exercise domains identified as relevant (from assessment of single explosive actions to intermittent endurance capacity), forming the basis for recommendations on how to compose a comprehensive yet feasible test battery that may be integrated into the seasonal competition and training plan. The test procedures should cover the performance spectrum of relevance for the individual athlete—also in team sports to account for positional differences. We emphasize the benefits of sport-specific tests, highlight parameters of importance for test standardization, and discuss how the applied test battery may be supplemented with secondary tests directed toward specific energy systems to allow for more in-depth analyses when required (e.g., in terms of an underperforming athlete). The synergy between testing and tracking of match performance (utilizing time-motion or global positioning systems) is highlighted, and although tracking cannot substitute for testing, combining the tools may provide a comprehensive overview of the physiological demands and performance during competition contextualized to the athletes’ maximal exercise capacity.

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Peak Locomotor Intensity in Elite Handball Players: A First Insight Into Player Position Differences and Training Practices

Abstract: Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text.

Cited by 5 publications

References 47 publications

Physical match demands of four LIQUI-MOLY Handball-Bundesliga teams from 2019–2022: effects of season, team, match outcome, playing position, and halftime

Physical match demands of four LIQUI-MOLY Handball-Bundesliga teams from 2019–2022: effects of season, team, match outcome, playing position, and halftime

The burdens of sitting on the bench – comparison of absolute and relative match physical load between handball players with high and low court time and implications for compensatory training

Testing in Intermittent Sports—Importance for Training and Performance Optimization in Adult Athletes

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