Physical and physiological demands of elite team handball

PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL DEMANDS OF ELITE

TEAM HANDBALL

SUSANA C.A. POVOAS,1,2 ANDRE F.T. SEABRA,3 ANTONIO A.M.R. ASCENSAO,4 JOSE MAGALHAES,4

JOSE M.C. SOARES,3 AND ANTONIO N.C. REBELO3

1Research Center in Sports, Health Sciences and Human Development, Maia, Portugal; 2Maia Institute of Higher Education,Maia, Portugal; 3Center of Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto,Porto, Portugal; and 4Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Porto,Portugal

ABSTRACT

Povoas, SCA, Seabra, AFT, Ascensao, AAMR, Magalhaes, J,

Soares, JMC, and Rebelo, ANC. Physical and physiological

demands of elite team handball. J Strength Cond Res 26(12):

3365–3375, 2012—This study aimed to analyze elite team

handball physical and physiological demands during match play.

Time-motion (N = 30) and heart rate (HR; N = 60) analyses were

performed throughout 10 official matches. The defined locomo-

tor categories were standing still, walking, jogging, fast running,

sprinting, backwards movement, sideways medium-intensity

movement, and sideways high-intensity movement, and playing

actions studied were jumps, shots, stops when preceded by

high-intensity activities, changes of direction and one-on-one

situations. During matches, the mean distances covered were

4,370 6 702.0 m. Around 80% of the total time was spent

standing still (43.0 6 9.27%) and walking (35.0 6 6.94%) and

only 0.4 6 0.31% with sprinting. The most frequent high-intensity

actions were stops, changes of direction, and one-on-one

situations. Effective mean HR was 157 6 18.0 b�min21 (82 6

9.3% of HRmax), and total HR was 139 6 31.9 b�min21

(72 6 16.7% of HRmax). The HR, time spent in high-intensity

activities, frequency of stops, changes of direction, one-on-one

situations, and most intense periods of the game were higher

during the first half than during the second half (p # 0.05). The

opposite was observed for the number of time outs and the time

between each change of activity (p = 0.00). Handball is an

intermittent exercise that primarily uses aerobic metabolism,

interspersed by high-intensity actions that greatly tax anaerobic

metabolism. Additionally, exercise intensity decreases from

the first to the second half of the match, suggesting that neuro-

muscular fatigue may occur during the game. The training of elite

handball players should comprise exercises targeting the ability

to perform specific high-intensity actions throughout the game

and to rapidly recover during the less intense periods.

KEY WORDS time motion analysis, heart rate, intermittent

exercise, professional top male players

INTRODUCTION

Handball is an Olympic sport played worldwideand at a highly professional level in manyEuropean countries. Nevertheless, unlike otherteam sports, scientific knowledge regarding elite

team handball’s working demands is scarce. In fact, handball’stime motion and physiological characteristics are poorlydescribed because the available literature offers incompleteand contradictory results with methodological limitations.More research in this area is needed to obtain informationthat should be useful for the design of effective trainingprograms and to define specific test batteries. Time-motionanalysis research of handball players during games oftenrefer to friendly matches (26,35) and only 1 study (19)conducted during the Men’s World Championship in 2007analyzed official matches. The authors described the totaldistance and the distance covered at different intensitiesduring the match. However, no studies have investigated indetail the activity profile throughout the match, includinglow- and high-intensity movements and the specific handballactions such as turns, stops, jumps, throws, changes of direc-tion, and one-on-one situations in the attack and defensephases. In fact, handball’s tactical-technical demands duringmatches differ in the main phases of the game (attack vs.defense). Thus, it is expected that activity profiles would alsobe different between these phases. Moreover, handball’sofficial rules were changed in 2000, which increased theintensity of the game (3,10,11). Nonetheless, only 1 study waspublished concerning handball time-motion characteristicsafter the rules’ changes (19).

The ability to intermittently perform maximal short-duration activity during games is crucial to obtain a highlevel of performance in team sports (29). Nevertheless, no

Address correspondence to Susana Cristina de Araujo Povoas, [email protected].

26(12)/3365–3375

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research� 2012 National Strength and Conditioning Association

VOLUME 26 | NUMBER 12 | DECEMBER 2012 | 3365

Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.

studies to date have described the frequency and durationof maximal and high-intensity activities during handballmatches or the time and the intensity characteristics ofperiods that intersperse these activities. In contrast to teamsports such as soccer (24), there is also a lack of informationregarding the frequency and duration of the most and leastintense periods of handball matches. On the other hand,handball involves frequent body contact and several high-intensity actions as part of match play, which have littleimpact on time-motion data, but are well reflected by heartrate (HR) values. Thus, although HR and time motion areconsidered valuable and relatively sensitive tools to measureexercise intensity, the separate analysis of match HR andactivity data may provide incomplete information and canlead to a misinterpretation of the overall demands of thegame. Accordingly, to better characterize the demands of thegame, it would be useful to combine both types of infor-mation. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyzethe physical and physiological demands of elite malehandball players during matches. Because frequent players’substitutions characterize this sport, we also aimed to analyzethe physiological strain of the overall and effective matchtimes. We hypothesize that handball is an intermittentexercise characterized by a large percentage of time spent inlow-intensity activities interspersed by high-intensity actions.We also anticipate a high number of power-related actionsduring the match such as sprints, stops, turns, and changes ofdirection that possibly lead to a decrease in exercise intensitytoward the end of the match. Depending on the detailedcharacterization of match demands, our data will allow thedevelopment of novel training strategies and the design ofproper physical tests for handball players.

METHODS

Experimental Approach to the Problem

In this study, activity pattern and physiological demands duringmatches were examined in top professional league handballplayers. To address this purpose, individual HR was monitoredin official matches, which were videofilmed for time-motionanalysis. At the time of the evaluations, the players were in themiddle of the competitive period, performing 6–7 trainingsessions per week and were previously acquainted with all testprotocols. Body weight and fluid loss, temperature, andhumidity values were recorded during matches becausedehydration and hyperthermia can influence HR values.

Subjects

Time-motion and HR analyses were performed on 30 outfieldmale players (10 of each outfield playing position: wings,backcourt players, and pivots). Weight and percentage ofbody fat were determined by bioimpedance analysis (TanitaInner Scan digital—BC532, Arlington Heights, IL, USA). Theplayers performed an incremental treadmill (Quasar-Med,Nussdorf, Germany) test until voluntary exhaustion todetermine peak HR and peak oxygen consumption. Expired

respiratory gas fractions were measured using an open circuitbreath-by-breath automated gas-analysis system (Cortex,Metalyzer, 3 B, Leipzig, Germany). The HR was measuredusing an HR monitor (Vantage NV, Polar Electro, Kempele,Finland). Anthropometric and physiological characteristics ofthe players are presented in Table 1.

The participants had at least 5 years of experience in the topPortuguese handball professional league. The evaluated teamswere regularly involved in European championships for clubs.All the subjects were previously informed of the aims and theexperimental risks of the study and subsequently gaveinformed written consent to participate. Ethical approvalwas provided by the Institutional Review Board of the Facultyof Sport of the University of Porto and by the club officials.

Procedures

Match Time-Motion Analysis. The players were videofilmedduring 10 entire official matches from the top Portuguesehandball professional league to establish game motion patternsaccording to the methods used in the previous studies (7).Players’ displacements were coded into 8 locomotor categoriesdefined accordingly by Bangsbo et al. (7) and consideringhandball’s specific movements. The locomotor categorieswere defined as follows: (a) standing still, (b) walking, (c)jogging, (d) fast running, (e) sprinting, (f ) backwardsmovement, (g) sideways medium-intensity movement, and(h) sideways high-intensity movement. The mean velocity ofeach category was determined by detailed analysis of matchimages using the lines of the playing court as reference. Thedistance covered in each category equaled the product of thetotal time and the mean speed for that activity (17). The totaldistance covered during a match was calculated as the sum ofthe distances for each type of activity. High-intensity activitiesequaled the sum of categories 4, 5, and 8, and low-intensityactivities were the sum of categories 1, 2, 3, 6, and 7. Inaddition, 5 types of specific handball playing actions were alsostudied: (a) jumps, (b) shots, (c) stops when preceded byhigh-intensity activities, (d) changes of direction, and (e)one-on-one situations. This is in accordance to the methods ofBangsbo et al. (7) and handball’s specificities. The totalduration of the matches and distance covered were analyzed.For each locomotor category, the percentage of total time anddistance, the duration, distance, and frequency were deter-mined. The most and least high-intensity periods of the matchwere identified in 5-minute intervals. These periods representthe 5-minute interval with the greatest and least percentage oftime spent in high-intensity activities, respectively (adaptedfrom Mohr et al. [24]). Average time between each activity andintensity change (i.e., each change of locomotor and intensity[high and low] category, respectively) was determined. Therecovery time, that is, the time intervals between (a) themaximal intensity activities (i.e., sprints and sideways high--intensity movement) and between (b) the high-intensityactivities were also analyzed. According to the definition,the time intervals between (a) the beginning of the match and

3366 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Researchthe TM

Physical Demands of Team Handball


TABLE 2. Activity profile of team handball players during a match.*

Locomotor categories Intensity categories

Standing Walking Jogging FR Sprint SideM SideH Back High Low

Freq (N) 268 6 86.5 261 6 64.8 98 6 28.7 30 6 17.5 22 6 10.0 75 6 39.8 20 6 20.3 67 6 38.0 73 6 31.8 752 6 189.7†Freq (%) 32.1 6 5.85 31.5 6 3.57 12.0 6 3.46 3.4 6 1.95 2.6 6 0.87 8.9 6 3.87 2.3 6 1.86 7.6 6 3.24 8.8 6 2.76 91.2 6 2.76†Duration (s) 7.0 6 8.26 5.9 6 4.75 3.9 6 1.96 3.1 6 1.25 2.8 6 1.08 3.1 6 1.66 2.3 6 1.01 2.9 6 1.35Distance (m) 7.7 6 6.20 10.3 6 5.21 16.7 6 6.68 18.0 6 6.91 4.2 6 2.26 9.0 6 3.89 2.9 6 1.35Fraction of total

time (%)43.0 6 9.27 35.0 6 6.94 8.8 6 3.14 2.2 6 1.21 0.4 6 0.31 5.2 6 3.20 1.1 6 0.95 4.5 6 2.33 3.6 6 1.61 96.7 6 1.61†

Fraction of totaldistance (%)

45.9 6 7.16 23.2 6 6.14 11.5 6 5.74 2.4 6 2.02 6.5 6 3.86 4.3 6 4.04 6.1 6 3.05 18.3 6 7.70 81.7 6 7.70†

Total time (s) 1,886 6 422.6 1,533 6 327.1 382 6 126.2 95 6 52.8 17 6 13.7 228 6 137.3 47 6 42.6 197 6 106.2 159 6 73.2 4,225 6 269.0Total distance

covered (m)2,002 6 427.2 1,014 6 334.8 508 6 281.6 107 6 87.3 287 6 173.3 183 6 164.9 268 6 144.8 798 6 370.1 3,571 6 658.2

*Freq = frequency; FR = fast running; Back = backwards movement; SideM = sideways medium-intensity movement; SideH = sideways high-intensity movement.†p # 0.02 significantly different from high-intensity movements. Values are mean 6 SD.

TABLE 1. Anthropometric and physiological characteristics of the players.*†

Age (y) Weight (kg) Height (cm) Fat mass (%) HR peak (b�min21) O2peak (ml�min�kg21)

N = 30 25.2 6 3.59 (22–35) 87.7 6 8.96 (71.4–105.7) 186.5 6 7.92 (171.2–202.0) 9.7 6 2.25 (6.0–16.0) 191 6 8.6 (1722206) 55.3 6 4.62 (47–64)

*HR = heart rate.†Values are mean 6 SD and range.

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the first maximal intensity activity, (b) the last maximalintensity activity in the first half and the half-time break, and(c) the last maximal intensity activity in the second half and theend of the match was excluded. The same criteria were used intime intervals between high-intensity activities. The sameexperienced observer performed all the analyses. The first andthe second halves of each match were analyzed in a randomorder. Before the analysis of each player was initiated, theindividual players’ styles of locomotion were studied inten-sively, and several validation tests were performed for eachplayer according to the predetermined categories of locomo-tion. The validation tests included a test-retest analysis of one

half of 10 matches (randomly selected) and the analysis wasinitiated when intraclass correlation coefficient was .0.80.Because this study aimed to describe the demands of a playingposition, data were collected from the playing position and notfrom individual players (37), which means that when a playerwas substituted, the camera filmed the substitute. Data wereanalyzed for the entire match.

Heart Rate. Sixty HR recordings of 30 outfield players(27 wings, 23 backcourt players, and 10 pivots) were regis-tered in 5-second intervals using Polar Team System (PolarElectro Oy) during 10 official matches. The players were

TABLE 3. Game actions and time-out frequency during the match and in each half.*

Game actions First half Second half Total

Jumps 7.1 6 3.91 6.7 6 3.22 13.8 6 6.14Throws 3.2 6 2.49 3.5 6 2.30 6.7 6 3.95Stops in the attack 7.5 6 4.02 6.1 6 3.36† 13.6 6 6.42Stops in the defense 9.5 6 5.83‡ 8.4 6 4.46‡ 17.9 6 9.15‡Total stops 17.0 6 7.58 14.4 6 6.13† 31.4 6 12.44Changes of direction in the attack 7.3 6 3.81 5.9 6 3.33† 13.2 6 6.20Changes of direction in the defense 9.2 6 5.94‡ 8.3 6 4.56‡ 17.5 6 9.34‡Total changes of direction 16.4 6 7.45 14.2 6 6.30† 30.6 6 12.38One-on-one situations in the attack 4.4 6 4.14 3.8 6 5.22 8.2 6 8.76One-on-one situations in the defense 6.7 6 5.12‡ 5.4 6 4.19†‡ 12.1 6 8.82‡Total one-on-one situations 11.1 6 8.28 9.2 6 8.20† 20.3 6 15.70Time outs 4.7 6 1.52 8.0 6 2.81† 12.7 6 3.80

*Values are mean 6 SD.†p # 0.05 significantly different from the first half of the match.‡p # 0.01 significantly different from the attack phase.

Figure 1. Absolute and relative time spent in each locomotor category in the first and second halves of the match. Values are mean 6 SD. FR = fast running;Back = backwards movement; SideM = sideways medium-intensity movement; SideH = sideways high-intensity movement; *p # 0.05 significantly differentfrom the first half of the match.




previously acquainted with the use of HR monitors duringmatches. Individual maximal HR (HRmax) was previouslydetermined using the Yo-Yo intermittent endurance tes-t—level 2 (4). The HR values were analyzed during the first andsecond halves. Team handball rules allow unlimited sub-stitutions of players throughout the match. Therefore, it isunusual that one athlete plays the entire match time (19,31).Also, a 1-minute time-out period is allowed for each team, in

each half. Several other match contingencies involve theinterruption of the match time (e.g., players’ injuries andsuspensions). Thus, the HR during the match was analyzed (a)as total HR (i.e., HR during total match time) aiming toglobally characterize cardiovascular demands imposed by thehandball match and (b) as effective HR (i.e., HR duringeffective match time), aiming to describe match demands onlyduring the time in which the player is on the playing court. In

Figure 2. Absolute and relative time spent in each locomotor category in the attack and defense phases of the match. Values are mean 6 SD. FR = fast running;Back = backwards movement; SideM = sideways medium-intensity movement; SideH = sideways high-intensity movement; *p # 0.01 significantly different fromthe first half of the match in the attack phase.

Figure 3. Absolute and relative time spent in each locomotor category in the attack and defense phases of each half of the match. Values are mean 6 SD. FR =fast running; Back = backwards movement; SideM = sideways medium-intensity movement; SideH = sideways high-intensity movement; *p # 0.05 significantlydifferent from the first half of the match.


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the first case, 2-minute suspensions and the half-time breakwere excluded from the total match time. Nevertheless, inboth cases, the time outs were considered. For this purpose,the matches were filmed. Procedures regarding imagecollection were described above, although in this case, theplayers were filmed during the entire match time. The matcheswere held under neutral temperature (17–21� C) and humidityconditions (50–70%). For the determination of effective timespent on each HR zone, only the values corresponding to thefirst and second halves were considered.

Fluid Loss and Intake. Because dehydration and hyperthermiaduring a match can influence HR values, body weight andfluid loss were recorded during the matches. To determine

sweat loss during a match, theplayers were weighted wearingdry shorts, immediately beforeand after the matches using adigital balance (Tanita InnerScan digital—BC532). The play-ers were allowed to drinkwater ad libitum during thematches, and water intake wasrecorded. Weight and fluid loss(absolute and relative to bodymass) due to the matchwere calculated according toAndersson et al. (2).

Measurement Reliability. Reli-ability of all variables was esti-mated using a test-retestprocedure after 7 days, witha random subsample of 10

subjects. The reliability of the anthropometric measurementswas determined by the coefficient of variation (, 5%), whereasthe intraclass correlation coefficient was used for the othervariables (R . 0.80).

Statistical Analyses

Results are presented as mean 6 SD and range. Differencesbetween HR and time-motion variables during the 2 halveswere assessed by Student’s paired t-test. Differences betweenhigh- and low-intensity activities, attack and defense phases,and total and effective HR were determined by Student’sunpaired t-test. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS Inc., version 17.0) was used for all analyses. Statisticalsignificance was set at p # 0.05.

RESULTS

Activity Profile during

Matches

The number of occurrences andthe total time spent and dis-tance covered (absolute andrelative values) for each loco-motor and intensity categoryperformed by the handballplayers during the match arepresented in Table 2. Theduration and distance coveredin each locomotor category arealso shown.

Match duration was 73 6

4.5 minutes, and the total dis-tance covered during the hand-ball match was 4,370 6 702.0 m.The time between each activitychange (i.e., locomotor category)

Figure 4. Frequency distribution of time intervals between maximal intensity activities and between high-intensityactivities.

Figure 5. Average and maximal total and effective heart rate (HR) during the first and second halves and total matchtime. Data are presented as means 6 SD. Absolute and relative to individual maximal HR values are shown. b.min-1 -beats per minute; *p = 0.00 significantly different from total HR; #p = 0.00 significantly different from the first half ofthe match.




was 5.6 6 1.03 seconds. In addition, the time between eachintensity change (i.e., from high to low intensity or vice versa)was 55 6 31.6 seconds. The first 5-minute period of the gameshowed the highest percentage of time spent in high-intensityactivities, whereas the first 5-minute period of the secondhalf showed the lowest. The most frequent highly deman-ding playing actions of the game were stops and changes ofdirection (Table 3). Both types of actions and also one-on-onesituations were more frequent in the defense than in the attackphase (p # 0.01).

The activity profile in both halves of the match is presentedin Figure 1.

The time spent in high-intensity movements duringthe match decreased in the second half (4.1 6 2.10 vs.3.2 6 1.55%; p = 0.04), as well as the frequency of stops,changes of direction, and one-on-one situations (Table 3).The number of the most intense periods of the match wasalso lower in the second half than in the first half (56 vs. 42).Furthermore, an increase in the frequency of time outsand the time between each activity change (5.3 6 1.13 vs.5.9 6 1.02 seconds; p = 0.00) was also observed in thesecond half (Table 3).

The players spent 8% more time standing still in thedefensive phase than in the attack phase (Figure 2; p = 0.00).The opposite was observed for walking (p = 0.00). Differ-ences between the activity profiles of the 2 phases of thegame were more evident in sideways movements, whichwere more frequent in the defensive phase (p = 0.01).

The time spent in high-intensity activities in the defensivephase was higher than in the offensive phase (4.4 6 2.16 vs.2.9 6 1.48%; p = 0.00) and only in the defensive phase didthe time spent in these activities decrease in the second half(5.4 6 2.71% vs. 3.5 6 2.17%; p = 0.00). The time spentin each locomotor category of the attack and defense phasesin each half of the match is presented in Figure 3.

In .60% of the occurrences,the time between maximalintensity activities was .90seconds (Figure 4), and 52.4%of the recovery periods werefulfilled by low-intensity activ-ities (32.2 6 19.33% walk-ing; 8.6 6 16.68% sidewaysmedium-intensity movement;7.3 6 9.29% jogging; 4.3 6

8.77% backwards movement).However, in almost half of therecovery time, the players werestanding still (44.9 6 23.03%).The remaining time was spentrunning fast (2.8 6 7.39%). Timebetween high-intensity activitieswas frequently ,30 seconds or$90 seconds.

There were no significantdifferences in the time between maximal intensity activitiesin both halves of the match and only recovery periods of$30 and ,60 seconds showed a significant decrease in thesecond half. Also, the activity pattern between maximalintensity activities did not show significant differencesbetween both halves of the match.

Match Heart Rate Analysis

The peak HR during the match was 185 6 9.6 b�min21 andthe effective mean HR was 157 6 18.0 b�min21 (82 6 9.3%of HRmax), whereas the total mean HR was 10% lower(139 6 31.9 b�min21; 72 6 16.7% of HRmax; p = 0.00;Figure 5). During the second half, effective (160 6 16.7 vs.153 6 18.7 b�min21; p = 0.00) and total (141 6 33.0 vs.136 6 30.4 b�min21; p = 0.00) mean HR decreasedcomparing with the first half.

For more than half of the effective match time (53%), theplayers exercised at intensities .80% HRmax and only 7% oftotal effective time was spent at an HR ,60% HRmax. Thepercentage of effective match time spent at different intervalpercentages of players’ HRmax in both halves of the match ispresented in Figure 6.

The percentage of time spent at exercise intensities .80%HRmax decreased during the second half; consequently, anincrease in time spent at low intensities was observed,although no significant differences were observed in thelowest HR zone (i.e., ,50% HRmax).

Fluid Loss and Intake

The body weight loss during the matches was 0.8 6 0.52 (0.0–1.4) kg corresponding to 0.9 6 0.34 (0.0–1.3) % of their bodymass, and their fluid intake was 1.19 6 0.298 (0.6–1.5) L. Thus,the fluid loss during matches was 2.1 6 0.35 (1.4–2.9) Lcorresponding to 2.3 6 0.36 (1.9–3.1)% of the body mass.

Figure 6. Percentage of effective match time spent at different interval percentages of players’ maximal heart rate(HR) in the first and second halves of the match. Values are mean 6 SD. *p = 0.03 significantly different from thefirst half of the match.



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DISCUSSION

This is the first study providing detailed information onthe movement pattern of elite male handball players duringthe different parts and phases of the game. Moreover, thecardiac response during matches was evaluated throughcontinuous analysis of HR. Low-intensity exercise wasa major component during the matches, although high-intensity moments and actions were often required. Theattack and defense phases of the game showed differentactivity profiles and exercise intensity evaluated by bothtime-motion and HR, declined in the second half of thematch. The decrease in time spent in high-intensity activitiesduring the second half of the match was only observed in thedefense phase.

Time-motion analysis showed that during the average73 minutes of match time, 825 activity changes wereperformed at 6 seconds intervals. Although no values areyet reported for team handball, other team sports such asbasketball require less time between each activity change (22),whereas similar values were described for field hockey (37).The differences between the sports are probably because ofthe frequently long lasting transitions between the defenseand attack phases of a handball match and to the larger fieldarea for this sport.

The results suggest that handball players spend a consider-able amount of energy in acceleration and decelerationmovements and illustrate the intermittent nature of theirefforts, which is a common trait in team sports (6,22,37). Infact, stops and changes of direction were the most frequenthigh-demand actions performed during the game, account-ing for 60% of the total 103 playing actions registered.Another common characteristic in team sports such assoccer (7), basketball (22), or field hockey (37) is the highfraction of total time spent in low-intensity activities. Thepresent study values for these activities are similar to thosereported for the aforementioned sports. In fact, in 64% of allmatch activities, the players were standing still or walk-ing, although for short time periods (7 and 6 seconds,respectively). Jogging was much less frequent (about one-third)as well as sideways medium-intensity and backwards move-ments. The categories with the lowest frequency and meanduration were sprinting and sideways high-intensity move-ments, while walking and standing still showed the highestvalues. The players covered more distance during sprints orin fast running, whereas backwards movements accountedfor the shorter distances. Relative frequency (8.8 6 2.76%),time spent (3.6 6 1.61%), and distance covered (18.3 6

7.70%) in high-intensity activities during the match wereclearly less than low-intensity ones (p # 0.02). The majorityof the total match time was spent standing still (43.0 6

9.27%) or walking (35.0 6 6.94%) and only 0.4 6 0.31%sprinting. Although the total distance covered was higher,the fraction of the total distance covered in high-intensityactivities is considerably smaller than the reported for other

elite handball players during the Men’s World Championshipin 2007 (19). Like data from elite soccer players (14,24), theamount of high-intensity activities seems to differentiate top-class handball players from those of a lower caliber. However,the relative time spent in high-intensity movements is similarto those results reported by Sibila et al. (35) but lower thanthat registered by Pers et al. (26) in friendly matches. Thesedifferences may be related to the fact that, unlike otherstudies that ignored the influence of the competition leveland playing position variables in match performance, ourwork involved high-level competitive matches and analyzedall outfield player positions. In fact, a considerable variation ofthe results was also shown and may be related to above-mentioned factors, namely, the playing position because ithas been proposed that physical performance and activitiesof the players are closely related to the position role in theteam (19,24,35).

Maximal intensity activities were frequently interspersed byperiods lasting $90 seconds (Figure 4), and 52.4% of therecovery periods were of an active nature, which improvedperformance during short-duration, high-intensity exercise(36). Nonetheless, for almost half of the recovery time, theplayers were standing still. Recovery activities were equallydistributed by long and short time intervals (i.e., ,30 or$90 seconds). The longer periods are probably the result oftechnical or disciplinary infractions to the rules of the game,which imply a time-out or, at least, a decrease of intensity ofmovements and actions. The slow transition between thephases of defense and attack, as well as the initial phase ofpreparation of the positional attack or defense phases, shouldalso be considered.

In this study, the time between each change in intensity,that is, a change from high to low intensity or vice versa, was55 seconds, which is similar to values reported for field hockey(37). Therefore, it is possible that in certain moments ofa match, the recovery time between high-intensity exerciseperiods may not be sufficient to fully allow the recovery ofperformance indices. Thus, exercise intensity was compro-mised for the subsequent phases (see HR response in Figures5 and 6 and activity profile in Figure 1 and Table 3), a conceptthat some authors have referred to as temporary fatigue(18,24). Hence, it is possible that the reduced physicalcapacity, particularly repeated-sprint ability of the players,should also be considered as a contributing factor for thedecline in game intensity.

According to our data, the first 5-minute interval of the firsthalf is the most intense interval of matches. This agrees withresults from soccer, which reported the first 15 minutes of thematch showed the greatest percentage of high-intensityactivity (24). On the other hand, the first 5-minute period ofthe second half showed the lowest percentage of time spentin high-intensity activities. The decline in muscle and coretemperature during the half-break was associated witha lowered sprint performance for the initial part of thesecond half of soccer matches, whereas sprint performance




could be maintained if low-intensity exercise was carried outduring this period, aiming to preserve muscle temperature(25). An increase in muscle temperature before high-intensityexercise has a beneficial effect on performance (8,16,34,38).Accordingly, it is tempting to speculate that a re–warm-upduring the half-break of a handball match could prevent theobserved decrease of intensity at the onset of the second half.Additional studies are needed to clarify the consequences ofreduced intensity during the half-break in the second halfgame performance and whether a re–warm-up during thehalf-break could minimize the decrease in high-intensityactivity during the first minutes of the second half.

To the best of our knowledge, there are no studies thatanalyzed the specific time-motion demands of attack anddefense phases of the game in handball or other team sports.The defensive phase of matches was more physicallydemanding than the offensive one, which probably explainswhy the decrease in intensity in the second half of the matchwas only observed for the defensive phase. During thedefensive phase, the players need to be proactive to reactproperly to offensive actions from the other team. Thus,during the transition phase between attack and defense, as theattackers tended to jog or walk to the offensive goal area,the defenders had to sprint or run fast to prevent possiblegoal opportunities. This may potentially explain the higherintensity of movements observed in the defensive phase.Furthermore, sideways movements, which represent a rele-vant part of the game time (Table 2), showed a clearpredominance in the defensive phase. These results areexpected given the specificity of this phase, namely, the needto visually follow the ball lateral movements as the playersreadjust defensive positions through sideways displacements.These data might also explain the decrease in the intensity ofdefense activities during the second half. In fact, it wassuggested that unorthodox modes of motion such as runningbackwards and sideways running accentuate the metabolicload eliciting elevated levels of energy expenditure (28).

Despite the known variation in the HR because of severalfactors (1,9), it is still a commonly used method to estimateexercise intensity (23,27,32). Effective and total HR refers toHR responses during the time in which the player is insidethe playing court and the total game time, respectively. Thisdistinction is of importance in team handball because therules of the game allow an unlimited number of substitutionswithout playing time stoppages. For instance, for most of thetransitions between game phases, the players sprint or runfast to be replaced by another colleague. Effective mean HRduring the match was 157 b�min21 and corresponded to82% of maximal HR, whereas total mean HR was 10% lower(139 6 31.9 b�min21). This 10% difference between bothmeasurements might be because of the higher HR of theplayers that are active on the playing field than players thatare seated on the substitute’s bench. This is also inaccordance to results from studies that showed handballplayers rarely play the entire game (19,31). This option could

be because of strategic, tactical-technical, physiological oreven physical factors. In fact, the decline in game intensity inthe second half observed in the analysis of activity profile(Figure 1 and Table 3) was confirmed by HR recordings, asboth total and effective HR decreased during the second half(Figures 5 and 6). A decrease in physical and physiologicalmarkers of exercise intensity during the second half has alsobeen reported in soccer (5,7,14,24,30). On the other hand, nochanges were observed in movement patterns of the 4periods of a basketball game (22). Dehydration andhyperthermia were also suggested to contribute to fatiguedevelopment toward the end of the game by compoundingto the cardiovascular stress, which affects cellular metabolismand consequently performance (12,15,18,20,33). Nonethe-less, the analyzed matches were performed in thermoneutralconditions and average relative body weight loss was belowthe limit suggested to increase the HR above the valuesconsidered critical to impose deleterious cardiovascularstrain and to impair exercise performance (12). However,further studies are needed to better understand thephysiological and physical strains related to the possibledevelopment of fatigue during elite male handball matches.

No study exists describing the HR of handball playersduring matches. Relative values were lower than thosereported for soccer (6) and basketball players (22). Further-more, a relevant variation in HR response was observedbetween subjects. This may be related to individual differ-ences in HRmax, physical capacity, match intensity, timeplayed and playing position.

Despite the amount of time spent standing still or walkingduring a game, for more than half of the effective match time(53%), the players exercised at intensities .80% HRmax andonly a small amount (7%) of total effective time was spent atHR values #60% HRmax. This result indicates that physio-logical strain during the effective game time is high.Furthermore, the data obtained through time-motion analysisshould be used in addition to HR recordings to bettercharacterize team handball physical and physiological matchdemands. In fact, high eccentric-related muscular requirementsduring the match might be imposed by decelerations, stops,throws, jumps, changes of direction, and the constant physicalcontact associated with one-on-one situations. These high-intensity activities may induce high HR values for prolongedperiods of time. Thus, a considerable amount of high-intensitywork contributing to the outcome of matches is probablyperformed without spending a lot of time covering largedistances. For this reason, the use of time-motion analysis alonemay likely underestimate the physiological strain imposed byhandball matches. Physical and physiological data showedconsiderable variation among players, and consequently,position-related analysis should be considered in future studies.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This study shows that despite the amount of time spent inlow-intensity activities, team handball is a demanding sport,



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because numerous high-intensity displacements and actionsoccur throughout the game. The aerobic system is thereforehighly taxed during the game. The time between each changeof intensity and the number of intense actions and movementssuggest a high anaerobic energy turnover during the criticalperiods of the game. Therefore, the training of elite handballplayers should comprise exercises targeting the ability torepeatedly perform high-intensity activities and to rapidlyrecover during less intense periods. In addition, because a highnumber of intense actions are required throughout the match,basic strength training (e.g., squat, leg extension) combinedwith specific power-related actions (e.g., jumps, sprints)following complex and contrast training principles is advised(13,21). In this regard, players could benefit from this type oftraining stimuli by simultaneously improving basic strengthand more specific actions frequently performed duringthe match. According to the HR and frequency ofplaying actions data, small-sided games (e.g., 1 3 1, 2 3 2,3 3 3) with demands on strength and power capabilitiesshould be recommended as specific training drills. Moreover,re–warm-up activities could be useful during the half-breakbecause performance appears to decrease at the beginning ofthe second half of the game. Finally, these data are alsouseful in the design of physical tests to specifically evaluatethe performance of handball players.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thankfully acknowledge all the elite handballplayers and coaches who participated in this study. Nosources of funding were used to assist in the preparation ofthis manuscript. The results of this study do not constituteendorsement by the National Strength and ConditioningAssociation. Susana Povoas, Antonio Ascensao, andJose Magalhaes are supported by grants from the Portu-guese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/38148/2007; SFRH/BPD/4225/2007; SFRH/BPD/66935/2009, respectively).

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Physical and physiological demands of elite team handball

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