Research article - (2017)16, 450 - 458
Analysis of Time-Motion and Heart Rate in Elite Male and Female Beach Handball
Basilio Pueo1,, Jose M. Jimenez-Olmedo1, Alfonso Penichet-Tomas1, Manuel Ortega Becerra2, Jose J. Espina Agullo1
1Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
2Department of Sport, University Pablo de Olavide, Seville, Andalusia, Spain

Basilio Pueo
✉ Sports Science, Faculty of Education, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Email: basilio@ua.es
Received: 11-04-2017 -- Accepted: 15-08-2017
Published (online): 01-12-2017

ABSTRACT

Beach handball is a spectacular new team sport; however, scientific knowledge about the demands in beach handball is very low. Consequently, the aim of this study was to analyze the physical demands of elite beach handball players by means of time-motion analysis with GPS technology and physiological response with Heart Rate (HR). Both male (n = 12) and female (n = 12) players from the Spanish Beach Handball National Team were recruited for this study. The sample consisted in four matches of two 10-min periods each. Time-motion analysis was performed through GPS devices (SPI Pro X, 15 Hz, GPSports) with synchronized HR monitoring (Polar Electro, Finland). All parameters were recorded for matches and halves to express overall and time-dependent physical and physiological responses. Total match distance covered by male and female players were 1234.7 ± 192 m and 1118.2 ± 221.8 m, respectively. Female players covered more total distance (p = 0.049, ES = 0.79) and distance walking (p < 0.001, ES = 2.04) in the first half, whereas they covered more distance standing (p = 0.008, ES = 1.05) in the second half at a higher average speed (p < 0.001, ES = 2.28). The number of accelerations distributed over low-, moderate- and high-intensity categories were 43.2 ± 11.6, 9.4 ± 4.9; 0.8 ± 0.9 m/s2 for male players, and 40.3 ± 12.7, 4.3 ± 3.0; 0.1 ± 0.3 m/s2 for female players; equivalent to one body acceleration every 23 s and 27 s, respectively. Finally, male and female players obtained a maximum/mean HR of 173 ± 13 / 137 ± 12 bpm, and 177 ± 13 / 138 ± 18 bpm, with 20.3% and 29.2% of the total time in the anaerobic zone (81 – 90% HRmax), respectively. These results demonstrated that beach handball is a demanding sport, with numerous moderate-to-high intensity displacements, distributed intermittently throughout the game: long periods of low intensity activity interspersed by short bursts of high intensity.

Key words: Performance analysis, time-motion analysis, Global Positioning System (GPS), load intensity, elite, technology

Key Points
  • Beach handball is a demanding sport, with numerous moderate-to-high intensity displacements, distributed intermittently throughout the match.
  • Despite the sandy surface, the distance covered per minute in beach handball is similar to team handball.
  • On average, every 23 s and 27 s, a body acceleration was produced by male and female players, respectively.
  • Female players covered substantially more distance in the first half but at the expense of lower speed.








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