Objectives: To compare physiological and affective demands of a novel small-sided game designed in intermittent (30s-30s) regimen opposing 3-a-side field players with 30s-30s shuttle running and handball match play. Methods: Fourteen elite male handball players (age 23.8 ± 4.4 y; body mass 84.0 ± 7.4 kg; height 188 ± 0.06 m) performed 2 periods of 10-min of each experimental exercise in separate occasions. Physiological demand was assessed using mean heart rate, time spent in heart rate intensity zones and postexercise blood lactate concentration. The difference between 'perceived exertion' and 'pleasure' determined the affective balance. Results: Small-sided game and shuttle running drills showed similar mean heart rate (88.8 ±2.4 and 90.4 ±2.8 % of peak heart rate, respectively) and time spent in heart rate zones. The match play elicited lower mean heart rate (86.9 ± 3.4 % of peak heart rate, P ≤ 0.05, large ES) than small-sided game and shuttle running. Peak lactate for small-sided game (6.6 ±2.6 mmol/L) was lower than shuttle running (10 ±2.2 mmol/L, P ≤ 0.05, large ES) whereas no significant difference was observed with match play. The small-sided game showed lower affective balance than shuttle running (P ≤ 0.01, large ES). Conclusions: Coaches can be confident in prescribing the small-sided game as a suitable alternative to shuttle running to provide consistent aerobic stimulus with lower affective balance. The small-sided game may be considered as a specific training method in achieving relevant physiological adaptations for handball match play.

-Game-based training are popular in team-sports; however there is a lack of research specific to team handball. The aim of this study was to assess i) the test-retest reliability of heart rate (HR), time spent in HR zone intensities and rating of perceived exertion of a novel small-sided game, ii) and whether it is comparable to that of generic intermittent shuttle running and match play with team handball players. Fourteen elite male handball players completed each exercise comprising two periods of 10min interspersed with 2min recovery in separate occasions and repeated them one week apart. Exercises consisted of intermittent 30s-30s shuttle running (ISR), intermittent 30s-30s small-sided game (with 3-a-side field players, 3vs3) and match play (with 6-a-side field players, 6vs6). Mean HR demonstrated high level of reproducibility for the three drills (r = 0.86-0.89, TEM = 2.21-2.63 bpm, CV = 1.23-1.55%). For time spent in heart rate zones TEMs reached up 1.12, 1.40 and 2.48 min for ISR, 6vs6 and 3vs3, respectively. Specifically for HR zone higher than 90% of HRmax, CVs showed wide extent of scores with 9.73 (ISR), 27.39 (6vs6) and 108.29% (3vs3). Mean HR results suggest that physiological response was consistent between sessions. Because of the poor reproducibility for time spent in the target zone higher than 90% of HRmax, the efficiency of both 3vs3 and 6vs6 in improving aerobic power should be analysed with caution. The present results suggest that reproducibility of physiological demand of ball-drills should be considered before prescribing them as conditioning training.Key words: Heart rate; Intensity; Perception; Reliability. (r = 0,89; TEM = 2,63 bpm; CV = 1,55% Resumo -O treino através do jogo é popular quando se trata de esportes coletivos. Contudo, constata-se uma falta de estudos específicos sobre a prática do handball. Objetivou-se testar a reprodutibilidade de um jogo com equipe reduzida através da análise da frequência cardíaca (HR), do tempo decorrido nas diversas faixas de intensidade de HR e da percepção do esforço. A reprodutibilidade do jogo com equipe reduzida foi comparada àquelas de um exercício padrão de corrida e de um jogo de handball. Quatorze jogadores de handball masculino nível elite realizaram um mesmo exercício em duas ocasiões com uma semana de intervalo entre elas. Cada exercício foi realizado em dois períodos de 10 minutos com dois minutos de intervalo entre cada um. Os diferentes exercícios consistiram numa corrida intermitente de 30s-30s, realizadas em ida e volta (ISR); um jogo com equipe reduzida intermitente de 30s-30s (com três jogadores em cada equipe, 3vs3); e um jogo de handball (com 6 jogadores em cada equipe, 6vs6). A HR média demonstrou um nível avançado de reprodutibilidade dos três exercícios