Cardiac Parasympathetic Reactivation Following Small‐Sided Games, Repeated Sprints and Circuit Training in Elite Handball Players

Abstract

To compare acute parasympathetic reactivation following usual training exercises, the acute post-exercise heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were analysed. Fourteen elite male handball players completed three separate sessions of 16-min small-sided games (SSGs), repeated sprints (RSs) consisting of two sets of six repetitions of a 25-m sprint with a 180° change of direction (12.5 m + 12.5 m) every 25 s and 40 min of handball-specific circuit training (CT, one brief action every 40 s). The HR was recorded during the exercises; HRV was assessed 10 min before and after exercise. The exercise HR was higher for SSGs than RSs and it was higher for RSs than CT. Comparison of the baseline and acute post-exercise HRV values showed that parasympathetic indices decreased following SSG (p < 0.01 – p < 0.0001; large effect size) and RS (p < 0.05 –p < 0.01; large effect size) interventions. For CT, recovery values remained similar to the baseline (small effect size). The comparison of the acute recovery period between exercise modalities showed that the root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD) was lower for SSGs than RSs and CT. No difference in any HRV indices was observed between RSs and CT. Time-varying of RMSSD for successive 30 s segments during the 10 min recovery period showed lower values for SSGs than CT for all tested points; the progressive increase in the beat-to-beat interval was similar for all interventions. In conclusion, SSGs caused the greatest post-exercise vagal disruption and it is likely that CT is the exercise modality that least delays over-all recovery. These results might help coaches design better training sessions by understanding athletes’ recovery status after completing their conditioning exercises.

Effects of small-sided games on technical-tactical actions and physical performance in handball: a systematic review

“…However, in another study [17], the same linearity of the results was not observed. the comparison between SSGs and sprint training presented discrepant results concerning the method promoting higher levels of maximum heart rate [5,33]. the rated perceived exertion also presented divergences in results, with both a linear increase associated with a rise in the pitch area [17] and non-linearity of results observed [16].…”

“…Acutely, SSG training (composed of 2 sets of 8' 30'' stimuli/30'' passive recovery, with the entire game 3vs3), when compared with sprint training, presented lower results for the percentage of time of heart rate above 90% of maximum heart rate [33]. In turn, Ravier and Marcel-Millet [5] compared the acute effects of SSG, sprint training, and handball-specific circuit training; SSG was associated with higher levels of mean heart rate and maxi-mum heart rate as compared with the other methods.…”

“…Initially, SSGs were employed with the purpose of technical-tactical development, as they favour a greater frequency of technical actions and stimulate decision making through their intrinsic characteristics [1]. Sub-sequently, in view of the scientific evidence and demonstrated practices, researchers and coaches gradually incorporated this training strategy to improve the physical (e.g., capacity for repeated sprints) and physiological indicators (e.g., aerobic power, maximal oxygen uptake), with the premise that the greatest training benefits occur when the stimuli influence specific motor action patterns and physiological demands of the sport [3][4][5][6].…”

Post‐Exercise Cold‐ and Contrasting‐Water Immersion Effects on Heart Rate Variability Recovery in International Handball Female Players

“…Figure 2 shows that many HRV indices remained decreased for at least 60 min after the end of handball training (e.g., moderate ES for lnRMSSD and large ES for RR with PAS6; moderate ES for lnHF with PAS323). After various endurance (Kaikkonen et al, 2010;Michael et al, 2017b;Seiler et al, 2007) and team sport (Flatt and Howells, 2019;Ravier and Marcel-Millet, 2020) exercises, previous studies reported that intensity was the exercise characteristic having the greatest impact on delaying post-exercise HRV recovery. The post-exercise cardiac parasympathetic disruption observed was up to 50 min after exercise performed until exhaustion in physically active males (Almeida et al, 2016), and 60 min after a Crossfit® workout in healthy adults (Kliszczewicz et al, 2016).…”

“…The magnitude and duration of parasympathetic disruption during recovery appeared to be related to exercise variables (i.e., intensity, duration and modality) and individual characteristics (i.e., physical fitness, recovery potential, mood state) (Kaikkonen et al, 2010;Michael et al, 2017;Nakamura et al, 2016;Seiler et al, 2007). The time course of parasympathetic recovery has been widely analyzed to assess the responsiveness of the autonomic nervous system and to reflect indirectly the overall recovery status of players (Ravier & Marcel-Millet, 2020;Stanley et al, 2013). During intense training, the importance of maintaining a high level of parasympathetic activity to trigger positive adaptations was reported (Nakamura et al, 2016(Nakamura et al, , 2018.…”