The effect of long-term volleyball training on the level of somatic parameters of female volleyball players in various age categories

Abstract

Volleyball is an exceedingly popular physical activity in the adolescent population, especially with females. The study objective was to assess the effect of volleyball training and natural ontogenetic development on the somatic parameters of adolescent girls. The study was implemented in a group of 130 female volleyball players (aged 12.3 ± 0.5 – 18.1 ± 0.6 years) along with 283 females from the general population (aged 12.3 ± 0.5 – 18.2 ± 0.5 years). The measured parameters included: body height (cm), body mass (kg), body fat (kg, %), visceral fat (cm2), body water (l), fat free mass (kg) and skeletal muscle mass (kg, %). Starting at the age of 13, the volleyball players had significantly lower body fat ratio and visceral fat values than those in the general population (p < 0.001 in body fat % and p < 0.01 in visceral fat). In volleyball players, the mean body fat (%) values were 17.7 ± 6.6 in 12-year-old players, 16.7 ± 4.9 in 13-year-old players, 18.5 ± 3.9 in 16-year-old players, and 19.3 ± 3.1 in 18-year-old players. In the general population, the mean body fat (%) values were 19.6 ± 6.3 in 12-year-old girls, 21.7 ± 6.4 in 13-year-old girls, 23.4 ± 6.1 in 16-year-old girls, and 25.8 ± 7.0 in 18-year-old girls. The visceral fat (cm2) mean values were 36.4 ± 19.3 in 12-year-old players, 39.2 ± 16.3 in 13-year-old players, 45.7 ± 14.7 in 16-year-old players, and 47.2 ± 12.4 in 18-year-old players. In the general population, the mean visceral fat (cm2) values were 41.4 ± 21.1 in 12-year-old girls, 48.4 ± 21.5 in 13-year-old girls, 58.0 ± 24.7 in 16-year-old girls, and 69.1 ± 43.7 in 18-year-old girls. In volleyball players, lower body fat ratio corresponded with a higher skeletal muscle mass ratio. The differences found in skeletal muscle mass ratio were also significant starting at the age of 13 (p < 0.001). The mean skeletal muscle mass (%) values were 44.1 ± 3.4 in 12-year-old volleyball players, 45.4 ± 2.5 in 13-year-old players, 45.0 ± 2.2 in 16-year-old players, and 44.7 ± 1.8 in 18-year-old players. In the general population, the mean skeletal muscle mass (%) values were 42.8 ± 3.2 in 12-year-old girls, 42. ± 4.1 in 13-year-old girls, 41.9 ± 3.3 in 16-year-old girls, and 40.6 ± 3.7 in 18-year-old girls. Differences in body composition between the individual age groups were similar between the volleyball players and girls in the general population. The results indicate that regular volleyball training influences the body composition of young females however the development of body composition parameters is subject to their ontogenetic development.

Changes in the body composition of boys aged 11–18 years due to COVID-19 measures in the Czech Republic

“…All the differences reported exceeded the typical error of measurement of such parameters on the BIA analyser used [ 32 ].…”

Combined impact method in the preparatory period of the annual macrocycle of female volleyball players aged 18–19 years old

“…The wider the circle of special exercises and motional actions, the more favourable the preconditions for the formation of new forms of motional activity and the improvement of those trained earlier. The combination of the processes of physical and technical training ensures the organic relationship between the sports technique and the motor qualities of volleyball players (girls) [16][17][18].…”

“…Such changes make it possible to stabilize the functionality of volleyball players (girls) at the achieved level. They act as prerequisites for their further improvement [18,36]. This can be fully ensured only with such an organization of physical training, taking into account the specific patterns of the organism development process of adaptation to this mode of muscular work [40].…”

The trend and evolution of training in volleyball: A bibliometric analysis of the last five years

“…Research in the field of volleyball training is generally empirical (Kutáč et al, 2020;Xu & Liu, 2021), literature review (Closs et al, 2020;da Silva Pereira et al, 2017;Machado et al, 2018;Oliveira et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2019;Villarejo-García et al, 2023), and meta-analysis (Ramirez-Campillo et al, 2020Suárez et al, 2020). However, so far, the scientific literature specifically examining the trends and evolution of volleyball training through a bibliometric approach is limited, and there is only one study conducted by (da Silva Lima et al, 2023).…”