engleski

Differences in Aerobic Capacity Indicators between the Croatian National Team and Club Level Volleyball Players

The aim of this study was to determine the possible significance of differences in the area of aerobic capacity among two groups of volleyball players. Laboratory measurements were performed on sixty-eight male subjects, all members of the A1 Croatian volleyball league, who were divided into two groups. The first group consisted of a higher level volleyball players (n = 34) with a recent national team status who appeared in qualification matches for the European or World Championships. The second group consisted of clublevel players who were members of clubs playing in the A1 Croatian league and were never members of the national teams (n = 34). Their aerobic capacity was estimated by the progressive maximal test performed on a motor- driven treadmill. The following variables were studied: relative maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max – ml kg-1 min-1), relative maximal oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (VO2AT – ml kg-1 min-1) , percentage of VO2max at anaerobic threshold (%VO2max – %), maximum speed before exhaustion (Vmax – km h-1) , and speed of the treadmill at anaerobic threshold (VAT – km h- 1). The group of the national-level volleyball players had numerically better results in all the measured variables and the T–test for independent groups showed a statistically significant difference (p<.05) in two of the five measured variables (Vmax and VAT), with large and moderate magnitudes which were observed in those two variables (Cohen’s d 0.75 and 0.57). A player’s participation in top- level clubs and national selections implies his exposure to an additional training volume, workouts of higher quality and intensity, which can ultimately have a positive effect on aerobic capacity indicators and certain neuromuscular adaptations of the lower extremities. Volleyball players with a higher level of aerobic capacity recover quickly between points and sets and they have the ability to delay fatigue, which can result in a better situational efficiency in long points, sets and matches. Players with better neuromuscular control and movement biomechanics can perform more efficiently during a volleyball match. Among other factors, this can be a possible reason for their selection in the national team.

oxygen consumption ; anaerobic threshold ; biomechanics

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