TY - JOUR
T1 - The anthropometrical and physiological characteristics of elite water polo players
AU - Tsekouras, Yiannis E.
AU - Kavouras, Stavros A.
AU - Campagna, Alessandro
AU - Kotsis, Yiannis P.
AU - Syntosi, Silia S.
AU - Papazoglou, Kalomira
AU - Sidossis, Labros S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We would like to thank Panagiotis Troulos, Maria Maraki, Maria Perraki and Costas Anastasiou for their help during data collection. The study was supported by the Greek Swimming Federation.
PY - 2005/9
Y1 - 2005/9
N2 - In order to examine the physical and physiological demands of water polo, we assessed the profile of elite water polo players. Nineteen male professional water polo players (age: 25.5±5.0 years, height: 184.5±4.3 cm body mass: 90.7±6.4 kg) underwent body composition assessment by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We also evaluated peak oxygen consumption V̇O2peak lactate threshold (LT), energy cost of swimming (Cs), anaerobic capacity and isokinetic shoulder strength. Body fat (%) was 16.8±4.4, lean mass (LM) 75.1±4.9 kg and bone mineral density (BMD) 1.37±0.07 g·cm-2. V̇O2peak was 57.9±7 ml·kg-1 ·min-1. LT was identified at 3.9±0.7 mmol·l-1 at a swimming velocity (v) of 1.33±0.05 m·s-1 with a heart rate of 154±7 bpm, corresponding to an intensity of 83±9 of V̇O2peak. The average Cs of swimming at the LT was 1.08±0.04 kJ·m-1. Cs at LT was correlated to body mass index (BMI) (r=0.22, P=0.04) and to swimming performance at 400 m (r=0.86, P=0.01) and 4×50 m (r=0.84, P < 0.01). Internal rotator muscles were stronger compared to the external rotators by a 2:1 ratio. This study provides a quantitative representation of both physical and physiological demands of water polo and proposes a comprehensive battery of tests that can be used for assessing the status of a team.
AB - In order to examine the physical and physiological demands of water polo, we assessed the profile of elite water polo players. Nineteen male professional water polo players (age: 25.5±5.0 years, height: 184.5±4.3 cm body mass: 90.7±6.4 kg) underwent body composition assessment by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. We also evaluated peak oxygen consumption V̇O2peak lactate threshold (LT), energy cost of swimming (Cs), anaerobic capacity and isokinetic shoulder strength. Body fat (%) was 16.8±4.4, lean mass (LM) 75.1±4.9 kg and bone mineral density (BMD) 1.37±0.07 g·cm-2. V̇O2peak was 57.9±7 ml·kg-1 ·min-1. LT was identified at 3.9±0.7 mmol·l-1 at a swimming velocity (v) of 1.33±0.05 m·s-1 with a heart rate of 154±7 bpm, corresponding to an intensity of 83±9 of V̇O2peak. The average Cs of swimming at the LT was 1.08±0.04 kJ·m-1. Cs at LT was correlated to body mass index (BMI) (r=0.22, P=0.04) and to swimming performance at 400 m (r=0.86, P=0.01) and 4×50 m (r=0.84, P < 0.01). Internal rotator muscles were stronger compared to the external rotators by a 2:1 ratio. This study provides a quantitative representation of both physical and physiological demands of water polo and proposes a comprehensive battery of tests that can be used for assessing the status of a team.
KW - Body composition
KW - Energy cost of swimming
KW - Isokinetic
KW - Lactate threshold
KW - Performance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=29444458961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=29444458961&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00421-005-1388-2
DO - 10.1007/s00421-005-1388-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 15976998
AN - SCOPUS:29444458961
VL - 95
SP - 35
EP - 41
JO - European Journal of Applied Physiology
JF - European Journal of Applied Physiology
SN - 1439-6319
IS - 1
ER -