Impact of VO2max on mechanical variables, lactic acid concentration and shooting accuracy of the 7-meter throw among handball players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of various VO2 max rates on mechanical variables, lactic acid concentration, and shooting accuracy of the 7-meter throw among handball players. The experimental method consisted of two experiments: one for calculating the VO2 max in the laboratory and another for testing the shooting accuracy of the 7-meter throw. A total of 36 handball players who specialized in shooting the 7-meter throw participated in the current study. They were divided into three equal groups in terms of training age, VO2 max level and the shooting accuracy of the 7-meter throw at rest time. Their average age was 24.1±3.2 years, their height was 177±23 cm, and their weight was 72±4.3 kg. We used three Canon Eos 80D cameras, a Scout Cortex lactate device, and Kinovea 0.9.5 software for performance evaluation. The study's results revealed a statistically significant effect of multiple rates of VO2 max on some mechanical variables, lactic acid concentration, and shooting accuracy of the 7-meter throw among handball players, with a negative effect that increases when the rates of VO2 max become greater at the level of significance (α = 0.00). In light of the study's results, the researcher advised handball coaches to work on increasing their players' VO2 max levels or delaying their players' access to higher levels of VO2 max to avoid an increase in the concentration of lactic acid in the blood and, as a result, a decrease in the players' abilities to perform the 7-meter throw skill. According to the results of this study, they should also consider the use of pauses and substitutions during matches to ensure that players do not reach levels of up to 65% of VO2 max.