TOWARD A STRENGTH TRAINING APPROACH AT MALE HANDBALL PLAYERS

The variety of handball playing positions produces implications on the physical, motor and physiological particularities of the players, being necessary an individualization of the training according to the specific requirements of the playing position. The development of strength capacity is done during all phases of the training, and the content used to optimize strength capacity at senior handball players of the group subjected to the experiment was varied, diversified and adapted to each trainingsession. The aim of the research was to design and apply a training methodology that would lead to the optimization of strength capacity at senior handball players with consequences in terms of performance and level of game efficiency. The following control tests were used to assessthe subjects' strength indices: test 1 maximum repetition for semiflexion, chest push-up and chest lift, and the plate test was used for the isometric strength. The results obtained by the experimental group at the strength tests applied in research aredue to the specific strength training used for a period of 6 months. The designed strength program for handball players was implemented considering the characteristics of the handball game, athletes’ particularities in order to achieve a better efficiency in training and competition. The intergroup statistical analysis of the final testing indicates statistical significance in favor of the experiment group, which confirms the efficiency of the means used in the training, ensuring an optimal framework for obtaining performance in competitions.