In-Season Repeated-Sprint Training in Hypoxia in International Field Hockey Players

Carl James*, Olivier Girard

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Repeated-sprint training in hypoxia (RSH) studies conducted “in-season” are scarce. This study investigated the effect of discontinuous, running-based RSH, on repeated-sprint treadmill performance in hypoxia in a team sport cohort, prior to international competition. Over a 6-week “in-season” period, 11 elite male players (Malaysia national team) completed eight multi-set RSH sessions on a non-motorized treadmill in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (FiO2 = 13.8%). Three testing sessions (Sessions 1, 5, and 8), involved three sets of 5 × 8-s sprints, with 52-s recovery between sprints and 4–5 min between sets. Training sessions (Sessions 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7) consisted of four to five sets of 4–5 × 8-s sprints. During testing sessions, maximum sprinting speed was recorded for each sprint with values averaged for each set. For each set, a peak speed and fatigue index were calculated. Data were compared using two-way repeated measures ANOVA (sessions × sets). Average speed per set increased between testing sessions (p = 0.001, η2p=0.49), with higher values in Session 8 (25.1±0.9 km.h−1, +4 ± 3%, p = 0.005), but not Session 5 (24.8 ± 1.0 km.h−1, +3 ± 3%, p = 0.405), vs. Session 1 (24.2 ± 1.5 km.h−1 ). Peak sprinting speed in each set also increased across testing sessions (p = 0.008, η2p=0.382), with Session 8 (26.5±1.1 km.h−1 ) higher than Session 5 (25.8 ± 1.0 km.h−1, +1 ± 4%, p = 0.06) and Session 1 (25.7 ± 1.5 km.h−1, +4 ± 4%, p = 0.034). Fatigue index differed between sessions (p = 0.04, η2p = 0.331, Session 1; −6.8 ± 4.8%, Session 5; −3.8 ± 2%, Session 8; −5.3 ± 2.6%). In international field hockey players, a 6-week in-season RSH program improved average and peak, repeated treadmill sprint speeds following eight, but not five sessions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number66
Number of pages9
JournalFrontiers in Sports and Active Living
Volume2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Jul 2020

User-Defined Keywords

  • repeated-sprint training in hypoxia
  • repeated-sprint ability
  • team sports
  • hockey
  • sprint performance

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'In-Season Repeated-Sprint Training in Hypoxia in International Field Hockey Players'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this