Functional fitness of elite athletes in team sports

Aim - to assess functional fitness of professional athletes engaged in team sports. Materials and Methods. The research involved 19 professional basketball players (age - 24.9 ± 5.3, body length - 198.36 ± 7.9 cm, body weight - 94.34 ± 13.3 kg) and 14 futsal players (age - 25.8 ± 4.6, body length - 181 ± 6 cm, body weight - 79.4 ± 7.1 kg). The functional state was assessed with the help of cycle ergometer test with a maximal protocol (“to exhaustion”) under constantly increasing load (RAMP). We analyzed main parameters of the functional state of the cardiorespiratory and muscular systems at rest and in the course of the whole test, and maximum values reached in the final part of the test and during the first three minutes of recovery. Results. It was established that heart rate (HR) levels immediately before the test were within the normal range for athletes (65.7 ± 9.2 beats per minute - in the basketball players and 69.79 ± 11.47 bpm in the futsal players). However, exhaustion HR levels in both groups were below normal values for athletes (171.43 ± 10.36 bpm - in the futsal players and 167 ± 13.8 bpm in the basketball players). The revealed significant differences in maximum breathing capacity between the basketball players (145.59 ± 35.63 L/min) and futsal players (129.31 ± 32.39 L/min) were associated with anthropometrical features rather than with the level of the functional fitness. Significantly higher levels of relative maximum power during the loaded test for the futsal players (4.59 ± 0.36 W/kg) as compared to the basketball players were considerably lower than normal values for athletes (5 W/kg). Conclusion. Control of the functional state and its changes in team sports should be an inherent part of organization of the training process in order to sustain stability and competitive effectiveness throughout the whole sport season.