Validity of a reactive agility test for aerobic and anaerobic performance assessment in female handball players

Datos Bibliográficos

ID23312403
AutoresNadir Szabo (English Institute of Sport), Khatija Bahdur (English Institute of Sport), Beatriz Jordão (English Institute of Sport), Thorben Hülsdünker (0000-0002-9129-1864, English Institute of Sport)
Año2026
Volumen8
Páginas1870795-1870795
Fecha de publicación2026-07-21
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaFrontiers in Sports and Active Living (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2624-9367 • E-ISSN: 2624-9367
EditorialFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fspor.2026.1870795
PMID42553179
OpenAlexW7169883280
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas41

Introduction Aerobic and anaerobic capacity are considered key performance indicators in team ball sports. However, diagnostics focus on treadmill testing or linear sprints, not considering multidirectional change of direction and reactive agility. This study evaluated the validity of a novel multidirectional reactive agility test (RA test) to determine aerobic and anaerobic capacity in high-level female handball athletes. Methods Fourteen first-team female handball players performed four all-out 150 m multidirectional RA runs on the SKILLCOURT. Maximum oxygen uptake (VO 2max ) was determined using a mobile gas analyzer and compared to an incremental ramp test on the treadmill. For anaerobic performance, peak power output (PPOmax), average power output (PPOav), fatigue index (FI) and anaerobic capacity (AC) were calculated based on running time in the RA test and correlated to the repeated anaerobic sprint test (RAST). Results Bland-Altman analyses revealed a mean difference in VO 2max between the RA test and the treadmill test of 0.07 mL × kg −1 × min −1 (0.1%) with upper and lower limits of agreement (LoA) at 4.03 (8%) and −3.88 (8%) mL × kg −1 × min −1 , respectively. Measured VO 2max values from the RA test and treadmill were strongly related (r = 0.91) and not significantly different ( p = 0.90, d = 0.04). No significant correlations were found for any of the anaerobic variables ( p ≥ 0.40). Discussion The results support the suitability of a RA test protocol for directly measuring and estimating aerobic capacity (VO 2max ). This was not confirmed for anaerobic parameters. The RA test may provide a promising sport-specific alternative to existing lab and field protocols for determining VO 2max in team ball sports.

Aerobic capacity · Anaerobic exercise · Sprint · Test (biology) · Treadmill · VO2 max · Wingate test · Cardiovascular and exercise physiology · Sports injuries and prevention · Sports Performance and Training