Relationship between repeated sprint ability and aerobic fitness in college volleyball players

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physiological variables related to aerobic fitness and repeated sprint ability (RSA) in college volleyball players. Sixteen male volleyball players (21.1±1.4 years) took part in the study. Players first performed an incremental treadmill run test to determine their maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), ventilatory threshold (VT), peak incremental test speed and time to exhaustion. After at least 48 hours, subjects performed an RSA test consisting of 10 × 20-m sprints interspersed with 20 seconds of active recovery, to determine the mean sprint time (RSAmean), the best sprint time (RSAbest) and the fatigue index (FI). RSAmean was significantly negatively correlated with VO2max (r= -0.73, p< 0.01), VT (r= -0.62, p< 0.05), peak incremental test speed (r = -0.66, p < 0.01) and time to exhaustion (r= -0.67, p< 0.01). No relationships were found between any variables related to aerobic fitness obtained from incremental treadmill test and RSAbest and FI (p> 0.05). The results of this study demonstrated that high VO2max as well as VT has an important contribution to performance during repeated-sprint efforts. These findings suggest that training practices for the development of aerobic components may improve also RSA.