Physical Conditioning of Adult Basketball Players

Abstract

Physical conditioning plays an important role in the performance enhancement and injury prevention of basketball athletes. The purpose of the current study was the creation of indicative values for selected physical conditioning parameters of adult basketball players. Thirteen Greek basketball players (25.1 ± 4.9 years old) participated in the current study. Anthropometric characteristics (body mass, body height) and selected indicators of physical conditioning were measured, such as vertical jumping ability (squat jump: SJ, counter movement jump: CMJ, drop jump from 40 cm: DJ), concentric peak torque (angular velocity: 60ο/s) at the knee joint, anaerobic capacity (Wingate test) and aerobic capacity (Maximal oxygen consumption test). Descriptive statistics were used
for data processing analysis. The results of the study showed that the performance of the athletes at SJ was 36.51 ± 6.61 cm, at CMJ was 39.27 ± 6.95 cm and at DJ was 35.1 ± 5.91 cm (time ground-contact 180 ± 18 msec). In the isokinetic testing, the maximum torque for flexors ranged from 126.5 to 243 Nm and for extensors from 230.6 and 362 Nm, the ratio of flexors/extensors (64.8% right leg and 64.1% left leg) and the difference in strength between the two legs (9.69% in extensors and 7.68% in flexors) ranged within normal levels. In the Wingate test, the absolute peak power was 873 ± 131 W, the relative peak power was 9.43 ± 0.78 W/kg, and the fatigue index was 12.4 ± 3.21%. Finally, the maximal oxygen consumption ranged from 45.3 to 61.3 ml/kg/min, the maximal heart rate
from 170 to 196 bpm/min, and the speed at the anaerobic threshold from 13 to 16 km/h. In conclusion, the current research presents indicative values of selected physical conditioning indices of Greek basketball players, which could be used to design and implement effective training programs and prevent injuries.