The Effect of Daily Heart Rate Workloads on Preseason, Midseason, and Postseason Oxygen Consumption in Division i Basketball

Howard, M, Sanders, GJ, Kollock, RO, Peacock, CA, and Freire, R. The effect of daily heart rate workloads on preseason, midseason, and postseason oxygen consumption in Division I basketball. J Strength Cond Res 38(4): 704-708, 2024 - Basketball is a dynamic sport, requiring athletes to elicit a high-level of physical, tactical, technical, and psychological attributes and athletes must possess a robustly trained aerobic energy system. There is no research to assess how objectively measured training loads throughout a season influence aerobic capacity. The following study was a retrospective analysis of an NCAA Division I women's basketball team throughout a 5-month (23-week) competitive season. Data were sorted into season half totals and maximal oxygen consumption was recorded before, at the midway point and within 1-week postseason. Twelve athletes were monitored during each practice, pregame shoot around, scrimmage, and game for a total of 1,378 recorded sessions with a valid heart rate-based wearable microsensor (Polar Team Pro) during the season. There was a main effect of time for VO_2maxthroughout the season (p < 0.001). Post hoc analysis revealed there was a significant increase in VO_2maxfrom preseason to postseason (p < 0.001). Interestingly, there were significant (p ≤ 0.001 for all) decreases from the first half to the second half of the season for training load, and time allocated to HR_Zone1-4, but no difference in time for the most intense zone, HR_zone5. Conclusion: Oxygen consumption significantly increased 7.5% from preseason to postseason despite a reduction in overall work.