Cardiorespiratory Markers Relate to Change-of-Direction Performance During Incremental Endurance Tests and Friendly Matches in Professional Male Handball Players

Purpose : To compare the standard Yo-Yo intermittent recovery (IR) test and an agility Yo-Yo IR test with a higher number of change-of-direction movements to cardiorespiratory match performance. Methods : The study included 11 professional male handball players (age 24.5 [4.6] y) of a German second-league team. The performance parameters of the players of the seasons 2016–17 to 2018–19 were analyzed. The Yo-Yo IR test was compared to a Yo-Yo IR test with multiple multidirectional changes of direction in response to visual stimuli, which was conducted on a SpeedCourt (Yo-Yo SC IR). Peak oxygen uptake (VO 2 peak) and maximum heart rate (HR max ) were measured. Between-methods differences of individual athletes were quantified with Bland–Altman plots. Results : HR max was not statistically different during the Yo-Yo SC IR test compared to the Yo-Yo IR test (181 [10] vs 188 [8] beats·min −1 ; P = .16). Agreement between the 2 tests was moderate for HR max and good for heart rates >180 beats·min −1 . Mean average VO 2 peak was 51.7 (3.9) and 50.9 (2.8) mL·min –1 ·kg –1 for the Yo-Yo SC IR test and the Yo-Yo IR test ( P = .693), respectively. Conclusions : A Yo-Yo test with multidirectional changes of direction in response to visual stimuli yielded good agreement with the frequently used linear running tests and can be used to assess players’ VO 2 peak. The HR max achieved during this test should be used with caution.