The Influence of Aerobic Capacity on Anaerobic Performance and Recovery Indices in Basketball Players

Abstract

This study examined the effect of aerobic capacity on per- formance, fatigue, and heart rate recovery following high- intensity anaerobic exercise in national-level basketball play- ers. Twenty subjects (19.0 6 1.7 years, 88.4 6 8.0 kg, 194.2 6 6.0 cm, 50.2 6 3.8 ml·kg·min21 ) participated in this inves- tigation. Each subject performed a treadmill test to deter- mine maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), a Wingate Anaerobic Power Test (WAnT), and a field test of anaerobic power common to basketball players (line drill). The line drill is a continuous 143-m sprint with several changes of direction. The line drill was performed 3 times (T1, T2, and T3) with a 2-minute passive rest between each sprint. A moderate correlation was seen between VO2max and mean power of the WAnT (r 5 0.57). However, no significant re- lationship was observed between VO2max and the fatigue index in either the WAnT (r 52 0.23) or line drill (r 5 0.01). Little to no correlation was observed between VO2max and heart rate recovery in the WAnT (r 52 0.22) and line drill (r 52 0.04, r 52 0.19, and r 52 0.30 in T1, T2, and T3, respectively). These results showed little to no relationship between aerobic capacity and recovery indices from high- intensity exercise in basketball players.