Effects of a Short-Term Recreational Team Handball-Based Programme on Physical Fitness and Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health of 33-55-Year-Old Men: A Pilot Study

Recreational team handball is an intermittent high-intensity exercise mode with physiological demands in the range of those found to enhance health and physical fitness of sedentary adults. We examined the effects of a short-term team handball-based training programme on physical fitness and metabolic and cardiovascular health of sedentary 33-55-year-old former male team handball players. Twenty-four participants were divided into team handball (THG; n=15) and control groups (CG; n=9) and evaluated at baseline and postintervention. During 12 weeks, THG performed 2-3 60-min recreational team handball matches weekly (average: 2.2 ± 0.7), and CG maintained an inactive lifestyle. Average heart rate (HR) during matches was 80 ± 7%, with peak values of 91 ± 6%. A time-by-group interaction was shown in aerobic performance (p=0.016), postural balance (p=0.019), maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) (p=0.023), resting HR (p

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