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This study aims to determine the physical and physiological demands and perceived experience during different recreational team handball and walking exercise modalities.
Secondary purposes are:
i) To compare the cardiovascular and blood lactate responses to self-paced walking (W), brisk walking (BW), recreational walking team handball (WTH), and recreational running team handball (RTH); ii) To compare the perceived experience (Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Fun levels (FUN)) during self-paced walking (W), brisk walking (BW), recreational walking team handball (WTH), and recreational running team handball (RTH); iii) To compare the activity profile during self-paced walking (W), brisk walking (BW), recreational walking team handball (WTH), and recreational running team handball (RTH);
Statistical analysis:
Linear mixed-effects model accounting for repeated measures within the participants, will be used to compare the working demands and perceived experience during the selected exercise modalities. This model will consider the exercise modalities and group as fixed effects and the participants ID as a random effect.
Significance level will be set at 5%, and confidence intervals will be reported for all comparisons.
Randomization:
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups due to logistical constraints. Each group will then perform 2 randomly assigned sequences of 4 exercise modalities (i.e., W, BW, WH, RH).
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-paced walking (W) | Other | Each participant will walk at a self-chosen speed during the set exercise duration. |
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| Brisk walking (BW) | Other | Participants will walk at a designated speed corresponding to brisk walking ( moderate-intensity walking) during the set exercise duration. The intensity of this type of walking should allow the participants to talk but not sing during the walk. |
|
| Recreational running team handball (RTH) | Other | Participants will play running recreational team handball (RTH) with the following adaptations to the official rules: use of softer and smaller balls and limited body contact, dribbling and substitutions are not allowed; players rotate positions every 3 min and matches are played as 5v5 or 6v6 game formats. |
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| Recreational walking team handball (WTH) | Other | Same as recreational running team handball (RTH), however, the participants are only permitted to walk and not run (one foot must always be in contact with the ground). |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-paced Walking (W) training sessions | Other | Participants will partake in 2 sessions of self-paced walking (W), each composed by 3x14 min periods interspersed by 2 min breaks, in which the participants will walk at a self-selected speed (without running) along a 38x18 m course. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Relative average rate | During each exercise modality, relative average rate will be determined using heart rate monitors. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Relative time spent in each heart rate zone | During each exercise modality, relative time spent in each heart rate zone will be determined using heart rate monitors. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute average heart rate | During each exercise modality, absolute average heart rate will be determined using heart rate monitors. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Absolute time spent in each heart rate zone |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Maia | Maia | Portugal |
| PubMed Identifier | Type | Citation | Retractions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41930285 | Derived | Martins R, Krustrup P, Castagna C, Mohr M, Teixeira J, Carneiro I, Povoas S. Walking handball as an exercise alternative to conventional walking and recreational team handball. Front Sports Act Living. 2026 Mar 18;8:1784474. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2026.1784474. eCollection 2026. |
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| Brisk walking (BW) training sessions | Other | Participants will partake in 2 sessions of brisk walking (BW), each composed by 3x14 min periods, interspersed by 2 min breaks, in which the participants will follow a designated instructor who will dictate the walking speed along a 38x18 m course, thus ensuring that the speed of the walking corresponds to a brisk walking speed. |
|
| Recreational running team handball (RTH) training sessions | Other | Recreational running team handball (RTH): Participants will partake in 2 sessions of recreational team handball matches (RTH), each composed by 3x14 min periods, interspersed by 2 min breaks on a 40x20m indoor court. |
|
| Recreational walking team handball (WTH) training sessions | Other | Recreational walking team handball (WTH): Participants will partake in 2 sessions of recreational walking team handball matches (WTH), each composed by 3x14 min periods, interspersed by 2 min breaks on a 40x20m indoor court. |
|
During each exercise modality, absolute time spent in each heart rate zone will be determined using heart rate monitors.
| Over an 8-week period. |
| Relative peak heart rate | During each exercise modality, relative peak heart rate will be determined using heart rate monitors. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Absolute peak heart rate | During each exercise modality, absolute peak heart rate will be determined using heart rate monitors. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Rating of perceived exertion | Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) will be determined using the modified (0-10) Borg scale, during each exercise modality. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Fun levels | Fun levels (FUN) will be determined using an visual analog scale, during each exercise modality. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Blood lactate | Blood lactate will be measured during the each exercise modality using a portable eletroenzymatic lactate device analyzer. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Accelerations | The number of accelerations (expressed in m/s²) will be determined during each exercise modality training session using wearable accelerometers. Acceleration thresholds will be defined individually based on activity profiles established in baseline testing. | Over an 8-week period |
| Decelerations | The number of decelerations (expressed in m/s²) will be determined during each exercise modality training session using wearable accelerometers. Deceleration thresholds will be defined individually based on activity profiles established in baseline testing. | Over an 8-week period. |
| Player load | Player load (arbitrary units) will be calculated using data from wearable accelerometers during each exercise modality training session. | Over an 8-week period. |