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Purpose: We tested the hypothesis that participation in small-sided team handball training could provide beneficial effects on cardiovascular and metabolic parameters in overweight premenopausal women with special focus on the importance of prior team handball experience.Methods: A 16-week RCT training intervention was conducted in overweight premenopausal women randomized into three groups; a team handball training group without prior experience (UN; n=13), a team handball group with prior experience (EXP; n=10), and an inactive control group (CON; n=9). Both UN and EXP completed 1.6±0.3 training sessions per week with average heart rates of 84±5 and 85±9% of maximal heart rate, respectively. Cardiovascular and metabolic parameters were assessed before and after the intervention.Results: Compared to CON, UN had significant increases in VO2max (7±4%) and intermittent endurance performance (26±14%) as well as reduced total fat mass (4±6%), total fat percentage (4±5%) and android fat mass (7±12%), respectively (all p<0.05). Compared to UN and CON, EXP displayed increased left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index (both p<0.05) after the training period. There were no significant changes between any of the groups in muscle mass, blood lipids, resting heart rate, and blood pressure (all p>0.05).Conclusion: Small-sided team handball training in overweight premenopausal women resulted in improvement of VO2max and body composition for participants with minimal team handball experience, indicating that prior team handball experience is not a prerequisite for improving physiological parameters of importance for health. Furthermore, EXP displayed cardiac adaptations, including enhanced left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index.

The effect of small-sided team sport training and protein intake on muscle mass, physical function, and adaptations important for health in untrained older adults was examined. Forty-eight untrained older (72±6 (±standard deviation, SD) years men and women were divided into either a team sport group ingesting a drink high in protein (18 g) immediately and 3 h after each training session (TS-HP, n = 13), a team sport group ingesting an isocaloric drink with low protein content (3 g; TS-LP, n = 18), or a control group continuing their normal activities (CON, n = 17). The team sport training was performed as ~20 min of small-sided ball games twice a week over 12 weeks. After the intervention period, leg muscle mass was 0.6 kg higher (P = 0.047) in TS-HP, with no effect in TS-LP. In TS-HP, number of sit-to-stand repetitions increased (1.2±0.6, P = 0.054), time to perform 2.45 m up-and-go was lower (0.7±0.3 s, P = 0.03) and number of arm curl repetitions increased (3.5±1.2, P = 0.01), whereas in TS-LP only number of repetitions in sit-to-stand was higher (1.6±0.6, P = 0.01). In TS-LP, reductions were observed in total and abdominal fat mass (1.2±0.5 and 0.4±0.2 kg, P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively), heart rate at rest (9±3 bpm, P = 0.002) and plasma C-reactive protein (1.8±0.8 mmol/L, P = 0.03), with no effects in TS-HP. Thus, team sport training improves functional capacity of untrained older adults and increases leg muscle mass only when ingesting proteins after training. Furthermore, team sport training followed by intake of drink with low protein content does lower fat mass, heart rate at rest and level of systemic inflammation.TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov NCT03120143.