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 (VO₂peak) 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 VO₂peak 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' VO₂peak. The HR_max achieved during this test should be used with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]